The List: Your Accessible Meeting Checklist

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Is your meeting accessible? Here’s what to consider

There are a lot of boxes to check when you’re trying to make a fully accessible meeting. We’ve gotten pretty good at ensuring venues are ADA accessible and that events offer sign-language interpreters and audio transcripts—but we can do even better! Below, you’ll find some of the most common things attendees are asking for now, with further resources to boot.

Insight into Neuroinclusion

To create an event that is truly neuroinclusive—that is, understanding that neurodiversity exists in many forms and always will—check out The Neu Project. A subdivision of The Google Experience Institute, The Neu Project works to amplify neurodiverse voices and offer practical steps to make events more inclusive. Their guidebook, “An Event Professional’s Guide to Neuroinclusion,” is available on their website, theneuproject.com.

Read More: Neuroinclusion: Events for Everyone

Creating Calm

With so much going on at an event, it’s easy for attendees to feel overwhelmed. Quiet rooms have been an increasingly popular remedy, and these days, most attendees expect that an event will offer one. EventWell (eventwell.org) has mastered the art of creating a calming, rejuvenating quiet room for a range of events as well as workplaces, and offers training for planners who want to learn more about how they can create events that prioritize mental wellbeing.

More Banquet for Your Buck

When you’re putting together a banquet menu for a large group, chances are, you’ll have attendees with dietary restrictions in many combinations. Conquer this challenge by utilizing AI; when your attendees fill in their dietary restrictions in a pre-event survey, plug the results into an AI model of your choice, such as ChatGPT, and prompt it to create a spreadsheet that shows you exactly how many plates you’ll need for any and all restrictions your attendees report.

Master Non-Alcoholic Menus

As ever-increasing numbers of attendees ask for non-alcoholic options at events, they’ll be pleased when you work with your venue or catering provider to put together a list of delicious mocktail options alongside water and soft drinks. If you include a themed cocktail for your event, make sure there’s a virgin version available. The Zero Proof offers alcohol-free versions of spirits, wines and more, saving the need to drastically alter recipes and preserving the perfect flavor.

Read More: Essential F&B: Can Crafted

Talk About it!

Prior to the event, either in a pre-event survey or in a welcome session, provide a brief overview of the accommodations that are available and how attendees can take advantage of them. Not only does this communicate essential information to attendees who need it; it also demonstrates how important accessibility is, and can result in more satisfied attendees and inspire other event organizers to do the same. Lead by example!