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Meeting Industry Resources

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Arriving Well in Advance

It might be semi-comforting to retain a speaker who's very busy. After all, if many other groups are hiring this speaker, he or she must be good, right?

If the speaker doesn't arrive the night before, or at least two to three hours in advance of the presentation, watch out. Professional speakers arrive in advance, work out the room logistics, meet with the production and audio-visual personnel, walk the room, give equipment a test run, and in general make themselves thoroughly familiar with the meeting venue.

No matter how good the speaker may be, if he or she expects to get off a plane, jump into a taxi, and make it to your site with moments to spare, be on guard, for you may get a performance that is not quite up to par or doesn't fit the needs of your audience.

Four Basic Audience Needs

Since my first paid presentation in 1983, I’ve learned a great deal about what audiences need, want, and expect, which primarily boils down to four vital ingredients:
* to be informed,
* to be entertained,
* to participate in some way,
* and most of all to be inspired to take action.

Over the course of 26 years, remarkably, these four basic needs prevail.

Conference follow-up

Conference follow-up is as rigorous as anything else for a meeting planner! When the convention is over, in addition to addressing hundreds of details, you scamper back onto the plane or into your car and head home.

You still have tasks to fulfill or requests to honor. There are items to box up and ship back. Checks need dispensing to vendors, service providers, speakers, rental companies, and the meeting facility. Notes need to be typed up and reports written, updates made, membership categories modified, and next year's convention plans altered.

Realistically, however, there will be time for the post-meeting tasks even if you take a day or two off. So for now, let the meeting be over. You're proud of your accomplishment, but you're worn to a frazzle. What steps can you take to ensure you'll get the rest and relaxation you deserve?

Rather than trying to take care of all your paperwork on the fly, pack up at the speed of sound, and drive or fly back to your office along with the rest of the participants, why not plan your next meeting so that you can spend an extra day or two resting and recuperating before heading back?

Allow for More Networking Time

At San Jose University in San Jose, California, researchers Charles Darrah, J. A. English-Lueck and James Freeman have observed “that constant ‘life-on-the-go’ can make people feel a lack of control over their lives.” At conferences and convention, perhaps it’s better to allow more time between sessions; chances are participants might feel more in control!

Don't Over-Pack the Conference

Packing the day looks good in the conference brochure but wears on attendees. Give them a mid- morning and a mid-afternoon break of 20 to 30 minutes. The day and whole conference will go better for everyone.

Outlook on Conference Centers

Here’s a thought-provoking article on conference centers and why they are sometimes overlooked by meeting planners: Conference Centers: The almighty CMP is loosening up

“Conference centers aren't on many planners' radars, either because they don't know about conference centers, harbor confusion about them, or think they're too expensive to actually book…”

Theme Ideas Handbook

Jerry Busche has assembled a resource of themes for your futures meetings at BizMotivation site where he offers a "Theme Ideas Handbook" available for download. The handbook contains more than 600 theme ideas, adaptable for meetings, conferences, or other events. Here is a brief sampling of some of the ideas:

* Teamwork in Action
* Brown Bag Briefing
* They Said It Couldn’t Be Done
* Delighting the Customer
* Treating Customers Right

Black Meeting Planners

From the website: the National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners (NCBMP), founded in 1983, is a non-profit organization dedicated primarily to the training needs of African American meeting planners.

The organization is committed to the improvement of the meetings, conferences, exhibitions, and convocations they manage. Members of NCBMP include meeting planners from numerous business, civil rights, church and fraternal organizations. Associate membership is available to individuals who represent hotels, convention bureaus, city government officers, airlines and other suppliers who offer services to the meeting and convention community.

Since its founding, NCBMP has made a significant impact in the hospitality community by identifying the sizable purchasing power and impact of the African American convention.

About Your Conference

A wonderful site for seeing how your conference connects with other sites on the web: simply type your conference name in quotes on the search line at Kartoo.