You know it almost as soon as you arrive: whether an event is going to be fantastic or an all-out flop. You’ve almost certainly experienced both firsthand and have seen anything and everything that can make or break any occasion.

On the one hand, there are perfectly prepared and executed events: an extravagant, lavishly decorated affair with food fit for a king; a holiday party filled to the brim with laughter and celebration; a convention show with larger-than-life, jaw-dropping displays. On the flip side, you have a poorly planned meeting that accomplishes nothing or a corporate challenge that does little to challenge the imagination.

The good news is that while flops are hard to forget for all the wrong reasons, they’re also easy to avoid if you have the right training and tools.

The Difference Is in the Details
Whatever the occasion ... business or pleasure, formal or casual, a grand affair or an intimate gathering ... pulling out all the stops and pulling off an incredible event is a lot of work. And there’s one common denominator that separates the good, the bad, and the downright ugly events.

It’s a fine line that separates events that appear effortless and ones that look like hardly any effort was put into them at all. That fine line is in the details: all of the behind-the-scenes planning, organizing, budgeting, strategizing, and promoting, just to name a few, that go into creating the perfect event. As a guest, you know it when you see it. But as a planner, you need to know it in advance and anticipate every possible dilemma that could rear its ugly head.

Leave the Stress Behind and Make Your Event Shine
All right, you get it: pulling off an epic event is a pretty daunting task. It’s stressful, it’s time consuming, it’s detail oriented, everything that can go wrong will go wrong, and all the rest. But putting the stress to rest and making your next event shine is literally one day away. We guarantee it. Whether you’ve been around the block a few times or planning an event is a completely foreign concept to you, you’ll do it easier and in less time with Event Planning Made Simple.

• Recognize the key principles of successful meeting and event planning
• Master the details that can separate a brilliant event from a bust
• Pull off the perfect execution of your exhaustively planned event
• Take the anxiety out of event planning with surefire, stress-eliminating tips
• Form productive and profitable working relationships with suppliers
• Evaluate your performance and learn to build off of past events
• Be prepared every step of the way, from setup to teardown and everything in between
• Don’t just host an event, raise the bar and blow your audience away!
  
  

Is this training for you?
No matter how long you’ve been at your job, you can always use a helping hand. In just one incredible day of training with Event Planning Made Simple, you’ll learn simple strategies for organizing and managing highly successful and memorable events, including ...

• Retreats
• Fund-raisers
• Important meetings
• Trade shows
• Awards programs
• Annual conferences
• Corporate golf outings
• Employee picnics
• Team-building outings
• and more!
  
  

First things first: Getting started in planning an event

• Defining the purpose of your event and starting the planning from there
• The five vital elements that need to be included in any event you’re planning
• Picking the perfect team to help you without hurting feelings or stepping on toes
• Recognizing and avoiding the biggest factors preventing your success
• How to successfully prepare yourself so there’s no surprises
• Setting goals for your event to use as a measuring stick and motivational tool
• Key questions you need to ask yourself when planning your event
• Getting teammates and vendors alike to work with you and not against you

Now that you have some direction: Moving ahead with a solid event plan

• Giving yourself a realistic time frame to adequately prepare for your event
• Building your goals into your schedule and seeing them through
• Guidelines for creating an event that will wow everyone in attendance
• Preparing, managing and, most importantly, sticking to a budget
• Getting what you want, when you want it from vendors and suppliers
• How to decide the best venue for hosting your event
• Setting up planning meetings to communicate with your teams prior to the event

The details are everything: Making sure you’ve got a handle on them all

• How much is too much (or not enough) when feeding the masses
• How to create a visually appealing event, from the invitation to the decor
• Making a first impression: everything you need to know about your registration desk
• How to set up your event based on traffic flow, participation, or other specific needs
• Coordinating with public relations firms and creative directors for larger events
• How to make sure you’re using the best vendors for your event
• Researching and finding the best venue that’s perfect for your event
• Making sure all of your audiovisual and electronic needs are taken care of

The day of and the day after: Pulling off and assessing the event you planned

• Liven it up a bit: creative ideas to keep your attendees interested
• Becoming a hands-on planner and delegating appropriately
• Reducing your anxiety, letting the little things go, and focusing on the task at hand
• Making sure all of your planning doesn’t go to waste in the execution
• Being prepared for anything that can, and usually does, happen
• Postmortem breakdown: evaluating your event ups and downs to ensure future success
• Calmly and confidently handling weather, parking, and other emergencies