William Thomson, founder of Gallus Events and Practically Perfect PA, tells AMI Editor James Lancaster why he thinks the future of meetings is virtual and why organisers should have more faith in delegates.
1:35 We got carried away with all the money that was going into event technology.
4:30 (But) virtual will play an incredibly important role through this decade.
9:07 There's still a big role for innovation and doing things differently.
11:47 Hybrid isn't the answer to any of the big problems facing meeting planners.
19:09 So many people were so bad at doing virtual that they're not going back.
25:00 We would miss something as a species if we didn't meet, but we've got to completely redesign our events so they're much more sustainable.
27:18 Look at the content you want to cover and if it's only going to take two days just run it for two days, not three days because that's what you did last year.
30:30 There are lots of histories of people who have marched into extinction. The difference now is we know what we're doing.
35:20 We ran a meat-free conference for two days and not only did no one criticise. No one noticed.
Written By
James Lancaster
AMI editor James
Lancaster is a familiar face in the meetings industry and international
association community. Since joining AMI in 2010, he has gained a reputation
for asking difficult questions and getting lost in convention centres. Proofer, podcaster, and panellist - in his spare time, James likes to walk,
read, listen to music, and drink beer.
