Meetings & Conventions: Planner's Portfolio March 2000 March 2000 PLANNER'S PORTFOLIO: Back to Basics By Bob Cherny GETTING EQUIPMENT IN AND OUT How to site-inspect loading docks, service corridors and other access points A growing number of meetings these days require truckloads of technical equipment: computers, printers, projectors, you name it. The process of getting this machinery in and out of a facility presents significant challenges, depending on the scope of the ...
Meetings & Conventions: Planner's Portfolio February2000 February2000 PLANNER'S PORTFOLIO: Back to Basics By Martha Jo Dendinger, CMP OBTAINING QUALITY FEEDBACK Gathering data from one event can make planning the next one a breeze Every meeting has some elements that work perfectly and others that could have been done differently — or even eliminated altogether. Immediately after the event, the planning staff should have a postmortem, sharing their observations. Such ...
Meetings & Conventions: Planner's Portfolio December 1999 December 1999 PLANNER'S PORTFOLIO: Back to Basics By Mike Kabo SO MANY ATTENDEES, SO FEW BUSES Moving 1,000 people to an off-site event takes ingenuity and patience All plans are in place for a fabulous conference. The only problem you face is how to get 1,000 attendees off site and back safely. Whether the meeting takes place in New York City or Kansas City, the process can be a nightmare. Moving a large number of ...
Meetings & Conventions: Planner's Portfolio November 1999 November 1999 PLANNER'S PORTFOLIO: Back to Basics By David Haneke ADDING FLASH ON A BUDGET How to create crowd- pleasing productions without breaking the bank Not every meeting has a six-figure budget. But even though you don't have enough money to produce Star Wars, your audience probably has seen Star Wars and would like to be entertained by an event at least as impressive. Today's business audiences have come to ...
Meetings & Conventions: Planner's Portfolio October 1999 October 1999 PLANNER'S PORTFOLIO: Back to Basics By Mike Kabo DONATING YOUR TIME CAN PAY OFF Planning an event for a charity is good for your self-image and your career From time to time, meeting planners are asked if they would be willing to donate their time and expertise to help make a nonprofit event a success. How should you respond? Should you volunteer your skills? In a nutshell, doing charitable work is an ...
Meetings & Conventions: Planner's Portfolio September 1999 September 1999 PLANNER'S PORTFOLIO: Back to Basics By Wayne Outlaw CUTTING DOWN ON TURNOVER Enhancing staff satisfaction can keep a planning department intact When a top meeting planner quits, the easy reaction is to wish her well and start scrambling for a replacement. But by asking some important questions, managers can learn how to make sure no one else follows her lead. Why did she leave? Could this have been ...
Meetings & Conventions: Planner's Portfolio August 1999 August 1999 PLANNER'S PORTFOLIO: Back to Basics By John Potterton, CMP USING DAY CONFERENCE CENTERS Nonresidential facilities may be just the answer to some planning dilemmas Some call them day centers or learning centers. Others refer to them as nonresidential conference centers. Whatever they are called, these facilities have one thing in common: They are ideal for small to mid-size meetings. With no overnight ...
Meetings & Conventions: Planner's Portfolio July 1999 July 1999 PLANNER'S PORTFOLIO: Back to Basics By Joe Keefe PRODUCING COMEDY EVENTS How to avoid planning pratfalls when making them laugh A group of attendees finishes a tough meeting; now they want to be entertained. That is the planner's cue to bring out the heavy artillery: comedy. In the capable hands of seasoned professionals, comedy offers many benefits. It is: Universal. Almost everybody loves a good laugh. ...
Meetings & Conventions: Planner's Portfolio June 1999 June 1999 PLANNER'S PORTFOLIO: Back to Basics EDITED BY SARAH J.F. BRALEY Eliminating Language Barriers How to ensure seamless translation for a diverse audience When international delegates do not speak an event's native language, making sure they catch every word can be a tall order. The first step for planners arranging to have a meeting translated is to appoint one person to coordinate the interpreters, engineers and ...
Meetings & Conventions: Planner's Portfolio May 1999 May 1999 PLANNER'S PORTFOLIO: Back to Basics BY MARTHA JO DENDINGER, CMP Lose Control: Delegate, Even if it Hurts When the task pile up, use your staff to divide and conquer Some people think planning a meeting is as simple as A-B-C, but without the D - delegation - no meeting, regardless of size, can be managed effectively and efficiently. The verb "delegate" means to assign responsibility or authority to someone else, ...
Meetings & Conventions: Planner's Portfolio April 1999 April 1999 PLANNER'S PORTFOLIO: Back to Basics BY MARTHA JO DENDINGER, CMP The Art of Facilitation Hiring session leaders to steer meetings in the right direction Every meeting manager wants attendees to walk away from educational seminars with something they can use on Monday morning. Yet, when workshop evaluations are littered with comments like “The speaker did not discuss the topic” and “I wanted to learn one thing, ...
Meetings & Conventions: Planner's Portfolio March 1999 March 1999 PLANNER'S PORTFOLIO: Back to Basics BY DAVID VAN ETTEN, CMP The Finer Points of Videoconferencing How to guarantee a more successful interface Every year, a growing number of corporations turn to videoconferencing to get more business done. In fact, according to M&C’s 1998 Meetings Market Report, more than a quarter of corporate planners (26 percent) are using the technology, up from 21 percent in 1996. ...