How to Deal with Endless Pivoting in Events

The Events Industry has pivoted far more than nearly any other over the last three years. It seems every time we see a light at the end of the tunnel, it is yet another express train of delight bearing down on us that we must quickly pivot away from.

It is exhausting!

In my conversations with other speakers, event organisers and event professionals, they share with me how exhausting it can be constantly changing and not really achieving their goals. Some of the management team then questions, “so what have you been doing?” Not the ideal question to ask mid pivot!

With the increased desire for face to face events, it is heart breaking to have yet another surge of COVID cases that forces yet another pivot! We had such hopes for 2022 but now they are slipping away.

So what will 2022 hold? Only the brave dare hypothesise. 

We eventprofs are nothing if not Brave! Events will continue. And each one of them will have a COVID Safe plan. Each one of them will have a Virtual backup plan. Each one of them will entertain some kind of hybrid possibility. Every one of them will have all cancellation clauses inspected in fine detail. Each one of them will have a postponement plan – in the unlikely event that it just cannot proceed.

The threat of states locking down or not reopening means that State based events will be the norm. Different ways of sharing common content will be sought, either by pre-recorded sessions, speakers streamed in or different speakers in each state giving the same presentations. 

Our delegates are dreaming of catching up with their colleagues and friends. Our sponsors fantasise about spending time in their booths while chatting to industry professionals. Our event professional industry just wants to meet up again and forget the pandemic and its impact – even if it is just for one night!

Pivoting is so much the every day for us, it always has been. Agility IS our industry.  Bravery has become second nature. Regardless of everything that has happened for the last couple of years, we still have hope. 

Here’s to a better year and good times ahead.

Get your copy of the Future Of Events here. Details on what the Chair of Meetings and Events Australia as well as two of Australia’s leading bureaus think about the events market in 2022