Browsing Month » February, 2020

What do meeting planners truly want?

February 18th, 2020 @ Jeff Davidson, MBA, CMC

When retaining speakers to present at their conference or convention, meeting planners must tread very carefully. Picking the wrong speaker for an event can have disastrous consequences. If it’s a day-long event and five speakers are scheduled to present, if even one of them says something inappropriate, it can dominate the event in ways that no one would prefer to have happened. Worse, the off-remark might call into question your judgment.

It behooves speakers to rely upon veterans, those who have presented to dozens, if not hundreds of groups. Speakers who know the ropes and know what it takes to deliver with impact, are highly professional at all times. They go on their way to ensure that the meeting planner feels comfortable and confident that their presentation will be well-received.

Beyond the above, here are four factors that add up to success for both the meeting planner and the speaker:

Having a timely topic

The reason that a particular speaker is brought in at a certain time is because of the speaker’s wisdom, knowledge, and information that will benefit the group.

Even if a speaker is a humorist, or someone who is simply hired to entertain the audience, that speaker is still bringing with them knowledge and information, in the form of how they’re going to deliver, how they will pace themselves, understanding of the audience, and so forth.

Offering a dynamic presentation

No one, meeting planners most of all, wants to have a speaker who delivers an off-the-shelf presentation, something the speaker said to the last group, and the group before that, etc. Sure, a speaker will draw upon an established body of material but it has to be, at the least, tailored to the group.

What challenges do audience members face? What has happened recently? What will be of concern after this meeting is over? The dynamic speaker takes into account such factors and delivers accordingly.

Interacting with the audience

Increasingly, meeting planners seek presenters who have an affinity for the audience. They’re not afraid of give-and-take. They might even step down from the stage and wander a bit throughout the hall. They encourage participation. They ask questions, pose dilemmas, and elicit responses.

Not all presentations, for all purposes, lend themselves to interaction with the audience. For those that do, however, interaction can be a notable, even memorable factor for audience members, who have sat in front of one staid delivery after another.

Being succinct

All meetings have an agenda, whether tight or loose, written down, or verbally offered. At some point, a meeting must end, just as an individual presentation must end. Speakers who stay on time, even if their time has been chopped, and end at the original designated ending time, do everyone a favor: Get the meeting back on course!

The seasoned speaker, on the fly, knows how to convert what was scheduled to be a 45-minute presentation into what now has to be a 32-minute presentation, and has the ability to do so without the audience knowing the difference. This speaker doesn’t complain or wince, and he or she stands up and delivers and ends on the button, having done the job.

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Category : Blog and Industry News

5 tips for evaluating safety during site selection

February 4th, 2020 @ Alan Kleinfeld

magnifying glass

Safety is a big topic and covers a lot of different elements. The thought of it is often enough to make even the most experienced meeting planner want to change careers. How does snake charmer sound?

There’s cyber security, crisis communication, public relations scenarios and emergency response planning. It doesn’t help that we’re under constant barrage of scary news on nearly every screen we set eyes upon, usually displaying nothing more than mere seconds of loud noise and scandalous photographs. It’s not enough to get details, but just the right amount of prattle to set our nerves on edge.

There’s good news, however. Our brains don’t really know the difference between a real fear and a fake one, so although we think there’s lots of stuff to worry about, it’s not as bad as the 24-hour news cycle makes it seem. You are far more likely to have someone at your conference suffer a medical issue, such as a cardiac event, or a minor accident, such as a trip and fall, than you are an active shooter. It’s all about preventing or mitigating the most probable concerns.

That means at least one item under the safety umbrella will be a bit easier for you to prepare for: physical safety. A rule of meeting safety is ensuring the space, facility or venue is free from harm and offers components and measures that keep it free from harm.

We, as planners, can prepare for bad things to happen. As a matter of fact, we even have the power to prevent or mitigate some of them. Starting with our site selection, we can begin the process of helping to keep our attendees safer.

Here are a few simple things to do during your next hotel or venue selection.

1) Ask about safety in your RFP

Most venues won’t release their safety or emergency plans for reasons of liability and/or confidentiality—but mentioning your interest in emergency plans, in your RFP, indicates you take safety seriously. Just a few sentences are all it takes, asking how the venue responds to emergencies and how they handle onsite incidents.

RELATED STORY: Lack of planning won’t avert an emergency

2) Include safety staff at the walk-through

Planners are used to being guided around a property by sales staff, banquet folks and conference service managers. Next time, request that someone from hotel security go along with you for the stroll. It is a great time for the venue to point out emergency exits, fire extinguishers, describe how the hotel meets local and state codes and regulations and even talk about the venue’s emergency action plans.

3) Ask about first responders

As you’re checking out the meeting space and the guest rooms, ask which hospital is the nearest, what police agency has jurisdiction and where the hotel’s access points are for fire trucks, ambulances and other first responders. These are area you want to be free of charter buses, delivery trucks and the like. The time is also ripe to ask about future building and road construction, which could block easy in-and-out access.

RELATED STORY: Do you need armed security at your event?

4) Access points and access points

Ask about security cameras and security staffing (how are they identified? Do they go through background checks and training?) and see if lighting is adequate in parking garages, outdoor function space and other places your attendees might visit after nightfall. See what parts of the venue are only accessible with keys and what areas get locked up at night.

Access also includes first responders and other help. They need to have outdoor areas to park vehicles, doors that will open when they pull the handle and as few obstacles as possible to reach the person (or persons) in need.

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5) Ask about back of house

Although some venues might not let you have access to view back of house areas, it doesn’t hurt to ask. Make sure they agree to make hallways free of clutter and items that might hinder an emergency exit or provide a hiding place to unauthorized people. If the food service area or kitchens have to meet certain local health codes or regulations, confirm that they do, either by visual inspection or written certification.

Don’t forget to include ADA compliance in your walk thru and confirm the venue is prepared to assist with any attendees that might have special needs during an evacuation.

Knowing these tips, you just might organically begin to ask other safety questions to help make sure you’ve chosen a site that’s both safe and secure.

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