Don’t Let Your Attendees Lose It

You’ve seen the videos: Someone flips out on an airplane just before the flight takes off, causing a major delay, as passengers sit and wait on the tarmac as security walks the troublemaker off the plane. A disagreement erupts into a fight in a hotel lobby, and a long list of other incidents goes on to be discussed among family, friends and colleagues for weeks on end.

Now, imagine this at your event. Not fun. But just as these flight passengers and hotel guests didn’t think they’d find themselves back at airport security or removed from the hotel, attendees could also find themselves losing their cool if the environment facilitates it. But there are ways meeting professionals can mitigate the chances of a situation getting out of hand.

We spoke to Alan Kleinfeld, senior director of meetings and safety at Arrive Management Group, about what causes meeting attendees to lose their cool at events and how meeting professionals can help mitigate such unfortunate scenarios from happening at their events.

Kleinfeld’s first recommendation is simple enough. “Plan for it,” he says. “Understand what might influence someone to ‘go off.’”

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There is a long, not inconsiderable list of reasons attendees might go off during an event—“in our post-pandemic, politically divisive climate,” Kleinfeld says, highlighting the background noise that’s likely to amplify negative feelings brought about by a bad event—most of which are under an event prof’s control:

• large crowds (overfilled meeting room)
• long lines/long waits (waits at registration or buffets): “Watch for bottlenecks.” Bottlenecks are points in a line where the speed slows down.
• having unmet expectations (poor speaker/content): “Make sure speakers don’t go off topic or cover a topic that might be bothersome.”
• overstimulation (too much noise, light, other input): “Create space among crowds as well as spaces where quiet can be found.”
• lack of sleep (too much programming or partying): “Make sure there’s time for attendees to get rest and/or a good night sleep.”
• lack of healthy diet/”hangry” (lack of food choices or nutrition): “Make sure [attendees] are fed well and healthfully (have a protein option at breakfast!). If you’re not feeding them, make sure they have time and options to feed themselves.”
• overexposure to news and social media

The last one, overexposure to news and social media, is arguably the one most out of planners’ control. Although Kleinfeld says it’s tough to pinpoint which is most overlooked, “personally, I feel it’s overexposure to “news” and social media and not enough quiet time,” he says. “And then anything where our need for ‘instant gratification’ is not being fulfilled. It’s the ‘Amazon effect,’ we’re so used to getting everything we want so quickly that when we don’t, we lose that “hit” of endorphins.”

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Seeing as attendees’ responses to their environment are largely out a planner’s control, Kleinfeld highlights the fact that this is more about preventing and preparing in case of the event. “A planner can lead by example by reducing their own exposure and encouraging their staff and internal stakeholders to do the same,” he says. “Also, adding something to the duty of care/code of conduct about the benefits of less social media could be helpful.”

For more information or other answers for creating a safety plan for your event, reach Kleinfeld at [email protected].