The Event Planner’s Guide To Guest Speaking

So, you want to be a guest speaker, do you? Believe it or not, as an event management professional, you’re actually uniquely suited to guest speaking (assuming you’ve knowledge of what you’re presenting on).  This is because, over the course of your career, you’ve gained a unique insight into what’s involved in the creation of a good keynote. You’ve also dealt with your fair share of speakers. Your working relationship with them has been distilled down to a science; you know exactly what to do in order to keep them happy and ensure they give the best presentation possible. This […]

Here Are the Six Signs of a Bad Event Manager

Event management isn’t a career for everyone. It’s a high-stress, fast-paced job that demands quick thinking, terrific organizational skills and a Zen-like sense of calm that would make a shaolin monk envious. While there are plenty of individuals who are capable of thriving at this profession, there are many more likely to crash and burn the moment their plate gets a little too full. Naturally, if you’re hiring an event manager for your staff, you want to avoid picking anyone from the crash and burn category, having the wrong management staff is a surefire recipe for disaster. Here are a […]

What To Do When an Event Partner Bails

It’s something no event management professional wants to deal with: a key partner or guest speaker has bailed out on your conference with little to no warning. You’re left high and dry, desperately seeking out a replacement (or, failing that, going into full damage-control mode.) While most veteran event planners have likely dealt with unreliable guests, an incident like this could easily seem insurmountable to a less-experienced planner. So what’s a good show-runner to do about a flake? Don’t Panic The first, most important rule is not to let this get to you. Admittedly, it’s next to impossible to address […]

Novices’ Guide to Event Management: Part Three

Hey there, folks! We are moving on to part three of our novices’ guide to event management. So far, we’ve covered what an event management portfolio should include and how to organize it so you’re putting your best foot forward. Today, we’re moving on and looking at how to use that portfolio to break into the event management industry. The goal: landing yourself a sweet gig as an event planner. First, you do need to decide whether you want to be an independent event planner or join an already-established organization as their resident event manager. If you’re going to jump […]

Cost-Cutting Techniques for a Tight Event Budget

Budgeting is probably the most difficult task for every event management professional – particularly if you find yourself coming up short. If tight, it can be incredibly tempting to cut corners, but that’s not an advisable course of action. Skimping on features is a surefire way to ruin an event, and it’s not the way to solve your event budget constraints. So…how can you save money? Get creative, there’s ways to cut down on an event’s overhead without causing quality to suffer too much. Here are a few cost-saving event management techniques that won’t completely water-down your event in the […]

Three Potential Event Disasters To Plan For

With so many details associated with planning an event, it is possible to overlook the fact that some sort of disaster may occur. While disaster may be unlikely, you must be prepared for the unforeseen. Some things are out of anyone’s control, but it’s your responsibility to have an action plan. Below are three potential (and somewhat common) event disasters you should plan for: 1. Medical emergency. The more people you have at your event the higher the likelihood you will face some sort of medical emergency. Aside from choosing a safe facility and not engaging guests in dangerous activities, […]

How to Tell if an Event Venue is Bad News

As any event planner knows, choosing the venue in which an event is hosted may well be the most vital step in the planning process. After all, your chosen venue impacts everything about your event save for the content: how many people can attend, what sort of amenities you can host, and even the general mood of your conference. Now, there’s a good chance you’ve already got the sort of venue you’re going to need for your event clear in your mind. That’s good, because that isn’t going to be our focus today. We’re not going to work out how […]

Novices’ Guide to Event Management: Part Two

Last week, we took a look at the components every novice event management professional should focus on to help build a strong portfolio. Today, we’re going to take a quick look at how you should format a business portfolio, fitting those component pieces together to best catch the eye of prospective clients. More importantly, we look at the language and presentation of your portfolio that will best ensure perspective clients hire you.  Not surprisingly, presentation plays a huge role in every aspect of an event professionals’ career. Putting together your event management portfolio for the first time can be an […]

Easy Steps to “Mapping” the Perfect Conference Layout

There’s a very good reason so many event planners tend to become control freaks. The amount of organization necessary to keep an event running on track makes such traits more or less necessary. If you’re an event planner, there’s a good chance you obsess over just about everything from keynote content to transportation needs to budget constraints right down to your event’s layout. That last one’s pretty important, by the way. “Mapping” of your conference layout design has a significant impact on how attendees will experience the event – and how much they’ll enjoy it. Now, most modern event planning […]

Event Planning: Top Five Tasks to Delegate

When it comes to the event planning process, it is easy to shutdown due to “brain overload.” In other words, there is so much on your plate that you don’t know what to do now, what to do later, and what to skip over altogether. If you are the micromanager type, this is not the time to remain stuck in your ways. Instead, it’s time to delegate some of your tasks to others. It may be difficult to relinquish control, but remember this: you are still running the show, but you’re just not doing everything on your own. Here are […]

The Importance of Attendee Satisfaction Surveys

No matter how skilled you become at your job, you should never stop looking to improve. To disregard the idea of self-improvement is the ultimate expression of laziness and apathy. Those men and women who are truly successful at their jobs never stop trying to find new ways to better themselves. No, I’m not practicing for a career as a self-improvement huckster. I’m just offering a bit of valuable advice which every event planner should take note of. No matter how perfect an event seems to have been, there’s always something you could have done better, always a mistake you […]

Incorporating Bar Science Principles into Event Planning

The other day, I happened to catch a few episodes of the Spike Network’s Bar Rescue. For those of you who aren’t much into the network, Bar Rescue is a reality TV series (bear with me here) hosted by Jon Taffer, president of the Nightclub and Bar Media Group and self-proclaimed Bar Science expert. The show centers on Taffer’s efforts to bring ailing bars back from the brink of failure; a process which often results in him butting heads with owners, managers, and employees, many of whom are completely unaware of their own incompetence. Much of the entertainment value, as […]

Lessons from Reviewing Past Events: Top 5 Findings

Are you in charge of planning events for your company? Like anything, your first go around may be a bit rough. After all, you don’t know the ins and outs and for this reason it is common to make mistakes along the way. Fortunately, the more events you plan the more experience you will gain. From there, it is much easier to learn from the past to ensure greater success in the future. Here are five things you can learn by reviewing past events: 1. What went right? Even if you made mistakes in the past, it is safe to […]

5 Tips for Organizing an Event on a Tight Deadline

Organizing an event on a tight deadline may feel overwhelming, but it’s entirely possible with the right strategies. Whether it’s a corporate meeting, a wedding, or a community fundraiser, tight timelines demand focus, quick decisions, and teamwork.

Follow these five expert tips to make organizing an event on a tight deadline a success

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Novices’ Guide to Event Management: Part One

So…are you just starting out as an event planner? If there’s one thing more daunting than the profession itself, it’s being a novice in the profession. Nobody knows who you are – or particularly cares. You’re competing with big names; men, women and organizations with more connections, better reputations, and more clients than you could ever dream of. And what do you have? You may become the greatest event planner, but you don’t have any sort of portfolio to show for it. Without one, you’re going to find landing clients a herculean task. What’s a rookie management professional to do? […]

Novices’ Guide to Event Management: Part Four

So, you’ve gotten some experience in event management, and you’ve decided that working exclusively for one company really isn’t for you. You want to run your own event management firm, be your own boss, and run events on your own terms. Today’s installment of The Novice’s Guide To Event Management looks at what’s involved when establishing your own event planning company.  For our purposes, we’re going to assume you’ve already got the necessary experience as an event manager and it’s not totally crazy to take the plunge on your own. Of course experience isn’t all you need, there’s a bit […]

The Top 8 Event Planning Trends

A new year is upon us. Everybody’s putting together New Years’ Resolutions (which they’ll probably break after a month or so), all the while looking forward to new beginnings. With 2013 still fresh in our minds, it seems like the ideal time to have a look back. By examining the chief event planning trends from 2013, we can formulate a good idea of what to expect in 2014.

How will the life of an event manager change as we move into the New Year? What sort of new technology, skills, and challenges might one face in the profession? Most importantly, how can we best turn this to our advantage?

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Bad Weather Event Planning: Essential Steps for Event Organizers

When it comes to event planning, anticipating bad weather can be one of the most crucial steps you take to safeguard your event. Bad weather event planning isn’t just a backup idea—it’s an essential part of ensuring your event runs smoothly no matter what. Without the right preparation, a sudden downpour or an unexpected snowstorm can derail your event, leaving attendees frustrated and your team scrambling. Here’s how you can ensure your event is prepared for any weather conditions by addressing five key areas. 1. Can Your Event Be Rescheduled? Start your bad weather event planning by assessing whether your […]

Venue Booking: More than Just About Money

Are you in the process of booking a venue for your next event? As you compare your options there should be several key questions rolling through your head. Like many, the first factor you are likely to focus on is money. While you need to secure a venue that fits your budget, if you don’t consider other details you may find yourself making a poor decision. Here are four key factors, other than cost, to consider. Size There are venues of all sizes, ranging from small hotel conference rooms to large convention centers. Obviously, the more square footage a venue […]

Budget-Saving Tips for your Next Event

As an event management professional, one of your jobs involves juggling your event budget with the needs of your client. Unfortunately, running an event isn’t cheap, and a lot of clients will be looking to cut corners and save money wherever possible. Your clients might not necessarily understand what goes into getting an event up and running, and often end up trying to trim the fat from inadvisable components of your event, such as security costs, guest speaker budgeting, or equipment. Your job is to ensure that this doesn’t happen. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with trying to save money. […]