May 31, 2013 by DeDe Mulligan
With a growing world population, increased concern about global warming and landfill limitations, it is in the best interest of the meeting industry to limit all resources used at any event. One of the ways to get everyone on board and involved is to announce that from now on, all of your meetings and events will be "green". If you have already adapted green policies, great! But if you are looking for ways to improve the ecofriendliness of your event, here are 20 simple ideas th...

May 29, 2013 by DeDe Mulligan
Every speaker wants to accomplish three things by the end of their talk: Have great stage presence Be well liked and accepted by their audience and Obtain additional speaking gigs or be asked back to speak the following year Chris Anderson, Curator of TED (Technology, Entertain and Design) stated in the latest edition of Harvard Business Review that most speakers miss the boat because they are uncomfortable giving presentations. His mission is to help inexperienced presenter...

May 27, 2013 by Melissa Bailey
A h e r o i s s o m e o n e w h o h a s g i v e n h i s o r h e r l i f e t o s o m e t h i n g b i g g e r t h a n o n e s e l f . - J o s e p h C a m p b e l l T h a n k y o u t o t h e b r a v e m e n a n d w o m e n , p a s t a n d p r e s e n t . & n b s p ;

May 24, 2013 by DeDe Mulligan
Technology -- if used correctly --- should provide positive impact to every area of your event from registration to feedback. It is meant to save time, resources and amplify content. Yet, many planners still are not using it because they don't want to change the status quo, are uncomfortable with technology or are unsure of what they need.  Let's take a look at some of the old and new ways of running a typical meeting and the benefits the right technology can offer to you. ...

May 22, 2013 by DeDe Mulligan
I don't think most meeting planners equate their words as power statements -- but they are. Because you often are the "go-to" person for attendees, sponsors, venues and exhibitors, it is important that the following words be banned and replaced with more positive statements in order to keep your meetings thriving and growing.  Here are the words, what they mean to the recipient and the replacement statements that can work in your favor. "Never."  W...

May 20, 2013 by DeDe Mulligan
The Millennial Generation, or commonly referred to as "Gen Y" consists of individuals born between 1980 - 1995 (ages 18 to 33 years old). This is the group of individuals most business organizations are focused on because they will be running our corporations, government entities and meetings in a few years.  PwC, in conjunction with the University of Southern California and London Business School, conducted a global generational study of 1,000 Millennials from 18 gl...

May 17, 2013 by DeDe Mulligan
As the summer heats up, an employee appreciation event is a great way to get everyone together in a social, casual setting. Whether you host a company picnic on your grounds or you have a networking reception at a local restaurant, getting employees together in a non-work setting, shows them your organization cares and is willing to go the extra mile.  Appreciation events have been shown to improve employee loyalty, reduce attrition and create or maintain a positive work environ...

May 15, 2013 by DeDe Mulligan
  Whether your organization has one large national convention per year or several smaller meetings throughout the year, the purpose of bringing sales professionals together is to train, motivate and reward them for their hard work. However, due to the nature of sales theses days (larger territories, quotas and remote support staff), many sales meetings are suffering from dwindling attendance. The key to a successful sales meeting is to create an agenda and environment where reps WANT ...

May 13, 2013 by DeDe Mulligan
  In corporations and government agencies across the country, it is pretty much mainstay for employees to be issued on their first day of work the following items: A uniform cell phone with a homogeneous talk/text/data plan; A desktop with an operating system and apps the IT department supports and; A laptop for those individuals who travel or are part of the C-Suite. Usually the employee's monthly cell bill is paid for by the organization and when the employee departs, the...

May 10, 2013 by DeDe Mulligan
Even though the technology landscape has changed much since the introduction of the PC in 1981, have you ever considered the rapidity of this change and how it might evolve in the meetings industry? Here's a quick look at the last 30 years of technology used at meetings and events: 1983. Most presentations were carried out in a dark room with an overhead projector and transparencies which were typed or handwritten. To change out the slide, someone (usually the speaker) had to take the curr...