01 Jun 11 Break out of the boring and go for unforgettable at your next meeting
At every conference and corporate meeting, attendees are crammed into a hotel ballroom or conference center and basically told what they are expected to do. Whether its motivating them to do something, teaching them to do something different, or setting expectations for what you envision them doing, the message remains the same; you are telling them to change their ways because yours is better. That’s the main point behind David Gurteen’s article We must stop doing things to people. He goes on to say that “we need to approach people with ‘How can we work better together?’.”
Tags: Antithesis, Attendees, Audie, Auto Pilot, Cookie Cutter Approach, Cruise Ship, Engagement Team, Excitement, Free Time, Gurteen, Hotel Ballroom, Invitation, Little Time, Meeting At Sea, Meeting Center, Middle Of The Ocean, Rsquo, Social Interaction, Team Building, Traditional Hotel, Typic, Typical Conference, Voicemails
16 Mar 11 Boost the Brain Computer, Don’t Crash It
Maybe you’re not always what you eat but emerging studies do bolster the theory that eating the right foods can have a big impact on how your brain works. This becomes evident at corporate meetings and conferences where attendees are usually served high carb and white flour foods in breakfasts, lunches and snacks. The result? A quick sugar rush, followed by a sharp crash, often leading to unfocussed, sleepy and all-around cranky participants.
As Andrea Sullivan, president of BrainStrength Systems states, “For a long time, we’ve focused on what we should not eat. This shift is about focusing on what we should eat to produce desired results.” Rather than the traditional meeting menus, the goal should be to provide foods which aid the brain in learning and improve attention skills. In the article, Ms. Sullivan goes on to describe the benefits of a more balanced offering; “eggs are rich in choline, which aids healthy neurotransmission and enhances our ability to pay attention, form new memories, and make decisions.”
That doesn’t mean cutting out sweets altogether though. Instead, it’s about providing healthier choices with foods that enhance your program rather than work against it. Dark chocolate, for example, has been proven to have a positive effect on cognitive performance even for hours after consumption. Although the lower costs of the sugar-laden foods are attractive for keeping within your budgets, when you look at the overall cost of its effects, are you really getting such a good deal? After all, what good does it do to fly someone in, pay for their lodging and participation, only to have them zone out after a sugar buzz, and subsequent crash?
Instead of pastries and cinnamon rolls, try serving quiche, whole grain breads and some fresh berries. High protein salads with light vinaigrettes are a great alternative for lunch. So are salmon and mackerel, both of which contain the fatty acid, omega 3, proven to rev up your thinking power. For snacks, serving nuts, yogurt, and fruits will prove more effective than a sugary cookie or cake.
Although it’s not anything we don’t already know in our personal lives, carrying that thinking into the business meeting arena may show returns much greater than a snazzy presentation or a captivating guest speaker can ever provide. Besides, how likely will it be that your attendees will remember your message if they’re too busy trying to stay awake?
Tags: Attendees, Attention Skills, Boosting Brain Power, Brain foods, Choline, conference participation, Conferences, Corporate Meetings, Dark Chocolate, Desired Results, Eggs, Flour, guest speakers, Meeting Planners, Ms Sullivan, Mso, Neurotransmission, New Memories, Orphan, Positiv, Snacks, Style Definitions, Style Name, Sugar Rush, Sweets, Times New Roman
10 Mar 10 Safety First: A Meeting Planner Reminder
When it is your responsibility to host an important business meeting or conference, it never hurts to double-check your accommodations for working safety exits, up-to-date fire extinguishers, and for current supplies inside of the first aid kits. With all eyes on the planet currently turned towards the news of earthquakes, solar storms, and flooding, your meeting attendees will look at you with renewed admiration if you have taken their personal safety concerns into your own hands before anything bad can happen.
Safety Tips:
- Always know where the emergency exits are for every room that you enter while traveling. In America, the emergency exits are normally well-marked. However, even well-marked exits can be hard to find after a disaster has happened. Take steps to ensure that your guests know where their emergency equipment and exits are located.
- Fire doors at some locations are accidentally locked to prevent intruders from bothering hotel guests or causing damages to the property. If you are at a meeting with locked fire doors, explain your safety concerns to the management and request that the applicable fire doors remain unlocked for the duration of your meeting.
- Before a meeting begins, make sure that you know about possible outside hazards that might disrupt your plans unexpectedly, and make sure that the conference room comes complete with a set of local safety instructions that are available for everybody to read in their native language.
Tags: Admiration, Attendees, Business Meeting, Damages, Earthquakes, Emergency Equipment, Emergency Exits, Fire Doors, Fire Extinguishers, First Aid Kits, Hotel Guests, Intruders, Meeting Planner, Native Language, Personal Safety Concerns, Reminder, Safety First, Safety Instructions, Safety Tips, Solar Storms
08 Mar 10 Archaeology Tours Are Popular Today
Archaeology tours are interesting options for meeting planners to consider when something new and different is required. These tours normally include travel, various types of lodgings, and meals while the tour is in progress and most will cover multiple locations over the course of a few days. Some of these tours are handicapped accessible, and many happen right here inside of the United States.
It is possible for a larger group to contact the tour providers to arrange for a tour that is tailored to the group needs or schedule. As an example, a conference room may be possible at a hotel location during the course of the trip for meetings. Every continent has many wonderful finds from our globes earlier times, so that these tours can be arranged to meet location requirements.
Most of the archaeology tours that are offered do not allow the attendees to participate in active digs. However, this is not true for all tours. It is possible to arrange for your meeting crew to have a hands-on experience with some of the tour providers. For many office workers, the proposition of being outside with something very interesting to see can make the thought of an archaeology tour very appealing.
Tags: Archaeology Tours, Attendees, Continent, Digs, Few Days, Globes, Hands On Experience, Hotel Location, Location Requirements, Lodgings, Meeting Planners, Office Workers, Options, Tour Providers, Tours Travel, United States
03 Mar 10 The July 11, 2010 Solar Eclipse Can Spice Up Your Meeting Plans
On July 11, 2010, Mother Nature has planned a very special solar eclipse event that can harmonize very well with all types of meetings that are being planned for that week. This solar event is being promoted by many of the local areas that will be able to see this natural form of a spectacular light show in their neighborhoods. Special attractions and events are being planned for tourists and business travelers all along this exciting sight-path.
Business meeting planners might want to explore the NASA site page devoted to this larger eclipse event, and then look into the specials and deals that are being offered to tourists at Easter Island, throughout the Cook Islands, and at the tourist hot spots that are located in South America. This extra-long eclipse event can be coupled easily with a business cruise to heighten the perceived value of the trip experience.
With so many people inside of the United States interested in everything that is related to global warming, eco-issues, and the year 2012 predictions, this interesting natural solar event is receiving quite a bit of publicity. Your meeting attendees will hear about this 5-minute event through an increasing display of media promotions before this actual date arrives. This solar-eclipse can be a sure-fire way to make your meeting attendees feel very special about their business meeting location.
Tags: Attendees, Business Meeting, Business Travelers, Cook Islands, Cruise, Easter Island, Global Warming, Hot Spots, Media Promotions, Meeting Planners, Mother Nature, Nasa, Publicity, Solar Eclipse, Solar Event, South America, Tourists, Trip Experience, United States, Year 2012 Predictions
24 Feb 10 Fun Ways to Break Participants into Work Groups
Many trainings, retreats and meetings require breaking your large group of attendees into smaller working groups for games, task completion, brainstorming or team building activities. While you can always simply assign each attendee a number or break them into groups according to how they are sitting, there are also options that are a bit more fun and will get your participants activated and involved in the process, leading to more productivity and more fun.
Little games that break them into groups also serve to re-energize the room and bring more life to your meetings, and for team building.
One example is the comic strip game. This game is easy to organize and takes minimal preparation. Simply clip comic strips out of a newspaper and separate each frame of each comic. During the meeting, have each participant pick a piece of a comic strip out of a bag or bowl. Once all of your participants each have one comic strip frame, the objective is for them to find the folks who have the rest of the comic strip and to line up in the correct order to piece the comic strip back together.
To add a bit of competition, you can also give a prize to the group that is able to find each other and arrange themselves correctly quickest. Upon completion of the game, you now have small working groups that can get to work on a task of brainstorming session.
Tags: Attendee, Attendees, Brainstorming, Break, Comic Strip, Comic Strips, Fun Games, Large Group, Little Games, Minimal Preparation, Objective, Participant, Participants, Productivity, Retreats, Strip Game, Task Completion, Team Building Activities, Work Groups, Working Groups
22 Feb 10 Preparing Your Attendees for a Successful Meeting
Corporate meeting planners wear many hats, which sometimes includes making sure the attendees are well-prepared. Pre-meeting preparation is an important part of ensuring the meeting is effective and productive, and also allows the attendees to know what to expect and which materials, presentations or notes they may need to bring. Productive meetings that stay on task and on schedule reflect well on the meeting planner, even if the planner is not the one actually conducting business during the meeting.
Here are ways you can help your attendees prepare for a great meeting:
1. Distribute the agenda beforehand – Make sure that all attendees have an accurate agenda prior to attending the meeting. Since you will be including the date, time and location of the meeting on the agenda, this also works as an effective meeting reminder.
2. Make sure attendees have background information – Either distribute materials related to the meeting topic, or let the attendees know where they can find the information they need.
3. Give the attendees pre-meeting homework – Whether it is simply asking them to read the background material or asking them to prepare ideas or a presentation, assign pre-meeting tasks that will help the meeting run smoother and get participants involved in the process.
With a little preparation, your meeting participants will have a more fulfilling meeting experience and will have you to thank for it.
Tags: Attendees, Background Information, Background Material, Business Meeting, Corporate Meeting Planners, Date Time, Effective Meeting, Hats, Homework, Meeting Agenda, Meeting Planner, Participants, Presentation, Productive Meetings, Reminder
19 Feb 10 Balancing Planning Activities for Small and Large Events
Corporate meeting planners who are in charge of planning everything from weekly meetings to annual events constantly have a lot on their plate. Because the larger events and conferences are much more time-consuming and are typically the priority as far as planning resources are concerned, it can be easy to put off planning tasks for the weekly meetings, or to simply run out of time when attempting to pull together the larger events.
If the regularly scheduled meetings are check-ins, committee meetings that stick to specific topics or other meetings that are repetitive in nature, that will make your job a bit easier; however, there is still some planning that needs to take place on an ongoing basis and that cannot simply be put in place in the beginning like scheduling the room and equipment for a year of weekly meetings.
In order to keep these weekly or monthly meetings on track while focusing primarily on your larger responsibilities, setting up as much as you can beforehand and scheduling reminders will assist you in making sure you do not forget the tasks you need to complete for each meeting, such as confirming the room reservation, arranging for room set up, organizing the food and drinks, and sending out meeting reminders to the attendees.
Set up your email program, calendar, PDA or your mobile phone to notify you with reminders and you will be able to keep your smaller meetings just as well-organized as your major annual events.
Tags: Attendees, Committee Meetings, Conferences, Corporate Meeting Planners, Events Planners, Food And Drinks, Ins, Job, Mobile Phone, More Time Consuming, Organizing, Pda, Planning Resources, Priority, Program Calendar, Reminders, Room Reservation, Scheduling
29 Jan 10 Four Tips for Saving Money on Lodging
Whether or not you are planning an event on a limited budget, getting a great deal is always a bonus. When you can save your employer or corporate clients money on expenditures like lodging, they are sure to take notice and will be delighted to know they can trust you to work the best deals possible when planning their events, meetings or incentive travel packages.
Here are four tips to help you same money on accommodations when planning your next shindig:
1. Be flexible. If you can be flexible on dates and days of the week, you can usually negotiate a better room rate for your attendees’ lodgings.
2. Limit Attrition. Do your best to get a solid grasp on how many attendees you expect. This will help you reserve the correct amount of rooms, avoid promising room blocks that you might not be able to meet, and establish a good relationship with hotels you may be using again in the future.
3. Opt for second-tiers and suburbs. By avoiding the top destinations, you will find that rates are much more affordable just a few miles away, or in suitable cities that just happen to not be on the A list.
4. Negotiate reservations for multiple events at the same time. If you have several clients interested in using a particular hotel for their meetings, or if your employer plans to return for an annual meeting year after year, this gives you more negotiating power when it comes to room rates.
5. Consider an all inclusive cruise event which will provide luxury accommodations, and include other amenities including gourmet meals, entertainment and top-notch meeting facilities.
Tags: 3 Tiers, Attendees, Attrition, Best Deals, Corporate Clients, Days Of The Week, Expenditures, Future 3, Good Relationship, Gourmet Meals, Grasp, Incentive Travel Packages, Lodgings, Luxury Accommodations, Meeting Facilities, Negotiating Power, Room Blocks, Shindig, Tips For Saving Money, Top Notch
27 Jan 10 Basic Feng Shui for Meeting Planners
Over the past several years, feng shui has become all the rage with homeowners, business owners, restaurant managers and event planners all using this ancient Asian art to create harmonious, balanced spaces. Due to the high level of interest in feng shui, this is an excellent service to add to your meeting planning business and to offer to your clients.
To learn the basics of feng shui, you can pick up a book at your local bookstore, attend a seminar or do a simple online search for “feng shui basics” or “feng shui meeting tips.” Alternatively, you could partner with a feng shui consultant to provide these services to your clients, or if you really want to corner this market, you can become a certified feng shui consultant and add it to the menu of billable services you provide.
Much of feng shui for meetings is essentially common sense and focuses on creating a meeting space with good energy flow, harmony and balance. For example, in a square room, a feng shui consultant might recommend placing plants in the corners of the room to compensate for the hard corners, or in a space with harsh lighting, a consultant might recommend softer up-lighting to create a more welcoming environment.
Everything from the way the furniture is arranged to the colors used in the room can affect the room’s energy and the productivity of attendees; therefore, once your clients experience the benefits of feng shui, they are sure to recommend you to their friends and colleagues.
Tags: All The Rage, Ancient Asian Art, Attendees, Billable Services, Bookstore, Business Owners, Colleagues, Common Sense, Energy Flow, Event Planners, Excellent Service, Feng Shui Basics, Feng Shui Consultant, Harmony, Harsh Lighting, Meeting Planners, Meeting Planning, Plants, Productivity, Restaurant Managers
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- Stimulating Your Attendees in a Positive WayAfter reading the article Boost the Brain Computer, Don’t Crash It, I got to thinking about how foods definitely have an effect on mood and concentration. Anyone who has ever seen a child at a birthday party, loaded with candy, snow cones, cake and soda can attest to the fact that while the sugar will […]