Inspiration Hub

Planners have a thousand details to consider when organizing a private event. So how can they keep the vision aligned?

A webinar by Skyline Exhibits aimed to answer that, hosted by Sofia Troutman, senior digital marketing and product innovation manager, and Jon Althoff, senior director of global marketing. The industry experts described how to keep the process focused, as well as some underestimated details that will help ensure your event’s success.

Finding speakers is vital for any conferences, as well as conferences,  are essential for interacting with people within your profession. With the increasing number of congresses, you would think it is easy to find a great speaker. There are thousands of speakers, but most of them do not have what it takes to appeal to the audience. The success of an event relies on engaging the audience through effective keynote speeches. The last thing you want is someone who will stand on the podium and talk throughout the session.

Whether you’re wondering how to fund a fantastic new conference or expand an existing one, a crowdfunding campaign could be your non-traditional route to event growth.

Would you like to be seen as an event professional whose opinion is valued and can have a permanent seat at the table where strategic decisions are made? Howard Givner, founder of Event Leadership Institute, shared the secrets to attaining trusted advisor status in an exclusive interview with Smart Meetings.

Most of the people I work with across the meetings and events industry know that I’m a huge fan of investing the time to develop deeper relationships. For instance, I always encourage suppliers to evolve from a transactional relationship with clients into the role of trusted advisor whenever possible. And while it’s unrealistic to become a trusted advisor for every client, I urge people to put in the extra effort in any instance where it seems the relationship can be elevated and maintained over time, and they’ll certainly reap benefits from that.

It was April 2005 when the thought first struck me. I was in Hall 8 of Messe Frankfurt, walking down one of the aisles of IMEX—the international trade show I was working for at the time. It was 3 p.m. and the noise was incredible; everywhere I looked people were interacting: discussing, debating, gesticulating, negotiating, smiling, sharing, influencing and convincing and it was then, as I surveyed this sea of human connectivity, that I realized what powered the most successful global business events.

Organising events is a stressful job — and you can’t do it alone. But growing your team can also be stressful, especially when you’ve already got a million things on your plate, and you need to interview candidates.

So what’s the key to making the hiring process as efficient and quick as possible? Start with a go-to list of interview questions that will make it easy to find your next team member. 

More and more people are engaging in - and even seeking out - remote work. It’s a trend that doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. 

But even though working from home has its advantages (for both employers and employees), it also comes with its own disadvantages. For example, if you do have one or more offices where a number of employees work, it can be easy for your remote employees to feel left out. 

Some 14,000 event professionals walked into Sands Expo this week to talk about advances in hotels, destinations and event services, and then an imaginative career development program broke out.

The theme for the ninth annual IMEX America, which ran Sept. 9–12 in Las Vegas, was the Power of Imagination. IMEX paired the hosted buyer appointments with Smart Monday powered by MPI sessions (900 people strong) and She Means Business content to add value for planners who came from all over the world to share best practices.

Nothing at IMEX America quite matches the excitement and energy of participants when the trade show floor opens at Sands Expo Convention Center on Tuesday morning.

“When the doors open, the crowds rush in—and keep in mind that the booth staff are already inside,” says Carina Bauer, CEO of IMEX Group. “People don’t just stroll in; they want to get inside, to get new ideas, make new contacts and learn about new venues, sources and suppliers. They are keen and ready to do business, and the electric show floor atmosphere reflects the excitement that comes with people doing business and meeting both old and new friends.

IMEX America, the Super Bowl of the meetings industry, always generates excitement as professionals from around the globe gather to do business, learn and socialize. This year’s event delivered on its promise, with a Discovery Zone full of innovative ideas and a record number of participants and booths.

Corporate and association meetings often leave a positive impact across a destination that goes beyond simple financial benefit. But while most organizations do understand the impact of their events’ social-responsibility initiatives, there is another legacy component that’s often overlooked: event content.

We’re all in the meetings business. We understand how effectively meetings can increase collaboration and communication among teams and help organizations reach their business goals. But, in our efforts to plan a successful meeting, sometimes we lose sight of the “why.” Why are your attendees being asked to gather in the first place? What do they hope to get out of the event? When they return home, will they reflect positively on their time away? Can we get them to put their phones away?

Throughout your career you’ll build professional relationships with a LOT of different personality types, and some of those personalities will be very different from yours. And that’s ok! Different perspectives allow for more creative problem-solving, thoughtfulness, and innovation...but, that doesn’t mean you won’t clash with someone from time to time.

Frequently, meeting professionals have challenges linking with leadership to get their sponsorship for new programs, such as strategic meetings management. It is important to connect with them to get their buy-in for an initiative’s governance, value drivers, and outcomes.

Are you in the middle of your organization’s busy season? Conference season, perhaps? If so, you’re not alone. But even if you aren’t, chances are, that time is coming...soon!

So when that happens, how you can you stay productive and get done what you need to get done without wanting to pull your hair out? It’s all about working smarter, not harder. 

At Meeting Professionals International’s World Education Conference in June, speaker Joanne Dennison, CMP, of The Ordinary Success Project, offered an hour of advice on how to make “bad” business more valuable to host venues. The packed house of planners and suppliers heard these eight tips.

When you think of the word “team,” what is the first thing that comes to mind? Most of us automatically associate teams with some kind of organized play. And if you want to generate a sense of team spirit among a group of co-workers, games are one of the most effective ways to make it happen.

Phone interviews are a great way to connect with a candidate without the time and effort investment (on both sides!) that an in-person interview requires. If the position you’re hiring for includes time on the phone with those you serve - even better! You get to test drive the experience.

In the spirit of the theme of Meeting Professionals International’s World Education Conference 2019in Toronto, the Smart Meetings team gathered lessons from the main stage and The Village floor to share with event professionals who couldn’t attend.

Is your daily routine leaving you tired and burnt out? Do you find it hard to build up the energy to get even the smallest tasks done? Well, you’re not alone. The job of event professional is consistently rated one of the most stressful after emergency responder and surgeon—a condition that can lead to stagnation. But even the most junior meeting manager knows that nothing gets the blood flowing like crossing things off a checklist.

Inbox zero is something people love to talk about, but it remains elusive for many of us. That need not be the case any longer.

Audrey Thomas, founder of Organized Audrey, recently shared tips in an FICP webinar on how to achieve inbox cleanliness and how to maintain it. With proper use of the calendar, task feature and rule creation, you’ll be an expert at Outlook in no time.

At the annual Exhibition & Convention Executives Forum, Sam Lippman, president of Lippman Connects and producer of the event, has a tradition of starting off the conference with a five-minute summary of the top-level takeaways from the annual ECEF Pulse Survey. This year’s event on May 28 at the JW Marriott Washington, D.C., was no exception, and Lippman’s quick delivery of the survey results—five business trends for convention executives—was a fitting blast-off to the fast-paced educational day.