Seminar Planning - When do YOU get to eat?

Are you planning to serve a meal during your seminar? Do you know what you are going to do about your own meal? Sounds simple but you really need to think about what would work best for you and your image.

If you are a presenter, you will probably want to sit with your attendees to get to know them better. That’s great but I recommend that you have a member of your staff join you at the table. Years ago I was working at an event in which the presenters were asked so many questions during the meal that they could not eat. I finally stepped in and asked that they be allowed to finish their meal so the event could resume on time.

One thing you don't want to do is eat during any part of your presentation. I've seen this happen at a breakfast meeting. The speaker had finished his formal presentation and sat down to eat and do the Q&A. He was chewing while answering questions - very unattractive. This is definitely not how you want to be seen.

If you are organizing and managing the event, you might want eat before the attendees’ scheduled meal. When I'm working at an event of any kind I’m usually so busy making sure I keep the event on schedule that I don't eat. I always ask my staff to eat before the event because they may be needed while the attendees are having their meal.