Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I: Been to Any Good Meetings or Events Lately? 5

Chapter 1: Gearing Up for Meetings and Events 7

Chapter 2: Strictly Business: Knowing Your Meeting Type 17

Chapter 3: The ABCs of Meeting Preparation 25

Chapter 4: Mixing Business with Pleasure: Events 43

Chapter 5: Bringing an Event to Life 53

Part II: It’s All Show Business 75

Chapter 6: Get Me to the Meeting on Time 77

Chapter 7: Food for Thought 91

Chapter 8: Great Speakers, Great Impressions 107

Chapter 9: It’s the Extras That Count 121

Chapter 10: Is the Grass Greener Overseas? 129

Chapter 11: Lights, Camera, Action! 147

Part III: No Guts, No Story 163

Chapter 12: Nuts and Bolts: Negotiating, Contracting, and Ensuring Safety 165

Chapter 13: Working with Vendors 179

Chapter 14: Drinking Champagne on a Beer Budget 189

Part IV: Mission Possible: Building Bridges with Technology 201

Chapter 15: Making Meeting Technology Work for You 203

Chapter 16: This Phone’s for You: Teleconferencing 215

Chapter 17: Videoconferencing Made Easy 225

Chapter 18: Holding Meetings Online 237

Part V: Exhibiting at Home and Abroad 245

Chapter 19: Planning for Gold: Exhibiting 101 247

Chapter 20: Strutting Your Stuff: Exhibiting 201 .275

Chapter 21: Strutting Your Best Stuff Overseas: Exhibiting 301 .285

Part VI: The Part of Tens 297

Chapter 22: Ten Alternatives to Meetings 299

Chapter 23: Ten Common Meeting Mistakes to Avoid 303

Chapter 24: Ten Top Negotiating Tactics 307

Part VII: Appendixes 311

Appendix A: Online Resources for Meeting and Event Planners 313

Appendix B: Checklist Heaven 331

Index 345

About the Author

Susan Friedmann is President of The Tradeshow Coach, which works with national and international exhibitors planning trade shows and special events.

Reviews

“…an excellent book…a useful addition to any firms bookshelf…” (Reading Chronicle, 6th October 2005) "Practical step-by-step guide to the strategies and techniques event planning professionals use to bring people together." (Leisure News and Jobs, 11th August 2005) "…comprehensively written…simplified as much as it possibly could without losing any attention to detail…" (M2 Best Books, May 2004)

‘This comprehensive resource is suitable for even the most novice planner and is written with Pas firmly in mind' (PA Life, January 2013)