Susan Friedmann

When you're planning a business meeting or event, you'll most likely need audiovisual equipment — such as microphones, projectors, screens, and lighting. ©Wellphoto / Adobe StockSome facilities, such as conference centers, offer the luxury of built-in audiovisual (AV) capabilities that often contain highly sophisticated equipment.

If you're a meeting and event planner, you need to know both the advantages and disadvantages of using online communication technology so you can make good decisions about when to use it and which format to choose. ©.Shock / Adobe StockMeeting online is no longer reserved for high-level executive pow-wows. Since 2020, nearly everyone from grade school kids to grandparents has experienced online conferencing.

Planning business meetings and events requires multitasking skills and ingenuity. To succeed, you need to know the basics of meeting or event planning and how to plan effectively. Then, you must hone your skills so that you can negotiate for the best venues, vendors, and speakers for your attendees.And, if you can do all this and keep costs down — and you can!

What does the job of planning a business meeting or event entail? Entire books are dedicated to answering that question, but the following list includes the fundamentals a planner must expect to coordinate: Site selection Hotel accommodations Travel arrangements Food Speakers and entertainment

Organization and preparation are key when planning a business meeting or event. You have to cover all the basics from reviewing the content of the meeting to accommodating the attendees. Use the tips in the following list for successful meeting and event planning: Make sure meeting objectives are clear and concise.

As you organize various business meetings and events, you're likely to come across many different presentation situations. Each requires a unique approach and attention to detail. Here are some of the more common scenarios. Team presentations Flip to almost any popular television morning show, and you likely find that it features an assemblage of co-hosts working as a team.

Successfully organizing meetings is an under-appreciated business skill. With the umpteen details meeting and event planners need to handle, mistakes are bound to be made, and sometimes heads will roll as a result. To make certain that yours isn't one of them, here are some common meeting blunders to rise above.

Planning a business meeting involves more than just chairs and microphones. You'll want to create the right ambiance for your meeting, from the seating to the heating. Most of these items are ones that attendees don't notice unless something goes wrong. You know you've done your job well if you hear no mention of any of them.

Before you can organize a function with food for a big meeting or event, you need to meet with the catering manager (CM) at the facility you've rented or your outside caterer or party planner if you hold your event at a venue without in-house facilities. Be prepared to build a good working relationship with this person.