The Importance of Emotional Intelligence for Event Managers

To create an amazing brand experience during a corporate event, you need a couple of things : 

• A creative team
• Some budget
• A company that treats itself as a brand
• Great event managers
• Solid suppliers
• And many more

The key ingredient to be able to create an event that makes sense and that stimulates the emotions of the guests, is emotional intelligence. 

And that emotional intelligence plays out in a couple of ways. 

First, to create an amazing concept, the event manager needs to be empathetic about the brand. 

What does it stand for? What are the goals of the brand? What's it's DNA? It is a strategic exercice that needs real emotional intelligence, in the sense that before you start thinking about the concept, you need to be empathetic towards the brand. What does it want? And how are YOU going to help the brand by creating a top concept? Does a champagne tower at the entrance really reflect the message of the brand?

Second, the event manager needs to be empathetic about the target groups of the brand. Might seem obvious, yes, but you do not want to know how many event managers create event concepts for brands without knowing anything about the target groups of the brand they are working for. The problem is the word "target group". It sounds like an artificial far-away bunch of objects. But in real life, it are people. Like you and me. Probably different in lifestyle. But just the same in having expectations when going to a corporate event. 

Understand the people behind the "target groups" of the brand you are working for. Have talk with at least one of them. Listen to what they say. Watch what they like on social media. It will help you to come up with a much better concept.

Third, understand the people you are working for. You can work for a brand as an event agency, or it can be that you work for a brand as an event manager. In any case, those people have to approve your work and concept. So, you need to understand their beliefs, their fears, their career plans. Make them look good for working with you. The better you help them for achieving their goals, the more they will be keen on working with you.

Finally, you need a lot of emotional intelligence to create the team around you. Your suppliers need to believe in your story. You need to treat your suppliers well in order to have them on their best level of execution. Motivate them to run the extra mile. Be empathetic about their needs. But be firm. It's your event, not theirs. Finding the balance there is very important, and not easy.

It is clear that event managers need high emotional intelligence. Just being creative is not enough. Right?

Hope you enjoyed... Feel free to share your thoughts about this, would love to discuss this with you!

Written by Laurent Lootens - Lapin Quotidien, owner and Founder of Lapin Quotidien and So-Phi.