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Running head: THE ART OF COMMUNICATION

The Art of Communication in Event Planning

Payne Thomas
University of Kentucky

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Abstract
This paper talks about the importance of communication in event planning. It also explains what
event planning is and the significance of the career. It discusses the requirements needed to be an
event planner, the different salaries, and also the culture of the workplace. Event planning is a
high stress career, and this paper talks about how important the communication role is to keep
the chaos in order. It discusses how to manage ones time and the characteristics an event planner
should have. It also talks about the different kinds of communication roles such as verbal and
non-verbal communication. It talks about the differences between the two communication styles
and gives examples of each one. All of these roles tie into Hofstedes idea of a collectivist
culture and explains how important it is for everyone to work together. Many of these articles
and websites are used to back up the information throughout this paper.
Keywords: communication, culture, event planning

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The Art of Communication in Event Planning

An event planner is someone who plans the process of arranging a festival, ceremony,
competition, party, concert, or convention. Event planners plan every detail of an event from
beginning to end. Some of these details include budgeting, establishing timelines, selecting and
reserving the event sites, planning food, and coordinating transportation. Event planners are
important because they arrange the program to present the organizations information in the most
effective way. Majoring in communications will help prepare event planners for the workplace
they are about to join.
Event planning has always been around and many sources will tell one how to plan an
event, but they wont discuss how the industry itself evolved. It began from the growth of small
gatherings. Through communication, people have a natural tendency to assemble into groups. By
adding food and entertainment, gatherings become parties and take on a whole new level of
complexity. Every organization, family, and country has at least one event every year. Examples
of these are business parties, birthdays, and national holidays. Planners didnt get paid at the
time, because friends and family would volunteer to plan such events for their loved ones
(Noella, 2011). The role of an event planner has advanced over the years. Event planners are
now paid because a lot of time and effort goes into arranging all of the details to help plan each
event. Events have also become larger in scale and much more elaborate in design. This is what
party planning has become, it has evolved into a successful business and these days planners are
extremely necessary to have. Throughout this paper, I will discuss event planning and how
communications is involved in the major itself and the workplace.

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Those who have careers in event planning have a bachelors degree in hospitality
management, business administration, marketing, public relations, or communications. In
hospitality management, it prepares one to enter the worlds most diverse industry. The major
itself teaches how to attract and provide to the needs of visitors. Job positions for this major are
usually held in hotels, resorts, conventions, and event planning. In business administration, the
event planning emphasis introduces students effective leadership. Every successful business
needs someone to help create publicity and manage a public event. In this major, the students are
taught to plan, market, prepare a budget, and negotiate contracts for the event. These skills are
necessary for starting a career in event planning. In marketing, students are taught to promote a
product. This major goes hand-in-hand with event planning as because they also have to be able
to work under pressure, demonstrate active listening skills, and possess organizational skills.
This major includes advertising, development, distribution, as well as planning. In public
relations, it is all about managing reputation. A job in this field requires understanding and
support for clients. It also includes trying to manage and influence a clients behavior and
opinion. They are also responsible for planning and developing strategies and organizing events
for press conferences and tours. In communications, the focus is based on how people use
messages to generate meanings in different contexts, cultures, channels, and media.
Communication is used in all of these majors. It is the only major that has all of the qualities of
the other majors into one. Real-world experience plays an important factor in getting a job in
event planning. By continuing education and gaining additional certifications, one will find
higher-paying work and will one day have enough experience to open their own business.

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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, The median annual wage for
meeting, convention and event planners was $45,810 in 2012. The highest-paid in the profession
work on the East Coast in the metropolitan areas of Nassau, N.Y., Bridgeport, Connecticut, and
Poughkeepsie, N.Y (U.S. News & World Report, 2014). The annual salary for event planning
depends on several factors such as industry, company size, location, experience, and level of
education. Event planners who work in specialized industries have the potential to make the
highest salaries (U.S. News &World Report, 2014). The bureau reports that event planning is
expected to see a 44 percent job growth between the years of 2010 and 2020. This is a much
faster growth rate than the overall average for most careers. According to Eric Strauss, who has
researched event planning and its growth, businesses and organizations will continue to develop
and expand into new markets and new countries, and the need for meetings and conferences will
increase. As a result, this means that the demand for event planners will also increase so that
these meetings and conferences can be thoroughly carried out.
Event planners spend a lot of their time working on-site at hotels or convention centers.
They also spend a lot of time in offices, organizing all of the information for certain events.
Planners also work with clients, hospitality workers, and meeting attendees. They have to
oversee all of the aspects, coordinate activities with groups of people, mediate and settle
disputes, and meet specific deadlines. The work place for event planners is very high stress and
requires them to work long and irregular hours leading up to an event. An average day for an
event planner includes discussing events with clients to determine their needs and vision, visiting
possible locations for an event, meeting with vendors, such as caterers, entertainers and florists,
and going over details with on-site staff. It also includes registering guests at an event, solving

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any problems that arise during an event and reviewing vendors bills and approving them for
payment. A quote by Mel Odom says, It takes real planning to organize this kind of chaos.
This quote itself just explains how stressful it is to organize all of the important details.

Image: http://eventfullyjacquelyn.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/wedding-planner.png
According to Dictionary.com, communications is the study of the way in which people
create information and share it with one another. Important communication skills include being
personable, organized, and speaking and writing persuasively. It helps us better understand a
person or situation and enables us to resolve differences, build trust and respect, and create better
learning environments. Communication is more than just exchanging information; it is about
understanding the emotion behind the information. It enables you to communicate even negative
or difficult information without creating conflict or mistrust. Listening is a major aspect of
effective communication. It can make the speaker feel heard and understood. This strengthens
the connection between the two people. It creates an environment where everyone feels safe.

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This makes it easier to express ideas, opinions, feelings, or plan and problem solve in creative
ways. Listening also saves time by helping clarify information to avoid misunderstandings.
Written communication involves any type of interaction that makes use of the written
word. It is also a major aspect of effective communication. It is the most common form of
business communication. Some examples of these are email, internet websites, letters, proposals,
faxes, postcards, and advertisements. As the usage of computers and computer networks rises, so
does the need for competent writing skills. Technology has made everyone in the workplace a
writer. When one sends an email or other written communication, it is out there for other people
to see. Written communication is used to have business relationships with customers and
suppliers that are established and maintained exclusively. When communicating through written
messages, one must answer basic questions like who, what, when, and where. They must use a
conversational tone for readability. They also need to include examples and visual aids when
necessary to make sure that the message is clear and understood. The advantage of written
communication is that messages do not have to be delivered on the spur of the moment. Instead,
they can be edited and revised several times before they are sent. Written forms of
communication are used more for exchanging messages between businesses that include
important facts and figures that need to be written down. This is an important form of
communication in event planning because the planner cant always meet face-to-face with a
client or another business that is supplying a certain product for the event.
Verbal and non-verbal communication is also important in the workplace of an event
planner. Tara Duggan, who talks about the difference of verbal and nonverbal communication
and how they are used in the workplace, divides them into two separate sections and talks about

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the topics individually. She begins with verbal communication, which is when a person uses
spoken words to convey a message clearly and concisely. Verbal communication is used daily in
the workplace. Its used in presentations and discussions to provide instruction, to describe an
item, and in use of descriptive examples to avoid confusion. Its also used in workshops to direct
the action of the workers, to help guide in researching problems, with the goal of solving
problems and making decisions. Verbal communication skills set the emotional tone and builds
relationships that very often determines your success in the workplace. Lastly, verbal
communication is used in conversations discussing a topic or event. Face-to-face is an important
aspect of verbal communication. It allows the communicators to listen actively and repeat back
to each other what the other said. It also allows for the person to clearly express what they have
to say without the other interrupting (Duggan, 2014). Verbal communication skills play a key
role in bringing people together. The stronger the skills are, the more likely everyone will
experience success.
Duggan now talks about non-verbal communication and how it is just as important as
verbal communication. Non-verbal communication is when gestures, body language, eye contact,
and facial expressions are used to convey messages in the workplace. Gestures express how a
person is feeling and if theyre listening or not. For example: Eye contact shows that a person is
paying attention to what is being said while fidgeting while a person is either talking or listening
expresses nervousness. An important aspect of non-verbal communication is observing what the
client needs or wants. Its your job as an event planner to pick up on the non-verbal
communication cues or facial expressions. You can note when a client likes or does not like
something by reading their facial expressions or tone of voice (Duggan, 2014). It is also

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important for the event planner to watch their body language, eye contact, and facial expressions.
Ways to enhance effective communication is to use open body language. Examples of this would
be arms uncrossed, standing with an open stance or sitting on the edge of your seat, and
maintaining eye contact with the person that is talking. Another way of enhancing
communication skills is to use body language to emphasize the verbal message.
Communication skills play a huge role in an event planners career. It is considered one
of the most significant skills anyone can have. Making certain that one is communicating with
their team is what can make a successful event planner. Effective communications skills are a
part of the daily job. With these skills, half of the job of hosting the event is done. A benefit of
good communication creates a win-win situation. The clients who benefit from their event that
was put together exactly the way they wanted, and everyone who put on the event benefits by
boosts in the sales of their company.
Event planning begins with a consultation with potential clients. The first visit is
significant because this is an event planners first impression to their client. They have to be
courteous and polite while they present what they can offer the client and understand their needs.
The industry is all about the client and the relationship that is formed with one another. The
client trusts the event planner to plan events that are significant to them. Being organized is an
essential part of being an event planner. An event planner is always juggling several types of
different projects at one time. They have to discuss details including dates, venues, and numbers
of items needed for the event. All of these details have to be scheduled for a date thats
happening in the future. This also goes hand-in-hand with time management. Managing your
time wisely will help create and finish deadlines. Reading and writing persuasively is a form of

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communication that is also an important aspect of becoming an event planner. An event planner
must be able to express thoughts, ideas, and opinions, in a clear and concise manner
(http://www.careers-in-event-planning.com/event-planner-job-description.html). Communication
skills are necessary to have in becoming a successful event planner.

Image: http://www.classiceventsinc.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Event-planner.jpg
When using Hofstedes characteristics of individualism and collectivism, the culture of
event planning is defined as a collectivist culture. Collectivist cultures are about group unity and
working with others for a common goal. An individualist culture is about an individual persons
success and revolving around that one persons self-interests. Event planners are always working
with several other organizations to plan for a clients event. Organizations include hotels, food
industries, transportation business, florists and even friends and family of the client. The culture
also requires event planning to be highly collaborative whereas individualist cultures are highly
competitive. This means that in a collectivist culture, people are working with each other for the

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common goal and in an individualist culture people are working against each other for selfsuccess.
Using Hofstedes idea of collectivism, communications plays huge role of carrying out an
event successfully. To ensure the best outcome of the event, everyone will need to communicate
with each other because they are all working together. An event depends on the team that puts it
together. Without the people behind the scenes all working together, the event would all fall
apart. There are multiple tasks that need to be completed before, during, and after the event,
which requires a large amount of people.
In conclusion, the event planner has many responsibilities in keeping all team members in
check. From planning to execution, one can see how different types of communication play a key
role in events. There is a lot of time and planning that goes into an event, and we dont always
recognize it. An event planner needs effective communication skills because they work with
many different organizations to put on this event. When everyone is working together it shows a
collectivist culture. Communicate early, communicate often and communicate to the right
people. If you follow these simple guidelines, your event planning and event execution is sure to
flow flawlessly.

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References
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Beggs, J.M., Bantham, J.H., Taylor, S. (June 2008). Distinguishing the Factors
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EVENTful Ventures. (2014). Event Planner Job Description: Personality
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Management and Wedding Planning. Retrieved from http://institute-of-event-

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management.com/what-is-event-planning
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