Meeting Professionals International, the premier global association community for meeting and event professionals, believes in the unequalled power of events and human connections to advance organizational objectives.

Knowledge Sessions

Below are current sessions booked for WEC 2009.
Be sure to check back often as we continue to add to the program!

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday

Sunday July 12

Growing Your Business During a Recession
Andy Birol
3:15 PM- 4:45 PM
Whether your business is a leading or lagging indicator of a recession, it doesn’t matter when you’re in the middle of one. For many of us, coping with the recession has been a lot like going through the four phases of loss: denial, anger, self pity and acceptance. In this era, many of us are moving into acceptance of our new reality and are ready to take steps to make the best of it. As we reflect on the last few decades, we realize how much better and smarter we could have been when times were easier. We know that getting ever better and smarter is the difference between success and failure. As we consider our circumstances, what can we do to grow and save our businesses during these times?

After attending this session you will be able to:

• State the three areas you need to triage to begin growing your business.
• Identify the four areas you need to respond to your new reality.
• Discuss three strategies on how to profit now and over time.

Legal Essentials of Green Meetings & Social Responsibility
Joshua Grimes
3:15 PM - 4:45 PM
Green meetings are revolutionizing the meetings industry. The key to any successful meeting is a good contract, and green meetings are no different. Planners must be able to identify suppliers committed to conservation, as opposed to those who just "talk green" as a marketing gimmick. They also need to place environmentally friendly standards into contracts to ensure that conservation practices are implemented and savings goals are met. Meeting facilities and other suppliers failing to meet these obligations should also be subject to sanctions that do not just involve money, but also help save the environment. This session is an interactive discussion of the essential legal tools needed to successfully bring green meetings to fruition, from identifying committed suppliers to special contract clauses. Other important legal issues impacting socially conscious practices such as leftover food donation and volunteering will also be discussed.

After attending this session you will be able to:

• Identify suppliers truly committed to implementing green meeting and social responsibility practices.
• Develop contract clauses to ensure that conservation goals are realized.

Identify and minimize risks in volunteer projects, food donation programs and socially responsible activities.

Presenting to Management
Michael Symons
3:15 PM - 4:45 PM
This session helps intermediate to advanced corporate meeting planners become more comfortable and effective presenting to senior management. Management needs people who know how to align plans and activities with strategic initiatives. Learn how to identify and understand strategic initiatives and link them to your efforts. Presentations to management require the right focus and the right amount and type of information. Tips and tactics will be provided to help you plan the right messages and reduce the time spent planning. Identify how to manage both the mental aspects of organizing and delivering the right messages, and the physical aspects of creating the right impression, including how to replace those distracting nonverbal habits. A critical presentation skill is handling management's questions. Learn an effective three-step process for successfully dealing with questions

.After attending this session you will be able to:

• Ensure meeting objectives and strategic initiatives align.
• Plan presentations to meet management's needs.
• Present to management with more skill and effectiveness.

Selecting the Right Site for your Meeting and Event
Bonnie Wallsh
3:15 PM - 4:45 PM
Selecting the right site for your meeting is challenging yet imperative to the success of your meeting. In this interactive session, you will learn the 6 crucial factors that are essential in your site selection process, how to conduct research on prospective sites, the strategy in conducting site inspections, and tips that will strengthen your negotiating position in a changing marketplace.

After attending this session you will be able to:

• Write an effective request for proposal (RFP) and conduct a comprehensive site inspection.
• Evaluate and select the appropriate destination and facility that fulfills your meeting objectives.
• Uncover hidden venue costs and identify key issues that may influence your site selection choice.

Show Biz Staging: Event Themeing Techniques
Lenn Millbower
3:15 PM – 4:45 PM
With a multi-tasked population unable to focus for extended periods and work places demanding attendee attention during your sessions, it's critical to create events that attendees get high remarks and results. We suffer through cookie-cutter venues with little individual style and substance. The common result is a boring, sterile, been-there-done-that event. In this session, discover how to reinvent your events through the staging techniques of show business. Learn how to use music, props, aromas, color and environmental elements to thrust your attendees into an immersive demonstration of your event theme. Discover how to transform your events into memorable experiences they'll rave about for years. Learn how to stage your event as you raise your own curtain on show biz staging.

After attending this session you will be able to:

• Explore methods to fully immerse people in the experience for your events.
• Identify five specific steps for determining the themeing techniques required for any event.
• Discover nine low-cost elements to actively theme your events in a budget-conscious environment.

Social Media and the Internet's Role in the Talent War
Amy Vanderbilt
3:15 PM - 4:45 PM
The social media age has spawned fantastic advancements in technology and communications. It has also spawned one of the greatest battles for talent that our society has ever known. In this highly interactive session, you will see the role of social media and the internet in creating this talent war and how to turn it into a secret weapon. Participants will learn key insights into how our behaviors led to the creation of social media, the disposable worker mentality, and the need for a different kind of management. We will walk through case studies and real life examples of how to use social media and the internet to find, cultivate and keep multi-generational talent. Worksheets will be provided to help participants plan and tailor these techniques for their organizations and create an action plan.

After attending this session you will be able to:

• Identify social media and internet-driven techniques that you can implement.
• Discover behaviors that are holding you back from keeping multi-generational talent.
• Create an action plan with the use of social media to find, cultivate and keep multi-generational talent.

Successful Partnerships in Uncertain Times
Gary Rosenberg
3:15 PM – 4:45 PM
With a weakening economy and an uncertain future, successful partnerships have never been more important. This session will take a look at the perceptions and realities planners and suppliers have of each others goals and needs. Discussions will include how to negotiate in today’s market, hotel profit centers, negotiating skills, and an in-depth look at bargaining from both perspectives and how to maximize power. Planner-specific discussions will include how to sell an event to a supplier and how to use flexibility in negotiations.

After attending this session you will be able to:

• Identify the basic elements of a hotel's profit centers and its profit and loss statements.
• Determine the items that can be negotiated and their impact on a hotel or resort.
• Use flexibility to one's advantage.