Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Hotel Reservation and Check-in List - Opening Keynote
Jeff Davidson's Hotel Reservation and Check-in List * Corporate, weekend, AAA, USAA, or AARP rate? * Express check-in? * Express check-out? * Early check-in, late check-out? * Non-smoking room and floor? * Room located on 3rd to 6th floor? * Green (environmentally best) room? * Humidifier? * Room without adjoining door to another guest room? * Room recently renovated, refurbished? * Away from noisy street, loading dock, ice machine, elevator, or other sources of disruption? * Away from health club, meeting rooms, or other function rooms?
* Personal toiletries? * Hair dryer? * Room on executive/concierge level? * Room on a low floor? * Firm mattress, king-size bed? * In-room coffee maker?
* Ironing board? * Free newspaper – Wall Street Journal? USA Today? Metro paper? * Complimentary breakfast, hours? * Happy hour? * Frequent flyer affiliations? * Shuttle service to and from airport?
* Phone charges for calls from room? 800 calls? * Pool, gym, room service? * Cost? * Hours? * Did my package arrive? * Hotel safe for valuables? (thieves know your room) Labels: amenities, check-in, guest, hotel, reservations, rooms, services
Monday, May 13, 2013
Questions to Gain Understanding - Opening Keynote
Trainer and mentor Don Thoren, CPAE, writes: "Has someone said something and you weren’t sure what to say back? Seconds tick by and your mind screams, 'What do I say now?!' or 'Why did I say that?!'" "My wife, Kathleen, taught me to say, with curiousity, 'Isn't that interesting' and then...STOP TALKING. The beauty of this neutral comment is that it turns the conversation back to the other person and... * Gives you a chance to think * Gives you an immediate response, but you haven't really said anything or expressed an opinion yet. * Gives you a chance to change the way you are listening from a JUDGE OF what was said to an INVESTIGATOR INTO what they meant."
Don says "It's best to ask questions to gain understanding when you are not sure how to respond. However, avoid the 'why' question, as it is often received as argumentative. Now, you have your best chance of feeling comfortable with what you say back." Labels: conversation, investigate, judge, response, think, Thoren, understand
Monday, May 06, 2013
Speakers Who are Accessible - Opening Keynote
There might be some mystery and allure surrounding the speaker who doesn't interact with audience members prior to the speech. Increasingly, however, attendees want to see the speaker as a fellow professional, certified member of the human race, and someone who is accessible.
Are your speakers willing to meet with audience members prior to their actual presentation? If they'll be attending your conference or convention, are they willing to rub elbows with members or staff in the hallways, at other meeting events, just prior to going on stage, and afterwards, if time permits?
The functionally competent, oratorically stirring speaker who is aloof to your audience before and after presenting does not win over hearts and minds in the way that the fully engaging, personable, and accessible speaker does. Ask about this consideration when you're in the negotiation stage. You may be surprised as to the answers you receive. Labels: accessible, audience, conference, convention, functions, impression, speakers
Monday, April 29, 2013
Create an Effective Planning List - Opening Keynote
To-do lists are often the most critical component to planning. They
keep meeting planners on track by serving as a constant reminder of what
needs to be done and when it needs to be completed. Whether they’re on
paper or on the screen of a phone, to-do lists, quite simply, keep you
organized. Labels: lists, on track, organize, planning, to-do
Monday, April 22, 2013
You Can Learn at Any Age - Opening Keynote
Matthew Blakeslee writing for Discover says, "If old dogs haven’t been able to learn new tricks, maybe that’s because no one has known how to teach them properly. Until quite recently orthodox neuroscience held that only the brains of young children are resilient, malleable, and morphable—in a word, plastic." "This neuroplasticity, as it is called, seems to fade steadily as the brain congeals into its fixed adult configuration. Infants can sustain massive brain damage, up to the loss of an entire cerebral hemisphere, and still develop into nearly normal adults; any adult who loses half the brain, by contrast, is a goner. Adults can’t learn to speak new languages without an accent, can’t take up piano in their fifties then go on to play Carnegie Hall, and often suffer strokes that lead to permanent paralysis or cognitive deficiencies. The mature brain, scientists concluded, can only decline." "It turns out this theory is not just wrong, it is spectacularly wrong. Two new books, Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain (Ballantine Books, $24.95) by science journalist Sharon Begley and The Brain That Changes Itself (Viking, $24.95) by psychiatrist Norman Doidge, offer masterfully guided tours through the burgeoning field of neuroplasticity research. Each has its own style and emphasis; both are excellent." Labels: books, learning, neuroplasticity, new information, study, teaching
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
The "Certified Meeting Professional" - Opening Keynote
The Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) credential was developed to increase the professionalism of meeting professionals in any component or sector of the industry. The Professional Convention Management Association offers comprehensive information on the topic. Labels: associations, convention, credentials, professionalism, speakers
Saturday, April 06, 2013
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