WOW Your Manager With Your Next Big Idea

We’ve often spoken about whether event professionals are born or made, and one of the key traits that seems to set apart the good managers from the great ones is that ability to think outside the box and come up with fresh new ideas. While some event aspects will always be necessary, the most memorable events are often those where an event manager has been able to take something mundane and make it extraordinary through their creative thinking.

The problem for many event managers, however, isn’t coming up with these ideas in the first place – you’ll find that most event professionals have a distinct creative flair. The problem is in the delivery … While you might not have trouble getting those brain juices flowing, presenting concepts to your boss or manager can be difficult for some people, and unfortunately even the greatest of ideas can get lost when the delivery is awful. With that in mind, the Worx Group team put together some of our top tips for taking that delivery from drab to fab, and making sure that your next big event idea comes to fruition.

Go in confidently

All event professionals would have had to work with some speakers in their time, both big and small, and you’ll find that they all have one thing in common: confidence. If you believe that your idea is going to be great, then you need to show that in everything from your body language to your speech. Speak clearly and loudly, stand tall, and you’ll have them on board with your brilliant idea in no time.

Do your research

There’s nothing that’ll lose your manager’s confidence in your idea quite like the knowledge that you haven’t bothered to do research on its potential impact. Before you even approach your manager, ask yourself the following questions: Is this plausible? Is it relevant to the client’s needs? Has it been done before? What are the potential overheads? What could possibly go wrong? When your manager asks you a question, you’ll want to have the answer on hand, and if you’ve done your research, getting them to buy into your idea should be a breeze.

Be succinct

We live in an area of perpetually busy people, and if you’ve managed to pin down some of your managers’ time to pitch your new idea, don’t waste it. Keep your presentation short, focus around a solid value proposition, and allow time for questions and discussions. At the end of the day, being succinct also shows that you have respect for their valuable time.

Listen and be humble

You might feel that you’ve come up with an idea that is set to change the face of the events industry for life (and maybe you have!) but allowing that idea to grow and be influenced by others is also a sign of a great events professional. There might be aspects that you hadn’t thought about, or advice that a more experienced manager might have that’ll really take your concept to a whole new level and being open to that possibility will have you set for success. We always preach that teamwork makes the dream work, and if you’re willing to bring other people’s ideas on board, you’ve got a much higher chance of getting the go - ahead. And, remember to say thank you!