How to Improve Your Event Management Skills

Whether you are a seasoned planner with years of experience, or a novice event manager planning your first event, you need to improve your skills. Every event is unique and requires a different approach. Therefore, you cannot set rules to suit all the events you are organising. Events are like a piece of art you need an objective and steps to get there. You must also coordinate vendors and market the event. Social media and exhibition flags will come in handy if you wish to attract a crowd. Despite all the necessary planning skills, there is more to be done if you want to make each event a masterpiece.

ALWAYS HAVE AN OPEN MIND
As you gain experience in organising fundraisers and conferences, you develop a style. Do not let the planning style limit you. It should offer guidance and give room for imagination. Sometimes the routines for planning events are the same due to the strict guidelines of a client. However, the events will not be similar. Therefore, you need to utilise the small window to create a fantastic event. Event management industry is also evolving. Consequently, you should be abreast with the emerging trends to get inspiration.

SET CLEAR OBJECTIVES
Every event starts with determining the goals. What are the primary purposes of the event? Are you trying to raise funds? Are you creating brand awareness? Knowing the objectives helps you define your target audience, decide on the venues, and seek vendors. For a successful event, learn to visualise the event. Even the minute details make a huge difference during planning. However, with a clear vision, you can create a fantastic event.

UTILISE TECHNOLOGY WISELY
Gone are the days when event planners used to walk around with tons of papers. Nowadays, you can keep all your lists and planning schedule in an event planning software. Utilising these event planning tools makes the process efficient and keeps you organised. You can also use technology to connect with your audience and get useful input. Online surveys and event apps can come in handy in gathering feedback and directing your customers.

READ WIDELY
There are plenty of books and blogs that explain the intricacies of event planning. Therefore, you should spend your free time reading advice from the industry gurus. Reading improves your skills and keeps you updated on the current trends in the industry. You need to set aside a few hours daily for reading and learning something new in your industry.

MAKE SOCIAL MEDIA YOUR FRIEND
Building your brand name and personality portrays your aspirations and attracts potential clients. Therefore, you need to maintain a robust online presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. With social media, you can build a strong network of followers. With many followers, marketing an event is easy. Besides, you can get useful feedback on previous events. You can also get advice from online forums on how to improve your event management.

BUILD A STRONG TEAM
Those people that you work with will either build you up or bring you down. Therefore, you need an active group of people who have the same passion for event planning. Spend time communicating designs to manufacturers  for your company events and brainstorming ideas on what to do to improve the business. Also, after every event take time to assess everyone’s contribution to its success or failure. Identify areas that need improvement and work on them. Effective communication ensures you all stay on the same page and complement each other.

PRACTICE
Take advantage of every opportunity to hone your skills, and learn to plan a variety of events. Since there is no magic formula, practice will go a long way. Learn how to negotiate with vendors and find venues without exceeding your client’s budget. That way you can intuitively organise an event irrespective of the size or the target audience. Planning many events also builds resilience and makes you adaptive to changes. Every event has challenges, and you should be able to think on your feet and come up with solutions.

DO A FOLLOW-UP AFTER EVERY EVENT
Every event provides a learning opportunity. Therefore, use surveys to gather feedback from the guests, your client, and staff. Even volunteers can also give useful insights. Ask the attendees to comment on the venue and their experience. Analyse this information and implement the approaches that were effective and discard those that were not working. If your staff let you down, you need to train them. Any supplier that did not add value to the event has to go.
 
Event management requires high organisation skills and passion. The above tips will help you to up your game. Therefore, enjoy your work and focus on satisfying your clients. Besides, if you love what you do, you will always strive to be better.