Readers of this blog and my newsletter will recognize this as a favorite topic of mine. I have always stressed the importance of appealing to the right side of the brain, the intuitive and emotional side, when planning a small meeting or a large conference, as well as the more analytical and logical left side. The success of an event goes far beyond the information that is presented. Powerful design principles that appeal to and activate the right side of the brain combined with the pure subject matter that your left brain handles, takes a meeting to a totally new level and helps solidify the information with your audience.

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I like to use the phrase “what’s appropriate for the situation.” American taxpayers and reporters understand the need to meet and benefits that can be derived from face-to-face communications. People understand what’s reasonable. But remember, this event, while just coming to light now, actually occurred in 2010 when companies all over the United States were cutting back on travel and canceling events. We were in the thick of a recession. The Obama administration said that government agencies should reduce spending.

So what could have been done differently?

1. Las Vegas. Sure, it’s a town that hosts a lot of conferences. Room rates are low and it’s easy to get to. But the notoriety of Vegas being a party town gives the wrong perception. Apparently, what happens in Vegas does not necessarily stay in Vegas.

2. Mind readers and clowns. They are fun ideas for corporate events, but anything, and I mean ANYTHING that is frivolous is not appropriate for a government meeting.

In our field, we all want to create amazing, memorable events. We want them to have an impact and be fun. But you always need to consider what’s appropriate for the time, industry, and occasion before the planning starts.

Gardner’s win over Russian Aleksandr Karelin at the Sydney Olympics was nothing short of epic. Karelin was the considered to be the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time and was undefeated and un-scored upon in 13 years of competition. The crowd in Sydney first sensed an upset in the making when Karelin broke his grip on his opponent. The announcers went wild, along with the crowd.

Rulon Gardner’s defeat of Alexander the Great is one of the greatest moments in Olympic history, ranking right up there with the 1980 Miracle on Ice. It was completely unexpected, totally thrilling, and it endeared this baby-faced young man from a Wyoming dairy farm to the nation.

In 2001, I had the opportunity to do some speech writing and coaching with Rulon Gardner, who these days makes his living as a motivational speaker. It was fun getting to know him, and we did a good job helping him find a way to tell his story in a way that highlighted some important key messages, while making it sound like him, and not like it was written by someone else.

One really fun moment we had was when I was planted in the audience and “randomly” selected to wrestle him on stage. That’s not something you ever forget! The other amazing memory I have is a morning I spent coaching him for an evening speech college in Fort Wayne, IN. That day was September 11, 2001.  To the college’s credit the speech went on as planned that evening, but stopped when President Bush came on television to speak to the nation. After the President was finished, Rulon resumed his speech. He did a wonderful job and brought a few hundred people some comfort when we really needed each other.

Gardner has had an eventful life in the 12 years since his historic win in Sydney. He suffered hypothermia and frostbite after a snowmobile accident, after which he lost a toe. He also survived a plane crash. In 2011, he staged a remarkable comeback of a different sort as a contestant on “The Biggest Loser” where he lost a substantial amount of weight, down 173 pounds from a height of 474 pounds in just 16 weeks. His life has been anything but dull. I learned a lot from him in the time I spent with him, and it was a terrific experience for me to help him move to a new chapter in his life. And, I saw first-hand the benefit an inspiring speaker can bring to an event.

Will we see you this summer in London, Rulon?

Watch the video Gardner shows before being introduced to an audience.

But what if you aren’t planning a large corporate event, but instead you are planning to have a booth to showcase your company’s products or service at a trade show? Do the same tips apply on a smaller scale? The answer is yes!

When you are planning an event for a large ballroom or meeting room, the key is to make the space feel comfortable and intimate, so people feel close to the speakers, yet not crowded. With a booth at a trade show, you have much less square footage to work with, so the challenge becomes to make your space visually appealing but exhibiting what will be both. Beneficial to your company and the attendees

First piece of advice: less is more. Never clutter up your booth with too much material. It can feel pushy to passers by and clutter is not pleasing to the right side of the brain. Keep your space tidy. Trade shows as a rule can feel cluttered and overwhelming, so a booth that conveys a sense of calmness and organization will stand out

Clear signage is also important and the less is more motto applies here as well. Don’t make it difficult for attendees to figure out what your company does or what you are selling. Like your sign, keep your message simple as well. Use a trade show as an opportunity to focus on one thing or message instead of trying to inundate attendees with multiple ideas and products.

Another great tip is to reach out to attendees before the event. Let them know you’ll be there, what your booth number is if possible, and give them a preview of what you’ll be showcasing. Like the preconference survey we have talked about, ask them their opinions, and ask them to bring them to your booth. It’s a great way to network in advance and people will remember you and seek you out.

Use technology when possible. For larger events, I have used 7 high definition screens side by side to create a social media wall. For a trade show booth, one small hanging high def  screen demonstrating your product or service (with colors that accent the rest of your booth, of course) can be very eye catching.

Every once in awhile, you’ll come across a company at a trade show that shows real innovation. At the 2012 ARF Re: Think Conference Research Now was THE company that set themselves apart. In their booth, they didn’t have materials on display and they didn’t give away pens with their company’s name on it. They did interviews with 14 industry leaders “to gain their thoughts on the future of consumer behavior and the impact of research on their business.” Then the posted all the videos on their YouTube channel. Now, that’s a trade show booth no one’s going to forget!

Over the years, this blog featured tips to help make your conference green. From the recyclable EcoDisc, to ImprintPlus’s reusable name badges, to highlighting Denver as the go-to city for your environmentally friendly event, Esprit has kept you in the loop about the latest trends. So as Earth Day 2012 fast approaches, let’s examine what resources are available to today’s meeting planner who is trying to reduce their event’s carbon footprint.

The Green Hotels Association is in its 19^th year, and remains a great resource for companies looking for hotels that are committed to conserving water and energy and reducing solid waste. Additionally, it provides its members incredibly useful information to help them in their efforts to stay on the forefront of environmentally friendly business travel.

The Blue and Green Meetings web tool has a goal of “fostering a meetings industry that integrates environmental responsibility with sound business practices.” Their website has a fantastic array of resources for meeting planners, including such gems as a guide to green meeting planning produced by the EPA, information for green purchasing, and the National Recycling Association’s Green Meeting Policy.

The Green Meeting Industry Council is another terrific resource for event planners. The GMIC not only provides information and education, but also is the global leader in research, policy, and standards for sustainability at meetings. Their website features a resource library and a green supplier directory.

Given that “going green” is the responsible AND fashionable thing to do, many businesses and vendors will often highlight their efforts to be environmentally friendly. These additional resources will help you find vendors, as well as innovative ideas you can use conference and bring back to implement in your office.

Meetings get greener with each passing year. It all started with simply with recycling receptacles outside of the event for paper, plastic, and glass. As technology took over, and all facets of a conference went electronic and the need for paper decreased. But some facilities really go the extra mile in terms of innovation and sustainability. The Marriott Tampa Waterside, where we produced a management meeting last December, has gotten creative with some extra land they have by starting their own farm. The hotel saves about $1000 a month with this farm that is producing 75-100 heads of lettuce a week! They even have a tomato garden on the roof. Their guests get incredibly fresh, local food, and the hotel saves money. Everyone wins!

The speakers typically do a good job delivering the content and information, and the leaders are successful in making people feel good about being part of the organization. When the evening event is over, the art and science of meetings comes together — after hours at the hotel bar.

Attendees begin to unwind after a long day of meetings. People enjoy a few drinks, nosh on some bar snacks and the conversation starts flowing. The left side of their brain is wearing down and the right side is starting to take over. I’ve found people that in these situations, people start talking louder and the ideas start getting bolder. “Wait. Did I really just tell the company president how to fix the entire organization?”

Hotels create these bars not only because they are great profit centers for their owners, but also because it is an essential part of corporate events. The right side of your brain dominates at the after meeting watering hole. The barriers come down and people become more open to bonding that can take place after meetings and events. In many cases, this is where the stories and folklore of a company are passed on and where new ones are created. This keeps the organization’s culture alive for another year.

Last year at a senior management meeting, I overheard an attendee say, “What a great meeting. I sat around the fire pit last night, and had a beer and smoked a cigar with the President.”

You can’t do that on a webinar!

We’ve talked a lot in my newsletter and blog about what techniques you can use to create drama and excitement and draw your audience in. There’s color, lighting, music, and multiple screens. For Steve Jobs, the consummate ringmaster could command a room like no other. The stage held only him and a massive screen that displayed the latest Apple innovation.

Earlier in his life, Jobs spent time in Japan and became completely enamored with the county. He appreciated the minimalism and simplicity that Zen Buddhism emphasized and which was reflected in many design influences in the country. Apple products also reflected that same simplicity, as did Steve Jobs’ product launches and keynotes. For Jobs, no shock and awe was necessary. The new Apple product coming had enough excitement and innovation packed into it and that was the main draw. Everything around it was minimal and the new, spectacular product sat alone in the white-hot spotlight

But just because Jobs was an aesthetic minimalist on stage, it doesn’t mean that he didn’t have a flair for the dramatic. Apple is well known for being extremely secretive, but rumors would always leak out about when the next product announcement would be. Lots of waiting and anticipation followed. The date would finally get announced. More waiting and anticipation. Then the moment would arrive for Jobs’ presentation. The audience and thousands of people across the planet anxiously watch the live stream of the Jobs’ keynote. They are always awesome changes but the audience is still waiting and waiting and waiting. Finally, Jobs says “But there’s one more thing.” At this point the audience is ready to erupt.

Jobs completely understood how to rope in his audience. It didn’t hurt that he had “insanely great” (as he used to say) product to showcase. But he understood the value and importance of building anticipation, getting attention, and then wowing the audience with something revolutionary. His presentation is tailor made to appeal to the right side of the brain.

Steve Jobs Introducing the iPhone, January 2007.

In my newsletter, we have been focusing the past few months about how your presentation can be successful by appealing to both the left and right sides of the brain. Appealing to the right side of the brain is an especially fascinating prospect because its focus is more creative, intuitive, and emotional. Add some color to your presentation, which can only help your audience remember you — and what you have to say — more.

There are lots of ways to add “color,” by incorporating music, snazzy graphics, and audience participation. But what about actual color?

Color can have huge impact on how your audience reacts to you. Recently, I read an article on the Meeting Professionals International website about how color affects our thinking. The article details several examples of studies that demonstrated that referees tend to favor athletes or teams who wear red when the level of play is close. Why is that? There is a theory that red raises blood pressure and gives a subconscious feeling of dominance.

So, color can be used to create a general feeling.

There is also a color “reputation” meaning colors are historically associated with certain things, like green for money, red for negative results and pink for products marketed toward women. Blue is often noted for the feeling of calmness that it conveys.  Have you noticed this trend in TV advertising for depression drugs that the predominant color in the ad is blue? These can naturally play a role on how the use of a color makes you feel.

In event production, we pay close attention to color and the aesthetics associated with staging, lighting, visuals and overall branding of the event as color is primarily used as a unifying device. At Esprit Productions, we usually plan our staging around the colors used by the company with which we are working. Those colors are typically featured in the e-vites, the registration area and PowerPoint decks that are displayed on the screens, so making the stage lighting and backgrounds of the same color family is harmonizing and soothing to the audience. It seems like a simple thing, but imagine how subtly discordant it would feel if a slide was displayed in one set of the colors, but the video background was something completely different.

The same thing could be said for other event branding elements such as linens, signage, and décor associated with an event. The unification of colors not only provides that soothing and organized feel, but it also helps solidify corporate branding and professionalism throughout the event. It is a very subtle technique that has an enormous impact on the audience.

Despite coming off a record-breaking season, Donald, however, has yet to win a major. Winning one of the big four events is his goal in 2012. Professional athletes are constantly in search of a way to take their game to the next level. Some people might consider that changing 10 of 12 clubs after such a wildly successful year would be a mistake. But you continue to be a winner or a hugely successful professional without taking risks.

And that doesn’t just apply to sports. New technologies and trends constantly emerge in your professional world. Keeping informed about what’s new and not being afraid to be creative and take risks will keep your business fresh. Read trade materials, listen to opinions of the thought leaders in your industry, try new technologies. This demonstrates to the professional world in which you work that you are constantly striving to improve your game. And that translates into enhancing your personal brand and getting results.

No one stays number one by doing the same old thing year after year.

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Reading over my e-mail, I noticed a word. One noted “My thanks for all the hard work your team put into the meeting, great buzz afterwards.” Another said “……aaaand thank you. Just a positive buzz — and all are talking about the meeting next year.”

Buzz. Why, suddenly, is the word buzz popping up all over the place?

This is a great example of the Baeder-Meinhoff Phenomenon, where you hear or see something new and then suddenly start seeing it or hearing about it everywhere you turn.

Buzz ­– both of the good and bad variety — can travel fast. Hours after Angelina Jolie’s awkward poses at the Academy Awards, you could follow @AngiesRightLeg on Twitter. There are so many outlets for information available, especially social media, so creating a positive buzz is crucial. Making your event enjoyable, informational, and memorable for the attendees creates that. People sharing the news at a live event with each other as well as their connected communities is better than any marketing plan you could ever devise.

We are working on an upcoming industry conference where our Twitterfall of messages that will be displayed throughout our space at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, FL will also have a Buzz Meter letting us know how many people are talking about the conference.

There are many methods available to help us track what’s being talked about out there in the blogosphere, Twitterverse, and elsewhere. Using designated keywords about your event after a hashtag is one of the best ways to gauge your buzz. All tweets that include your hashtagged phrase will be searchable and measurable. And you can keep track of who checks in to your event on Foursquare. The more people, the more buzz!

Think about ways to create that Buzz during and long after the event is over.