Welcome back to, In Any Event, I’m your host Michael Kranitz, CEO of Eventsquid. Today’s guest is Joanne Dennison, a speaker and event planner that has traveled the world educating people. She started out as a college administrator and even then was busy planning events, then started her own small event planning firm, which evolved into speaking, writing, and advising masses on her strategies for 20 years now. Her secret is her passion for listening to other people’s viewpoints to find points of communication and agreement to know how to best serve the client and build ROI for both parties. Let’s jump right in and learn how she is able to get you to understand and experience a different POV, by having you sit in the attendee’s chair and experiencing what they do. 

[00:01 - 06:28] Opening SegmentI welcome and introduce Joanne DennisonJoanne gives a bit of  her background Started as a college administratorAlways planning eventsStarted her own company Began speaking and teaching What people get out of Joanne’s engagements Preparing people for the CMP exam Known for her philosophies Instruction and teaching from a different way of approachExample of her philosophyThe educator at heart CMP is not just a three-letter word Teaching people to use their education to move their business forward List makersDetail-oriented teachingPlanning is a destiny, not a destinationThinking of the event three years forward

[06:29 - 14:43] The Attendee is the Most Important Stakeholder Joanne talks about planning events today for the future The attendee’s needsRegister or be fired meetingsWhat should people do differently after they leave The example of sales managers Creating more ROINot the number of people, but the number of ROI Joanne talks about bad event ideas and how to fix it You can’t just make everything virtual  Get good presenters and you’ll have no problem Reworking the budget The problem of engagement expectation Excellent meetings and events no matter what 

[14:44 - 28:25] Be in the Attendees’ Chair Joanne talks about the energy drop How to engage in virtual meetings Joanne gives advice about production enhancements Examples of a virtual class Joanne gaveRelying on the team to fill the gaps Seeing from the virtual attendeeA polished presentation  Consider re-allocating budget Joanne’s views on pre-recorded speaking Make sure it feels real Live is always better The attendee can watch recorded videos any time Make recordings available later after the event Have back-ups ready, but don’t let it be the main thing Let things go wrong, it’s human Using Avatars We don’t need more non-people We crave human faces 

[28:26 - 35:27] Closing SegmentThe value of human engagement Creating ROI Joanne’s thoughts on going back to face to face events Keep quarantine and violations in mind It’s not the meeting planners decision until q3 and q4 2021Don’t feel bad for turning virtual Joannes next CMP training classNovember 17 - 20 (virtual)How to register - links below FAQ on Eventsquid Rego page Final words

Resources Mentioned: http://themeetguide.com/cmp-class/ (Register for CMP Training)

Tweetable Quotes:“If we’re going to create a financially sustainable event we can’t just think of this year… but one of three years in a process. What are we putting in place today, to build next year better, and the year after that better.” - Joanne Dennison“Get good presenters who have quality information, and it can go on for five hours.” - Joanne Dennison“Engagement is what brings ROI… how do we engage with each other? If we do it well, it creates ROI for...