Meeting Support Institute

Music’s power has been both recognised and documented, certainly since the time of the Ancient Greeks. The power of face-to-face meetings, as opposed to communication by various other means - even aided by a battery of technological developments – is also widely accepted. 

The social and cultural identity of teenagers is largely intertwined with their music; music is capable of providing joy and interest right through to the grave, soothing the sick and enhancing the lives of the elderly. Why, therefore, is music not extensively used before, during and after meetings?  This paper explores the effects which music can have in context such as meetings, and in its presentation, practical demonstrations will be given, and sound examples played, from a wide variety of genres.

Did you know that games can be a terrifically effective way to build team spirit, communication and trust among people who work together day in and day out? Team-building games and activities are so stimulating and enjoyable that everyone in the department actually looks forward to them!

When Presenting More Material Results in Less Understanding

I remember attending my first MPI event. I had just joined the Kansas City Chapter as a student member and was attending the annual EduCon with one of my fellow classmates. I was nervous and excited to be attending my first “professional” event. I didn’t know what to expect. I assumed my friend and I would be viewed as outsiders since we didn’t know anyone there and we were not professionals but just students there to learn all we could about a field we were interested in pursuing.

Color is around us whole the time and it clearly effects us. And yet, color is often an afterthought, if thought of at all, in our classrooms. This is unfortunate; because people see color before they absorb
content; because every color has a unique wavelength; and because our brains respond
uniquely to different colors.

Smart instructors use every tool at their disposal, including color.

Color Your WorldBy Lenn Millbower, BM, MA, The Learnertainment® TrainerColor. The sky. The grass. The earth. The oceans. Their rich colors are a joy to behold. On a bright, sunshiny day, their colors lift us up. On a dark, stormy day, their colorssubdue us. Color clearly affects us. And yet, color is often an afterthought, if thought of at all, in our classrooms. This is unfortunate; because people see color before they absorbcontent; because every color has a unique wavelength; and because our brains respond

Brief generalizations on the book he wrote; Training with a beat: The Teaching Power of Music.

- Music establishes a positive environment

- Music aids memorization

- Music fosters creativity

- Music creates a metaphor for the task to be learned

- Music provides background ambiance

- Music assists with repeated tasks

- Music enhances reviews

- Music provides closure

- ...


Training with a BeatBy Lenn MillbowerIn Training With A Beat: The Teaching Power of Music (Stylus Publishing, 2000), Idiscussed the effective usage of music during learning events. Although a complete description of these points is not possible in this short article, here are some helpful generalizations.

At an educational session during MPI’s PEC in Houston 2008, I witnessed the use of graphical facilitation. Sue Tinnish had invited a graphical facilitator who, during the course of the session, built a large visual representation of the discussion.
On a large piece of paper, about 1m  / 3ft high and 3m / 9ft wide, the graphical facilitator was drawing, writing and creating graphs of what was presented and discussed.
At the end of the session, all participants ware invited to add some of their own visual creations and some of us did.