Sharing life-changing moments to bond meeting attendees
How do you get meeting attendees to true understanding and deeper connections with their colleagues? Mariana Miranda, executive producer at Dear World, gave Smart Meetings an insight into the company’s creative approach of using “brain tattoos” to fast-track connection and empathy at meetings and events in a powerful way.
Q: How did you get involved in Dear World?
A: I studied learning development through my master’s degree in neuroscience, to understand how people retain things. I stumbled upon the Dear World website and started learning about storytelling. This is how cultures learn. This is the way you pass on information from generation to generation. And I just fell in love with the mission of the organization.
Q: The idea of Dear World started from asking people in New Orleans about their city and evolved into a bigger picture of storytelling. How did that develop?
A: Our founder, Robert X. Fogarty, was going around New Orleans and asking people what they loved about their city. A woman came with her husband and asked, “Can you photograph my husband?” And Fogarty said, “Absolutely—what does he love about New Orleans?” She opened her husband’s shirt, and on his chest, he had written “cancer free.” So, over the years, we started to realize that everybody wanted to tell their story.
Read More: Lessons from an Immersive New Orleans Experience
Q: Where did the concept of “brain tattoo” come from?
A: Everybody has a story worth telling, no matter how big or how small. A “brain tattoo” is specific to your brain and the memories that you hold. What we realize is that in sharing stories and going through our “brain tattoo” methodology, you can uncover memories and stories that you might not be able to without this method. Not through “what I learned in life”—no. What is a specific moment in time that changed my life and how I view or perceive things?
Q: How do “brain tattoos” connect attendees in the meetings and events industry?
A: The notion of active listening is kind of lost in this world. We are bombarded by a million different things. With the “brain tattoo” method, you can’t help but be engaged. Leaders are seeing the power of connecting to their people by sharing pieces of themselves. The method provides a platform to achieve that in an authentic way. What I have heard from meeting planners is that it’s the fastest way to break down barriers in an organization, but in a way that feels completely natural.
Read More: How to Encourage All Personality Types to Open Up
With the ‘brain tattoo’ method, you can’t help but be engaged. Leaders are seeing the power of connecting to their people by sharing pieces of themselves.
Q: In what ways do “brain tattoos” aid in the goal of inclusivity at meetings and events?
A: I would say diversity and inclusion is a huge piece of why [meeting professionals] bring in “brain tattoos,” because it really does provide that platform and opportunity for people to be inclusive of each other’s experiences, backgrounds and stories in a way that they couldn’t otherwise. I also think there’s an aspect of mental health awareness, because some of the stories that are shared are really heavy. There are two big themes—diversity and inclusion, and mental health.
This article appears in the July/August 2024 issue. You can subscribe to the magazine here.
