How Event Planners Can Reduce Stress

Stress is one of the major debilitating emotions facing most individuals in decision making, influential and important positions, where their actions and abilities impact not only them, but many others. Those who plan events offer face stress from many different "sides." There is often stress from the organization that hires them, from the organizers and the organizing and planning committee, from the venue, and from attendees. Those planners who are best able to cope with stress find event planning a far more enjoyable activity than those that do not.

My background and prior activities have provided me with a somewhat unique perspective about how stress and successful event planning are related. Having been a successful event planner, organizer, negotiator, etc. for about thirty years,. and having worked in the area of stress relief and authored a book, I believe that often stress can be quite useful, especially if handled properly and effectively. The Nobel Prize Winner, Hans Seyle coined the term 'Eustress' to refer to stress that is handled in such a constructive manner as to make someone stronger, more resilient, and better able to cope in the future. When we refer to stress, therefore, we are referring to an often debilitating, weakening conditions that often paralyzes certain individual's ability to act in an effective and viable manner. I have witnessed event planners crumble from the stress, and have seen their events nearly fall apart with them, while I have noticed that the best and most effective event planners handle the stresses, and their events come off as planned.

Some of the ways that event planners might best prepare for the stresses of their position include:

1. Preparation to the "nth" degree is essential. There will always be something that challenges your plans, but the better one plans and has contingencies (backup plans), the less stress occurs.

2. Event planners must be certain they have clearly understood the wishes, desires and needs of the organizers as well as the organization and the attendees. Before "taking on" an event, a planner should discuss the event in detail, and share ideas. Event planners should get these desires and needs in writing so there is no misunderstanding or any of the "He said, she said," that occasionally occurs. If organizers or attendees do not have their perceived needs met, the event planner has failed.

3. It is essential to create an efficiently organized group of committees, who clearly understand what their "charge" is, and what they are responsible for. That way there is far less confusion and needless anxiety. The planner should also schedule regular meetings or discussions with the committees (or at least the chairs of the committees) to make sure that all areas are addressed properly.

4. An event planner needs to be properly trained, and must have done his homework on the organization, the event, the potential and actual attendees, etc.

5. A clearly delineated budget should be created and agreed upon from the onset. Projections should be extremely conservation on the revenue side, and worst case scenario on the expense end.

6. The planner must build into his schedule "me time," so that he can escape and relax, and depressurize. Otherwise there is always the risk of burnout.

These are just the "tip of the iceberg," yet must be the starting point to assure both a successful event and a sane and healthy event planner. It may sound somewhat simplistic, but it startling how rarely these items are considered as part of the whole process.