Event Planners Must Have Multiple Skills for the 1,000 of Tasks and Multiple Jobs For Success

Welcome to the fabulous world of event planning! If you have a special event, meeting, concert, festival, or party to produce, plan, or coordinate, you have come to the right place. Events do not just happen by themselves; they are well planned, specifically orchestrated, and extremely coordinated. Preparation is the key to any successful event. Remember, a planner is responsible for the education, entertainment, feeding, housing, safety, and care of all attending or participating in your events. It is a huge responsibility and not to be taken lightly.

Event planning is a process that starts by delineating the beginning and the end of the event. At that point, it becomes a project and you are the project manager! It is not like your typical job where you go in and do the same thing every day. Your tasks and responsibilities change each day during the process and will be different with each event. You will need to be skilled in many areas of the event business. What hat will I wear today?

There is always something new or different to enhance the logistics and creativity of planning an event. Things are changing all the time, whether it is new technology, new ways to "green" your event, social media and networking services and applications, new or remodeled venues, contracts, or insurance laws; it is wise to keep up with new developments in all of these areas.

Each event is complex and diverse with unique characteristics. There can be thousands of details associated with one event. You will wear many hats, juggle a number of tasks simultaneously, and use many skills. The job of the event planner varies according to the size, the scope, and the complexity of your event. You will be responsible for any number of different tasks; including but not limited to:

• Client consultation


• Setting budgets


• Choosing dates


• Selecting and inspecting a location


• Negotiating with and choosing suppliers


• Arranging transportation


• Negotiating room rates and booking blocks of hotel rooms


• Arranging catering


• Booking entertainment or speakers


• Writing copy for publicity


• Creating a Facebook page and twitter account


• Gathering leads for potential participants


• Writing social media content


• Choosing printers


• Creating agendas


• Hiring security


• Signing contracts


• Dealing with lawyers


• Compiling participants' packets


• Gathering and directing volunteers


• Sticking on labels


• Shipping boxes

You will be interacting with chief executive officers, talent agents, general managers, waiters, house cleaners, and everyone in-between. You will meet or talk to different people every day. Therefore, communication skills are necessary!

For those of you new to event planning, finding a complete guidebook will direct your progress, help organize your time, provide you with resources and suggestions, keep you focused, and allow you to look as though you have been an event planner for years. Best of all, it may keep you from making the costly and time-consuming mistakes thousands of planners have made before you. Just one or two of the tips from an experienced planner can save you a great deal of money on one event alone and possibly save your job as well! And be flexible. One of the most important characteristics of an event planner is flexibility.