Celebrate

Tips & Trends

If you’re like <a target="_blank" href="https://globaldmcpartners.com/sites/default/files/media/files/GDPPulseSurvey2022Q4/2022_GDP%20Q4%20Pulse%20Survey%20Summary%20Report.pdf">45% of meeting planners</a>, you’re working with a flat budget from last year—or a smaller one—but are being asked to produce the same quality of event. One area you might be loath to touch is your audiovisual budget. With good reason: Poor sound or visual quality can make even the most brilliant programming feel dull.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t dig deep to find savings. Read on for three ways to make the most of your A/V budget.

<h3>Plan ahead.</h3>
Starting early is hardly a groundbreaking tip for professional meeting planners. But particularly for tech-shy meeting planners, it’s easy to keep your A/V needs vague until the last minute or to trust that if there’s sound and screens, it’s all good.
That leaves money on the table. When you account for your needs well in advance, you’re better able to <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/481/five-tips-for-better-communication-with-your-tech-team">communicate with your tech team</a>, which can then rightsize your equipment and staffing needs. Start by knowing your priorities so you’ll understand when you truly need top-of-the-line equipment and when any old speaker will do, helping you avoid the trap of panicking and splurging on high-end equipment where it’s not necessary. Plus, you’ll avoid stressing out your tech team with last-minute requests, which may make them more willing to work with you on figuring out how to get the best value for your budget.
<h3>Schedule your sessions wisely.</h3>
Beginning and ending the day with a plenary session makes a certain sort of sense—get attendees jazzed up for the day’s events, then bring them together to seal in all they’ve absorbed. Trouble is, that can be pricey.
“One of the biggest money-wasters is the general session sandwich,” says <a target="_blank" href="https://www.brandtkrueger.com/">Brandt Krueger</a>, a veteran production manager in the meetings and events industry. “You know, you get the 12 people for the crew to come in and do the general session first thing in the morning, and then they sit around all day because you’re doing breakouts, and then they have to come back at four o’clock for a one-hour closing general session. So now you’ve got a full 12-person crew on all day.”
Opening up the day’s end for other types of events not only releases your A/V crew early, it can also provide more breathing room for attendees. Small-group networking, off-sites, or even an early release can be a budget-saving, attendee-friendly option.
<h3>Know exactly what you’re getting.</h3>
The price tag is one thing; the value you’re getting is another. If you’re working with an independent A/V provider, they may offer services that you might be searching for elsewhere—or already paying your venue for—such as stage management and visual design. If you’re working with your venue’s A/V team, your payment may include things like Wi-Fi. But without examining your contract and asking questions, you could wind up double-paying or missing an opportunity to bundle services.

Global

Rule #1 Goes Beyond A/V, Too.

Three Ways to Rescue Your A/V Budget

Educate

Maybe you have a full-fledged production team; maybe you’re just working with the general email address at an event management app (and little else). No matter the size and scope of your technology support, your event’s success will soar if you’re better able to communicate with the tech and production experts who help bring your event to life.
<a target="_blank" href="https://www.brandtkrueger.com/">Brandt Krueger</a>, a veteran production manager in the meetings and events industry—and a communication specialist in his own right, as tech correspondent for Smart Meetings and host of <a target="_blank" href="https://audio.eventtechpodcast.com/">Event Tech Podcast</a>—shares his top tips for planners who want to communicate more effectively with tech teams.

I always tell planners, ‘You can speak in your terms.'

1. Be Comfortable Asking Questions
Production teams don’t expect you to come in with their expert level of knowledge. But they do expect you to be able to communicate your needs, and asking questions is an integral part of that. It also helps ensure that you’re being understood correctly. Asking questions can help avoid misunderstandings down the road, and can help keep your budget on point too.
“If there’s a piece of gear on your bid and you don’t know what it is, you should absolutely ask about it,” Krueger says. “You can ask, ‘Is this something that we need?’” You don’t need to know every functionality of every piece of equipment on your production company’s bid. But you do need to know whether it’s necessary.
And if you’re getting resistance about your questions? “That’s a huge red flag to me,” Krueger says. “If they’re in any way cagey about it or come back at you with a bunch of technical mumbo-jumbo, they might be trying to take advantage of you or something along those lines. They should be able to explain every single piece of equipment and why you’re paying for it in a way that makes sense. Same with software. And if they can’t, maybe they’re not the right fit.”
2. Have Confidence in Your Core Skills
Remember one of the principal traits of successful meeting planners (that’s you): versatility. You’ve had to learn about catering, hospitality, programming, communications, executive priorities, and more. If you take a little time and learn the bare-bone basics of how your gear works, that will be enough to communicate with your tech teams.
Unsure about that? Look back at how your skills came into play in the biggest shakeup the meetings industry has ever seen. “Going into the pandemic, we had all these seasoned planners who were great at in-person events, and for some reason they thought their skill set didn’t apply to remote events,” Krueger says. “And it did apply. You have 20 years of evaluating vendors, you’ve got your own sniff tests, and you can apply all of those skills to when you’re choosing a virtual platform or an online vendor. It took some getting over that hump for planners to remember, ‘OK, I do have these skills.’” The same principle applies to event tech. You know more than you think you do.

3. Know What Needs to Happen—and Let Your Team Get You There
You’re the expert in what needs to happen for your event to be a success. Your production team members are the experts in actually making it happen. Starting from your mutual points of expertise can lead to stronger collaboration and less confusion.
Krueger has seen planners cut-and-paste equipment lists from other shows and hand them over to their team, thinking that they’re supplying useful information. “I would rather have a planner approach any event technology company with what they’re trying to do than with a cut-and-paste gear list that might not be what they actually need,” he says. “Most A/V people would rather know more about the show and then figure out how to make it happen.”
For example, if you’re discussing audio needs for a panel event, your production team needs to hear from you how many people will be sharing the stage, not your stab-in-the-dark guess at how the stage needs to be wired.
Take the time to walk your production through the entire course of the event and consider your needs at each point to avoid last-minute realizations that create A/V or tech emergencies. “Are we going to have music? That’s one audio output,” Krueger says. “Are we going to have video playback? That’s another. The technical terms would be stepping through your inputs and outputs. But for the layperson, you’re stepping through the things that need to go onscreen and the things that need to make noise.” Defining these beforehand instead of realizing 10 minutes before the event starts that you’ll need entry music will help you create the ambiance you’re after.
 
4. Use Your Own Words
One specific callout of letting your tech team be the tech experts: If you don’t speak their language, don’t try to fake it.
“I always tell planners, ‘You can speak in your terms,’” Krueger says. You might think you’re being helpful by using the language of the person you’re talking with. But unless you can say with confidence what the term you’re using actually means, you might wind up causing more confusion than communication.
And as the adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. If you’re communicating with a production team member remotely, take pictures or screenshots of what you’re looking at.
 
5. Share What You Know, When You Know It
Meeting planners are known for trying to make things as easy as possible on everyone else. Take care not to let that translate to holding back information that could help your production team better collaborate with you.
“Sometimes planners hold information too close to the vest—they’re like, ‘Well, it’s not set in stone, so I don’t want to give wrong information,’” Krueger says. “But we all know that things change between the RFP and the day of production. Don’t be afraid to give us what little information you have as early as possible, even if it’s possible that it’ll change.”
In fact, inviting your production team into your venue visits, or even the venue negotiation process, can help you anticipate your needs in areas that don’t appear to be technical at first. “Let us help you,” Krueger says. “Meeting planners are looking at the beautiful resort and the food and spas and amenities, so let us look at the power setup and the freight elevator. If you’ve got the most beautiful resort in the world but it takes you an hour to push from the loading dock to the ballroom, that’s something you’re going to need to know.”

You Don’t Need to Talk Tech to Talk With Tech Experts.

Five Tips for Better Communication With Your Tech Team

Event planning is one of the fastest-growing careers, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/meeting-convention-and-event-planners.htm#tab-6">U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>, which reports that the employment of meeting, convention, and event planners is projected to grow 5% from 2024 to 2034, faster than the average for all occupations. So if you’re new to the field, you may very well not be alone. More importantly, there’s no need for you to learn things the hard way. We asked industry veterans Princess Castleberry, a global speaker with more than 20 years of experience in enterprise risk management, crisis response, and wellness, and Nicole Osibodu, co-founder of Club Ichi, a private membership club for B2B event marketers, for the advice they wish someone had given them when they started out in the business.
Below, we break down where beginners most often stumble and how to turn those moments into wins, with field-tested advice from our pros.

<h2>THE TOP 3 ROOKIE MISTAKES—AND HOW TO PREVENT THEM</h2>
You don’t know what you don’t know. So we asked our veterans how to avoid the biggest first-timer blunders. Here’s what they said:
#1: Skipping a seasoned gut-check. Events tend to surface the unexpected. As Osibodu put it: “I would say the first thing would be to get a mentor that you can run your specific event by three times.” She recommends an early walk-through of the plan and order of operations, a midpoint check-in covering the “top three challenges and top three things going well,” and a final pass “two days before the event,” she says. At that point, ask your mentor: “What did I miss? What am I not seeing? Where’s the hole?”
#2: Underplanning the true start of the event. Your opening impression begins long before the first name badge is printed. Castleberry warns, “The mistake people make is not thinking through the real start of their event. It starts even before registration, online when you download the app. People underestimate the power of that first impression. Map every early moment—save-the-date, confirmation email, app download, wayfinding—to reduce friction and set the right tone,” she says.
#3: Assuming vendors will “just handle it.” Ownership gaps create bottlenecks. Castleberry suggests holding what she refers to as a “partner talent show” in which each <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/515/nine-ways-to-build-partnerships-with-diverse-vendors">vendor</a> partner is put “on stage” during a pre-conference meeting to explain how they’ll deliver. For example, say: “Registration, you’re up. What does it look like? I’m standing in line for how long? You have 15 computers, but you only have five people working. Who’s doing what?” Specifics prevent surprises.

<h2>WHERE PLANNERS MISJUDGE TIME MOST</h2>
Time management is one of the trickiest topics for event planners—even for the pros. Below, where they allot the largest proportion of pre-event hours.
● Registration and arrivals. Crowds arrive in waves, not a trickle. So you’ll want to plan for things like how many people can fit in a line at your <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/431/five-questions-that-will-give-you-more-value-from-your-venue">venue</a> and plot where the overflow should go. Pre-print as many badges as possible, and consider a light, optional activation that keeps guests happily occupied while lines move. Castleberry shared a favorite example, which took place at a meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, just after the running of the Kentucky Derby. “The very first activation was to make your own Derby hat. Immediately you had 1,000 people walking around in their Derby hats, networking and getting registered. It just flowed.”
● Rehearsals and sound checks. Run-of-show looks tidy in a spreadsheet, but in reality, there are mic swaps, clicker handoffs, and slide changes to contend with. Pad tech checks (especially for remote presenters), build in five minutes between sessions, and schedule a full show rehearsal with walk-ons/walk-offs to prevent running behind on your big day.

<h2>THE CONTINGENCY PLAN CHECKLIST EVERY NEW PLANNER SHOULD HAVE</h2>
Even the best-run programs hit bumps. Use this checklist to pressure-test your plan.
Talent/content. Always have a backup speaker or moderator on deck and a piece of preloaded “evergreen” content (such as a short fireside chat, case study, or highlight reel) that can fill a sudden gap. Print key remarks and keep them in your kit so anyone on the team can step in to keep the program moving.
Tech. Assume a laptop or file will fail at some point. Bring a secondary computer, duplicate show files, spare clickers, and clearly labeled cables/adapters. And have a simple “go-dark” plan for <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/767/the-event-tech-you-need-now">tech</a> glitches. For example, if the screen or stream fails, turn on the house lights, send a facilitator on stage immediately, and run a quick audience activity (e.g., a show-of-hands poll, 60-second networking with a neighbor, or a brief Q&amp;A) to keep people engaged while tech issues are resolved.
Venue. Have an overflow room ready to activate, along with clear weather contingencies for outdoor events. Mark these on your floor plans and brief your team so redirection feels seamless, not improvised.
People. Create a text tree for urgent updates. And designate which teammates have authority to green-light pivots on the spot so that precious minutes don’t get lost making decisions by committee.
Operations. Stock an emergency kit with gaffer tape, markers, and batteries, plus hydration and quick snacks for your crew. And schedule a 15-minute reset block before major moments to fix signage, seating, and the like. Those small buffers can keep your event running on time and your team calm.
First events feel big because they are. But they run better when you plan them with foresight, such as scheduling three check-ins with a mentor. And the importance of rehearsals with every member of your crew cannot be overstated. Add a short postmortem to help plan smooth future events and you’ll likely trade in <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/685/top-stress-busting-tips-for-event-planners">cortisol spikes</a> for total control.

We Asked Industry Veterans for Their Top Tips for a Seamless Event

Expert Advice for First-Time Meeting Planners

You want your event to have a lasting impact. But you don’t want that impact to be on your attendees’ hearing.
Noise-induced hearing loss isn’t limited to people who work with heavy machinery. Repeated or extended exposure to sounds above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss—and given that many sporting events and concerts register at 110 decibels, that’s not a high threshold.
<a target="_blank" href="https://www.asha.org/about/press-room/articles/protect-your-hearing-during-noisy-summer-events/">According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association</a>, more than a billion young people are at risk of irreversible hearing damage, in part because of noisy events. But hearing loss aside, too-loud events can also trigger sensory disorders—and can be just plain unpleasant.
“Not all ears are created equal,” says Kayla Johnstone, senior director of project management at Encore, an event experience organization. “Hearing can be a subjective experience and can vary not just person to person but also vary on where a person physically is within a space.”
Protect your attendees’ well-being by reading our guidance on communicating about audio needs, and top-level tips on what to look for.

<h2>Listen Up: Communicating Clearly Now Can Prevent Audio Issues Later</h2>
You’ve devoted yourself to understanding your attendees’ needs. If you’re stopping short of considering what they need aurally, you’re not considering the full scope.
“It all starts with communication with the attendee,” Johnstone says. This can include assessing attendee needs by giving them opportunities during registration to specify preferences or requests, alerting them of any particularly loud programming, and identifying resources you have on hand for people with sensitive audio needs.
Resources Johnstone identified include noise-canceling headphones, designated quiet zones, and flexible seating arrangements that allow participants to enjoy programming while finding the level of stimulation that’s best for them. Low-sensory environments can satisfy a variety of needs: a space for attendees who desire quieter surroundings, closed-captioned programming, and an overflow room for plenary sessions.
She also advises that meeting planners consider the full scope of potential sensitivities when offering alternatives, pointing to the example of silent disco experiences, in which attendees listen to sound through headphones so they can adjust according to their needs. “That’s not a one-size-fits-all solution—some people can experience discomfort when it comes to touch, which needs to be considered,” she says.
Once you understand the attendees’ concerns, <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/481/five-tips-for-better-communication-with-your-tech-team">it’s time to communicate with audio technicians</a>. Let your audio team know not just the content of each segment, but the intent behind it. Is the keynote meant to kick off an energetic networking session? Or is it a more somber event meant to ground attendees in fulfilling an organizational mission? Skilled technicians can ensure that the volume matches the mood you’re hoping to evoke at each point.
And don’t skimp on prep time. “Rehearsals and cue-to-cue sessions are crucial for fine-tuning the audio setup, allowing technicians to perfect the balance and energy needed to support the content and atmosphere,” Johnstone says.
As you connect with the audio team, be specific and timely. You don’t have to know exactly what to ask a technician to execute, but the better you can communicate the desired effect—or what undesirable effect is hampering the moment—the better the solution will be. When communicating with the tech team, know whether the issue is general or specific to one part of the space to help them diagnose and fix the problem quickly.

<h2>What Makes a Successful Audio Experience?</h2>
Balancing the need to create an energetic environment with protecting attendees’ hearing doesn’t mean keeping the volume at a bare minimum. “Loud audio is safe in small durations and can be used intermittently throughout a program for moments of impact and high energy,” Johnstone says. “This should be spaced out with moments of lower audio levels to create a dynamic environment while minimizing any harmful effects of constant exposure to loud sounds.”
Go into your tech check-ins understanding that the audio experience isn’t just about volume. It’s also about space. What sort of sound-absorbing elements are in the room? What microphone system is best for the space and the programming? What speaker layout is going to yield the desired effect? Are you able to use delay speakers to evenly distribute sound throughout the room?
“Without delay speakers, attendees at the back may struggle to hear, while those in the front rows could be overwhelmed by the volume,” Johnstone says. Your tech team will guide you to the right choice, but to help them do that, come to your sessions with them equipped with knowledge about your event.
In a world where loud is proud, finding the right volume at your event is as important as finding the right DJ for the after-party. Focus on kicking your communication skills up to 11 and you’ll be in the right groove.

Hear This: Getting Audio Levels Right Requires Strong Communication.

Is Your Event Too Loud?

Promote

Mic check? Done. AV setup? Done. Music selected? Done.
Your sonic setup can begin and end there—but it doesn’t have to. Music helps set the tone for an event, but the auditory world goes beyond music. Sound is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.livescience.com/8426-brain-link-sounds-smells-memory-revealed.html">just as powerful as sight and smell</a> when it comes to triggering emotions and forming memories, and using it in ways other than the expected can help you shape your meetings. Here are some ideas to inspire the audio at your next event.
For ways to bring the other senses into your events, visit the other articles in this series: <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/428/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meetings-more-visual">sight</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/516/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meetings-more-tactile">touch</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/511/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-event-more-tasteful">taste</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/512/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-incorporate-scent-into-your-events">smell</a>.
<h3>Pairing sound with visuals</h3>
GE and The New York Times Magazine partnered to <a target="_blank" href="https://giantspoon.com/work/general-electric">create an aural experience</a> to go with a special issue of the magazine. They aimed to help readers match <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/tips-and-trends/article/428/the-five-senses-of-meetings:-make-your-meetings-more-visual">images</a> with vivid, engaging sounds, such as the glass-breaking crackle of a lava flow from Kilauea and honking horns and shouting street vendors in Lagos, Nigeria. If you’re introducing new machinery or tech at a conference, try pairing images with the sounds it makes when operating.
<h3>Take a bath</h3>
Sound baths have gained popularity as a meditative aural experience. You can <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/03/style/self-care/sound-baths.html">do the real thing</a>—Toronto General Hospital recently held a sound bath performance as part of its Music Can Heal concert series. Or borrow from the phenomenon by creating a sound loop that you can stream throughout the meeting. For a tourism event, try evoking the feeling of travel with the sound of jet engines, church bells, taxis, and a street festival.
<h3>Branding with sound</h3>
Beyond commercial jingles, brands are experimenting with sound—BMW, for example, <a target="_blank" href="https://qz.com/1655649/interstellar-composer-filling-the-silence-of-bmw-electric-cars/">partnered with Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer</a> to craft sounds for its notably mute electric cars. A sonic brand can be as simple as a few notes that, over time, become associated with a company through marketing. (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.marketingdive.com/news/mastercard-sonic-branding-timbaland-priceless-album/625808/?utm_campaign=mkb&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_source=morning_brew">Mastercard recently took the plunge</a> into sonic branding with an album featuring tracks inspired by the Mastercard melody, familiar to us through their commercials.) Give your meeting a sonic brand by choosing a special sound to indicate the start of a meeting or end of a break period. Think: the sound of clinking glass for a meeting of beverage professionals, or chirping crickets for a gathering of conservationists.
<h3>An audio adventure</h3>
Sound has the power to transform a space and transport listeners to another dimension. Take a cue from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.darkfield.org/seance/">Séance</a>, the “intense sonic performance” that was a hit at the 2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Guests sat in a small, dark space and listened to an immersive audio experience that had them believe a séance was happening in their midst. In a meeting, try giving guests headphones and streaming sounds related to the meeting’s purpose to set the tone—a medical conference might use a soundscape that incorporates sounds health professionals hear through a stethoscope, for example.
<h3>ASMR in person</h3>
ASMR—or autonomous sensory meridian response—is a physiological response to sensory cues. In recent years, it has gained popularity through “whisper videos” online, but <a target="_blank" href="https://whisperlodge.nyc/">it’s a hit at events, too</a>. Try holding a live ASMR performance at your event that immerses guests in the experience, like the sound of rustling pages and clicking keys at a literary event.
<h3>Incite virtual conversations</h3>
<a target="_blank" href="https://www.clubhouse.com/">Clubhouse</a> is a virtual water cooler, where users can wander “hallways” and step in on meeting rooms to engage in audio-only conversations. Professionals tout it as a networking hub. For virtual meetings, the app can be a great way to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartmeetings.com/tips-tools/technology/131412/meeting-planners-clubhouse">keep the conversation going</a> outside of videoconferences and breakout sessions.

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Audio

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