February 2016
Cover Story/Meetings & Your Brain
Bringing Mindfulness to Meetings
From the C-suite to the celebrity interview, mindfulness is everywhere. It’s even starting to center itself at meetings and conferences. Here’s why — and what it can do for your attendees.
Illustration by Irene Rinaldi.
Features
The Trouble With Evals
The feedback form is such a fixture in the meetings industry that you would think it would have been perfected by now. But as a new Convene survey suggests, it's a tool that is ripe for redesign.
The Evolution of Customer Advisory Boards
If it seems like planners and DMOs have a closer relationship these days, one of the reasons is the evolving role of customer advisory boards — which second-tier cities and other destinations increasingly are using to change the way they do business.
Departments
Supported Article F&B
Breaking Bread, East to West
Planning attendee meals abroad can be tricky. These seasoned meeting professionals offer a roadmap for keeping budgets — and appetites — in check.
Inside a Phonetics Conference
This 130-year-old phonetics conference drew more than 1,000 attendees to Scotland last summer.
3 Ways to Track the ROI of Online Education
How to track the ROI of online education and events — for organizations that are content-driven, revenue-focused, or both.
How PUMA Used Event Photos to Drive Engagement
How PUMA harnessed the power of on-site photos to turn race participants into brand ambassadors — and sources of valuable consumer data.
One-Click Giving
Evite has introduced a free, one-click donation function to its popular online-invitation platform — and wants to use it to raise millions of dollars for charity.
Supported Article Innovative Meetings
Jumping Into the Shark Tank
A scientific meeting creates its own kind of reality programming — and fast-tracks research funding for attendees
Plenary
AWP16 Conference & Bookfair
Calling all book-lovers! The Association of Writers and Writers’ Programs (AWP) will bring between 12,000 and 13,000 authors, editors, and publishers, as well as students and teachers, to Los Angeles for the 2016 AWP Conference & Bookfair.
SpaceCom 2015
The inaugural Space Commerce Conference and Exposition (SpaceCom) brought more than 1,500 aerospace executives, space and defense analysts, and policymakers from 25 countries and 40 states to Houston.
An Encounter With Old Florida
Now in its 34th year, Florida Encounter brings meeting planners and Florida-based suppliers together for three days of face-to-face appointments, educational sessions, and local activities. For many participants, it’s also a much-anticipated reunion with comrades and colleagues, as well as an excuse to get better acquainted with the show’s host city.
How to Master Your Emotions at the Negotiating Table
Negotiators focus too much attention on tactics, offers, and counteroffers, and don’t give enough consideration to how emotions affect what happens at the bargaining table.
What’s Awe Got to Do With It?
Awesome? That word is surely overused, but recent studies indicate that giving attendees truly awe-inspiring experiences may be the most valuable byproduct of face-to-face events.
Getting Down to Business in Dubai
Almost any mention of Dubai — one of seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates — seems to come with superlatives.
Also In This Issue
Cultivating Creative Feedback
We’ve just returned from PCMA’s Convening Leaders and we’ve got a few things to say.