4 Tips For Choosing A Speaker

May 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Many events include speakers as part of the program. Speakers are great because they help reinforce a topic or the theme of your event.  If you’re planning a company retreat, a speaker can be a different voice from outside the company that will help reinforce the topic or theme.

Choosing the right speaker for your event is very important.

When choosing a speaker, here are 4 things to keep in mind:

  1. Topics.  Many speakers can talk on different topics.  They may have a book that is currently out that is their main topic, but there could be additional topics that the booking agent is aware of.  When booking a speaker, ask if there are additional topics the speaker can speak on.  This might allow you to add another session with that speaker.  You’re also looking for a topic that fits into the theme of your event.
  2. Scheduling.  Speakers can be booked 2 to 3 years out depending on their popularity.  If you have someone in mind, it’s best to get on their schedule as soon as possible.  Another issue with scheduling could be a vacation the speaker has planned or something similar to that.  The further out you book, the better you’ll be able to plan around the speaker.
  3. Fees.  Speakers fees are in all different price ranges.  Obviously the more popular the speaker, the higher their fees will be.  If you’ve read a great book and anticipate the author is about to be hot, go book them now for your event.  Even if your event is a year out, getting them early could mean you get them at a discounted price.  When that popularity strikes, the price goes up.
  4. Marketing.  Speakers can be a great marketing draw to your event.  I know when I see the speaker lineup of an event, it affects my interest in attending that event.  Use their name and picture in all marketing pieces.  And don’t forget to include them in your social media marketing as well

What things to do look for when choosing speakers for your event?

Filed Under: Activities/Recreation, Pre-Event Planning Tagged With: ,

4 Ways To Celebrate At Your Event

March 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment

I wrapped up a big deal for one of our management clients the other day.  What was the first thing we did?  Celebrated, of course.  It might be as little as a muffin from Panera or as big as a steak from Stoney River, but we celebrate everything at my company.

I find it to be rewarding and gratifying when something big comes together (especially if it’s a big project I’ve had a hand in), and we, as a company, take that opportunity to celebrate those victories.

Do you take the opportunity to celebrate achievements?

Celebrating these big accomplishments is a great addition to any upcoming retreat or event your company is doing.

How do you do celebrate?  Here are 4 ideas:

  1. Concert.  Bring in a band, solo artist or DJ to juice up the celebrating.  If you really want to have some fun, do some karaoke.  That’s one way of getting your employees to get out of their comfort zone.
  2. Nice dinner.  Let’s face it, we all like a nice dinner.  Especially if it’s something we wouldn’t personally splurge on like steak or lobster.  You get the general idea.
  3. Movie night.  Grab your favorite movie treat and settle in for a nice movie.  If you’re off on a retreat, do it later in the night, and have your attendees wear their PJs (nothing too crazy here.)
  4. Bowling.  At your next event, take a field trip to a local bowling alley and knock down some pins.  To really get people mingling, mix up departments.

Remember that whatever you do to celebrate, the key word is “fun”!  Your company (or team) is celebrating.  You can’t watch a movie like The Notebook.  It’s got to be something fun and exciting!!

Have you added a celebration night to your event?  What has worked for your company?

Filed Under: Activities/Recreation, Christian Retreat Ideas, Teambuilding Tagged With: , , ,

How To Take Charge Of Your Childcare Security

March 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Will your upcoming event involve childcare?  Here are five areas you must address to keep children safe.

Hire trained/experienced staff: Childcare workers should have background checks and First Aid/CPR training. Keep copies of training certificates and background checks on file.  Need help finding childcare professionals?  See if you can find someone who already manages childcare workers for another company, and hire them do some freelance work.  They already have a trusted group of people to contact.  If you can’t find someone like this, reach out to local gyms, churches and daycare centers. They will have lists of childcare workers, and if they aren’t willing to share the names, you might be allowed to send out an email or put up a poster asking for workers.

Create a secure and safe location.  Are the room(s) where the children will be cared for safe for them?  A space appropriate for adults is not necessarily safe for children.  Power outlets must be covered, doors secured, furniture checked for stability, and small objects removed.  Unfortunately, we must now also make sure that childcare locations are also secure from outside intruders.  Do windows and doors lock?  Is there a manned desk or check-in station where visitors must pass before entering?

Capture names and allergy information on each child.  With any number of unfamiliar children in attendance, childcare workers need a way to identify and keep track of their charges.  At the very least, write each child’s name and known allergies on a stick-on name tag and secure it to their back.  (Children will peel, exchange, shred or even eat a name tag affixed to the front of their clothing.)

Identify emergency contact information.  Paging systems have mostly been replaced by caregiver cell phones.  When staff check a child in, be sure they ask for an emergency contact number.  Parents can leave their phone on vibrate and receive a call or text from you if necessary.

Establish a workable pick up protocol.  This is what most people think about when they wrestle with childcare security.  Every childcare professional has nightmares about releasing a child into the custody of the wrong person.  There are lots of options available to you for pick up security.  From simple tag systems, to high tech touch screen check in software, systems differ in situational usefulness.  Since you will most likely be providing care for a group of children for only a few days, any system that takes lots of set up time and training for parents is not a good option.  Do a little research and you will find a system that fits your needs well.

Staff, location, child profiles, emergency contact information and pick up protocol are key to ensuring that the children your attendees leave in your care will be safe.  In addition, your attendees will be able to focus more fully on your event when they are sure their children are not only well cared for, but protected.

Filed Under: Activities/Recreation, Christian Retreat Ideas, Meeting Set-Up Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Goal Of A Hospitality Rider

March 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

There is a famous story of a big rock band who made an odd request in their rider.  They asked for the brown M&M’s to be separated out from the other M&M’s.  An odd request for sure, but they saw this as a way to test a promoter.  If they walked in the backstage area of the venue and the brown M&M’s were in fact separated, they knew the promoter had read and paid attention to the rider.

A typical rider has two sides to it: technical and hospitality.  We’ve spent some time discussing the tech part, but today I would like to look at the hospitality side.

When you get the rider from the artist, speaker or band you’re having at your event, the hospitality section could appear overwhelming or even that the artist is being a little big headed.

The goal of this section is to make the performer as comfortable as possible at your event.  In case you hadn’t heard, artists are wired a little bit different than the rest of us.  And you’ve asked them to bring their talents to your event.  For them to be effective, they prefer conditions to be a certain way.

As an artist manager, we encourage our artists to make their riders as simple as possible.  We understand the importance of ministry, and the last thing we want, is the rider to get in the way.

Along those lines if you have an issue or question on anything on the artist rider, don’t hesitate to bring that up to the booking agent you are working with or the artist’s manager.  I would imagine their attitude will be the same of not letting any issues be a stumbling block.

What is the strangest thing you’ve seen requested in a rider?  How did you handle with the artist?

Filed Under: Activities/Recreation, Meeting Set-Up, Site Selection Tagged With: , , ,

Top 10 Posts – 3rd Quarter 2012

October 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Fall is here and I for one can’t wait for the changing leaves and cooler temperatures.   This means the 3rd quarter is behind us and it’s time to share our 10 most read posts over the past 3 months. Hopefully this will help you find a great post you might have missed…

  1. What’s A Hollow Square – As in any industry, hotels and conference centers sometimes have a language all their own. Here’s a little help in translating…
  2. Ridgecrest Recipe:  Rutland Chicken – Have you been looking for something new to do with chicken?  Enjoy and then let us know what you think!
  3. 5 Things To Do AFTER Your Meeting Is Over – Everyone has gone home and you want to relax but here are a few things that still need to be done and will definitely help you in planning future meetings and/or retreats.
  4. 8 Ideas For Promoting Your Church Retreat –  If you don’t also spend time on strategically promoting your retreat, you may end up with a great retreat that no one attends. With that in mind, here are 8 ideas for helping to promote your upcoming church retreat.
  5. 3 Steps To More Productive Brainstorming – Brainstorming with your planning team is a great way to ensure you provide an event your attendees will find engaging and worthwhile.  Here are 3 steps to take that will go a long way to making your next session more productive.
  6. 3 Tips To Creating An Unforgettable Event – Here are 3 tips on how to turn your event into an unforgettable experience.
  7. Creating A Standout Womens Retreat – A podcast interview with Chris Adams and Betsy Langmade, 2 of LifeWay’s long-time women’s leaders sharing what they’ve learned about planning women’s events.
  8. 5 Tips For Programming Effective Youth Camps – Brian Mills serves as student pastor Long Hollow Baptist Church and is passionate about reaching young people for Christ. Here are his thoughts on how to program your youth camp for maximum spiritual impact.
  9. 7 Tips For Getting The Most From A Site Visit – Once you decide to make a site visit, here are 7 tips to help you maximize your time.
  10. Meeting Planner Survival Kit – Many planners need to be prepared to address last minute needs and emergencies. Here is a starter list of items you need to have in your meeting planner survival kit to be prepared at your next event.

Which post have you found most helpful?

 

Filed Under: Activities/Recreation, Budget and Pricing, Cost Saving Ideas, Marketing and Promotion, Post-Event Follow-up, Recipes, Site Selection Tagged With: , ,

Icebreakers Are Just For Kids, Right?

September 14, 2012 By 2 Comments

When I think of icebreakers, I think of entertainingly silly games for kids to become instant friends…or at least get to know each other a little bit. But what about adults? Sure, some adults (like me) would be totally content playing child-like games, but they wouldn’t match up with some events and groups of attendees. Here are a 3 non-embarrassing adult activities to use as icebreakers for a larger crowd of about 40 or more attendees.

  1. People bingo. This is a pretty popular icebreaker; I’m almost positive I’ve played this at some point in my life. The idea is for everyone to have a bingo card, and instead of written numbers in the middle of each box like regular bingo, the text would read, “Has three kids,” “Owns a beach house,” or, “Loves country music.” The text should be common enough that it describes a few people in the group, but not common enough that it describes most. Each person has to go around the room and find a person who matches up with the text, then have them initial the square. The catch is that one person can only sign one box, so everyone must talk to a bunch of people! You can even give the winner a small prize at the end, so they’re a little more enticed to really play the game.
  2. “Communality test.” This is another icebreaker that starts in small groups, but this is teeny groups of two. These two people need to find one not-so-obvious common trait. Then, go into groups of four and find a trait all four of them share. Then, eight. Continue that until the entire group has to find something they have in common. Since your group might be too large for that last step, you could go up to 16 or so, then switch up all the groups and start from the beginning. After this icebreaker, everyone will know a bunch of random facts about everyone else.

And here are a couple for a group of less than 40 attendees:

  1. Any “question of the day.” If you have a smaller group, posing a question that could have many possible answers is one way to know people better.  Some example questions are: What would you do with a million dollars? Who is your idol? What is your favorite quote? What is one thing you would you change about the world? If time allows, get a conversation going about some of the answers. Sharing this type of information (and having these discussions) will make it easier to connect during the rest of the event.
  2. Any sport. Depending on the age range (and athletic abilities) of your attendees, there are quite a few sports you could play, that easily make people trust each other and rely on each other. Some include kickball, beach ball, volleyball, and even tug of war. Is tug of war even considered a sport? I think it should be! Having to work together as a team will bring people together pretty quickly.

Have you ever tried these icebreakers, what do you do to help people connect at your events?

Filed Under: Activities/Recreation, Teambuilding Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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