Dianne Devitt is an inspirational business leader, speaker, author and creative catalyst. She the author of “What Color is Your Event?” an innovative global resource for creative event planning, and a co-author of “Called to Lead: Success Strategies for Women,” focusing on creative leadership. Devitt is the creator and producer of the first SenseUP! Summit, which highlights the impact of sensory engagement on live events, and an award-winning adjunct professor at the New York University Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism. For more information, visit https://diannedevitt.com.

The pervading issue is not about blame — it’s about reminding those responsible, planning professionals, that they may be overlooking ownership and missed opportunities for themselves, their organization and the industry at large. For several decades, meeting and event professionals have fought, worked together and struggled to be recognized as strategic business partners, not reactionary order-takers. Despite these herculean efforts, many executives do not fully comprehend the potential of deliberately planned meetings and events — and neither do some planners. Part of this gap exists because planners don’t always communicate their value in business terms.  It is time to change that, or the industry will stagnate and quickly move back to where it was 50 years ago.

Over the past couple of months, headlines in industry media have alluded to senior meeting professionals being laid off — why else, besides cost cutting, would this happen? Would a company fire its advertising agency or public relations firm? I have been in this industry for over 35 years, and the same argument still prevails: many businesses do not grasp the results a meeting and event can realize as a critical communication tool, intrinsic to a company’s culture.

One way for the industry to expand awareness of its business significance is for planners to truly own and communicate their worth and impact, and be able to explain their roles and contributions in a succinct and effective way.

Planning is people-centric. It is about connection, relationships, empathy, sharing and building trust for business results. And so, I ask planners, producers, department heads, EVPs everywhere, how do you explain what you do? More importantly, how do you answer the question when asked? When the industry was in its infancy, planners would respond that they plan meetings, and the responses would be, “Oh, you’re a party planner.” Party planners have a niche, but not as business strategists for live experiences. Planning a strategically focused business meeting or event requires more than logistics; logistics are the strategy used to deliver the key message and accomplish targeted objectives and goals.

Choose Your Words

Professional speakers are taught to develop and create a 10-second, 30-second, one-minute definition of what they do, what they speak about (sometimes called an elevator pitch). They are trained to get to the point and understand the perspective of the people who are polite enough to ask them. It is critical to define upfront how they can help that person with their expertise. If someone works for an ad agency, and answers, “I’m in the creative department of the Red Ad Agency,” it is understood that they contribute to telling the story of the brand and delivering a message.

Planners can take a lesson from this and be prepared with a statement that will resonate with the businesspeople they are surrounded by when asked what they do (for the company). Most in management are businesspeople who are not familiar with the litigious, dimensional and complex business of meetings and events. Regrettably, the majority of business schools in the country do not include mandatory electives for business students to take related to the multi-billion-dollar industry of meetings and events. This is a major oversight for both the students and the universities, given the revenue effects that meetings and events have on an organization, destination, tourism and so on.

I do not know of any department heads and business owners who train their teams on how to answer these types of questions. Everyone, there is a job to do, and it is time to do it now.  The industry can remain stagnant, or planners can up their game to elevate the industry. When a meeting or event professional articulates their value beyond logistics, people listen. It is a critical responsibility for planners to expand their perceived function and focus their words on communicating with business impact.

In one case, I listened to the client explain his vision for a day long symposium followed by a reception, and then it was my turn to speak. That one-day vision transformed into three days of seven separate events, raising $1 million in fellowship funds. Situations and opportunities such as this occur every day.

I heard a story many years ago, whether it is true or not you can fact check me, but the message is timeless. There was a mechanic at the Boeing Corporation who proudly worked there for over 30 years in the same position as a riveter. One day, the CEO was giving prospective customers an onsite tour of the plant where aircraft were assembled. When the CEO approached the man with his entourage, one of the people asked him, “What do you do?” His answer? “I bring people together, I unite friends, I support veterans when they leave for service, I introduce grandparents to their new grandchild,” and so on. Not once did this mechanic mention that he repeatedly performs the same critical function to help build an aircraft.

Fact: Meetings and events rank among the top three communication tools, alongside advertising and public relations, because they offer a unique combination of immediacy, engagement and personalization. Unlike advertising, which broadcasts a message to a broad audience, or public relations, which shapes perception through media channels, meetings and events create direct, face-to-face interaction that fosters trust, connection and real-time feedback. They allow organizations to convey complex messages, showcase experiences and influence behavior in a controlled environment, making them an exceptionally powerful tool for driving both relationships and results.

It is the responsibility of any professional involved in the meetings and events industry to educate and enlighten all stakeholders about the value a meeting and event can deliver.

Show me the Numbers

When I approached the editor of CEO magazine many years ago to write a column about the role and importance of meetings and events, his reply was, “Show me the numbers.” This is a critical responsibility to the planner to justify any investment, and I hope it is on the top of your list to provide data and results pre and post.

If you are one of the many new people in the industry, know that you are valuable and your function is intrinsic to the future of meetings and events in business. Take your opportunity seriously, as it is one that will continue to support you throughout your career — and never stop learning or working on your role and educating those you serve with ‘the numbers.’

A)  If you are not using a platform that can help you with calculating ROI and proving the business value of the meeting or event, research one now. That information is critical to your value and gives your company and clients the data they need for marketing and future investments and initiatives.

B)  Prove and clarify why you need to hire specific vendors and how they can support the meeting or event regardless of their product or service. Take time to know suppliers. There are many talented people who are underutilized because planners do not take the time to fully understand what is available, and therefore, cannot defend a vendor’s capabilities.

C)  Don’t let the familiarity or ‘hugs’ influence the business focus. This is not an industry built on social clubs; it is an industry built on curated relationships, created to bring people together, to deliver a message and to provide measurable results. That sounds like business to me.

I challenge you to take this quest seriously:

• Continually seek training (increasing knowledge for the planner was the impetus behind the certificate that I created called The Certificate in the Business of Meetings and Events).
• Speak with your stakeholders, management, directors and share industry articles and information to enlighten them about the industry and your position.
• Define your “elevator speech.”

1)  Know the type of planner you are — either strategic and big picture or logistics focused and be able to explain your role. Film, theater, advertising and public relations all have related positions, including strategy, creative, implementation and analysis. Do a comparison of definitions of various job responsibilities and you’ll be surprised of the parallel. Be aware of a “task-based” mindset, a reactive approach, to a more outcome-based mindset. In other words, truly understand your contributions to the big picture.

2)  Create a 10-second, 30-second and one-minute version of your elevator pitch. “I create environments that ______________(drive sales connections, help our sales team understand a new product, help build company culture through team building) is more effective than “I plan meetings or events,” “I book venues,” “I order catering,” “I work in AV.”

Other examples:

a)  “I work with people to bring them together to _________________ (connect, collaborate, inspire, experience, exchange) for the company to __________________ (focus on, produce, innovate new products).”

i)  “I work with people to bring them together to connect, learn and engage for the company to strengthen relationships and drive results.”

b)  “I help our company increase sales by organizing ways for the sales team to interact with one another.”

i)  “I help our company increase sales by creating opportunities for our sales team to share insights, meet with one another, build trust and strengthen client relationships.”

c)  “I work with pharmaceutical companies to help train their sales team to educate their customers in hospitals, doctors’ offices and labs.”

i)  “I design training experiences that help pharmaceutical companies empower their sales teams, _____________________.”

d)  “I help the people responsible for planning meetings to meet the various vendors they need in the process (including airlines, hotels, transportation companies, registration)”

i)  “I researched the right resources for our company and clients to transform meeting logistics into exceptional attendee experiences.”

Define what you do. Rehearse it. Believe it.

3)  Convey the urgency to your stakeholders about the value of the meeting and event as a communication tool; compare advertising and public relations and the “deliver the message” core function, as these are more familiar with some management.

For the industry to evolve, there is an urgent need to justify, inform, advocate and continue the work so many of us started over 50 years ago. Make us proud — It is on you. C&IT