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“The month of May was come, when every lusty heart beginneth to blossom, and to bring forth fruit” – Thomas Malory

How are we at the end of May? Seriously, who is pressing the fast forward button on the remote. This is the 5th month of this incredible journey and my feet don’t seem to be touching the ground much. Literally as well. I’m home 8 of the next 30 days!

Exciting News

If I have seen you at #IMEX19 please forgive me for possibly repeating my excitement. I am SO excited to confirm I will the Emcee/MC for IACC Europe Knowledge Festival in October. The other super exciting announcement is that I have been rebooked (yes, rebooked!) as the host and Emcee/MC for MPI’s European Meetings and Events Conference in Sevilla in February 2020. I’m honoured to work with both associations to help promote their content and programmes. 

You win some, you lose some

No one likes to lose. No one likes to lose business opportunities, but this is part of any job and a fairly regular occurrence in this world of MC’ing. Whilst you inevitably share your successes (and I’ve been lucky to have lots of those to share with you) I think it is important to acknowledge that ones that got away. The reasons for losing MC/moderation work are varied and my learning is that MOST of them are completely out of my control! Some are lost as your client is the agency and they don’t win the work; I’ve lost business as the client is looking for someone “more corporate” (Female MC

Interpretation, possibly older or male J), one meeting was won by someone with sector knowledge of that particular industry and is an interesting one. I win work in the #eventprofs sector due to that; however, I always say to those who seek an industry expert, please make sure they are a people    expert too as this is the key to successful moderation and MC’ing. Last but definitely not least, is   losing to the “celebrity”. This one I’m struggling to understand so any advice or feedback from you would be welcome. I know a celebrity keynote speaker can influence ticket sales. If Richard Branson or Cheryl Sandberg are sharing their wise words of wisdom for 45 minutes, that is an added reason to buy that conference ticket. But how does a celebrity MC increase the value of the event over an experienced moderator? Baffling; but one that will keep on popping up I’m sure. The flip side of losing business is that it opens gaps for other events so my advice to other MC/Moderators is, for what it is worth, pick yourself up – realise it’s opening up other opportunities and it just wasn’t meant to be!

The #imexeperience

Upon my return last week from #IMEX19 I posted the following update, in numbers of my amazing week.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6537640950800363520

Edu Monday was AWESOME. Whilst I’m not a “speaker” per se, I presented 2 sessions on behalf of my good friends IMEX and MPI. Both were incredible to deliver. Firstly, a session on Rising Talent and Leadership and secondly on Diversity & Inclusion – Top tips for Inclusive & Welcoming Meetings. With over 700 attendees at Edu Monday, it was a great opportunity to talk about subjects that are really important to me and the global industry.

The week was an incredible whirlwind of activity. From the famous (or infamous) MPI European Past Presidents Alumni Dinner, to my first video interviews introducing #EMEC20, meeting existing clients and being approached by industry gurus and organisations inviting me to work with them, it was one of the best IMEX week’s I’ve ever had. I also got to work with the #eventicons team and tick my bucket list off by being part of their live stream! https://www.facebook.com/groups/eventicons.show/

Huge thanks to Ray, Carina, Dale, Suzanne, Rosie and the entire IMEX team for their tireless enthusiasm and continued innovation at the show.

My first….

 

Tennis lesson! Well, whilst strictly not quite the first, it’s the first time in 20 + years that I have picked up a racket and started hitting that ball over the net so certainly a first in my forties! Yes, friends, I have decided to take up a sport that’s been dear to my heart for years. An avid watcher and visitor of Wimbledon, as well as the other Grand Slams, it’s now time to get moving and learn this great sport. It’s a great stress release and appears to be rather social as after each hour playing tennis with my close friend, Laura, we seem to migrate naturally to the local pub/clubhouse for a cheeky glass of something cold and French. Wellness 360 my friends.

 

Ta-ra for now

June is full of workshops to design for a client conference in September, the opening ceremony for 2500 anesthesiologists at #EA19 in Vienna, the first European Pharmaceutical Meeting Professionals Summit in Barcelona, the PCMG (Pharmaceutical Contract Management Group) Annual Conference in Sitges and finally MPI WEC in Toronto. I can safely say; I will not be finding too much time to get complacent in June. Keeping well, keeping energy levels high and enjoying every second are on my to do list this month.

How about you? I’d love to hear where you are, what you are up to and any comments on my blog.

 

Be Happy,

 

Samme xoxo