Mar 11
Ashley SpitzerTips meeting attendance, meeting education, social media, technology, webinar
I’ve participated in a number of webinars lately, and wanted to share some tips that I’ve accumulated from both my positive and negative experiences. Hope you find them helpful – and feel free to share your own thoughts!
-Establish a Twitter hash tag prior to webinar and include hash tag with dial/login instructions. While attendees may converse via the virtual meeting chat platform, if your audience is accustomed to Twitter, this is most likely where they will opt to connect. Be sure to have an organizer monitor comments for feedback, questions and technical assistance.
-Strong preparation should not be overlooked. By the time attendees sign into the platform, technical glitches are worked out and introductions are made, the time for information sharing is short but vital. Practice your speech to ensure you have enough time to present the information. Thorough presentation slides can assist with this.
-Traditional face-to-face presentation best practices still apply. You’re not off the hook just because attendees cannot see your face. Content must be engaging and informative just as much, if not more so than if in person.
-Since presentation slides are the sole visual for the webinar, these must present the information in a clear, concise manner. Remember, presentation slides can be posted as a resource after the event. Attendees will appreciate thorough and entertaining slides that are consistent with the flow of the presentation.
-Familiarize yourself with the webinar software. Utilize the attendee mute button while the presenter is speaking. There’s nothing worse than an attendee placing a call on hold and disrupting the presentation with hold music, or hearing typing or phones ringing in the background!
-Leave adequate time for questions. Whether you choose to answer questions along the way or at the end of a presentation, it’s vital for a successful webinar to include the audience’s comments and questions.
What do you think should be added to this list? Share your own experiences and ideas!
Sep 15
Ashley SpitzerNews, Trade Shows Event Industry Networking, hsmai affordable meeting, Keep America Meeting, meeting education, meeting industry
Last Wednesday and Thursday, we attended HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings National Show in Washington, DC.
The show was attended by over 2,000 meeting planners on the first day!
The education sessions throughout both days of the show were of the highest quality. Our personal favorites include Jonathan Tisch and Scott Klososky’s keynote speeches (more on Klososky in our next post).
Jonathan Tisch inspired us to fight for the meetings industry! He shared a video of how far the Keep America Meeting campaign has come and encouraged audience members to contact their Senators in support of the Travel Promotion Act. Ironically, the bill was passed the very next day.
Tisch shared that Loews hotels have adopted the mantra “value is the new luxury.” We think the saying is reflective of the trends across the entire industry – Affordable Meetings National was the perfect place to gather and discuss them!
Aug 18
Ashley SpitzerMember News, Tips for Meeting Planners, Trade Shows ASAE & the Center, attendee interaction, Event Industry Networking, Keep America Meeting, meeting education, social media, Trade Shows
What are planners looking for from the ASAE Expo?
A survey taken on the floor the first two days found planners looking for new ideas and new partnerships. To quote one association planner,
“In order to be successful, we look at our exhibitors not just as exhibitors, but as business partners.”
Face to face interaction with business partners at the expo is an important way to foster connections.
After ASAE has concluded, planners can solidify these new relationships by using ConventionPlanit.com as a web portal to our varied portfolio of suppliers.
Technology, especially social networking, are important components to the meetings industry, but can be made much more successful through new face to face connections!
Aug 17
Ashley SpitzerMember News, News, Tips for Meeting Planners, Trade Shows ASAE & the Center, meeting education, social media, Trade Shows
All morning we’ve been able to stay involved with ASAE’s Annual Meeting & Expo from our own office.
The General Session was streaming live, and many users of the popular networking site, Twitter, were sharing real time updates and information. (Look for #asae09 to see what attendees are saying)
The International Section of the Exhibit Hall is showcasing ConventionPlanit.com supplier members from Dubai, Singapore and (soon to be members) South Africa and Korea.
Association meeting planners and executives can visit with these experts from different regions of the world…or if they miss this opportunity to do business face to face, just consult ConventionPlanit.com to research these exciting destinations and submit RFP’s.
Stay tuned for more information and updates from the show!
Jul 22
Ashley SpitzerMisc Tidbits, News, Tips, Tips for Meeting Planners Bethenny Frankel, meeting education, meeting ideas, Real Housewives of NYC, Trade Shows, travel, travel tips
If you didn’t receive the ConventionPlanit.com newsletter yesterday, you missed out on an interview with Bethenny Frankel from Bravo’s Real Housewives of NYC.
Bethenny dishes out smart menu and eating habits for on-the-road meeting planners.
Check out what Bethenny has to say – and be sure to sign up for our newsletter for more great tips and meeting ideas!
Apr 17
Ashley SpitzerNews, Trade Shows ASAE & the Center, meeting education, meeting industry, Springtime Expo
Yesterday we attended ASAE’s the Springtime Expo 2009 in Washington, DC. It’s the biggest meeting expo of the season!
We met some great meeting planners at our booth and gave live demos of ConventionPlanit.com. It was great to see friends and colleagues in the industry – and meet new ones.
The show was bustling with planners and suppliers interacting, networking, and most importantly, learning! Our vote for favorite booth goes to the Philadelphia CVB for serving up such yummy authentic Philly cheesetakes. The tantalizing aroma filled the expo hall!
What was your favorite part of the show? What did you learn? We are already looking forward to next year’s show – April 8, 2010. Thanks for a great time, ASAE!
Apr 14
Ashley SpitzerMember News, Tips for Meeting Planners meeting education, meeting industry, Tips for Meeting Planners, travel tips
The latest edition of our e-newsletter went out today -
You can sign up to receive your copy here…
…or catch up on your meeting news through the archive on ConventionPlanit.com.
The e-Alert is published every other week, and is a great source of meeting information, happenings and tips!
Apr 07
Ashley SpitzerMisc Tidbits, News, Tips, Tips for Meeting Planners economy, imex, meeting education, meeting industry, Tips for Meeting Planners
• Are we seeing the green shoots of recovery?
• Where will growth develop?
• Which market segments will be most resilient?
• When will activity pick up?
If you want the answers to these questions, register for IMEX’s free webinar:
Wednesday, April 22, 12:00 PM EST
At the recent G20 Summit in London, world leaders claimed that the global economy would soon start to see the ‘green shoots of recovery’.
But where will these shoots bud in the meetings industry and where is growth most likely to develop?
Leading corporate meetings experts – Christine Duffy, President & CEO of Maritz Travel; Luca Favetta , Director Global Events EMEA & Asia Pacific for SAP, Andrew Latta, Head of Corporate Events – Aviva, and David Kliman, President of The Kliman Group will explore the issues driving the debate.
This hour-long webinar will look beyond the immediate crisis and negative PR stories to focus on where growth is going to come from, how companies are revising their live events strategies, which market segments are likely to be most resilient, and when activity is likely to start showing significant increases.
Mar 20
Ashley SpitzerMisc Tidbits, News, Tips, Tips for Meeting Planners, Trade Shows ASAE & the Center, hsmai affordable meeting, meeting education, Springtime Expo, Trade Shows
Happy Friday!
If you’re in the Chicago or DC areas, there are two great meeting planner educational opportunities coming up…
April 1-2: Affordable Meetings Mid-America
Chicago Navy Pier
Visit ConventionPlanit.com at Booth #1110!
April 16: ASAE’s Springtime Expo
Walter E. Washington Convention Center
Visit ConventionPlanit.co at Booth #434!
Stop by and say hello…we’d love to meet you!
Feb 26
Ashley SpitzerMisc Tidbits meeting education, meeting ideas, Meeting Negotiations, meeting planner help, Tips for Meeting Planners
Meeting professionals negotiate all the time – it’s an essential element of the job! The ability to negotiate successfully is crucial for survival in today’s changing business world.
Negotiation is fun if you know what you’re doing. So for all you busy planners, here are Ed Brodow’s Ten Tips for Successful Negotiating…
Ed Brodow is a keynote speaker and negotiation guru who has appeared on PBS, ABC News, Fox News, and Inside Edition. He is the author of Negotiation Boot Camp: How to Resolve Conflict, Satisfy Customers, and Make Better Deals (Doubleday).
Older Entries
Current Discussions