Your “Welcome” mat may be a visual cliché. You may think it’s de rigueur — but is it really making your audience feel welcomed?
We’ve reached a point where merely saying or writing “welcome” doesn’t even mean anything. It’s too generic to be useful or inviting.
That’s why you don’t see many websites with a welcome page anymore. A welcome page gets in the way of the content.
Why not skip the “Welcome” session at the beginning of your event, too? After all, they don’t mean much.
Think about it for a sec. If people have assembled for an event, your signage tells them the name of the show. Your brochures let them know what’s going on, where. Your event app keeps them aware of any late breaking changes in the schedule or speaker line-up.
Why welcome?
Might it be more welcoming to jump right in? How many “Welcome” sessions have you already skipped this year because you know that nothing important ever gets communicated in the opening session titled “Welcome”?
What else might you say or do other than a traditional welcome? What might be more welcoming than a welcome?