Cameron Toth and Social Education: Networking: 5 Lessons from MPI's World Education Congress 2011 #WEC11

Cameron Toth and Social Education: Networking: 5 Lessons from MPI's World Education Congress 2011 #WEC11

We've Moved!

As of May 5, 2011 the PCMA Events Blog has moved. It is now combined with the membership blog, and can be found at: http://blogs.pcma.org/

See you there!

Top 10 Reasons for Being a Member of PCMA

Posted by:
Christine Melendes, CAE
Director, Member Relations, PCMA







PCMA Members at Convening Leaders
Photo Credit: Jacob Slaton Photography

I talk to a lot of people about what PCMA is and why they should join. Many times people aren’t sure they can commit either the financial or personal resources to make membership make sense for them. But I argue that in this day and age when connections are king and information drives performance and business results – there has never been a better time to be connected to the meeting industry best and brightest.

Below is a list that I compiled with the help of the PCMA membership committee last year and I think it’s still relevant today.

1. PCMA Convene magazine offers readers the opportunity to gain CEU credit hours toward their CMP designation by reading featured articles and taking a short online test on the content.
2. It is more important than ever to invest in your career – PCMA provides the right education, the right networking and the right tools.
3. PCMA promotes the value of meetings to our industry, expanding the reach of our industry and its impact on the economy.
4. Research that keeps you on the cutting edge of industry issues and trends, providing essential information that allows you to face challenges head on and recognize new opportunities.
5. PCMA delivers superior and innovative education and promotes the value of professional convention management.
6. Our members are savvy - Leaders from all levels of our industry, focused on continuing education and self-improvement that generates an influential membership committed to advancing our profession and industry.
7. Our members conduct business in a professional, fair and trustworthy fashion and in a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable manner.
8. We embrace an enthusiastic spirit of collaboration, commitment and respect that drives our members.
9. We create lifelong connections in a positive environment. Planners and partners learn and connect on a peer to peer level.
10. PCMA is the leading organization for meetings and event professionals.

What is your top reason for being a member of PCMA? Join the conversation by posting a comment!

I hope you consider joining PCMA, and if you are currently a member, that you continue your membership. It is you, the member that makes this organization a place where leaders gather!

Ottawa – Where Friendship and Business Come Together

Posted by:

Christine Melendes, CAE

Director, Member Relations, PCMA

In my opinion there are two ways to build truly successful business relationships.

1. You start with a business need and then develop a friendship with your partners. 
2. You start as friends, build a strong relationship first and then get down to business.

It is the later that I am fortunate to have experienced with my good friends and business colleagues in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.  

It was the friendships that I have built with key members of the Ottawa Convention Centre team that caused me to have so much pride last week when I joined them to help celebrate the opening of the new Ottawa Convention Centre.  I was among a fine, distinguished group (1,300 of us) of people including Canadian dignitaries, the mayor, and many influential business people who all worked tirelessly to make the new Ottawa Convention Centre a reality.

Photo courtesy of Mathew Usherwood

I was fortunate to experience the great city of Ottawa the day before and the day leading up to the opening gala.  It is a very “easy” city to make your way through…not only is the city center compact and walkable, the people of Ottawa are warm, welcoming and beyond friendly.  Through walking the streets you connect with a city rich in history, but modern in everything the city offers…contemporary dining, nightlife and shopping.  

This is a city that has waited more than 20 years for a convention centre that would be a masterpiece, a crowning jewel, in a city that has for centuries been the hub of policy making, business building and community.  

It is that history, that sense of true pride in what was accomplished, that allowed me to sit back and enjoy watching my friends receive pats on the back, toasts, and hugs for a job well done.

Photo courtesy of the Ottawa Convention Centre

If you haven’t been to Ottawa, I suggest you put it on your “must visit” list for both business and leisure.  This is a city that gets business, gets conventions, and gets how both impact the local economy.  But most of all, this is a city with a beautiful new, modern convention centre where the team understands your business and is ready to help you succeed.  And I promise you, you will enjoy every minute you spend there!

PCMA Donation Drive – WOW Results!

Posted by:
Christine Melendes, CAE
Director, Member Relations, PCMA



WOW! That is simply the only word I can say when I think of the results of the 2011 Convening Leaders Donation Drive. What started off as a HUGE goal of collecting 10,000 cards (a goal I thought we would struggle to reach) – we ended up donating almost 16,000 cards!

WOW! What support we had from the meeting planning community for this drive…our most successful one to date. Throughout the event people just kept coming and coming with cards to donate. When I checked on the “counting” we had over 10 boxes of cards counted and bundled by Tuesday afternoon. By the close of the meeting we had 12 boxes of cards ready to ship off to St. Jude’s.

WOW! What an amazing collection of cards – from holiday cards to note cards – there was enough variety that the charity will not know what to do with it!

WOW! How easy was this? Well, if you’ve never had a charitable component to your meeting before, you could simply add this and with little effort you could have a lasting and meaningful impact on a charity in your host city.

It was so easy to pull off with these simple steps: 1) Pick a charity where your attendees can easily pack or purchase a donation; 2) promote, promote, promote; 3) Make it easy to find the donation bin and make sure you have volunteers gather and record the donations; 4) Work with the local charity to pick up the donation.

This year’s donation drive benefited St. Jude’s Ranch for Children. St. Jude’s Ranch for Children serves all abused, abandoned and neglected children and families, creating new chances, new choices and new hope in a safe, homelike environment.

About PCMA’s Network For the Needy (NFTN) Initiatives

Founded in 1990, NFTN started a simple initiative to donate leftover food from conventions. NFTN has now grown into an organization-wide educational program for industry professionals to become educated in how to give back to their communities through meetings. Sponsored by a generous grant from Global Experience Specialists, NFTN is available throughout the United States and Canada at no cost and involves a wide range of programs and activities.

Why use the Network for the Needy to plan convention volunteerism?

Why not? The benefits are limitless, but here are just a few of the reasons why you should:

• Create goodwill - give your attendees the opportunity to help others in need and demonstrate that your organization cares about the community.
• Foster teamwork among your attendees by working together on a project for those in need.
• Develop positive community relations by publicizing your volunteer efforts to your members and customers.
• Help to demonstrate the value of the meetings and trade show industry to the community at large.

Learn more about PCMA’s NFTN initiatives.

Looking Back: My Reflections on Convening Leaders

Posted by:
Alisha Ernst
Student, Kansas State University







PCMA Student Union: Character Counts

WOW! That’s really the only word that comes close to justifying my experience this past week at PCMA Annual Meeting: Convening Leaders in Las Vegas. I again want to thank PCMA for providing me with the scholarship that allowed me to attend this meeting.

As far as my three objectives I am happy to report I met all of them.

1. Meet an individual who holds a position in the industry that I have not even fathomed

I met one attendee who I believe their position is focused on creating introductory music to help set the mood for opening events.

2. Attend a lecture that intimidates me and see what I can gain from it

On Monday, I attended “International Incident: Prepare for the Unexpected”. I have had the opportunity to study abroad, but I have never worked abroad. I was blown away by international challenges that had actually occurred to the panel. I found the round table session, where we worked with meeting professionals to address different international scenarios, very beneficial.

3. Learn what the industry is doing to go green (as this is one of my major passions)

One of the most unique features I learned in this area was not from a session, but from the MGM Grand itself. On one of the trash cans I saw a sign that indicated that all of the trash was sorted for recycling. This meant the MGM Grand was not leaving it up to the guests they had already made the commitment to going green itself. I was excited that PCMA had picked a venue that was committed to the environment.



PCMA Student Union: Character Counts


Overall I had an amazing time meeting many people and attending amazing events. Everything from Party With a Purpose to the Opening Ceremony to hearing the conference start with the Jersey Boys truly was incredible! It was amazing first meeting I look forward to many more including San Diego next year!

Photography by Jacob Slaton

Giving Back and Having Fun

Posted by:
Danielle Babilino
Senior Vice President, Hotel Sales, Wynn Las Vegas

It’s really not a “Trip to the Strip” without a stop at one of the hottest nightclubs in Vegas! Something PCMA Convening Leaders attendees learned last night.

Tryst at Wynn was thrilled to host the PCMA Education Foundation’s Party With a Purpose (PWAP) at Tryst – last night. We sold out of tickets and had a great time dancing the night away!

We're so glad you were able to join us last night, having some fun in Las Vegas, experiencing the Wynn, Encore and Tryst and helping out two great causes.

When we heard PWAP selected the St. Jude’s Ranch for Children as their charity, Wynn decided we wanted to do our part to support the Foundation and an organization that’s doing great work in the Las Vegas Valley – protecting its most vulnerable children.

We threw our full support behind this effort and subsidized not only the venue but also the beverages (which we hope you all enjoyed)! Along with the Founding Partner, GES, any many other fantasic partners – Wynn was proud to be the Venue Partner.
We'd love to hear from you - What was your favorite part of last night? Post a comment or let us know on Twitter at @wynnlasvegas - be sure to use hastag #pcma11.

Photography by Jacob Slaton

What Happens at Party With a Purpose...

Roy Benear
Senior Vice President
Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau




In our industry, we all know that conventions inject their host communities with a significant economic boost, which drives the local economy, supports public programs and keeps hotels busy. What’s special about the PCMA Annual Meeting: Convening Leaders, though, is that through Party With a Purpose (PWAP), which takes place tonight from 9:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. at Tryst, at the Wynn, we’re all able to directly impact the lives of real people in each community.

How do we do it? PCMA donates proceeds of ticket sales to a local charity; this year, it’s St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, dedicated to healing and caring for abused, abandoned, and neglected children. And every year, through PWAP, we also raise money for the PCMA Education Foundation, PCMA’s Network for the Needy.

It’s a good cause, and it’s a great party - so great this year that it's already sold out! The Austin CVB is signing on again in 2011 as the official live music sponsor, and Austin rockers, Skyrocket, are back by popular demand. Skyrocket will perform your favorite hits from the 70s and 80s (got a request? Tweet it to @MeetAustin, using the hashtag #AustinRocks, and you could win a call-out from the stage before Skyrocket plays your song! Careful, though – you sure you want everyone knowing that you love Devo?). We’ve created a campaign this year to help you get to know Skyrocket; they’re blogging from the road as they drive their vintage bus from Austin to Vegas. Check it out.

By participating in PWAP, we’re proud to say that the Austin CVB has helped to grow this annual event and increase the amount PCMA donates to each charity.

This year, you can benefit, too. Austin CVB representatives and our partners (Continental Airlines, Radisson Austin Hotel & Suites, Austin Convention Center, Marriott Courtyard and Residence Inn Austin Downtown, Hilton Austin, and Hyatt Regency Austin Downtown on the Lake) will be on site at PWAP, handing out a limited number of poker chips. Find and collect a chip from each of us, then bring your chips to the Austin area at PWAP and you’ll be entered to win a weekend in Austin, an Amazon Kindle, and more. Talk about a win-win.

Onsite: What I Hope to Gain

Alisha Ernst
Student
Kansaa State University

I want to take a moment to introduce myself and thank PCMA. I am a senior at Kansas State University majoring in Hotel and Restaurant Management. PCMA has blessed me with an amazing scholarship opportunity that is allowing me to attend the Annual Meeting: Convening Leaders for the first time. I think many would agree I could not ask for a better location for my first meeting!

Which brings me to my next task, I was asked to give the students perspective on my expectations for Convening Leaders. I did not want to develop any unrealistic expectations on what this meeting will entails. However, based on what I have heard from previous attendees and what i'm seeing already, I do not think I could come up with any unrealistic expectations. It's only Sunday, but it appears it is going to be an absolutely amazing event filled with extraordinary attendees and speakers.

While this event is so important for industry professionals to continue their education and see new ideas and thoughts, it is equally important for students. Through our classes we gain a really good base knowledge of the industry, but this meeting allows us to see beyond just the face of the industry and to see what it really means to plan meetings and conventions. I look forward to learning about the nitty gritty details of the business, the good, the bad, and the ugly. So I have established 3 specific goals for the conference:

1. Meet an individual who holds a position in the industry that I have not even fathomed
2. Attend a lecture that intimidates me and see what I can gain from it
3. Learn what the industry is doing to go green (as this is one of my major passions)

On a more general note, during the next few days I look forward to hearing from wonderful speakers who are experts in the field. I hope to meet attendees at all levels of their careers and hear about their paths and current positions.

As far as preparing for the next few days goes, I think we can say the meeting planners at PCMA have done it all for us! I've used the PCMA 365 Portal to schedule my classes and create an itinerary. I read about the amazing evening events and receptions (and I bought my Party With a Purpose ticket!). I look forward to meeting all of you during our time here!

Start with the End in Mind

Donna Sanford
Founder and former Publisher of EXPO Magazine
Program Consultant for the Virtual Edge Summit
dsanford@virtualedge.org





If you’re like many in the event industry, 2011 will be the year you go virtual. And you’ll likely call someone like me to ask “how,” when what I wish you’d ask is “why.”

Do I think you should produce a virtual or hybrid event? Maybe. OK, probably. But for the right reasons – not because it’s trendy.

What I want to know is what you hope to accomplish with a virtual event. Are you trying to “tease” potential attendees to come to next year’s event? Or is your goal to make those who couldn’t attend physically still feel a part of the event? Are you hoping to position yourself as an education resource for your industry? Or is revenue your ultimate objective?

These are all legitimate goals, but each requires a different approach in terms of content and production for a virtual event.

If you’re going with the “tease” to try and give the 70 percent of your potential audience that never comes to your event a taste of what it’s like, then consider simply livecasting your keynotes and a few of the stronger breakout sessions. Maybe include a few video interviews with attendees talking about key takeaways from the meeting.

If the immersion of your home audience is what you want, then I’d suggest a robust offering of sessions and networking opportunities, with plenty of two-way communication. Add a streaming studio with “color commentators” who fill dead air between sessions and during food functions. And consider some product announcements and demos from exhibitors or sponsors so the home audience feels like they, too, got the latest news from the show floor.

If revenue is your goal, I’d up the ante on the above hybrid event and offer all the education sessions. Make it an on-demand event for at least six months, and include scheduled Q&A sessions with key speakers throughout the six months. Consider certification and accreditation for the online audience. Marketing will be key here to continue to drive attendees.

If positioning your organization as an education resource for your industry is what you really need, what could be better than a year of well-planned, well-executed Webinars? Not everything has to be a full-blown virtual event with an exhibit hall and a networking lounge. Add a link to a well-stocked resource room to your Webinars and you can become the go-to source for industry education.

For even more insights into the right kind of virtual event for your organization, I really recommend you attend the Virtual Edge Summit in Las Vegas, January 12-13, co-located with PCMA's Annual Meeting: Convening Leaders. There are 36 great sessions on every topic you need. It’s a full-blown hybrid event, too, so if you can’t make it in person, plan to attend from your office!

If you’ve got virtual questions, start sending them my way, and I’ll be sure to get them to the right VES speakers and get you some answers. I look forward to a discussion here or on Twitter at @virtualedge and #VES11.

Implementing APEX/ASTM Standards at Convening Leaders

Michelle Stoddard
Specialist, Project Management
PCMA




When the PCMA Green Task Force began discussing the new APEX/ASTM Standards on a spring 2010 conference call, I started to think of how PCMA could teach its members about these new standards.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the APEX/ASTM Standards, they are guidelines to produce more environmentally-friendly meetings and conventions. CIC has been working on them for a few months now, to produce a set of industry standards to make meetings more sustainable. Currently, CIC and the APEX/ASTM Standard Committee are working on finalizing the 9 standards to prepare them for voting, to be approved and published early 2011.

Now, PCMA’s annual meeting, Convening Leaders, already has an incredible number of components, forcing our meetings team to be spread pretty thin. I approached PCMA’s Vice President of Meetings & Events, Kelly Peacy, to see if she thought it would be possible to attempt two of these standards (On-site Office and Food and Beverage) for the January 2011 meeting.

Kelly agreed that PCMA should showcase these standards and asked that I work with Vicky Betzig on the Meetings Team to implement them. After reading and reviewing the list, we found that PCMA already meets some of the requirements; however, there was room for growth. By early fall 2010, we decided that our goal would be to achieve level 1 for all aspects of the On-Site Office and Food and Beverage Standards.

These standards are not just for planners, half of the requirements are for suppliers as well. It is important to distribute the supplier requirements to all parties involved as soon as possible. The MGM Grand was happy to work with Vicky to respond to what items they already do and what they can do by January. Make sure you leave yourself time to work through these standards, and keep in mind the meetings contact at the conference center will not generally have this information readily available.

Since Vicky and I began this process, we have developed an implementation and marketing plan, in order to understand what needs to be completed by January.

We hope that by working to achieve these standards for the 2011 PCMA Convening Leaders, we are able to produce documents to assist you in implementing these standards for your own organization’s meetings.

Please join us on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 for our education session, Implementing Environmentally Sustainable Standards, at Convening Leaders, to see the case study on what was done and to learn tips and gain tools for you to use when exploring these new standards.

If you have any questions relating to APEX/ASTM Standards and how we implemented them at Convening Leaders, feel free to contact me at mstoddard@pcma.org. I look forward to hearing from you.

SMM At PCMA Las Vegas

Posted by:
Jennifer W. Brown, CMP
President, Meeting Sites Resource




For those of you attending my Strategic Meeting Management (SMM) workshop at the PCMA annual meeting: Convening Leaders in Las Vegas this January, I am looking forward an interactive discussion and analysis on how to get the most value and ROI from your SMM plan.

The big picture goal of course will be on "how to demonstrate real meeting value to senior management" and specific metrics to define and measure success. Whether you control enterprise wide meetings and events for your organization, or only meeting activity in a corporate office, division or department, SMM is a game changer and will play an important role in your overall success. Meetings are big investments and a carefully planned and implemented SMM plan can save 14%-24% annually, which clearly will peak the interest of senior management.

"Value" has different definitions by different stakeholders, which will be revealed during the critical SMM needs assessment and action plan phase. Often, too much emphasis is placed on cost savings and not enough focus on meeting design, architecture and attendee experience / learner outcomes. We all want to squeeze (and demonstrate) more $$$ to the bottom line, however, if you save money but do not achieve meeting goals and objectives, that is not ROI, but ROB (Return On Budget), which is an "F" by SMM standards.

We’ll also discuss additional SMM components, including the need for robust technology that drives data management, including cost savings and risk reduction report by meeting.

I look forward to more dialog on this topic in Las Vegas. Participating as a driver of this essential business initiative will have a big impact on your organization...and career!

If you have any initial questions or thoughts on the SMM initiative, please send me an email...I would love to hear from you. You can reach me at jbrown@meetingsites.net.

Jennifer W. Brown, CMP is President of Meeting Sites Resource, a global Specialist in meeting site research and hotel contract negotiations. The company also offers professional meting support services, custom meeting education, SMM consulting and advanced meeting technology solutions.
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To learn more about Jennifer's session at Convening Leaders, visit pcma2011.org or contact communications@pcma.org for more details.

Never Replace Face-to-Face

Posted by:
Jordan Schwartz
CEO, Pathable



Perhaps it sounds heretical coming from the president of an Internet-based “social media company”, but I don’t think on-line social networks and communities can ever replace the power and value of face-to-face meetings.

At this point, you might be asking “but isn’t that your business?” No, it isn’t. Here’s why:

The value that on-line social networks for events provides come from the way they can enhance and extend face-to-face meetings, not replace them. Here are three simple ways:

1. Increased Attendance: On-line social networks are uniquely suited to set off viral marketing cascades: one person posts a note to Twitter or Facebook and all of their friends see it. If only a small percentage of those respond or “retweet”, you can quickly build a chain reaction where your news or message can flow through to an audience of thousands. By leveraging this network effect, you can get the word out about your event in a much more effective way than traditional ad buys or other channels.
2. Increased Satisfaction: If your attendees are coming to meet each other and build new relationships, they will judge the value of your event on their success at achieving their goals. If they walk away with a passel of new connections and relationships, they’ll be back next time. If they don’t, they may not.
3. Extended Duration: Typical face-to-face events last anywhere from several hours to several days. It’s a rare event that lasts all year. But that’s exactly what on-line communities can do. And not only do they extend your event for months after it’s over, but think about what kind of value a 24 / 7 tradeshow can offer your exhibitors!

With Thankgsiving wrapped up here in the U.S. and more holidays on the way, we’ve had many opportunities to see how emotionally impactful getting together with people face-to-face can be. Looking someone in the eye, hearing the silence between their words, feeling the grip of their hand: these powerful experiences can’t be matched by words or pictures on the screen.

But if you want to get the most out of the face-to-face experience, taking advantage of all that on-line communities and social networks have to offer is essential.

None of this is to say that virtual meetings and hybrid meetings (i.e., meetings with both an on-line and physical component) don't have value: they do! The way information can be transmitted and ideas exchanged without the accompanying travel costs (both time and money), are fantastic and these types of meetings will continue to grow with good reason. But will they replace face-to-face completely? Never.

Attendees at your events have a limited time to see each other, so they want to make the best use of the time they have. How can you help? Provide them with the tools to get to know each other before they arrive, to set up meetings in advance and to stay in touch when the event is over.

And that is enhancing and extending the face-to-face meeting.

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To hear more from Jordan, be sure to attend PCMA's 55th annual meeting: Convening Leaders in Las Vegas, Jan 9-12,2011.

Jordan's session, Successful Online Communities for Events, will help you identify best practices in building an online community, create synergy between face-to-face and online communities, and utilize online activity to improve year-round relationship with your community.

Giving Back: Community Service as Part of Events

Posted by:
Debbi Beldon, CMP
Experient National Account Manager




Community Service is an important part of my life. I have served on the committee for an annual local industry event that raises money for the Food Bank of the Rockies for years. I am currently serving as the Chair of the National Network for the Needy Committee for PCMA. Community Service has always been important to my company, Experient and I am grateful that they give us the ability and support to participate in some very important activities.

The Denver Experient Office holds an annual event called Pack for Impact that combines raising money and doing good work. We collect leftover convention bags and spend the afternoon with clients and supplier partners at the Food Bank of the Rockies stuffing the bags with food with the children that participate in the Kid’s Café program to take home every weekend. This year, in addition to actively stuffing 500 bags, I am very proud to share that with the help of some very generous sponsors we presented a check for $7,750!

I know that many groups include some community service component in their events, so I was curious to learn what groups were doing at their meetings.

I spoke with Diane Miller, Senior Coordinator Meeting Services for the Church of the Nazarene. She told me that they have been holding service projects at their events since 1987. The Church feels that it important when they go into a city – that they don’t just “take” – hotel rooms, food and beverage, etc. but also “give back” to the community. I was most impressed that at their Youth Conference, the service project is mandatory. Attendees are instructed to bring two suitcases – one for their personal belongings and one filled with food. Once the teens get to the event, they sort the food and fill boxes that will feed a family of four for a week. In 2007 in St. Louis they were able to provide enough food to feed 10,000 families! According to Diane, they believe that if you can expose these teens to service early enough, hopefully the practice of giving back will stay with them for life.

I then reached out to Heather Plush, Senior Meeting Manager at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Heather explained that they have done a community service project the past two years. The last two years their project was an adult “paint by numbers” activity where attendees could come and paint for as long as they had and then the paintings were donated to a local hospital. This year, they are working with the USO, selling specially designed children’s books in their bookstore for attendees to purchase. The books are equipped with recording devices and after the event, NCSL will send the books purchased back to the USO who will send them to parents on active military duty. Those parents can then record themselves reading the book to their children.

I spoke with a corporate planner that is celebrating their 25th anniversary, so every employee has been challenged to commit 25 hours of volunteer service over the course of this year. In an effort to support this challenge, six charities were showcased at a networking event at their office. A pre event video montage (viewed as pre-work in the virtual environment) described the charter and works of each organization prepared the attendees to meet with charity representatives and discuss the possibilities for personal and team volunteer opportunities. Additionally, they incorporate volunteer and community/charity work at almost every internal event.

If you are doing a Community Service project at your events – thank you. If you are not, maybe you should ask yourself why not? The projects are good for the community and rewarding for your attendees that participate. If you are concerned about not knowing how to get started, contact PCMA who has a Community Service committee and may be able to guide you. The Convention & Visitors Bureau in the city where you are meeting is a great resource for ideas. Destination Management Companies can also help you put on a great event.

If you are attending PCMA’s annual meeting: Convening Leaders, be sure to attend our session “Giving Back to Your Host City”.

Why your story matters…

Posted by:

Sue Hershkowitz-Coore, CSP

President/Owner, High Impact Presentations




If your best prospect agreed to give you just 3 minutes to persuade them you were their best choice, what would you say? Oh, and they’re also asking 5 of your competitors all who pretty much offer what you do (think Gala, MacIntosh, Fiji apples). You can create a Powerpoint if you want, or anything else you think might give you the edge.

So what would you do?

Tell your story. Tell them what about your product, service or idea drives people to do business with you. I don’t mean your beautiful ballroom. I mean how you watch brides walk into the ballroom and see them choke back tears (don’t ruin the make-up [humor is fine]) when they see their dream wedding come to life. I don’t mean how you love what you do. I mean how when people write to you after your program and tell them you changed their life, transformed what they do, that they applied your principles the next day – even though they weren’t yet feeling totally confident – and BOOKED the business! It’s your story that matters.

Telling your story requires you know what you offer. That sounds so obvious and really, it isn’t. It’s not the tangibles but the intangibles. The confidence they can feel because of your attention to detail. The time they’ll save because they can depend on your abilities. The sales momentum they’ll generate because of the learning environment you provide.

Pay attention to what people say when they use your service or product. Start journaling the things that happen that are special, unique, interesting to you.

Use your 3 minutes to tell your story. Generate emotion. If you have time left, back it up with the features that enabled the story you just told. No time for facts? No problem. Email them as soon as you leave the meeting. Thank them, remind them of how they’ll benefit and give them a link to the details they’ll use to justify choosing you.

Your story is your differentiating factor. Let them hear it.

If you're interested in learning more about storytelling, check out my session at PCMA's 55th annual meeting: Convening Leaders.

Be a Storyteller: How to Present Ideas Memorably
Meeting and convention managers need every tool to persuade stakeholders that their ideas and meetings have value. Following an interactive program on how to vastly improve your presentation skills, take part in small group exercises where you will "tell your story" and receive feedback. Discover specific, practical concepts to tell your story confidently and competently.

Are questions scary?

My life has been about questions. I think it is a deep-seated cultural/religious thing!

As Chair of PCMA's Student Task Force, I served on the PCMA Annual Meeting Planning Committee. In that role, bouncing around session concepts, speakers and design with PCMA members and staff, it was evident that I drove Chair Neil Schriever a little meshugge! (C'mon .. no 'poor Neil' comments! And Neil? If it makes you feel better, I am sure my parents (of blessed memory) felt the same from all my questioning.)

Why and how?

In addition to being curious, I am a questioner, aural learner and an MBTI "P" who needs to ask and hear questions out loud to process the information. My learning preferences made me as curious about room sets and delivery formats, about interactivity in sessions, about how students would be incorporated into the entire Annual Meeting, as others were about session titles and speakers.

I asked lots of questions and to many, questions are scary. Questions make us think differently and delve deeper. Brainstorming (v. Q-storming™) is easy because it allows all ideas to be put on the table; Q-storming™ makes us consider all angles before we make final decisions. It can take a bit more time and often, in this process and in life, decisions are needed quickly.

There was lots of good that came from the questions during the AMPC experience:
- Students will be seen and heard from more, beginning at the Student Union on Sunday. [Note: MegaMentors, among PCMA professionals, are still wanted. A commitment to being with us on Sun., 1/9 from noon - 3 and a desire to help students grow is all that's needed. Email me at eisenstodt@aol.com if you can and will participate.]
- PCMA will incorporate some new informal learning venues and ventures including facilitated discussions of general session learning applications.
- A session where you can learn to ask better questions will be held on Monday, 1/10.

So why ask?

Why not?

Convene On Site: PCMA Masters Series

Posted by:
Chris Durso
Executive Editor, Convene

This post was posted, with permission, from the PCMA Convene Blog.

The PCMA Masters Series program held at the Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel last Thursday offered a terrific assortment of big-sky and ground-level insights (some of which I tweeted throughout the event), but for me the grand unifying takeaway was the fact that you can't separate a meeting from its parent organization, and vice versa. An obvious conclusion, perhaps, especially considering the topic was "Associations and Meetings of the Future: A Look Ahead to 2020," but there it is.

The panel was moderated by Greg O'Dell, president and CEO of the Washington Convention and Sports Authority, and featured (picture above, left to right) Chris Brown, executive vice president of conventions and business operations for the National Association of Broadcasters; Abe Eshkenazi, CAE, CEO of the Association for Operations Management; Karen Hackett, CAE, CEO of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; Scott Hunt, executive director and CEO of the Endocrine Society; and Peter O'Neil, CAE, executive director of the American Industrial Hygiene Association. As this distinguished group of association executives speculated first on the issues that would face their organizations and then those that would face their meetings in the short- to mid-term view, they couldn't talk about one without referencing the other. Or, even when they were talking about one, their comments had relevance for the other.

When Brown, for example, said, "We're all getting used to being always connected, always on, always available," and "Associations going forward are going to have to be more nimble" -- he was talking about how associations need to figure out how to serve their members in the "do-more-with-less" environment of the last several years. But he very easily could have been talking directly to meeting professionals. Ditto Hunt when he noted that associations have a growing role to play in helping members decide "what is important and what isn't. ... How do you stake out your space when they are getting 120 e-mails a day and clicking right through them like a shotgun?"

The last word goes to O'Neil, who, reflecting on the oft-heard death knell for the annual meeting, said: "The annual meeting is dead. Long live the annual meeting." He added: "What can be better, different, or more for our meeting? ... How can we make that experience live the whole year?"

Storytelling as a Sales Tool? Seriously?

Posted by:

Sue Hershkowitz-Coore, CSP
President/Owner, High Impact Presentations




It seems like everyone today talks about the importance of story, of telling your story and of differentiating your idea with story. Consultants and bloggers explain the different types of stories and companies jump on the bandwagon.

Why? Because a good story starts a conversation. And a conversation can start a relationship. And a relationship can move mountains.

What makes a good story? It’s relevant, authentic and intriguing (or at least interesting) to the listener.

What makes a great story? When the teller isn’t always the hero. It’s a lesson learned the hard way. Sometimes there are twists and surprise endings that don’t make the teller look good at all, except for the fact she/he is telling it, to underscore that lesson learned.

Whether you’re an executive trying to make a point, a parent or teacher attempting to persuade a child, or a sales professional trying to motivate a buyer to act, tell your story to help the other person trust your message.

We (staff, clients, customers, children, students, etc.) are hard wired to buy into an idea based on emotion and justify with logic. That’s just the way it is.

Comments? Ideas? Suggestions? Would love to hear from you.

If you're interested in learning more about storytelling, check out my session at PCMA's 55th annual meeting: Convening Leaders.

Be a Storyteller: How to Present Ideas Memorably
Meeting and convention managers need every tool to persuade stakeholders that their ideas and meetings have value. Following an interactive program on how to vastly improve your presentation skills, take part in small group exercises where you will "tell your story" and receive feedback. Discover specific, practical concepts to tell your story confidently and competently.

I Work in Living Laboratory...And I Love It

Sometimes I think about how lucky I am to work for an organization like PCMA that encourages risks and innovation. It keeps us sharp and on our toes and no day is like the one before. At no other time in the year is this more true than when we are preparing for our signature event, Convening Leaders, which will take place this January 9-12, 2011 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

At PCMA, we work in a true "incubator for new ideas". Whether it is a room set, a technology application, a luncheon menu experience or an education format, we like to throw ideas in the incubator and see what happens. Sometimes these ideas grow and sometimes they don't and that's OK because as an organization for meetings industry professionals, it's our responsibility to take that risk so our members don't have to. They will see what could work for their meeting and what DEFINITELY won't, which is often just as good.

This year at Convening Leaders Las Vegas, we will continue our living laboratory of ideas, with many different types of experiences that you won't want to miss. For example, how will we transform the 16,000-seat MGM Grand Garden Arena into a more intimate setting of 3,000 for our General Sessions? Or, what will happen when we take some the "traditional" learning out of the session rooms and create self-directed learning opportunities and other education formats in our new "Learning Lounge"? This year, we will take all of these new and untested ideas one step further and explain the how and the way behind them. We realize everything at the PCMA Convening Leaders program can be a teaching moment and this year in Las Vegas attendees will gain an even better understanding of our ideas.

Where do these ideas come from? Sometimes our PCMA members are my team's best resource, they tell us what they would like to see tried at our program. They tell us what they like and what they don't like and we make adjustments. Sometimes we rely on our vendor partners to help us come up with a new way of doing something. Sometimes we just make things up that we think might be interesting. Often it's a combination of all of these things. Do you have ideas or concepts you would like to see us try? Let us know! In the meantime, I hope you'll register for the PCMA 2011 Convening Leaders program in Las Vegas, visit pcma2011.org/.

The Masters Series Uncovered – a look at the creation of a PCMA Masters Series program

The Masters Series Uncovered – a look at the creation of a PCMA Masters Series program

For several years PCMA has been offering its Masters Series programs in a variety of settings – at our annual meetings, leadership and education conferences and as stand-alone events with various chapters.

These programs provide a forum for acknowledged thought leaders to deliver professional or executive level education on applied business topics to the meetings and conventions industry. The chief objective is to introduce meeting participants to new ideas and best practices which will influence the way they conduct the business of meetings and conventions.

Developing the Masters Series program for October in Washington DC involved several steps outlined below. I hope you will find them to be a helpful guide that you can utilize when planning your next educational program.

Reaching Out

Knowing the program was planned for D.C., one of the first steps we took was to crowdsource the Capital Chapter Leadership to ask for topic suggestions from their members. What needs did they have? What issues were keeping them up at night? What programs did they already have planned? Within a week’s time several members of the Program Committee and Board of Directors submitted their thoughts and suggestions for our consideration. Some identified specific speakers they had seen in the past while others shared topic ideas they had received from members. We also reached out to John Truran at Keppler Speakers for his recommendations as he has been a long time supporter of PCMA and Keppler is one of our Communication Partners.

Location is Key

Most often when we hear the phrase “location is key” it refers to real estate or a venue. In our case, we saw location as yet another way to help us identify a topic. What did we know about D.C. that could help us determine an appropriate program? We know the region is comprised of the largest concentration of association headquarters in the entire country. We also know from previous Masters Series programs that the majority of people who attend come from the region where it is being held. Finally, we know that PCMA’s Capital Chapter is our largest chapter and has very active members who are passionate about creating quality education experiences. With this understanding we focused our attention on topics that would be of interest primarily to the association community as well as to those who provide goods and services to these organizations.

Brainstorming Creates Clarity

With the information we gathered from the above steps, we brainstormed ideas with key members of our team here at headquarters and it led us to a topic which resonated with many of us. The association world as we know it today will be undergoing a major transformation over the course of the next ten years the results of which will have a significant impact on meeting professionals. We can sit by passively and react to the changes or we can become active participants in shaping the future. It soon became evident that the content of the program would focus on two areas – what will the association world look like in the next ten years and how will the expected changes impact meeting professionals.

The Crystal Ball

While it was tempting for a fleeting moment to entertain the idea of bringing in a wizard or fortune teller to help us see the future, we determined the best approach would be to reach out to those in our industry who are intimately involved in looking beyond the day to day activities of the association world. We wanted to hear from several different voices who could offer their perspective on association life by the year 2020.

Our gaze began to shift to the people at the very top of the association world. When developing the list of potential industry “futurists”, we wanted to insure that we had a diverse panel so that we would hear from both men and women who cut across generations. We also secured a moderator who will move the conversation forward, keep panelists on track and engage the audience in meaningful discussion.

The End Result

Will this Masters Series program deliver on its objective to introduce attendees to new ideas which will influence the way business is conducted in the years ahead? We think it will, but what do we know. It really is up to you to be the judge if we have succeeded. So make a commitment to be there - October 21, 2010. And bring your crystal balls!

For more information on the upcoming PCMA Masters Series: Associations and Meetings of the Future – A Look Ahead to 2020, visit pcma.org/mastersseries.

Posted by: John Potterton, CMP, Vice President of Education, PCMA