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You have likely heard the buzz about using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate content for departments like marketing. And there is a good chance that your organization has added line items to the operating budget for AI. This is becoming more common as a growing number of companies recognize the technology’s value for their business.

In fact:

  • Nearly 50% of top technology officers across the economy, encompassing both chief information security officers and chief technology officers, say that artificial intelligence is their number one budget item over the next year.
  • AI budgets are more than double the second-biggest spending area in tech.
  • Nearly two-thirds of top technology executives say their AI investments are accelerating.

Source: (1)

Did you know that you can use AI to produce content for offsite meetings, as well? You can do so in several different ways, and at different stages, from building an agenda to giving presentations and speeches.

AI tools generate responses based on prompts from the person using them. The clearer, more specific, and more detailed the information you give AI, the more accurate and better the responses it will produce.

As with any other form of technology, there are both pros and cons to using AI for meeting content. Below are several ways to leverage AI for offsite meeting content, along with the benefits and drawbacks of each.

BUILDING THE AGENDA

Given the nature of offsite meetings, building an agenda for the often multiple-day events is time consuming and complicated. You must provide just enough information without giving away too many details. Striking this balance is key to keeping attendees engaged.

AI software can build a solid agenda for you.

Pros

AI technology can analyze notes and other data from previous offsite meetings to establish the criteria, such as an outline, for the creation of agendas for upcoming meetings. It can even suggest topics that your team may not have thought of on your own.  AI can do this by scanning through chat boards, project management systems, feedback, or other data and looking for connections that a human might miss.

Historic information is not the only type that AI software can use as a resource when developing an agenda. It can also take cues from the people attending, as well as the title of the meeting and any sessions.

If you need to include talking points in the agenda, AI can come up with those, too.

Cons

Since AI relies on the prompts you give it, you will need to get specific with your prompts. Be crystal clear and make sure you include all elements of the meeting when feeding the tool the information. This is easier said than done, and if you fall short, you might end up with an agenda that is rife with errors, unrelated information, or maybe inaccurate.

Since AI as a technology is still relatively new, it definitely has weaknesses. While you can use it to get a great meeting outline, carefully reviewing the details it comes up with is imperative. Do not assume that all the information on the agenda is well organized or factually correct. There is a good possibility that you will need to make adjustments.

PRO TIPS:

  • Specify your attendee audience and the goals of your meeting. Doing this helps the AI tool refine its answer(s).
  • If using an Open Source or public tool such as Bard or ChatGPT, remember that what you feed in will become part of public domain. In other words, don’t share any proprietary or confidential information.
  • Define how much time you want to allocate to each agenda item. Consider incorporating AI tools that help develop agendas based on priority, complexity, productivity, and other elements that are important to your meeting’s goals.

CREATING PRESENTATIONS

The offsite meeting presentation is historically a time consuming and laborious task.  Thanks to AI, the bulk of presentation creation can now be done through automation in many cases. AI can not only gather and write content for presentations, but it can also design visual content. In fact, some tools can build out and format entire presentations from beginning to end.

Pros

Offsite meetings often only have a few days to accomplish multiple, high-priority tasks.  Therefore, presentations must be well-done and meaningful to the audience.  Imagine all the time you can save by tasking AI with putting them together. AI might even be able to find sources of information, citations, and relevant examples that you might have missed, since the technology has access to a wealth of online information.

Cons

AI design tools are still young and some AI programs have been known to design some pretty odd, and even scary, looking images. While free or low cost may seem attractive, the best bet is to invest in AI design tools specifically made for presentations or image design which includes a use license.  These premium (paid) tools excel at using your presentation’s talking points to create compelling visuals.  Even then, it’s important to review designs and graphics for the little details.  Often AI designs can be best for inspiration and then you create your own, which is still better than starting from scratch.

Additionally, AI technology, by default, tends to produce wordy copy so you will need to instruct it to keep the wording simple and short. In most cases, you will find that you’ll likely end up editing AI generated content to keep it concise and to-the-point.

PRO TIPS:

  • Brainstorm and conduct research with AI. But be sure to check everything for accuracy and relevancy.
  • Use AI tools that streamline lengthy text into shorter, more pithy slides.
  • Consider using AI to convert your presentation into an easy quiz to test for memory recall.

WRITING KEYNOTE SPEECHES

Many people find public speaking intimidating, whether they have to do it at a large company event or a more intimate corporate meeting. From writing the speech to delivering it, making a keynote speech can be nerve wracking, to say the least. Fortunately, AI software can help make the writing part easier.

Pros

You are limited only by your imagination when it comes to writing keynote speeches with AI. It can compose the outline, headline, and the full text of the speech from beginning to end. AI software can also organize the talking points of your speech to ensure that the order makes sense and has smooth transitions.

Some AI tools proofread written content to eliminate any misspellings, grammatical errors, or sentence structure mistakes. Readability tools check the content to see whether the clarity or flow needs improvement. This is important, because if meeting attendees cannot understand what you are trying to say with your speech, it might be ineffective. Think about what a confidence booster it is to know that your speech is free of errors and sounds great, too.

There is even AI software that will give you feedback on how you deliver your speech! You can practice and perfect the delivery of it leading up to the meeting. This is done by recording your speech using the software. AI analyzes factors like how much eye contact you make, your body language and gestures, how many pauses you take and the tone of your voice. Based on these factors, the tool lets you know if there are any improvements you should make and how to make them.

Cons

While AI is amazing in many ways, it lacks human connection and personality. These tools are great for laying the foundation of your keynote speech, but you must take responsibility for giving it the human touch. AI software is not a replacement for the public speaking skills that will capture and keep the interest of your audience. A speech that is written solely by AI can easily come off as robotic and flat.

PRO TIPS:

  • Define the purpose of the speech. Is it to inform, persuade, entertain, educate/teach?  Helping AI to understand the intent behind your speech can give context to what it needs to create as well as evaluate.
  • What is the style? Business?  Casual?  Formal? Sometimes it can be helpful to let AI know a similar style.  For example, “Help me create a keynote speech in a style that’s similar to Steve Jobs.”
  • Clarify the desired reactions when you’re looking for AI to provide feedback. For example, you’re opening with a funny story that you hope will result in laughter.  Or you’re sharing a bleak statistic followed by tremendous change that needs responses like “wow” or “amazing.”

A VALUABLE MEETING CONTENT TOOL WHEN USED PROPERLY

AI offers enormous value for the creation of offsite meeting agendas, presentations, and keynote speeches. When you keep in mind its limitations, while maximizing its benefits, AI software has great potential for helping drive the success of the offsite meetings your organization hosts.  However, AI isn’t a replacement for human beings.  The most effective presentations and impactful meetings are those where people are involved and interacting with one another.

 

Looking for a polished meeting planner who can leverage the latest and greatest tools to set up your next corporate meeting or event? Contact Gavel International for more information.

 

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SOURCE(S):

1 https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/23/the-ai-spending-boom-is-spreading-far-beyond-big-tech-companies.html

Jeff Richards
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