Jurnal de Organizator de Evenimente – The Beauty Within Events

by Loredana Stancu, Business Developer Custom Events

You might think event organizers never get bored. Or that they experience new things all the time or come into contact with new people and challenges and all their days are filled with meetings, emails and phone calls. You might also think they have a lot of fun.

And you wouldn't be wrong at all?

But I have come to understand through my own experience that there is much more than that.

Yes indeed, we never get bored. No two days are the same for me and generally in the world of event planners - when we have peak hours, we're in the office from the crack of dawn (not me, though, I'm not a morning person) until the very late hours (aaaaaaaaaaaa me). And in between... we have calls with our clients and collaborators, discuss event proposals and scenarios, have meetings with our clients to get the best out of their events, look for new ideas we can implement, find venues and distribute the latest event incentives.

One of my favorite times is when we brainstorm - maybe just to add something to customize concepts from our teambuilding license (the largest in the world) and better meet the client's goals or to come up with a whole concept that is expressing the theme of the event, visual look & feel & branding materials and all event related communications.

Because we spend so much time together in the office or at events, I think the team is very important. So many times, participants have approached us just to let us know that they admire the way we work and collaborate as a team. And I know they mean it. Apart from the advice we give each other, the support when things don't go exactly as planned (word job), the fact that we are all looking to improve the way we do things and that we support each other (and also the clients‘) is very important to me.

Another thing I enjoy is the event organization process. Because I'm part of the team that brings new clients into the Universum universe ^_^, I often have the joy of seeing amazing events blossom from simple, straightforward, somewhat vaguely stated goals like „we want to have fun” to complex events that bring real impact to our clients„ organizations. I also get to collaborate with clients who know exactly what they want and become their consultant on how to more effectively stage this and how to bring the ”wow effect".

Then we develop a presentation to showcase the ideas our team has analyzed and tested in so many previous events (or not, which is cool), build the budget and meet with the client to share our ideas. The whole process is amazing, brings challenges and we often find ourselves in situations where we make the impossible possible. And then there is never just one offer. On one call you negotiate a location to get the best deal for one of your clients, on the next you contact an international speaker to put the cherry on top of your work, then you give a brief to your colleagues in the graphic design department . and you also start a conversation with other colleagues about this new concept you thought would work for one of your clients and so on. Sound crazy? Well - it is! But it's also great fun!

I was starting from the beginning that you might think that event organizers have fun too. That's perhaps why most of us do and will continue to do it - all professional rewards aside - it's important to have fun, to play, to enjoy the events you organize. We are having at least as much fun as the participants because we energize them during the event and keep the stakes high at all times. Also, when fatigue sets in, it's important to have the support of your colleagues to cheer you up and energize you for another day (or weekend, or week - depending on the complexity of the upcoming events).

And then... there are the events. As one of my favorite project managers ever, Sabina, said - „if you're stressed on the day of the event, you're doing something wrong”. I especially love full-day teambuilding events - I love the way the participants gather one by one... how we wait for them with full energy, perfectly loud music, dancing and how the voice of the event (the lead facilitator) „subtly” „entices" the participants to be part of this amazing experience. I love the reluctance of some of the participants at the beginning and cherish the enthusiasm of the others... and most of all I love how reluctant people become enthusiastic by the end of the day.

Then, besides the fact that your client is happy and you know everything is super ok, you actually feel like your mission is accomplished. When, at the end of the day, they feel transformed, even just a little bit - and it's all over their faces and attitudes.

Pentru a încheia această mică poveste într-un mod optimist – Jung Lee (un celebru organizator de evenimente) a spus odată „Doar pentru că ai plănuit ceva, nu înseamnă că se va întâmpla”. – uneori, lucrurile ies mai bine decât te-ai așteptat/planificat și asta este frumusețea absolută!