Into the Heart of Meetings

Basic principles of meeting design

300+ pages | English edition
Eric de Groot & Mike van der Vijver

“The title of this book is no coincidence. We believe that meetings can only
be successful when looking at the meeting process and the participants holistically. The meeting is a temporary ecosystem in which everything hangs together. Consequently, in order to be effective, the programme must be an experience that goes beyond the mere logical and cerebral. It has to connect with participants at a deeper level so that they connect at a deeper level. We call this Meetings With Heart and Soul.”

Into the Heart of Meetings is a book about the essential processes that take place during meetings and how to influence these processes through Meeting Design in order to obtain the best outcomes. Into the Heart of Meetings is the first book ever about Meeting Design, a new profession that has taken shape over the past 10 years but that is still far from mature.This book offers you our latest insights and experiences about meetings as a form of communications.

It introduces the main principles that underlie the profession, as well as the main practical issues that Meeting Designers face and need to solve. As a result, Into the Heart of Meetings is both an explorative study and a textbook. Its enormous number of practical cases puts the content in day-to-day working practice.

Into the Heart of Meetings was our first book, published in 2013. Our next book is coming soon. If you want to be informed about our publications, please click here.

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Book Reviews
 
Endorsements

Voor opdrachtgevers is het leven een stuk gemakkelijker geworden. Bij de selectie van een organisator van hun bijeenkomst hoeven ze voortaan nog maar één vraag te stellen: heb je ‘Into the heart of meetings’ gelezen? Dit fantastische boek van Eric de Groot en Mike van der Vijver is verplichte kost voor iedereen die professioneel bezig is met evenementen.

The book combines a theoretical framework with a great many examples and practical tools. As a result, it is not only useful for professionals in the Meetings Industry, but also for managers and consultants who use meetings as a means to achieve their goals.

Sceptical and psychological, provocative yet inspiring, this book is going to change the way we design and think about meetings.

The authors’ views on meetings that have strategic importance for organisations are fresh and unconventional.

Don’t even try to integrate the learnings of this book in your classical marketing system – but apply the essence of it if you have strategic projects you want to generate a strong outcome. I personally applied “Meetings into the Heart” together with Eric de Groot in a experimental meeting – and the outcome was highly emotional and effective. This will be the new way to enhance emotionally “transformation management”.

For people who think they’re in a hurry: should you read this book? Well, if you are in any way involved in the planning and organizing of meetings, absolutely! In fact, it should be compulsory reading for everyone involved in the meeting industry – not just meeting designers. I know of no other book that so clearly describes the meeting design process and the importance of ensuring that content, environment and logistics are each contributing to the successful outcome of the meeting. Whatever your role, you will learn from this book.

With numerous real-world case studies, practical ideas, and thoughtful suggestions, Into the Heart of Meetings can help us design successful meeting experiences—and, arguably, help ensure desired outcomes for our courses and learners.

I’ve read your entire book on the flight back to the USA, after working with you in Kopenhagen, and I loved it …

Into the heart of meetings è un libro, freschissimo di stampa, interessante e molto utile per chi vuol capire il meccanismo del successo e dell’efficacia dei meeting.

Great job! It reads very fluently and there’s some really interesting, thought-provoking content. The format is very appealing too; it’s a very well ‘designed’ book.

‘Into the heart of meetings’, goes to the heart of meetings, and it also touches on something else: Meetings not only need to have a heart, but also a soul. That is what resonates in the many examples given by Mike and Eric in their book. I shall certainly design and experience meetings differently from now on.

Ik ben begonnen in jullie boek en ik vind het echt geweldig. Heel inspirerend en ook grappig met die kritische noot aan het einde. Voor mij is het heel waardevol omdat er ook veel praktische voorbeelden in staan waarin heel duidelijk gemaakt wordt wat met de theorie bedoeld wordt.