Caffeinate. Meet. Succeed

Meeting Success is a collection of tips, resources and ideas to help make your meetings a success

Introduction

I have been in and out of event, conference and meeting management for the last 15 years, but I know how confusing and difficult it was when I started.  So, I created this site to share not only what I have learnt, but what others are thinking and doing to help make your meetings a success.

Primarily for people not organising meetings full-time, but equally useful to those that have been around meeting management for a while, this site collects stories and research.  It also answers questions.  

When I first started in the Prime Minister's Office, Helen Clark told me that meeting success required three things to be done perfectly:

  • preparation, including communications,
  • space/venue and
  • content.

So, in honour of the meetings I organised for her, this site is divided into three parts; prep&comms, content and space.  Learn,share and send us your questions, so we can make it even more useful to you.

Space

This section contains information on everything from venue and room set-up tips, to discussions and research on the impact of different spaces for group meetings. Some of these tips are generic, but running a meeting in New Zealand also has its specific challenges, so this site collects information from around the world and asks local experts to discuss how it works in New Zealand.

Content

We don't know your content as well as you, so this section is packed with information on how content is received, how it is communicated, what others do to prepare content as well as much more.

Preparation/Communications

Administration, logistics, communication - many people leave these aspects of organisation to last second, but it is a crucial part of every successful meeting.  Make sure your people know what they are doing, where they are going and who and what is going to happen in the meeting. Checklists and other tips for making administration a breeze.  We also talked to some experienced experts about how they do it - check out our 'tips' page.