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
25 Feb 11 Must have gadgets for every Event and Meeting Planner
Speaking of neck support…Travel pillows are not a new invention for the weary traveler, but how many are made of memory foam, come with a drawstring for a more customized fit AND have a pocket for your mp3 player? It’s the perfect combination for getting sleep on the plane when the passenger next to you snores louder than a lumberjack with a chainsaw.
Tags: Coffee Shop, Constant Search, Country Travel, Cup Of Coffee, Hammacher, Html Nbsp, Kensington, Life Savers, Lifeline, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planners, Must Have Gadgets, Nab, Ori, Power Converter, Practicality, Rsquo, Small Appliances, Travel Converter, Weary Traveler
18 Feb 11 When Did Fun Become a Dirty Word?
Over the past couple of years, economic conditions and the state of the business world have created a corporate culture for many companies where a fun and relaxed atmosphere was “outlawed”. Any resemblances of fun or enjoyment were viewed as lack of focus or dedication. In the end, employee morale suffered and stress levels rose to new heights.
More and more, research is proving that FUN can actually be a good thing for the overall health of a company. As Maureen McKeon quotes in her article How to get from good to great – the shocking truth, “an increasing body of research demonstrates that when leaders lighten up and create a fun workplace, there is a significant increase in the level of employee trust, creativity and communication — leading to lower turnover, higher morale and a stronger bottom line.”
For event and meeting planners, fun translates into greater participation and increased overall satisfaction from attendees. After all, who wants to sit all day in a cold, sterile meeting room listening to one monotonous session after another then lunching on the infamous rubber chicken? Instead, try spicing things up with exotic locations, fine dining, and a bevy of recreational activities to keep the “juices flowing”. Hosting a corporate function on a cruise ship might just be an ideal, economic way to inject FUN into a stale program and create excitement before it even begins.
It’s time to put the fun back in FUNction and remember…nobody ever complains when they’re having a good time!
Tags: Bevy, Business World, Corporate Culture, Cruise Ship, Dirty Word, Economic Conditions, Employee Morale, Employee Trust, Fine Dining, Having A Good Time, Juices, Mckeon, Mdash, Meeting Planners, Meeting Room, Recreational Activities, Relaxed Atmosphere, Rubber Chicken, Shocking Truth, Stress Levels
25 Oct 10 What a Meeting Planner Should Do On a Cruise
Many meeting planners get to go on company sponsored incentive cruises as one of the perks of the job but it is also often the product of the belief that a meeting planner does need to be present for meetings or events to be well executed. Here’s what a meeting planner on a cruise should consider doing to feel and actually be useful:
• Meeting with the concierge/host/hostess and restaurant managers on a frequent basis. It might be worth stopping by and making sure that all is well and that guest requests are being met. In some cases it might be possible to take a small portion of the load off the staff and look like an all-star by fulfilling very complex or complicated requests.
• Distribute promotional material and/or schedules. If there are materials that need to be distributed or messages that need to be sent, then it might pay to get on top of those chores as early and as frequently as possible.
• Ask what else needs to be done. You might be feeling like a fifth wheel, but if you want to be invited back on the next corporate cruise then you probably need to seem as useful and as busy as possible.
• Stay out of sight and out of trouble. If there is truly little to do other than enjoy yourself then do so in a quiet manner and do not stay in any one place too long as it may make you seem as if you have nothing to do. This is certainly not the impression that you want to give.
Tags: All Star, Belief That, Chores, Concierge, Corporate Cruise, Cruise Planners, Fifth Wheel, Frequent Basis, Guest Requests, Hostess, Incentive Cruises, Job, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planners, Out Of Sight, Promotional Material, Quiet Manner, Restaurant Managers, Small Portion, Wheel
20 Oct 10 Cruise Meetings vs Hotels From a Meeting Planning Perspective
Planning meetings is a tried and true practice that evolves in large jumps more often than it does in small increments. The cruise meeting is a great example of this as it is an entirely new format that is barely a few decades old. Despite that many meeting planners do not truly understand the difference in planning cruise meetings, such as:
- Cruise meetings general come with a planning partner, the concierge – The concierge will help take care of a lot of the more basic tasks but they do need a head’s up. Your boss might drop last minute requests on you left and right, but it may not be something that you can pass on to the concierge. It never hurts to ask.
- Cruises are all inclusive, but space is limited – Space on a cruise liner is certainly limited, but it can generally be made available to those that ask. Try asking for restaurants to be booked during the cruise and disappointment will probably ensue. Ask for the same two or three weeks before departure (and before booking!) and you might be amazed at the results.
- There are plenty of things to do on a cruise, so ask for a schedule for your group – Cruise ships have activity directors that will be more than happy to handle creating mixers or other events appropriate for the meeting participants. This could include custom personal training the gym, massages for the top brass and special clients, or nearly anything else. Remember to just ask and you might be surprised at the answer.
Tags: Activity Directors, Boss, Concierge, Cruise Liner, Cruise Ships, Cruises, Decades, Disappointment, Group Cruise, Increments, Massages, Meeting Planners, Meeting Planning, Minute Requests, Mixers, Participants, Personal Training, Perspective, Restaurants, Top Brass
13 Oct 10 Are Tablets Right for Meeting Planners?
Tablet computers have been around for roughly two decades in one form or another, but they are starting to get a lot of attention thanks to the iPad. Many meeting planners are starting to wonder whether or not tablet computers might be a good match for their business needs. While some tablets might be a good match for business needs, the iPad might not be a good fit for all offices given its media-centric and hip image. Of course, some offices might be the ideal location to use the iPAd, especially if Macs are used throughout the office and already handle the scheduling chores. Failing that, look for a tablet that can:
• Handle easy input and possibly even handwriting recognition. In most cases it is more important to take quick notes for later, so be sure that the note taking capacity is very fast.
• A capacitive touch screen is very important for many reasons so do not look for any tablet without touch screen technology. Multi-touch is highly preferred.
• Battery life is also important as is the method of charging. If an app has a battery life that won’t last the day then there is going to be more than a little bit of trouble. If it can synch and charge at once, then the problem might not be so bad. WiFi synching is also a very desirable trait.
• Don’t forget the apps. A professional scheduling app that links to Exchange is very important because just about every third party professional scheduling app does the same. Exchange is where data is exchanged if you will forgive the pun.
• Don’t forget the apps! A tablet without apps that prove useful is just a hunk of metal, silicon and plastic.
Tags: Apps, Attention Thanks, Battery Life, Bull Battery, Capacitive Touch Screen, Chores, Decades, Desirable Trait, Handwriting Recognition, Hunk, Ipad, Little Bit, Match, Meeting Planners, Pun, Rsquo, Silicon, Tablet Computers, Third Party, Touch Screen Technology
11 Oct 10 What Meeting Planners Need to Know About Cabins and Meeting Options on Cruise Ships
Most people liken planning a cruise to planning to regular event planning with a few twists. One of those twists occurs when it comes time to figure out who is sleeping where. There are a few things that many people might not know about cabins on cruise ships, and some questions people may not ever think to ask when planning meetings at sea:
• Less expensive cabins are usually priced on a per-bed basis and assume that two people are sharing a cabin. This pricing system might seem a little deceptive to people that do not do their homework, but it is often possible to upgrade to a single passenger cabin for a small fee.
• Similarly, it is often possible to lock out the second passenger by paying a modest fee. This can be done at nearly any time prior to departure and sometimes even post departure if there is room remaining.
• Meeting rooms are typically available around the clock but larger conference rooms might have time restrictions that can only be removed by booking in advance. Some cruise companies have a 2 or 4 week policy regarding booking these larger rooms so book as early as possible.
• Remember that catering options and preferences also need to be handled well in advance so figure out menus for special events early on if possible.
Tags: Catering, Clock, Cruise Companies, Cruise Ships, Event Planning, Homework, Many People, Meeting People, Meeting Planners, Meeting Rooms, Menus, Options, Passenger Cabin, Time Restrictions, Twists
06 Oct 10 What Are You Doing to Change Your Meeting Planning Up?
The same meetings over and over can be boring and might be a great way to have the management and/or powers that be wonder how important a meeting planner is. On the other hand, a meeting planner that is always trying new ideas for meetings is highly desirable even if they fail. After all, it is difficult to justify the cost of a scheduler after a company gets into a rhythm but if that scheduler seems to be constantly trying to improve efficiency, then they are certainly worth keeping as they are nothing if not a team player.
The question becomes one of how a meeting planner can continue to keep meetings fresh. Here are a few great ideas:
- Check in with other meeting planners online. There are many meeting planning related forums online and that is usually a good sign that there are professionals looking to network on some level.
- Listen to what people in the office say, then hear them. Are people complaining or offering ideas? Can those ideas be made practical?
- Learn everything about sales and psychology. Selling meeting ideas is no different than selling anything else. If the first few ideas don’t get off the ground then it is unlikely that further ideas will fare much better.
Tags: Efficiency, Forums, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planners, Meeting Planning, Online Meeting, People, Psychology, Rhythm, Rsquo, Scheduler, Team Player
23 Aug 10 Tricks to Making Morning Meetings Merrier
Morning meetings can be sluggish, and may even be tepid by any measure. This is doubly true for Monday mornings, and triply true for Monday mornings after a three day weekend. Good meeting planners have a few tricks up their sleeve to make morning meetings less of a drag:
- Freshly ground coffee – Fresh coffee has more caffeine than the pre-ground varieties sold in most supermarkets.
- Energy drinks, on the house – Energy drinks are a great way to get people moving, as is coffee. Weigh the cost of beverages against the value of the time spent sloshing through a meeting, and the beverages usually come out on top.
- Lights – All lights should be on, not just most of the lights. This is true even when the sun is up.
- Morning radio – Start by finding the most annoying morning radio shows in town, but skip those that are offensive. Then, let the crew at the morning zoo antagonize your staff until the meeting starts. Everyone will be wide awake and thankful that the mindless dribble is over with.
- Open a few windows – Letting the fresh air in often helps, especially if the meeting room is packed.
- Set the temperature – If the temperature is too cold, people will naturally be inclined to start drifting off. Keep the temperature in the meeting room slightly warn, but not hot.
- Suggestions – Everyone has problems, but few people ask for help. Ask the boss to help develop an incentive program where workers can start meetings with some aspect of their job that they wish was easier to perform with some teamwork or with a fresh approach. Give rewards to the employee(s) with the best solutions to problems. It’s a win-win situation and a great way to get the creative juices flowing early in the morning.
Tags: Best Solutions, Beverages, Boss, Creative Juices, Energy Drinks, Fresh Air, Fresh Coffee, Ground Coffee, Incentive Program, Meeting Planners, Meeting Room, Mindless Dribble, Monday Mornings, Morning Meetings, Morning Radio, Morning Zoo, Radio Shows, Rewards, Supermarkets, Teamwork
05 Aug 10 A Media Player an Investment in Your Career as a Meeting/Event Planner? Maybe…
It was not long ago that meeting and event planners were taking notes with pen and paper, but those days might just be over thanks to some of the modern media players on the market. Most modern media players have the capacity to record conversations or voice memos, and that could save a lot of time. Just image:
- Never having to ask the boss to slow down – Some bosses or participants talk so fast that details often get lost. Your brain is processing Detail A and they are already discussing Detail Z! Nothing escapes the attention of a voice recorder.
- Never forgetting a detail – Juggling hundreds of details is difficult, and sometimes notepads get lost or sloppy writing done in a hurry foils later attempts to remember what was covered. Media players with voice memo features ensure that nothing is left out of a critical planning session.
- The ability to have instant and total recall of conversations – This is exactly what media players offer. You can recall and review a memo on the subway, bus, or even while driving home.
- Looking impressive using technology efficiently – Humans are innately tool-using creatures, and digital tools are the future. Demonstrating proficiency with those tools is a great way to earn your keep.
All you need to do is look for a media player with a voice recording features to guarantee that your look impressive while being an impressive meeting/event planner.
Tags: Boss, Creatures, Digital Tools, Event Planner, Event Planners, Foils, Hurry, Media Players, Meeting Planners, Participants, Pen And Paper, Proficiency, Record Conversations, Subway, Total Recall, Using Technology, Voice Memo, Voice Memos, Voice Recorder, Voice Recording
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