Tag Archives: event planning

Rethinking the Speaker Relationship

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Speaker giving a talk on corporate Business Conference. Audience at the conference hall. Business and Entrepreneurship event.We've written here about what shows without speakers might look like and how realistic it is for the future of events. The dynamics of a peer interaction-driven show are appealing on many levels, however, there is still a real need for subject matter experts to be a feature of many events.

Speakers fill many roles at a conference. Some play a motivational role energizing an audience to make changes personally, professionally, and globally. Others open minds in a way that impacts how people receive more technical or logistical material at the event. And then there are our true subject matter experts--they have been there, done that and are sharing what they've learned with the audience so mistakes can be avoided and successes repeated. Still other speakers work as facilitators to get conversations started at the event and beyond. They keep a group on topic while pushing the conversation forward.[Tweet "Rethinking the speaker relationship: Guiding principles in working with speakers. #GovEventsBlog"]

No matter which type(s) of speakers an event uses, it is important to recognize the value of their role and support them accordingly. We've pulled together a couple of thoughts on what should be some guiding principles in working with speakers. Continue reading →

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, Healthy Conference

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Winter is cold and flu season, but it is also prime conference time. This reality sent us looking for tips on how to stay healthy when you are in a confined space with 100 to 1000 of your newest friends. We've pulled together this quick list as a resource for us all.

  • Hand washing and sanitizer - It goes without saying you should frequently wash your hands or at the very least use hand sanitizer. Event planners should consider making hand sanitizer dispensers readily available. Small versions that fit in your pocket should be on your attendee checklist of event must-haves, right below business cards.[Tweet "Tips for staying healthy when attending events. #GovEventsBlog"]
  • Walk - Get outside for fresh air if you can. If not, take laps around the convention center or hotel to get your blood moving and keep you from the prolonged exposure to germs you would get sitting at lobby chairs and tables. You can even schedule meetings while taking your walk. If you are flying to your meeting, health professionals suggest walking the plane aisle once every hour to promote better circulation.
  • Eat well - Eat foods with high nutritional value, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Event planners should look at their menus to make sure these are available to attendees and also consider adding teas and other drinks with Echinacea, ginseng, vitamin C, and probiotics to help bolster the immune system.
  • Pace yourself - Events and conference are notoriously draining--all day sessions followed by all night parties and networking. While it's tempting to try to do it all, make sure you are pacing yourself and listening to your body. Getting quality sleep helps tremendously in your ability to fight off illness.[Tweet "While it's tempting to try to do it all, make sure you are pacing yourself. #GovEventsBlog"]
  • Wear your glasses - If you are flying or even taking a train to your event, switch out your contacts for glasses. With contacts, eyes dry out more easily and that creates a more hospitable breeding ground for germs. Glasses also make it less likely that you will touch your eyes, transferring germs that way.

[Tweet "Winter is cold and flu season, but it is also prime conference time. #GovEventsBlog"]We'd love to hear your tips for combining professional development with immunity development. Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

I Am a Good Event Planner But Nobody Shows Up

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From time to time GovEvents will come across information we feel our members and audience would benefit from. Here's something we wanted to share:


Are you a good event planner with dwindling event numbers? You may be making some of these common newbie mistakes.

Planning an event and driving traffic to it are two different skill sets. The first requires meticulous attention to detail, while the latter involves marketing and people skills. The first falls in the introvert's wheelhouse, while the second speaks to extroverts.

So how do you cultivate both sets of skills to become a great event planner? By avoiding these common mistakes.

12 Mistakes Top Event Planners Never Make

While "never" is an absolute that may not be fitting for most of us, seasoned professional event planners avoid these things as best they can because they understand how deeply it can affect their events and attendance. Continue reading →

Intelligent Phones Will Change The Event Industry

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From time to time GovEvents will come across information we feel our members and audience would benefit from. Here's something we wanted to share:

A phone that can think, see, feel and interact with the outside world may be closer than we think. Here we attempt to look into the mind-blowing possibilities this presents for event professionals.

A Look To The Future: At CES (Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas) this year, one of the most interesting things for us wasn't the technology being displayed in the myriad shiny stands but what is just a few years down the road. In particular, what we're talking about here is the "intelligent phone" concept described by Huawei's CEO, Richard Yu. Continue reading →

Looking Back at the 2016 Federal Events Market

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It's the time of year when everyone finds themselves wondering how time went by so fast and what the new year will bring. We thought we'd jump on the bandwagon of reflection with a look back at the federal event market predictions we made at the beginning of 2016.

Here's a re-cap of the predictions and what really happened in the past 12 months:

Prediction 1: More creativity in events - We did see many events shaking up their normal routines and adding more interactive sessions and more social media to shows. Amazon Web Services used a social media center to share conference information and activity as it was happening at their annual public sector event. We're looking forward to seeing the reaction to ASAE's unconference format that will be introduced this May in Washington, DC.[Tweet "What the new year will bring for #Federal events. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →