At Disney, we value creating a culture of collaboration through high-quality conversations. By designing meetings with more emphasis on collaboration and communication, and less one-way dialogue, planners can build trust and empowerment amongst the organization. 

One way planners can facilitate a culture of collaboration is by designating smaller networking spaces for speakers to communicate with attendees as a dialogue session, rather than deliver a formal keynote presentation onstage. By sharing and learning their experiences together, speakers can create a space for trust and progress, ensuring that attendees can contribute to the collaborative communication process.

Let’s take a look at some of the collaborative communication insights that meeting planners can learn from a Disney Institute training session (this content originally appeared on the Disney Institute Talking Point blog):

Have you ever heard of a “level three” conversation? A recent article, The Chemistry of Conversations, in Convene magazine reveals that there are three major levels of conversation: 

• Level One: purely transactional—dispensing of information
• Level Two: positional, either defending a belief or attempting to influence someone
• Level Three: transformational and collaborative—involving sharing and learning together, creating a space for trust and progress

Did you know there is an important connection between level-three conversations and organizations conducting effective business meetings? Indeed, there is! The story author argues that by creating meetings with more collaboration and conversation, and less one-way dialogue, it will build trust and empowerment. 

A high-sharing culture needs to be a part of your meeting’s purpose—creating meaningful opportunities for participants to interact with each other, sharing and learning together—to influence engagement, message retention, and shared commitment to taking action.

At Disney Institute, this is an area where we are very intentional. Throughout our professional development courses, we purposefully build in time for healthy dialogue between participants about a specific learning topic, with the goal of promoting a high-sharing, collaborative culture throughout the learning experience. If you have a chance to attend one of our training courses or learning events, we hope this is a distinction you’ll notice.

Of course, this should not just apply to attending a training course, conference, or formal business meeting. Consider what you can do today to foster more “level-three” conversations among your team and within your organization. Starting with internal meetings, staff training sessions, and other gatherings, look for opportunities to build in time, perhaps in small groups or pairs, for the team to discuss their take on a new idea or process that was introduced. 

After all, emotional connections can have a significant impact on your organization’s employee engagement, and ultimately, on your customer experience as well.    

So, whether you’re planning an executive retreat, a board of directors meeting, or a conference for thousands, Disney Institute can inspire you and your attendees with key takeaways and new ways of thinking that can be adapted and applied to their own careers and organizations. To learn more about engaging Disney Institute for professional development content for your next meeting or event held at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Disneyland Resort in California and Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii, submit a Request for Proposal or Contact Us to speak directly with a Disney representative or Sign Up to stay in touch with Disney Meetings. 

Tell us – How will you create more opportunities for “level three” conversations during business meetings? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram using #DisneyMeetingsAndEventsBlog. 

We're eager to help you create the perfect meeting or private event for any size group, theme and objective. To speak with a Disney Meetings & Events representative about our pricing and options available at our Disney Parks & Resorts destinations in Florida, California, Hawaii or at our international destinations, please contact us or submit a request for proposal or sign up to stay in touch and continue learning more about Disney meetings and events.