Planning an event is a group effort. The key to managing it is proper communication with your team. Communication is an important skill for any event manager, especially when working with a team of talented professionals. By setting clear expectations for your team members, you will head to any events without confusion and keep the team motivated.
Why is team communication important for events?
Strong communication is the driving force for anything to do at work. Effective communication leads to good and effective decision-making, proper engagement with the team members, and successful projects.
Contrarily, poor communication within your team may cause Imbalanced work, Unfinished projects, Unsatisfied clients, Bad customer feedback, and high-stress environment. In this article, we can share some ways to communicate effectively and efficiently with your team members.
Set clear expectations.
- Set the goals and objectives of the event properly and communicate them to your team so they can be acquainted with the event plan.
- From there, start assigning roles and responsibilities to the members. The way to break down duties is to what needs to happen before, during, and after the event
Use the right communication tools.
- You will rely on different communication channels to communicate with your team members. Depending on the purpose, urgency, and complexity of your communication, you may use email, phone, video call, chat, or face-to-face meetings.
- Each channel has its advantages and disadvantages, so you need to use them carefully with consider the context of the message.
Encourage open communication.
- Encourage each member of your team to share feedback and ideas and be open to their ideas and their suggestions. Show that you value their input by trying out their ideas.
- Schedule regular check-ins with your team to talk through any questions, concerns, or ideas and when concerns come up, address them promptly.
Listen and empathize
- The way to effective communication is to listen and empathize with the members. Communication is a two-way process; you need to pay attention in what your team members have to say.
- You need to listen properly and attentively, without judging them. You also need to empathize and acknowledge their opinions, and perspectives, even if you don’t agree with them. By hearing your members, you build trust and earn respect from the team members.
Managing the conflicts
- This goes with open communication. Try to keep your emotions out of the conflicts, it can help to seek out mediation or outside help if a situation escalates.
- Give your team members the benefit of the doubt, and try to handle the situation. Not only will this help you avoid an awkward situation, it will also help to maintain relationships with the event team.
Communication: A key to event success
The way of proper communication or not with your event team makes the success of the event. Start the planning process with proper goals and a plan that is communicated to the team members. When everyone is on board with the goals, they will be engaged and aware of their contributions make the success of the event.
Author: Manoj Prabhu