Meetings Mayhem!: Behind the Scenes of Successful Meetings and Events

Meetings Mayhem! is a showcase for disaster. It is also a tribute to the dedicated meeting and event planners who produce countless flawless programs every year, but then are only remembered by the ones where things go wrong. Terribly wrong. This book is about those stories, all true, and how in the face of adversity and chaos a professional planner will always see it through to the end.

The author, a seasoned and veteran international meeting planner, has experienced many of these misadventures herself while planning and executing thousands of programs throughout her extensive career. But this book contains not only her own personal stories but also those of many other professional planners from her network. Meetings Mayhem! reads like an introduction to real-life planning from the voices of industry pros who have not only been there, done that, experienced it, but also lived-and remained employed-to talk about it and share those experiences.

To many of the unsuspecting attendees at these functions as well as to outsiders of the hospitality industry, being a professional meeting planner might seem like an easy, super-fun job. But this book will show readers that, even at its best moments, it can still be a precarious race to a successful end result.

Inside this book you will find:

• One entertaining story per chapter
• Definitions (shown as footnotes) of industry terminology used both to educate and set the scene as to where and why that particular meeting or event was taking place
• Lessons learned after the fact by the planner that was sharing their story and, in some cases, potential ways this bedlam could have been avoided
• A comprehensive reference page explaining all the different professional designations listed behind many of the contributing storytellers

Written in humorous, easy to read, stand-alone one story per chapter format, each submission first sets the scene with details about the size and scope of the event before explaining how, when, and why it turned into a fiasco. The highlighted industry terminology and definitions help guide the reader deeper into the journey of "good meeting goes bad." The final designation reference page at the end of this book lends further authority to the impressive accomplishments of many of the contributing storytellers.

Learner Outcomes Include:

1. Receiving a true-to-life education about this side of the meetings industry from professionals who actually make a living doing this crazy stuff.
2. Learning about the special skill sets required to be successful in this industry. SPOILER ALERT: patience and being able to think under pressure are high on the list.
3. Laughing and being thoroughly entertained while discovering that, most of the time, even when disaster struck, the show must go on.

But this author is also a storyteller who believes in happy endings, which is probably why you will like reading this book. Because, in the end, even though the path can get muddy and ugly, mayhem can be tamed when in the hands of professionals.

If you are looking for an introduction to real life meeting and event planning, then this book is it.

Terry has a formal college degree in Hospitality and Business Management and, once launched into the professional world of meeting planning, was among the first to receive the Certified Meeting Professional designation [in 1987] that further confirmed her place and dedication in this industry. With planning experiences that cover international destinations, she's traveled to over forty five countries and experienced a lot of detours along the journey. This all provides interesting stories about how planners actually make meetings happen, and that has lead to the writing path of her career. But even as an industry veteran, Terry is fond of saying, "Everything meaningful I've ever learned about my chosen profession has happened during on-the-job-training. Oh, and also, that in this industry, you actually DO need to sweat the small stuff." She likes to include a both a touch of humor and education in her writing, always reminding readers that these are true stories about things that have really happened behind the scenes, or sometimes right in front of the audience . Terry is a published author in multiple print and digital formats, and you can find her blog at www.terrysworldtravels.com where she focuses on entertaining travel stories and industry related issues. It should be noted that this book is a collection of stories from multiple industry pros that Terry has personally known and worked with over the years, and while some stories were drafted by individual authors, all have been revised and edited by TML herself.