By EDGE Women Speaker Debbie Vyskocil
Can you picture your first large event when we are back together again? Imagine the excitement of attendees, speakers, staff, and vendors.
Before the world changed with the virus, were some people taking meetings and events for granted? Probably. Perhaps this is a reset.
None of us knows when we will again be filling the large venues and exactly what long term effects this will have. But we do know there will be excitement! Instead of "Augh I have to attend another conference" it will be ”OH MY GOSH A CONFERENCE!!"
Right now we are all longing for the meetings and events right now and especially the amazing human contact. Attendees and those putting them on are becoming aware of the multitude of components they miss.
Can you visualize the conferences and meetings when we are back together again? Are you thinking about it too? Picture the huge welcoming smiles, inspirational speakers, decorations, new friends, old friends, music, flowers, incredible information shared by attendees and speakers. THE SHEER EXCITEMENT OF IT!!
In this pause we’re experiencing, Brain-Pause if you will, is a perfect time to practice self-compassion. We can’t control what is happening in the world, but we can take care of ourselves. When it picks up it’s going to be crazy again. As everything begins to roll out every client will want to have an event or a meeting.
The habit of self-compassion is going to be critical to get us through the high-speed re-launch that is coming. Hopefully, you’re getting plenty of sleep right now, eating well, spending quality time with your immediate family and soaking up the quiet air, You are letting your hair recover from the everyday styling torture, your skin heal from abuse and your mind, your brain fill with self-compassion.
What about your brain? If you watch the news, you are torturing it with all the uncertainty, fear, doubt, anxiety, and stress. When are you giving your brain a break? Are you daily thinking about something absolutely amazing? Are you visualizing the excitement when you have your next holiday on the seashore or, better yet, your next incredibly successful event?
Here is one quick exercise I want you to do:
Sit down for a few minutes and visualize the ultimate event that you will throw. What will it look like? Who will be there? Can you smell the fragrance of fresh flowers in the air? What will you feel like deep inside when it’s a complete success? Cultivate that moment. The more often we create that feeling and visualize what it will look like, the easier it’s going to be to replicate when we’re ready to go.
I picture myself speaking at the perfect event all the way down to what I’ll be wearing. I use these current un-booked evenings when I’m not on a stage to imagine myself in that outfit, on that stage with the perfect lighting, the excited audience and the incredibly happy event planner.
Try it, it puts a smile on my face every time.
I was encouraged recently while listening to the MPI Global Meetings Industry Day: Virtual Leadership Panel. One of the leaders presented data supporting his position that our clients want conferences and events, most want to increase the number of them.
The data shows we will be back. And, oh, what a celebration it will be!