The Blog

10 Steps to a Killer Meeting Theme
Twitter allows us 140 characters to deliver a message and catch the attention of our followers to take action. That action may be to connect to an article, Web site, book, or to engage another person. Either way, it is the haiku of the Twitter experience that makes it...

The Critical Role of Color at Meetings
Georgia O’Keeffe said, “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way—things I had no words for.” Me, too, Georgia, except that when I wear my event designer hat, those colors and shapes are transposed from a canvas to a ballroom....

Shopping and the Concept of Experience
There was a time in New York City when major department stores ran across popular intersections. The prime example of this is Macy’s. Its flagship location continues to sit on its 34th Street throne, maintaining the importance to the larger brand, and serving as a...

3 Ways to “Block” Your Event Space
In theater, actors and stage elements are deliberately positioned based on how and where the director wants the actors to move. This is called blocking. Meetings and events require the same deliberate choices, and we call it flow. The most critical success...

Failure Is Never an Option: Lessons from the Apollo 11 Event at MIT
Neil Armstrong (left) with Dianne Devitt (right) I recently had the privilege of working with the brilliant women and men at MIT to plan the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. The name of the event was “Giant Leaps: Perspective is Everything” – and yes, it...

How do you develop your creative thinking ability?
Every moment of every day has the potential to provide endless inspiration – if we allow ourselves to be open to it. As a yogi, I understand the power of a full, meaningful, and compassionate breath that says ‘thank you’ to all around me. This inhale keeps me focused...

Trust, Doubt and Creative Motivation
…Because I know that you can do it. I venture to guess that most of you reading this have heard these words at one time or another in your life. Perhaps you remember that first time when someone ‘let go’ of the two-wheeler bicycle and you glided on...

Creative Thinking – A Different Kind of Workout
It takes plenty of practice to bring awareness to your brain and to allow the flow of creative ideas. In the same way you head to the gym or take a yoga class to increase your physical strength, it takes work to improve your creative confidence. We are all creative...