January 4, 2013 by Jeff Hurt
Many meeting planners feel that the conference experience and content is not their job. They are responsible for the logistics and details, not the attendees’ overall experience.
That’s where those meeting planners are wrong!
If a meeting planner cannot focus on the big picture and goals of the event, then all of their plans are in vain.
If they don’t understand how their details uphold and provide the structure for the attendees’ experience, they will never be able to move up the corporate ladder.
If they don’t understand how the room set hinders or fosters learning, they will never be able to design effective education sessions.
If they don’t understand how the pre-convene area can be a barrier or opportunity for networking, they will never understand how to leverage what an attendee wants and expects from a meeting.
If a meeting planner cannot understand how the conference schedule and each individual session has an emotional affect on the overall attendee’s conference experience, then they will never be able to emotionally engage their registrants.
If they don’t understand that logistics and strategy are tied at the hip, they will never be able to reach their full potential or be able to help their attendees reach their full potential.
I change my home furnace filters on a regular basis. Why? After a while, they become dusty and filled with dirt and grime. If I don’t change them, my home air becomes stale and stagnant.
When I do change them, I notice an immediate improvement. The new filters continue to remove dirt and dust. The air feels fresh and clean.
Just as new filters remove the dust, new mental filters can help us see new horizons and perspectives.
Research shows that we filter our reality through our inner voice. Our inner voice can help us focus on opportunities or focus on being bankrupt. The choice is ours.
It’s time for meeting planners to use new filters to see themselves as strategic players in their event. It’s time for them to put on their CEO’s mental filter about the event and see what is really important through the eyes of their superiors. It’s time for them to step up to the plate and see everything they do through their attendee’s eyes, through their attendee’s filters. Then they will see what really matters to attendees.
Now is the time to insert new mental filters. Shift your views to improve your choices. Put on the mental filter of a strategic meeting professional and begin to see all those details and logistics differently.
With Hat Tips to Ellen Weber who frequently writes about mental filters.
What keeps us from changing our mental filters? What are some tips you have about seeing yourself as a more strategic meeting professional than just a scheduler of details?
Filed Under: Event Planning
This is point is so important yet it is frequently forgotten that it is worth repeating.
“If they don’t understand how the room set hinders or fosters learning, they will never be able to design effective education sessions.
At conferences, meeting rooms with rows of chairs still seem to be the order of the day. Evidently, not much interaction is expected if event organizers pack attendees in like sardines.
Clearly we are on the same wavelength Jeff as I also wrote about this in:
– Set-up for Attendee Engagement http://t.co/aaxl9KmT
Please stop by and share your comments.
‘@Anne Thanks for reading and sharing your post about the importance of setting a room that leads to engagement.
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