Quick Meeting Planning Tips

When planning a meeting, it helps to have the tact of a Maitre de, the vision of a choreographer, and the security blanket of a team of geeks on call. (The luck of the Irish wouldn’t hurt, either.) It’s all about the tech (and the snacks). The successful meeting planner scours the Net for the perfect venue far in advance, uses event management software to handle event registration (for larger conferences), and plans carefully for sustainable wireless access.

There’s nothing more frustrating than a room full (or just a handful) of laptops that can’t get onto the network.

Some meeting planning tips:

• Schedule and plan your meeting far in advance, but keep your flexibility (and your cool) throughout the process.
• Pick a venue that’s able to scale your room up or down with sufficient notice.
• Watch for low meeting room rates that may be offset by expensive extras - like wireless access - that aren’t really extras.
• Bring plenty of surge suppressors and extension cords.
• Don’t forget a spare router or two.
• Make your own LCD projector arrangements.
• The more geeks on call, the merrier. Don’t forget to bring a Mac-savvy techie.
• Negotiate the option of providing your own snacks and beverages. The savings potential can be significant.
• Set up and test your meeting room’s wireless network the day before… while Fry’s (or the like) is still open…

[tags]meeting planning, conference room, wireless network, event management, lcd projector, Wi-Fi[/tags]