Every successful meeting should start with two simple questions: What are we trying to achieve? What is needed to achieve these results? This is the analysis phase and step one in the ADDIE model (Analysis-Design-Development-Implementation-Evaluation), a useful blueprint for meeting planning.

It's in this initial stage that a needs assessment takes place; challenges are identified and clarified; goals and objectives established; past meeting performance is reviewed; and what needs to be done in future programming is determined.

"Analysis" may sound like a dry and dreary exercise, but it really is a discovery process. The analysis phase is rich with dialogue as meeting planners engage with various stakeholder groups to establish consensus on the meeting's goals and chart a path for its execution. P.G.B. Morriss understood the value of this "preliminary work" when he wrote in the 1925 publication How to Plan a Convention: "The first thing to be determined before going ahead with the detailed planning of a convention is 'What does the delegate to the convention want?'"

This is the time for seeking the answers to many questions: why, who, what, when, and where. Meeting planners are adept at answering the "when" and "where." Here we focus on the "why," "who," and "what."

Why Hold the Meeting?
Meetings today operate under the parameters of accountability and immediacy; planners are challenged to demonstrate their impact. In order to do so, they must have access to information that will:

• serve the overall mission and vision and support strategic initiatives
• contribute to meeting specific goals and objectives
• have the biggest influence on numbers and measures
• help manage the needs, pressures, and constraints of doing business
• have the greatest impact on both customer satisfaction and efficiency.

Karen Hamilton, CMP, vice president of client services, Minding Your Business Inc., recognizes that meetings and events today must "move the needle" for organizations. She says, "We always ask our clients: 'How will you determine if your meeting is successful?' This helps us understand how we can drive impact and accountability. Probing in these areas helps us discover the real reasons to hold the meeting and ultimately, design and produce a meeting experience that will deliver results."

Who Is Coming to the Meeting?
As much information about the audience as possible must be uncovered.

• What is their level of knowledge about the topics being addressed?
• What other sources of information are available to them about this topic?
• Does the heterogeneous nature of the audience suggest that information must be delivered in a more sensitive manner?
• Does the diversity of the learners influence their perception of the meeting?
• Will their comprehension of information differ from a mainstream U.S. perspective?
• How can diversity be reflected in presentations and marketing materials (photos, quotes, sources referenced)?

What Will We Teach Them?
Beyond how to present to a diverse audience, determining what they will find relevant also presents a challenge. It helps to consider two types of knowledge: tacit and explicit. Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, authors of the book The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation, define explicit knowledge as being easy to recognize. It can be articulated in formal language including statements, mathematical expressions, and specifications. Tacit knowledge, on the other hand, is more difficult to articulate. It is personal knowledge embedded in individual experience. Tacit knowledge communicated from holder to recipient is personal and most often it comes from discussions or demonstrations.

The challenge for meeting planners is to ensure that meetings provide opportunities for attendees to gain both explicit and tacit knowledge. Explicit knowledge is easier to convey in traditional "talking-heads" or more formal presentations; tacit knowledge is best exchanged in informal learning environments.

According to Michael Mach, senior program manager, Motorola, "The engineering world is very focused on tacit knowledge and experiential problem solving. Often people don't realize the depth of their knowledge. We capture knowledge via blogs and wikis and then focus on sharing industry standards and best practices in face-to-face events." In the article "Designing Virtual Communities for Creativity and Learning," Ted Kahn identified new skills in creating communities. Whether virtual or face-to-face, meetings must reach beyond "know-what" or explicit knowledge to convey seven types of information to reach today's learner:

1) Know-who - locating key people where competencies, knowledge, and practice reside and who can add the greatest value to learning and work.

2) Know "what-not" - customizing and filtering out information, distinguishing between junk or glitz and real substance, ignoring unwanted and unneeded information and interactions.

3) Know "what-if...?" - identifying simulations, models, alternatives.

4) Know-how - using creative skills, social practices, experience in work and learning situations.

5) Know-where - identifying where to seek and find the best information and resources needed in different learning and work situations.

6) Know-when - utilizing project management skills, self-management, and collaborative group processes.

7) Know-why ... and care-why - reflecting about roles and participation; being ecologically and socially proactive in caring for one's world, for others, and the environment.

How Will We Reach Them?
Learners are more challenging to reach. The entire environment of the venue must be considered in the way it will impact the type of learning that occurs; logistics and educational content must merge to create a supportive learning environment. Savvy meeting planners will explore the types of informal/formal learning environments needed - and the types of technology that will support not only the physical event, but the learning that should take place before and after the meeting.

During the analysis phase, a meeting planner can assess the existence and importance of both experts and peers (see sidebar on p. 66) through these questions:

• Who can represent participants as a "stakeholder group?" Who can we engage in meaningful dialogue during the meeting planning process?
• Who can we utilize during the meeting to be a thought leader?

Pamela Formento, meeting manager, managing director, American Society of Plumbing Engineers, relies on participants to represent her various stakeholder groups by utilizing an Exhibitor Advisory Board to improve the trade show experience at the Engineered Plumbing Exposition. "They are the experts," she said. "They see the trade show flow and have a vested interest in improving the expo. We value their expertise in analyzing and planning that part of the convention. The manufacturers (exhibitors) actually helped brainstorm a new concept which we will implement at the upcoming meeting."

Learners are more challenging to reach due to cultural, generational, and learning style differences. Meeting planners should analyze:

• Do subsets of the audience have distinct knowledge or skill levels?
• Is the audience open to change?
• Are learners closely aligned around values and a common culture?
• How will the needs of life-long learners be met? (Younger generations are extremely focused on their personal and professional development; without it they will leave the organization.)

How Will We Keep Them?
Learners have higher expectations. The adult learners of today demand "infotainment" - information being packaged in an entertaining manner. From the nightly news to sports arenas, today's audiences are used to a show. Meeting planners can meet expectations by including three components in meetings:
1. rational and emotional
2. different modalities and overall variety
3. involvement.

While including rational and serious information is imperative for today's learners, meeting planners can use emotion to solidify information and create a positively charged learning environment. Focus on:

• Environment - the overall feeling in the room. Ask questions about the desired mood.
• Formats - the agenda and the way it is constructed. Inquire how emotionally rich formats like debates or skits could be utilized. Find emotional hooks through themes or personalization.
• Emotional state of participants - people's physical and emotional well-being are closely linked to their ability to think and to learn effectively. How receptive will the audience be to meeting messages? Are there any emotional undercurrents that could influence the mood?

Different modalities and overall variety greatly enhance the environment for learners, so weigh the following:

• How should we create variety?
• How can we appeal to all types of learners? What can we offer auditory, kinesthetic, and visual learners?
• What venues offer us the greatest variety for learning (breakout rooms, outdoor spaces, informal learning, conversation nook, break areas, recreational areas)?

When learners are involved and engaged, they feel valued for what they already know and can add to the educational experience. In this way, the resources in the room are expanded to include the experts and each and every participant. How does this happen? By creating a two-way dialogue rather than a one-sided broadcast of information … striking the right balance between interaction and presentation.

How Can We Create an Experience?
The adult learners of today expect meetings to provide experiences. Planners need to consider:

• What emotional components are necessary to achieve the goals and outcomes?
• How can social and informal exchanges enhance the experience of learners?
  How can we make the rational, educational, and serious elements of the meeting more of an experience?
• How to pattern the attendee's entire meeting experience on innovation strategist Larry Keeley's model of experiences. Compelling experiences, he says, have three stages with six attributes. The stages are attraction, engagement, and extension. In addition to the actual event itself, how can we focus on attracting (activities prior to the meeting); engaging (activities during the meeting); and extending (experiences after the close of the official event) for today's learners? His six attributes are: defined, fresh, immersive, accessible, significant, and transformative.
• How can visualize the meeting experience so it incorporates these attributes? The learning experience?

When Gloria Nelson, CSEP, chief experience officer for meeting planning production company Gloria Nelson Event Design, is in the initial stages of planning an event, she starts with quantitative and qualitative goals and objectives.

"Then I analyze what type of experience will support the meeting or event. For example, a manufacturing company recently hosted a recruitment event. After flying in these top candidates for consideration, ground transportation started the experience with the hosts and hostesses on the shuttles sharing fun trivia en route to the site.

"On site, they wanted to create an ice-breaker bridging the gap between plant managers looking for candidates and the candidates themselves. We created an interactive activity that introduced a fun touch of competition. The activity also supported the cultural statements made by the company representatives. The event included emotional and informational elements. The attendees were surprised by the efforts and felt genuinely appreciated by the prospective employer."

That's the kind of experience you want your attendees to take home with them.

Analysis Phase Take Away

Successful completion of the analysis phase allows a meeting planner to stay on track and plan an effective meeting that engages the adult learners of today. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind during the analysis phase:

• Find the fuzzy areas of overlap between content, logistics, people management, and goals.
• Seek a dialogue instead of a question-and-answer session with various stakeholders.
• Ask non-routine questions.
• Ferret out the important requirements.
• Probe about those areas where, as a meeting planner, your activities will add value to the content or education.

The Analysis-Design-Development-Implementation-Evaluation (ADDIE) Model

Across multiple disciplines, projects are most successful when the project is well- analyzed, designed, developed, implemented, and evaluated.

Credit for developing the ADDIE Model for training programs is attributed to Walter Dick and Lou Carey. While the ADDIE model is most often used for training, the underlying principles can be applied to meeting planning.

Analysis Phase
The analysis phase is where the needs assessment takes place, the challenges identified and clarified, the goals and objectives established. The analysis phase includes business objectives, program objectives, needs analysis, gap analysis, requirements about content, and understanding the audience.

Design Phase
The design phase combines logistics (timelines and checklists for tasks to be accomplished for a successful meeting) and education (program content). At the end of this phase, every meeting detail should be outlined in a schedule or matrix - session times, refreshment breaks, social events.

Development Phase
It is in this phase that the program and all related activities move from a blueprint to the construction stage. Non-print media such as audio, video, and computer-based programs are prepared, reviewed, and approved. Programs may be pilot tested, if for example, the final product is going to be an online educational program. The materials, manuals, program design, selection of topics, and developing sessions are ready for the review process.

Implementation Phase
This is "show-time." Marketing starts. Web sites go live. Material is packaged and ready for distribution. The meeting gets under way.

Evaluation Phase
Evaluation occurs in two ways: formative and summative. When the cook tastes the soup, that's formative; when the guests taste the soup, that's summative. The formative evaluation process has been ongoing in each phase in formal (focus groups) and informal (anecdotal feedback) ways. Summative evaluation provides information on how well the meeting performed (e.g., did the participants learn what they were supposed to learn?). Summative evaluation can be expressed in six levels: statistics, reaction, learning, application, business impact, and ROI (Return on Investment). Compiling data from sources up and down the organization's ladder as well as those who participated in the event, will serve as a guide to the future.

Glen C. Ramsborg, Ph.D. is senior director, education, PCMA

Sue Tinnish is principal, SEAL Inc., which focuses on improving the content of meetings for associations and corporations.  She is active in PCMA, and the Convention Industry Council Ecuation Advisory Council for APEX and MPI.

The How Adults Learn, Now series is sponsored by the Hiltons of Chicago.