We create better meetings.

Hi there!

Meeting Design is the art of matching the form or format of a meeting to its aims. Our job is to design meeting programmes and to ensure their delivery as moderators or facilitators.

We teach, train and innovate. Always with one purpose in mind: create better meetings. Meetings that have impact and that leave a sustainable legacy. Welcome and enjoy the ride!

What can meeting design do for you?

Everything in meetings – content, keynote speakers, chair, moderator, formats, yes, even the food and the AV – happens for one goal and one goal only:  giving the participants the right stimuli: Stimuli to act differently after the meeting, in other words: impact – impact in the real world outside the meeting.

Creating impactful meeting programmes, that is what we do. 

Are you aware that your meetings or events are not having enough impact? The reason may very well be that your programme has too much “default” in it.

Our designs have a strong impact focus – whether we design just one session, advise you on some changes to power up your event, or whether we design the entire programme.

We achieve that by using a proprietary methodology which we have developed over the past 20 years. And we do it with you. Because the meeting needs to contribute to your strategy, embedded in your culture and actionable for your attendees. 

Give us a call to discuss how we can help you increase the impact of your meeting.

Of course, you can also use our workbook “Meetings by Default or by Design.” Order it here

Do you want your team to work more effectively and with better energy on your organisation’s next event? Our Design Kick-Off (2 hrs.) puts you on the right track, right away. It covers:

  • How to start the organisation of a meeting creatively with your team
  • Make decisions about the programme
  • Assign tasks and responsibilities
  • Create coherent ideas for your project

We all know that getting off to a wrong start can be disastrous for any production process. Our Design Kick-Off uses our Design Board when working with you and your team. It creates a powerful, shared start of the delicate process of preparing a good meeting! We can tell you everything about it. 

Are you bugged by the day-to-day meetings in your organization? Have you ever calculated how much your organization annually spends on regular, operational meetings? A mind-boggling figure, right? Do they justify that investment through their outcomes? You are right worry about this.

Our program Meeting Boost will overturn that. It helps substantially, and by that we mean: not an easy fix. Won’t work. Meeting Boost will bring change.

Mike van der Vijver is our expert for this.  mike@mindmeeting.org. Have a chat, he is the right man for this.

Every meeting needs someone who conducts it. A meeting programme is only as strong as its delivery. To achieve high quality, the programme requires skillful moderation or facilitation.

Do you or your peers want to learn to moderate or facilitate meetings better? We conduct training courses in this beautiful, humane skill. Better meetings depend on the deployment of that skill.

Our clients tell us that our courses have a big impact. Attendees leave happy and their organisations benefit. You can start today!

Meeting Design is a new profession. There is no University anywhere in the world that teaches it. But we do!

If it is your wish to learn this fascinating, versatile profession; if you wish to apply your thinking and your personality to making meetings better, then get in touch.

We hold regular training courses for aspiring meeting designers, at three different levels.

We are part of the MEMMA, the Middle East Meeting Masters Academy. Give us a call to hear more.

Excitement, glimpses of…

"A meeting which has no impact in the real world is money wasted."

Mike Van der Vijver & Eric de Groot

Friends

Friendship guides MindMeeting in the way we work. It is our core value. This is how the company started: 
Mike and Eric had been best friends since high school. In 2003, almost thirty years later, they went to see the notary. ’We want this company to be registered for the purpose of improving the friendship between us as founding fathers’ ‘That is legally not allowed,’ said the notary. Foolish man – little did he know… MindMeeting proved the catalyse for many moments of friendship. Between Eric and Mike and – later – together with other friends. Like these: 

Antonello

The man who can hear music from reading scores – not just a melody, but entire symphonies. Antonello is the friend who can turn abstract ideas into musical experiences. His roots in the unique city of Naples in Italy drink feed on centuries of musical heritage.

David

David, our friend in Barcelona. Living twice as fast as most of us, he has re-invented 'enthusiasm' and practices human-to-human connections (H2H) in business. He runs the CoCoA Network. Click to go to the CoCoa Network website.

Eric

One of the very first meeting designers. Well, probably others created meeting programs, as well, when he started, back in 1992. But in those days nobody else called it Meeting Design. He feels an instant friendship for anyone caring about meetings.

Han

Our first friend in the Far East who embraced Meeting Design. The friendship deepened and now we run Orange Gibbon together, our joint venture in Taiwan. Han also runs her company ACC. It provides conference services.

Jan-Jaap

A moderator who understands the importance of the design of a meeting. We share the insight that design and moderation are two sides of the same coin. What a relief – now we can be friends. Jan-Jaap runs Masters in Moderation.

Mike

Biologist, interpreter, father, interculturalist, traveler, moderator and facilitator, adapter, and above all: meeting designer. Friendship is always a leading principle in the designs he produces. If it isn’t with his client, then it is with the participants.

Norma & José

Two of the kindest people you will ever meet. Based in Quito, Ecuador, they run MeetYourWay. Our partner in LATAM, but moreover: friends!

Pairry

Our other partner in Orange Gibbon Ltd. in Taipei. Quick thinker, always optimistic, loads of energy and exactly what a true friend is: 24/7 supportive. Her son Darren (born in 2018), along with Mike’s grandson Rafi are our Orange Gibbon benchmarks for the future: the designs of our meetings should always improve their future somehow.

Order our books

Into the Heart of Meetings ​

Released in 2013, still extremely relevant. Guides the reader into a deeper understanding of the essence of meetings, what designing them means and what to do with design challenges in the day-to-day practice.

Meetings, by Default or by Design​

Just released! A workbook with 100+ upgrades and enhancements for all those who desire better meetings & events. Applied knowledge from years of experience and best practice examples. A must have.

Both books in one go!

Into the Heart of Meetings (2013) + Meetings by Default or by Design (2023). The basic principles and 100+ advices all in one package. Plus a discount because you are so hungry! For those of you who want to deep dive and support.