Our association uses roundtable discussions, to mixed reviews. The bottom line is always money: holding a live event in an attractive location while providing nourishment, paying huge AV and meeting space fees, etc. etc. mean that the challenge is to find engaging, informed, and skillful facilitators for such discussions is sometimes hard to overcome.

Why do we keep offering these roundtables?

Because whenever a roundtable discussion results in people extending their conversation into the break, a meal, or at the bar later that evening — whenever they result in someone getting to know someone they would not have met before they sat at the same table and wrestled (or not) with the same topic — then the roundtable, for all its weaknesses, was a success in engaging people and encouraging networking.

Because networking is consistently the number one reason our members say they want to attend in the first place.