November 2021 – TorontoMeetings.com

Get Back! Get Back! Get Back to In-Person Training

There’s a reason why online degrees from the University of Phoenix always came with a bit of a chuckle associated with them. Online learning, albeit very dynamic, sometimes just doesn’t cut it.

The same goes for training.

It’s time to get off Zoom and begin learning in-person again.

Per the 2021 article from Student Assembly titled Benefits of In-person Learning, key elements such as a lack of distraction, social development, and hands-on learning are stated as being the utmost important advantage of in-person learning.

With a favourable vaccination policy and capacity limits now lifted in Toronto, we’re proud to announce that our training rooms are back open for business.

These training rooms, which range from 10 people all the way up to 60 include:

High Speed Wi-Fi
80″ OLED TVs
Built-in presentation equipment
Data networking connections
Flexible furniture to suit all class formats
Soundproofed walls
Adjacent break-out rooms and tandem-use offices
Full Catering Menu
Courtesy telephones
Wall to wall whiteboards
Flip Charts

With direct access to Union Station via the PATH network, Toronto Meetings location makes it easy for you and your guests to arrive at your meeting room without ever stepping outdoors.

Our extensive Catering Menu, which includes both hot and cold meals, will all be singularly packaged and individually labelled to reduce the spread of germs and mitigate the risk of contamination all while presenting delicious selections for all of your guests.

We also offer Executive Office Space for those training operators who would like to have a permanent footprint at their training facility.

Want to know more?

5 Ways you Can Elevate Hybrid Meetings

Hybrid meetings are here to stay. Instead of getting flustered by planning them – it’s time to embrace, learn and execute them flawlessly.

Here are 5 ways you can elevate your hybrid meetings.

Not everyone will be able to make it in person, and that’s OK. You need to value your “virtual attendees” just as much as your in-person ones – to get the most out of your hybrid meeting, you need to account for that. Have your presenters speak into the camera just as much as they do to your in-person attendees, and maybe plan breakout rooms to include one of virtual attendees – mixing and matching virtual and in-person attendees in breakouts is guaranteed to be less effective.
Upgrade your audio and video game – don’t leave your virtual attendees out in the cold with video from a bad webcam and laptop microphone. There’s nothing less appealing than having to sit and listen to 2 hours of audio when you can only hear every third word – don’t do that to your coworkers or clients. Similarly, grainy, low resolution video is a killer – you want your guests to be able to tell who your guest speaker is, right?
Bigger is better. If you want to include your remote participants in the meeting as active participants, your in person guests need to actually be able to see them. When given an option for screen size, you can’t go wrong with the biggest you can find – otherwise your remote participants are going to be easily (and unconsciously!) ignored little boxes.
Leave the laptops at home. Nothing kills the in-person vibe of your meeting more than having every attendee use their laptop to join in the room. All that does is make your attendees think “I could have stayed in my PJ’s for this”. It will destroy any value you get out of hosting the meeting in person.
Choose the right venue. This is the most critical factor for the success of your hybrid meeting. The right venue will come equipped with a great tech package, experienced staff who know how to run hybrid meetings, and who know how to ensure that your meeting is a success, both in-person and virtually.

Choose Toronto Meetings for your next hybrid meeting, and learn the difference our experienced team makes.

We have the equipment, the staff, and the expertise that will make your next hybrid event a total success – with our 30+ years of hosting meetings, and 15+ years of making them hybrid, your event is in good hands at Toronto Meetings.