Plato said that we learn more about a person in an hour of play than in a lifetime of conversation. If you believe there is inherent value in this statement, then you are possibly already including game mechanics in your meeting planning. If you understand the opposite of play is not work, but the opposite of play is depression, then you will begin to understand the importance of including gamification in your meetings. As human beings, we want to feel challenged;…
Speakers & Entertainment
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Tell us a story: Three questions to ask when choosing your next speaker
Selecting the right speaker for your event will mean the difference between making a lasting impression and making no impression. While the appreciation for one speaker over the other often has much to do with one’s personal style and taste, there are some critical key factors in picking the right kind of speaker for your event. People have a multitude of options for events they can attend in their professional field or personal lifestyle hobbies. When selecting a speaker for…
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Nine ideas for injecting energy into your next meeting or conference
When I tell people that I am leaving to attend a conference in an amazing city or country, they usually say things like: “wow, you are so lucky that you get to go there,” and “take lots of pictures!” They don’t realize that I will only see the airport, the conference hotel or facility and whatever else I can glimpse outside the taxi cab’s window as I make my way to and from the airport. The taxi ride is normally…
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Successful meetings on a tight budget
Corporate Meetings & Events magazine’s Managing Editor Sean Moon talks about the challenge of creating maximum pop with fewer resources with money-saving ideas like site and venue selection tips, lowering food costs, and minimizing costs associated with entertainers and audio-visual components.
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Eight great examples to enhance your meetings with virtual technologies
The explosion of virtual meetings and events is just ramping up and is expected to triple in the next five years. Through the convergence of technology, bandwidth and mobile devices, marketing managers, sales managers and meeting professionals will see not only more “virtual only meetings” but also a wide range of “hybrid meetings,” defined as a combination of face-to-face (f2f) and virtual attendees and components. These “live-plus” virtual events will dramatically change the face of the conference meeting, event and tradeshow industries. Get ready for a wild ride!
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Eight tips and tricks from three experienced corporate meeting planners
All corporate meeting planners are constantly drowning in details, trying to get things together for the next meeting and worrying about the meeting after that one! Working “smarter” and not “harder” on their meetings, conferences, events and tradeshows is paramount to doing a great job. We gathered some of AMI’s Certified Meeting Planners together and asked them for some quick tips. Here is what they had to say.
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Ten tips for your next conference
Conferences are hard work. From developing the creative treatments to establishing milestones and timelines, planning ahead can make all the difference in the world. When planning a conference, there are specific guidelines that you should always follow in order for it to run smoothly. Here are 10 tips that will help you plan and run a successful conference.
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Speakerfile launches first online marketplace of speakers for the $106 billion meetings and conferences industry
Speakerfile, a new technology platform for connecting a global community of corporate experts to the meetings and conferences industry, has successfully completed its initial phase and officially launched to event organizers yesterday. The company provides the first-ever online marketplace giving conference organizers a free, comprehensive resource to discover, evaluate and book fresh, talented public speakers, the company says. More than 3,000 speakers in over 70 countries have now registered profiles on Speakerfile. The site features both professional (paid) speakers as well as industry speakers from across 190 industry sectors.
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The three essential elements that make for a great speech
Over the past 17 years, I’ve probably seen well over a thousand speakers and speeches. Some were good, some bad, some memorable, and some unforgettable. Though I sometimes joke that I’ve seen more speakers that anyone should be humanly subjected to in their lifetime, I actually consider myself lucky, as these experiences have provided me with a continuing education and perspective that most people don’t have access to.
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Beyond boundaries: Speaking across cultural differences
Recently I was listening to a presentation made by a Canadian speaker at a conference in California. The audience was entirely American, and after being introduced as a Canadian, the speaker said, “There is one very big difference between speaking to a Canadian audience and speaking to an American audience.” He then began the substantive part of his speech. Almost immediately, he was interrupted by an audience member who abruptly yelled out, “Hey! What’s the difference?” The speaker responded, “That’s the difference!”
