Why utilising outdoor spaces are the key to great events
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What are the benefits of hosting events outdoors?
The sunshine’s here, and you and your delegates are splitting time between meeting KPIs and enjoying some well-deserved annual leave outside. So, instead of feeling cooped up in your usual office space, why not take your business priorities outdoors?
Hosting your meeting or event outdoors gives you licence to enjoy the best of our late summer rather than staring at it longingly through your office window. This is an opportunity to revitalise your team, breathe fresh air, and take some time away from screens. Plus, switching up your space and ditching devices doesn’t mean you have to compromise on productivity.
Transcript for 'Outdoor Meeting Spaces | Warwick Conferences'
20 years at Warwick, that is the best space I’ve ever sat in.
The Woodland outdoor meeting space is epic.
The space has just been phenomenal. You know, I really don’t want to go back to my office now.
I think too often we’re confined to offices and meeting rooms and I don’t actually spend enough time outdoors.
The space is really cool. It’s just something really different.
And I think actually being in the woods makes you more zen; it makes people more relaxed.
How nice is that - to spend the day outside but still working?
Nice to have a change of space, place, environment.
It’s such a great learning environment. It helps you to relax and really sparks your creative thinking.
I study creativity. I know that the space can change the way collaboration happens.
Sometimes you go away to a venue, but where you come to looks a bit like your office, it’s just in a different place. This offered us something really different.
One of the nice things about this is that it forced all of us off screens, which created more intentionality and fostered better communication.
But actually, it worked. It was still practical enough, we could still have the flip charts and the post-it notes, so we could really capture what people were talking about. And I think it relaxed people in a different way and helped us to think differently about our situations and our environments.
How do I plan a successful outdoor business meeting?
At its core, you need your business meeting to achieve two things: positive participation and strategic thinking that propels action. You’re in luck, because an outdoor space is perfect for boosting success in both of these areas.
For one, positive participation means that all of your colleagues are contributing and actively engaged in the meeting. Removing your team from the distractions of your usual office space will help restore team engagement.
Choose your space wisely so that everyone can see and hear one another, as easy communication is essential for participation. Configure your outdoor space to suit your needs, whether you choose a breakout style, or a more traditional round-table approach. You might want something relaxing like deck-chair seating like Haven, or something that encourages dynamic thinking and more movement with benches and games such as our Woodland Retreat. Once you have devised your focus area for the meeting, pick your space to match.
When you are planning your team meeting, be sure to engage with different approaches using your space to your advantage. Being outdoors is a great opportunity to use movement in your meeting, and this might look like playing games or going for a mindful walk during downtime.
Are outdoor meeting spaces better for team engagement?
Meeting outside can level-up your team engagement as it puts distance between them and the usual distractions of the workplace. Your dedicated outdoor space can become its own bubble allowing individuals to think freely about your meeting agenda without getting side-tracked by the usual stream of emails and requests.
The ambiance of an outdoor meeting space is also incredibly motivating, from gorgeous natural light which helps people feel energised, to the peace of the natural world to help them focus. An event venue with outdoor space can be incredibly supportive for wellbeing, too, giving people an opportunity to have a break and some time for mindfulness.
Where can I host an outdoor corporate event in the Midlands?
For a venue that is accessible country-wide through handy public transport connections and a central location, pick an outdoor meeting space in the Midlands. Choose Warwick Conferences for its convenience, its campus perks, and its helpful solutions for if your outdoor meeting plans in the sunshine gets rained on.
Amy Nugent
Amy is a Digital Communications Executive at Warwick Conferences, she specialises in written and audio-visual content production.