Feel Worthy Podcast

28: Lowdown on Event Production, Show Calling, & AV | Logan Clements

• Episode 28

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 54:25

→ Send a text or a voicemail!

--------

Logan Clements joins Kayla Worthy and shares her journey into event production, the importance of community, and practical tips for collaboration and confidence building in the events industry.

--------

Logan Clements Website 

Logan Clements LinkedIn 

--------
Better Events Pod Website

Better Events Pod LinkedIn
--------

Feel Worthy Podcast Website 

 --------
 Kayla Worthy Instagram 

Kayla Worthy LinkedIn
 



SPEAKER_00

Hi everyone, welcome to the Feel Worthy Podcast. I'm your host, Kayla Worthy, and I am so excited for this next guest. Logan Clements is a freelance event producer, show caller, owner of Logan Strategy Group, and co-host of the Better Events Podcast. She loves anything that has a stage and a microphone and helping clients de-stress the event production and A V side of their events. From conferences, general sessions, and breakouts to the Olympic Games, international sporting events, and professional sports leagues, she's passionate about new on-stage program ideas, run a show management, and working in multicultural and multilingual environments. She advocates for the event community as the co-host of the Better Events Podcast, currently in season six with over 260 episodes, and co-hosting the annual Better Events Conference. Outside of events, she can be found reading mysteries, enjoying street food tours in new cities, and working on her weightlifting and snowboarding skills. I was so excited to have Logan on the podcast. Her and Mary had me on the Better Events Podcast a couple years ago, and it was so exciting. I've also attended the Better Events Conference. It is truly a space in the events community, creating a community for the event industry. It's definitely something to be a part of. If you haven't checked them out already, we dive deep into all things show production, call show calling, and how to really uplift your team when you know when they need it most. You know, we work long days, long nights, and on side of an event, it gets a little crazy. So we really span kind of the gamut talking about a lot of different things, and I'm excited for you guys to listen to this episode. It's a little vulnerable, it's really fun. We had a few technical issues, but we persevered. And Logan was super compassionate throughout the entire time of it. So without further ado, I will let you listen to the rest of this episode. And if you have any thoughts, if you have any questions for Logan, I would love that you send the text or voicemail to us and we'll be happy to answer them. Okay, let's dive into it. Hi Logan, welcome to the Feelworthy Podcast. How are you doing today?

SPEAKER_01

I'm doing great. You know, it's a beautiful sunny day here in Seattle, and so whenever it's sunny, I feel like it's gonna be a great day.

SPEAKER_00

That's always a good thing. I know it's not always the sunniest there. I know that we're having some in North Carolina warmish weather, but it's been a little dicey. Summer's trying to figure out what it's doing. But before we really dive into what the podcast is about today, I have to ask you, how are you and your passion planner doing?

SPEAKER_01

My passion planner and I are are doing pretty well. Thank you. I've I'm glad you asked. It is sitting right here to my left. My mic is on top of it, so I'm nervous to pick it up. But um it keeps all of the things in my brain. I will laugh if I had somebody who could audit my passion planner. I definitely haven't utilized all of the amazing, like you could tell my January was crazy. I didn't do some of the goal setting that I'm supposed to do in the planner and all this stuff. So I will say I'm not filling in some of the ancillary things, but uh for those who know me from my podcast with the Better Events Podcast, uh, I talk about my passion planner all the time. It is a literally like a written planner uh that I just love the way it lays out my week and has different areas to catch all the random things that are in my brain uh for what we do in events.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I love it too. And I know I watched your YouTube video about it and we like chatted about it. And my nutritionist actually suggested like a win book, and I was like, wait, there is a section of the Passion Planner that says like great things that happened this week. So I'm gonna just further utilize that section to track like good things that happened throughout the week instead of creating a whole other like Google Doc or something to hold those like good wins for the week. So it's a it's my latest feature, I guess I'm using within it.

SPEAKER_01

I love that. Yes, there's so many like fun templates. I did have one year that somebody gave me a planner for Christmas, and I felt that I had to use it, and I ended up going on to Passion Planner, does have a bunch of free templates you can download too. And I literally like arts and crafts like glued them into the new planner just because I liked how they laid out some of the sections, and we're coming up on July, so um coming up on being able to actually do the like mid-year audit and just some of those check-ins that I love that get me out of the like weeds of day to day, week to week, and thinking more like big picture.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you for engaging with me on that question because I know it was a surprise and I didn't have it baked in. But um, what I ask every person when they join the podcast is what's what does feeling worthy look like to you in this season of life? Oof.

SPEAKER_01

Um feeling worthy to me right now is investing in my connections with others. I've currently, it's because we're summertime, I'm calling it my um summer of connection. I had a very grief-heavy year last year where I feel like I really took from my community. I needed support, I needed people to show up for me, and I prided myself before then of being really good at showing up for others, and I feel like I'm kind of coming out what feels like a little bit of a debt to my community of like having needed to receive a lot. And so this year I'm advocacy really advocating to try to show up for others. Um, both, I mean, in my work I feel like I already naturally do that, so this is a little bit more of a personal goal, but kind of yeah, the feeling worthy part is if my community feels like I'm really showing up for them right now.

SPEAKER_00

It's really a beautiful response, and I'm sorry to hear about the grief heavy year. And I think that's a beauty of I know we're gonna talk about this later, about the community you've created too with Mary and the Better Events Podcast, and even the book club you have. That uh community like it ebbs and flows, right? Like you give to each them and they give back to you. I I feel like for event pros it can be hard to sometimes receive and just receive without just wanting to give immediately back because we love giving so much, but it's nice that they can show up for you and then you can pour back into them. And it just I don't know, I feel like the universe has a way of like evening evening it all out eventually.

SPEAKER_01

So yeah, yeah, there's no uh no right or wrong. I appreciate you saying that. And if any of your listeners are going through any kind of grieving season, um for me again, it was a combination of personal losing people, and I also lost a big client that I realized I had to process some business grief was like a big thing. Um, and yeah, it just there's no easy way to deal with it. And leaning on those around you, I felt very fortunate for having that community before I had to face all of that, and if anything, now it just makes me more passionate about showing up for others uh, you know, after having continued and I'm still navigating it.

SPEAKER_00

I think there's everything has a grief cycle, even if we don't think that's what it is. Um, even in work, when you're like, oh, I don't work on that project anymore, and that feels uh tough, but I don't know why I'm so upset about it. It it's something to acknowledge and to kind of go through instead of just shoving it down. So thank you for sharing that. I know it's a vulnerable moment. Um, and even before we even got to know you more. So thank you for just being open with that. But for those of you who don't know you from your podcast or have never met you before, which I'd be surprised. I feel like you're a star within the event industry. Um, can you tell us a little bit more about you and what you do?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, uh, the short of it, I'm Logan Clements. I'm a freelance event producer based in Seattle, Washington, but I execute events here and all over the world, very frequently traveling these days. I do a lot of show calling, uh, which is you know, queuing the show that happens on stage. I do corporate events, nonprofits, and then sports are my favorite. So queuing the in-stadium production, if you buy a ticket to the game, the national anthem, the t-shirt toss, all of that stuff is scripted and run just like your conference. So those, and then I also produce, which would be maybe being a part of that pre-planning process a little bit more, sometimes show calling, sometimes more just being the client's right-hand person and the bridge between them and the production team. Um, but yeah, and then I have the Better Events podcast, which you mentioned, which I co-host with Mary Davidson, another event pro, and we host weekly um podcast episodes. We're in season six. I think at this point we have over 260 plus episodes out there you can go back and listen to. But we're very passionate about helping educate our event planning community because we started the podcast hoping that more than just our mothers would listen and that we could share some of this knowledge that we're learning on the fly. And it's kind of grown and blossomed into this amazing space for other event pros both to learn from us, and we have people on our podcast who come and be guests and they share their knowledge as well.

SPEAKER_00

So I like to ask everyone this as an events background. What was your entry point into events? Did you always know you were going to be in production show calling? Yeah, how'd you find your way into it?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, great question. I feel like looking back, being in the present right now, looking back, I'm like, oh, it's so obvious I was meant to be in events. I'm an oldest child, I was constantly organizing things. But like as the person navigating, what do I want to do with my life as a college graduate? No, it was not obvious. Um, so my first touch point with events was I worked at a marketing agency that we did both marketing and events. And my first like entry point level job was like working in social media marketing. I feel like that's a very easy young person job uh when you don't know exactly what you want to do. And so, as a part of my social media marketing, I ended up going to a lot of events. And then at this agency, they actually had us kind of cross out and help the other team. So I wasn't on my company's event team, I was on the marketing side, but we would pitch in and help. And um I'd gotten to this point where I feel like I started to experience some burnout in my job of doing again marketing with like dabbling in events, and I was like, I feel like I like the in-person interaction more than the like strategizing on my laptop kind of part of marketing. Um, and so I ended up also being the person paying freelancers and I was approving people's budgets and stuff, and so I was realizing how much freelancers we're making. And so the whole like start of me starting my own company and going out on my own was not in the entrepreneurial spirit of wanting to be my own boss, but more out of a place of burnout and just like I need to stop and take things away and just start adding things back in. So even when I quit, I was doing some marketing still and starting to dabble in events and asking other event planners to let me work on their team's freelance. Um, and then that was probably a two-year cycle where I finally phased out all of my marketing clients and then jumped on the event side. And then it took a little longer for me to realize I liked production. I was doing more that full event management, any job, wear any of the hats. And then I got thrown in to one show where I they needed someone to show call and I didn't know what show calling was. I didn't even know it was a role. It was just like we need someone to tell the A V team what to do when. Um, and this was also all in China. I used to live in China, and so my first experience was in Chinese, having to tell my Chinese AV team what we needed done. And I started being like, oh, this is interesting. Okay, like clicked, but didn't. I still was doing full event management, and then I got to go on headset for a basketball game in China because the um Pac-12 conference, an American college conference, came to China to host a men's college basketball game, and their marketing director was gonna show call it, and their stage management team was all Chinese, and the marketing director only spoke English, and so they were like, Oh no, we need to put somebody on headset, and I was her kind of like right-hand person, just helping logistics, like fixing, really honestly, helping get random things. Another person on our team had called me the rubber band gal because I got her rubber bands. She couldn't figure out how to do that in China. Um, and so I got to be on headset and help kind of interpret, kind of just be the like bridge again between the English and Chinese, and my brain exploded because I was like, wait, what? There's this whole world to live sports that's not TV, it's not the sports team, it's the in-game experience, it's the t-shirt tosses, it's Yao Ming coming out for a smile and wave and to give a giant check to a charity. Like that is all produced, rehearsed, and show called. And from that moment on, I was kind of addicted to that headset time and was like, how do I do more of this, of that show calling piece of that game presentation in sports? Um, and then kind of the corporate continued with me when I realized, oh, there's jobs like that in the corporate sphere too. Um, so that's kind of my long answer to how I got into it. But I feel like it took several years. It was not instantaneous that I figured out events and then that I figured out I liked the production side of events.

SPEAKER_00

I love a story because I think that it just shows the nuances of the events industry. Like there's not just one straightforward path. I appreciate it because my path also wasn't linear. So now that you've found your way into show calling and production more, what does it feel like being behind the scenes, like making these shows happen? There's so much magic being the attendee in the room. I can only imagine what it feels like being the one that puts it on. So, what does it feel like for you?

SPEAKER_01

I love it. I'm very excited about what I get to do. Right now, my probably I was like, depending on the year, it's like 50% corporate, 50% sports. And I love my corporate clients, any of them, if you're watching or listening, I do love you, but I do love my sports more because I just feel like I get to pinch myself and be like, I'm paid to be here. Um, so it is pretty cool. I just recently I've been working some women's pro softball this summer, and we had a moment uh where we were able to connect a fan with a player for like a wave, and then she ran over and gave her like a ball. And it was just this moment I like looked down, I was like, Goosebumps. And like, yeah, I don't think the whole stadium might agree with me that that moment was goosebumps, but to me, I'm like, we do some things that are like the Razmatazz and big and everybody gets to see it, and it's so exciting. And then there's the things you do for like that one person that you hope, like, I don't know, when they're you know, 20, maybe they'll remember that one moment they got to meet their favorite player, and that's something that we facilitated with what we did. So um, it is both very cool to be a part of these things. I will caveat, I've had some of these big events I've worked that I will say my friends and family think they're the coolest thing ever, and I'll be like, hey, fun fact. For me, not the coolest thing ever. Some of my projects that have been the most fun you've never heard of. Like, so it's it's not it's not uh a guarantee. Um, but I always said I wanted to be an Olympian when I was a kid. I wanted to compete in the Olympics. I looked my parents in the face and told them you will see me at the Olympics. And then as I got older and my athletic prowess did not meet my own personal expectations, it shifted to being like, okay, you're gonna see me work at the Olympics. Um and I am very proud to say my parents have now come to two Olympics that I've worked. I've worked a total of this, it was technically my fourth. My first one was volunteer, and then the last three have all been paid. So um that is like a way that I will say I'm I'm very thrilled to be a part of some of like the largest events happening in the world.

SPEAKER_00

And also like you manifested it without like it didn't necessarily have to be that you were playing in it, but you were they saw you at the Olympics. Like that's such a proud moment, I'm sure, for you, but for them too, to come full circle with that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it was pretty, pretty cool. So um that's one that yeah, yeah, I'm like definitely anyone listening, like set your goals, try to figure out what's your Olympics if it's not the Olympics. Um, because I feel like there is a yes, some of that manifesting woo-woo definitely does work. I mean a lot of footwork on my end to try to make some of this happen. Things don't just happen. Uh, but it is definitely one that like you can. There are there are roles at some of these events that maybe feel impossible from the jump to get into. Like 10 years ago, me would be pinching themselves that I was able to figure some of this stuff out. Uh, and again, it was not, as you said, linear earlier on. Like it it it takes time and it takes some patience, but it also takes a lot of uh effort on your own side just to figure out how to get in.

SPEAKER_00

Observe it and like honestly just follow the breadcrumbs that you're given along the way and then continue working hard and doing the reps. So that brings me to how have you built that confidence and really going from being thrown into a situation where you're like, Oh, do I get a headset and I get a beat the bridge, but then uh find them and really like thrive in them. Like, what are what are things that have helped you along the way?

SPEAKER_01

Oh, yeah, time time definitely helps. I I definitely remind myself that everybody had to do something for the first time. Like anybody, think of anyone you admire in what you do for work, and like they had to have a first time. There's it's impossible to do any new thing without having like been like, I had to have a first time. And whether the people around you know this was your first time or by your third time you admit to be like, hey, remember two times ago, that was my first event I ever did that. Like you you can't, you know, everyone had to try something first. I'm happy you asked me about confidence because I'm like sitting here and be like, I guess I am confident, but also I'm not. My poor partner has to hear me before any new project or any new role, or you know, you always it again, you have to have your first time of like taking the next step. So if you're like, I've show called a room of 300, okay, or I'd like I've done a three-day conference and it had one award show. And then it's like I got asked to do a four-day conference. I was like, great, I can do that. That's the same thing. I find out, oh no, I have an award show every night. It's like, okay, that's a lot, you know, that's just more. And so I'm like, in my head, I was like, I don't know if I can do this. We're gonna have to figure this out. And my poor, luckily, I have a great partner who I can kind of vent to, and he's now at this point, he's always like, reassures me, but is like, I just want you to know you're saying this every time, and every time you're fine. So, like, just gonna keep saying it and reiterate it to you. Um, but yes, it definitely like just getting the, as you said, getting the reps in, like finding the opportunities where you feel safe to try something new. Um, maybe for, you know, I've I've brought some people into production worlds before where I'm not putting them in the biggest room with the biggest thing happening. I'm putting them maybe in the third biggest room just for them to get a taste and see if they like it, and then from there you can grow. So finding those allies to help you get in. Um, for me, it's just, yeah, it's just been honestly trial and error of kind of like, I tried it, I liked it, I want to keep doing it. And I do like the variety. So I always am trying to go for bigger shows, but I also really enjoy, and there's things I can learn from some of the smaller shows. And to me, the thing that matters most is just time on headset. That's my biggest advice for anyone trying to get in, is even if you can't be the show caller, but you're interested in show calling, being the stage manager. Or I've had folks who are more on the event management side of things, and it's like if you have a relationship with your stage manager or your show caller and say, is there an extra headset? Can I just listen in? Like that's how how I learned my show calling style is hearing other show callers and being like, okay, I like how they did that. Oh, that was different. I don't know if that's for me, but that's like a different way to say that. And I've kind of cobbled together my own style of my show calling, and I've through doing this more, have unfortunately realized, and fortunately I guess, uh I fortunately realize I have heard from good show callers. There are people out there who I would say are not the best show callers, meaning they're usually angry, there's some yelling on headset. That comes from like the TV world more. There's some directors out there in TV that yell and like yell at people while you're on headset, which I feel strongly against. And that's like if that's all you've known, then maybe that's how you think show calling's supposed to happen. I fortunately, those early years was hearing from very calm, very communicative people, and I think that's then transferred into my own style. Um, so, but that's also not just from show calling, it's just from time on headset and making notes and being aware of like, oh, I like that, or that worked, or ah, I was confused. Why was I confused? Maybe that the way we teed that up was different, or I didn't ask the right question as the stage manager. So um, yeah, I think just getting your reps in can be both challenging but also exciting. It's just like time on headset if you're interested in production. Anytime you can ask your team if there's an extra headset is gonna be helpful in your journey. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00

And I think it's good to know. And one thing I picked up from listening to Better Events podcasts is also this term of like calm is contagious. So then if you're calm, then other people will feel that and resonate that with that and be able to lead in that way. But the opposite is also true. Um, can be true too. Um, but that's exciting. Have you had mentors along the way, would you say?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I'd say unofficial mentors. I've done one mentoring program uh where I actually threw wise women in sports and events. They have chapters all over the country. We have a Seattle chapter, and I had signed up for their it's free like mentoring program that's like a six-month program, and they pair you with someone. And I did that, signed up in January 2020 before I knew what 2020 was gonna be. Um, and it was the best decision I ever made because then I had got paired with Jen Mueller. She's a sports reporter and entrepreneur and keynote speaker here in Seattle, and that was six years ago at this point, and we still every so often check in, probably a couple times a year. Um, but I've definitely had a lot of like unofficial mentors, and to me, I would say some of those mentors not only just like teaching me and letting me mirror what they're doing, but the biggest thing I've seen and something I'm trying to implement as I go farther in my career is they have said my name in rooms that I'm not in. And they have that, and by doing that, or even rooms I've been in, the one I can think of is one of the gals that I I I very strongly, you know, admire for what she does and how where she's gotten. We were doing a round-the-table introductions, and we all were just saying like where we were from and was part of this like basketball event we were doing, and I introduced myself, and then she was like, Oh yeah, Logan, you meant you didn't say though. You used to live in China, you speak Mandarin Chinese. That's how I met her. And I was like, Great, thanks, don't have to mention that. Yep, but just so random. And then like move on to the next person, like I downplayed it, move on to the next person. Well, little did I know that one comment got in the ear of one of the other leaders who was at that table, and they were looking for someone who knew Chinese who'd want to go to China in like two months. And before that two-week event was over, I had booked the contract, they'd booked my training to send me to Thailand for a week, and I was going back to China for six weeks. And not saying that like in that two weeks, I maybe would have brought it up. I don't think I would have. I think I would have been like, Chinese doesn't apply to this project in Vegas. Like, why would I bring that up? And this person said that, and from that, that's unlocked a whole bunch of other opportunities for me. So it's definitely like a core memory of like, oh, I need to remember one, to sing my own praises when it feels applicable, because you never know who it resonates with, but also, how do I do that for other people? And that is something like with the podcast, we try to say like community over competition. And I always, as much as it pains me sometimes, it's like I want everyone I know to be booked and busy. I want us all to be booked and be charging more and like doing better because that means there's space for new folks to come in. And while that means I then have to work with new folks, that's That's a good problem to have. Like, I'd rather than saying, like holding people back and saying, No, no, I'm not gonna tell anyone about you because you're amazing and you should just be my person. Like, that doesn't feel fair. And so that's something. If I work with someone for a day, or if I work with someone for a year, I always try to end with like, How can I help you? Or please stay in touch if there's anyone you meet or see on LinkedIn that I know that I could maybe make an intro for. Because again, I I just never know who where my connections could help someone because I've been the beneficiary of someone making a very you know, nice but casual comment has been like career changing for me.

SPEAKER_00

It speaks volumes to the integrity and the person that you are, but also like the people that you've surrounded yourself with. And I think the fact that you're paying it forward is such a huge act of kindness, like a huge act of kindness. I know I've had it done for me. Like one of my first internships at um I was in college, like, and I knew it was when I knew I wanted to be an event, so it's like a core memory for me, too. Um, a family friend was working in the suites of Madison Square Garden and like just mentioned to the communications director, like, I have someone who would be willing to have an internship, like if you would be interested in interviewing her, and then she already had an intern, but the intern fell through for whatever the reason was, and she's like, Call her up if she's ready because I need someone like in a week. And I was, I was just working a summer job and it all kind of like dominoed from there. But if he wasn't willing to suggest it to her, and then they had a long-standing relationship, but he didn't have to, and that just like unlocked my world of like what corporate events could be, and even just gave me one like iota of a peek into this world that I wanted into so bad that it really unlocked a lot of other things in my career. So I think for anyone listening, if you are interested in something, reach out to us because I think we both are passionate about paying that forward because you just never know. When you're in the production realm, and which is pretty much your day-to-day, how can planners work better with the production team? What are ways that you can have a more collaborative relationship on site? I know I've worked with so many production teams. I'm like, I don't know what you need, but if you tell me, I can try to explain it to everyone else, and vice versa. So any things that you see that would make that kind of collaboration much better on site. Or even more.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I'm I'm I'm a big fan of like it's one team, one dream. And this applies to any events I work where I'm like, we're all like events are stressful. Back to my earlier comment when people yell and you say like calm is contagious, that is something I like I just feel so strongly about, where it's like events, we can make so many plans, we can have so many binders, we can plan for all the contingencies and all the things, and yet there will be a new thing that you hadn't planned for. And so if we can all be collaborative against the like against the chaos that can be an event, it's like we're gonna be great. We're gonna figure out what we need. And so to your point, even just connecting with your production team ahead of time of like, hey, this is my world. Like, if you're in charge of opening doors to the ballroom, I hope you talk to your production team before you do that, because like they need to be ready before you open doors. And even if it's just a handshake and a and like a conversation that happens not in the 10 minutes before you're trying to open doors, but like the day before, they will often be wearing all black and be in that room and you can just pull someone aside and like, hi, I'm so and so, I'm the planner. Who should I talk to? I just want to connect and maybe get a phone number to text, like if we're ready for doors. Like that that small thing can really make everyone, you know, feel better versus like that's just such an easy thing that I see some events do wrong where they're just not, they're siloed. It's like this is I run everything outside the ballroom, I run everything, this other person runs everything in the ballroom. Of course, we don't have to talk. It's like, no, we do, because also then I can text you if, like, hey, we're running late. Like, we're gonna be 10 minutes late out of this session. Don't know how that applies to someone else. Because sometimes when I produce, I'm like, all I know is what's happening in the ballroom. I have no idea the breakouts, this reception, I have no idea. They leave my ballroom at this time. I have no idea. But I understand in my head the ecosystem of what we do that I'm like, let me just tell them. So it's information they have in case they need to tell banquets, can you leave the coffee out a little longer? Can we get the word out to all the breakout rooms that they need to start a little later? Like, there's a knock-on effect of what we do of like, if I don't, if I'm in my silo and I don't share that information, like I'm putting you guys behind. So one, checking in would be the most simple. And then two, there's like to plug shamelessly plug what I do. I'm like, there's people like me that exist as a producer where like, I know how to read an A V order. If you are a planner that doesn't know how to read an A V order, you could be wasting thousands of dollars on stuff you don't know, primarily if you're working with in-house people, because they're gonna shove stuff on your quote that you don't need. I have it with clients every year that I work with. One, they keep trying to give them a lighting package. They've never had a lighting package. And the the poor planner who knows it all, she's so good at everything she does. She has to do all these other things about this event. So I don't blame her at all for not seeing it. But I caught it in the first 30 seconds of reading this quote, and we just save $5,000. And fun fact, it cost less than $5,000 for me to work with her. So I was like, you're making money. Like, this is a good thing. But I think don't be afraid if you can't afford to bring a producer in or even a T like a technical director, a TD, there's freelancers out there you can build a relationship with just to like pay them to consult on your quote, or even then be on site and be the eyes and ears in that room, making sure everything happens the way it's supposed to happen. Um, but if you can't afford any of that, you're a smaller group, smaller budgets, not as many resources, just ask questions. Like, do not let the production company steamroll you in the technical jargon, which they will try to do, and even if they do that, please keep asking questions. It's not a big pain to say, can we walk through this quote line by line? Just to make sure I know in layman's terms, in regular speak, what am I getting here? I see the audio section. Okay, can you just explain to me again how many mics do I have? Are they handheld mics? Are they lavalier mics? Do I have my podium mic I want? Like just walking through that quote, you'll be surprised. One, you might find savings. Two, you'll make sure your EV team actually understands what you're looking for. Because so many people I feel like have an RFP or they have a quote from last year, they just send that. They're like, we want what we had last year. It's a new venue, new place, and that's it. And they're not gonna look through it. Or now maybe you're like, oh, we actually want to do demos from the stage. I want to be able to plug my laptop in. That should be easy, right? If you tell them in that, in that early stage, yes. If you show up on site and are trying to do that, again, you're adding to that chaos. So I just find AV can be like after food and beverage, I feel like for most events is like your second biggest expense. And while I think a lot of planners, and then we've had you on our podcast, I know Kayla talk about your CMP, like get super well trained, I feel like, in reading a BEO and understanding food and beverage, or even come from like the hotel side of things. I feel like A V gets skipped over. It's like it's confusing. I roughly know what I need, like I don't want to get in the weeds, just sign off it and move on. Um, and that's just something I found can you know be a missing piece.

SPEAKER_00

Totally spot on. I it's helpful. So one, you brought up exactly a good point. Like, I've been in a situation where we had to we I mean, we always talk to her, we try to talk to the A B team and we connect, we have pre-show meetings, we have all of these things, but then uh even on site, the keynote speakers late. Well, that affects everything else. It affects the production team and everything going on in the main ballroom, but then it affects the rest of the schedule. So we have to work together to make sure that everyone is uh rolling in the same direction, or we know what one domino, how it impacts all the others. But to your point, I think it was a really actually it was a really great point that I didn't even think of. That relationship isn't just on site, it isn't just like the silos that we are, but we can even connect more and skills that you have that we don't have, or vice versa. Like, how can we better understand the full A V code for in-house production managers that are like this is exactly what you need? And you're like, Are you sure? But you already have an A V partner, so why not like use it collaboratively and say, Hey, I know your strength is this. Can you help me? And I think it goes a long way to always ask for someone's strengths because people are usually flattered by like, oh, you think that is my strength? Absolutely, I'm happy to help. And even to the CMP. There was one section I think I read, I remember about how far apart the chairs have to be to the screens. And I think that's it.

SPEAKER_01

That's fair. It is, and it's it is like it's a whole world. And I my my I've said it, I said it so much. I was on site for two weeks, the this last two weeks. I said it so many times. I'm like, I know enough tech to be dangerous. You do not want me plugging in cables, but like I know enough, and if anything I've learned, I'm just I feel empowered to ask a question. And if they throw technical jargon at me, which they often will, it'll be like, love that, but just break it down for me in simple language. If I want to make sure my mic will reach all the way to the back of the ballroom, can we do that with the system you're in? And then they'll be like, I don't know, actually, we'd have to add this. Or even on site having that curiosity of like, hey, something went wrong. Instead of coming of more trying, it's less like pointing fingers, sure. There's some scenarios where you need to be like, why did that happen? Like, who's to blame? But I don't find that usually helpful. I usually say after, it's like, hey, that happened. What equipment did we need to have changed to know different, like for that to be different? And an example I'll have is like I had two big rooms that the client was too big for the space, and we were trying to make it do a lot of things. And so they wanted two breakout rooms at most sometimes, and then they wanted to pull this airwall and make it one giant breakout room. And while we were doing the giant breakout room, we kept getting complaints that people are like, I can't hear, I can't hear. I'm in the middle of the room and I can't hear very well. And I'm like, well, at this point, it is what it is. We're gonna crank up our system as much as we have, and then we're gonna have people complain who are sitting by these speakers. And then afterward, I was like curious to my technical director, I was like, okay, so what would we, is there anything we could do to have fixed that, knowing ahead of time now how they want to use the space? And we don't want to rig, meaning we don't want to hang things from the ceiling because that's more expensive. We had speakers on sticks, and he's like, Oh, we could have done ground-supported stacks. I was like, Oh, fun. What's that? And he's like explaining to me, and it's just stack speakers on the ground, and they just pack a little bit more of a punch and they're louder. And I was like, okay, I will make a note, but I was like, I'm a little frustrated that wasn't suggested weeks ago when we talked through this scenario, but like I wouldn't have known that was an option. Now, listeners, I know. Moving forward, I will always ask that question if it's, hey, is it speakers on sticks, or would a speaker stack be better here? I'm just gonna ask it because, and then let the technical people work it out of why we could do one or the other. Um, so it's just one always to like make notes of like, okay, what do I need in the future? Um, or those things that you just throw money at when we're on site and money doesn't matter anymore, and they're like, okay, to change it, it's gonna be this much. You're like, cool, approved, whatever. Like, just make it happen. It's like make sure you note that for next year and don't just shoot off your old quote, but like have made note of like, hey, I had to add four more mics, or I had to add two repeaters, two extra screens in the back of the room because line of sights were off and we didn't realize it, you know. Some of that stuff that you could then add to your quote to make sure it's kind of evolving and growing with your needs, and not just this cookie cutter quote that then you're like always having the last minute, oh no, we need these seven more power cords or you know, whatever else it is, which is easier said than done because I know we're all just tired at the end of a planning process, but like in an event when you're post-event, but even just like taking two seconds to jot it down, or just saving that quote of whatever their change order was and making sure that's in a folder for like 2027, you know, A V quote, make sure you pull quote and change order, and those are the two things you need to bring when getting your updated quote can help you just feel better about like knowing your needs.

SPEAKER_00

I'm a big note taker. Um, and I know it doesn't always feel like that's possible when you're like in the thick of it. I was talking to uh Gabriella Rubuccio and she was like, I'm not a note-taker, but like even voice noting helps to just at least capture it somewhere because you want to capture it, right? It's just a matter of like finding something that works for you, but it does help in the long run. I think we keep earing on this, but the idea of just like being open to asking the question and just even coming at it as like a solution-oriented or not, even you don't even have to have the solution, just more of the curiosity is what I love that you mentioned because it is just we're not meant to know everything, but just asking the question can give us a little bit more information for next time.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, and that's and like knowing when to ask those questions because that's the other part of like getting that big answer is like not appropriate when we're like in show. It's like when people are actively on stage, this is not the time to ask that question. But in like the earlier load-in days, you catch yourself with some time, you know, you're like, hey, this question I just want to ask about this setup, or like you're seeing the rigging go up to the person on site, you're like, is this normally how you guys set it, or do you have alternative things you guys see that work well in here? And you might get a different answer than what you've been getting in all the weeks leading up to pre- you know, the pre-production. Um, but to your point, I do for listeners, like that is one where you can feel empowered to like learn as much as you want to learn, become tech, you know, know enough tech to be dangerous like me. But that is also where, again, I keep having a job with folks because people are like, I want to delegate that and have somebody I trust and I know who's gonna help ask those questions. Um, and sometimes your production partner is great and they will be a great partner with you and help you. I just find events that move venue to venue, A V company to A V company. There isn't those questions being asked, and that's just where I see there's like opportunity to either educate yourself as the planner to ask those questions, or if you're like, Logan, my plate is overflowing, how can you add AV to that too? Again, reaching out to people who do what I do, or again, technical directors. There are freelance ones who will look at your quote and be your eyes and ears of making sure you're getting everything you need and making sure you're not paying for something you don't need.

SPEAKER_00

Which is great. If that like it's great to know that that's an option because so often we feel like we have to do everything instead of maybe just staying in our zone of genius. Like we really just love to do the logistics and the planning, and the A V just feels daunting, and which is why, although it's second on the budget, it becomes a last on our priority list because we're just like, I I would rather not deal with it. But the same thing for me, like I've just learned sometimes I don't always love and this is gonna sound whatever, but sometimes cleaning my house is just a lot with a five-year-old running around and an event schedule that's crazy, and my husband is a corporate trainer, so he's traveling crazy. So sometimes I'm just paying for help because I need a little bit of sanity. And if the AV is your is your house cleaning, then so be it. And I think if there's someone that loves to do that, then bring them in. I think that even creates more of a relationship, more of a team where sometimes planners feel like they're so alone. Like I'm the only planner person. Like this is a person that can really start by maybe not again, a full-fledged 10-person team, but at least one or two other people that you start to build that rapport with and then make the events that much better. So I love the suggestion. We've talked a bit about leadership moments and things that you've seen throughout your career. Is there another event moment that you've seen that has really taught you something important in leadership?

SPEAKER_01

That is a good question. I don't know if I could figure like point to a moment. I definitely will say just like a philosophy I picked up on, and I think this is probably from a a bunch of moments. Well, actually, no, I can say a moment. Um, this is again someone I admire a lot. I work some of my sporting events are like multi-weeks, so it's like two weeks, three weeks. It is a marathon, which then I laugh. I'm not a runner, but I imagine that's what a runner who does marathons and then gets asked to do a one-day event and they're like, three mile run. Psh, I can do that. I've done 26 miles. That's what my long events feel. But one of my clients was just so good at taking care of our like outside of work needs. Like we had a we had a staff break room. In that break room, we had a wellness corner that had like yoga mats and little Theragun massage guns and endless snacks and would surprise us with coffee on like day seven when things got tough, and just taking care of some of that like little stuff that I have definitely now mirrored in my own work where I'm like, I can't ask people to perform at a high level and do something really big and amazing if they're thirsty, if they are hangry, if they have not had a place just to like take a beat. And some of my events, we have no, we have no time for folks to take a beat. And so in that regard, it's like making sure we have ample amounts of water somewhere. Or for like I just had in Italy with the Olympics, it was like we gotta make sure we got pods for our coffee machine because folks need their coffee when I'm asking them to come in nice and early. Um, we need snacks, we need like just taking care of your basic crew, sets your team up for success, especially with events where we're not really like traditional leaders, where you have a year to build that teamwork of like, and we have monthly check-ins and weekly one-on-ones. Like, no, it's I'm on site, I have like three days to get stuff set, and then you and I have to do something really big and amazing. Like, how do I convince you that you should trust me to lead this ship? And a lot of it is like, I've taken care of, like, I know where you're you're supposed to park. We have access to the bathrooms. Like, these sound so simple for me saying out loud, but I will tell you I've had to advocate for some of this stuff, or even just like feeding crew, and feeding crew not pizza, but like something actually like even a boxed sandwich will go farther, but not boxed sandwiches for 10 days in a row. You will get people who get cranky, like just taking care of some of that stuff, I think, then lets people succeed and understand, like, okay, now I can do my job. Um, and then in the pre-production process, I used to get really frustrated when I worked with crews that were a union crew because they usually have pretty strict like overtime rules and double time. And listening to this, you guys might have already had to experience this. But I have definitely over the years now come round to why it gets so expensive so long because if you have multiple 16-hour days, compensation helps, but you're also just like risking, like we're all human. And if I have a 16-hour day and I let you go at midnight and I need you back at 6 a.m., by the time you get home, go to sleep, you're getting like four hours of sleep. And now I'm asking you to be really on it and sharp and hitting these cues that I need you to hit. Like, just you gotta think about the humans behind what you're trying to accomplish. And while any of us can power through for a couple days, it's definitely one that, like, as a leader, as a show caller, producer, I'm usually in that pre-pro like pre-production planning part. I'm trying to ask those questions, advocate, do we really have to have them here until this time? Or is there any wiggle room of moving this general session to a different time? Usually we can't do too much there. I can fight for like speaker rehearsals and like I gotta, you want to do five hours of speaker rehearsals, I have to have a 30-minute window in there for the crew to like take a bio break and just step away for a second so that we're on it to like jump around with your speakers, like just advocating for some of those things in your schedule. And if you're not a production person, like insert this to any part of your event role. Like, you gotta have time, you gotta think about your crew meals, giving people a beat, a crew, like just a break, even 10 minutes, 15 minutes makes a big difference. Um, and then just yeah, early mornings surprising with coffee or donuts or bagels or just something little like a surprise and delight. I love to do that for my fans or my attendees at events. I love to do it for my team. Um, and then my like super tiny thing that I do is I have emergency chocolate, I call it. It's just a bag of dove chocolates uh that are in caramel, dark chocolate, milk chocolate. It costs me like $13 to buy. I always buy it before I go on site and I put it at my station where I'm seated, and I tell folks on headset, I'm like, hey guys, I got emergency chocolate here. I don't need to know the emergency. You can just come take it. They're individually wrapped, so you can take it back with you for later. And I Kayla, I will tell you, I don't know how many emergencies I've saved by having this chocolate, both for team and for client to have them. Because I'm like, we all get hangry, we all need a little sugar kick. It's like a good people like the variety of flavors, and it's hilarious. I now every show I will go buy this bag of chocolate and it it gets eaten, people take it. Um, and it's just something small. People are like, this is so nice. I was like, again, cost me $13. That's like that's nothing. To like potentially make someone not be cranky for a couple hours, I would pay so much more than that. Like, great. But find your version of that.

SPEAKER_00

It goes a long way. It goes a long way. I try to do the same as of some sort of on-site recovery kit or self-care kit to some extent, and not even always like a kit. Like, I'm I've seen so many different variations of people making like the little bags, but sometimes it's just like one big like container where I'm like, go for it. Whatever you take what you honestly take what you need, is usually with the little saying that I put on it because it could be like I need a chocolate, I need a I need a healthier snack than whatever they're serving. I need um, I think last time I put shower steamers because maybe you just need a really good shower and that that will make you your whole day better. Because we're working all day and you're exhausted and hot and sweaty, and you're all you're on all the time. Maybe you just need like 15 minutes in the shower with like eucalyptus and you're a whole new person. Whatever you need. So I love that. I love oh, I think I I know I just hit my mic. So oh sorry for those listeners that heard that. Um passionate. I talk with my hands, it's the New Yorker enemy. Um, but the point is, I love that the leadership lesson is taking care of your people because this is a human business. The people that are running it are humans as much as we're gonna, and we even talk briefly about how we're trying to use AI more. There's so much still that it's the people that are running the events, which I think is a perfect segue into talking a bit more about Better Events Podcasts. I know you talked a little bit at the beginning about like what it is, but I don't know the origin story of how you and Mary got it started.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I like to credit Mary with it. She'll always say no, it was both of us, but I credit her because she really wanted to have a podcast. And she and I had worked an event together, and maybe we were starting to work on our second event together. We did like two virtual events together, and uh, she was like, Yeah, I've been thinking about a podcast. I was like, Oh, I thought I was gonna do a travel podcast like three years ago. I l I recorded one episode, never released it, um, where I was gonna talk to people about travel. And so I was like, Yeah, I've always been interested. And she was like, Oh, well, would you do this with me if we did one about events? And I um kind of was like, Let's figure it out. And from there, we uh both and we love our origin of like us meeting, which I will share. We've talked about in the podcast, but the way we met was Mary knew my mother-in-law through the zoo, the local zoo, because my mother in law was on the board and she was in house doing their events, and then she went out on her own, and Jeannie then connected the two of us by being like Logan does out on her own if you want to talk to her about it. So we'd like had I think one phone call, and then Jeannie's local Democrat group was looking to have help doing their virtual event in COVID times, and I was like, Oh, I'll. Pitch for that. I'll send a proposal. And she was like, Cool. I think Mary might also pitch too. And at that time, I'm like, there's like no work going around. So I was like, why compete? And so I called her. I was like, let me call her and just be like, why don't we go on in on this together? I was like, I know the tech side, you know the nonprofit local community side. I think we could combine our efforts. Yes, we make less money because there's two of us instead of one of us getting it. But like, why not? And she said yes. And so then we pitched on it together and did this event together, and then that's blossomed into an amazing friendship in this podcast. So we always say community over competition with the podcast, but we literally, that's how our friendship started was this idea of like we're better together versus trying to compete. Um and so then it's just flourished from there. And we always joked we wanted more than just our moms to listen to the podcast, and we've succeeded in that now with our our small but loyal, you know, listener base of the podcast. And having the two of us has just been really helpful. I mean, I I applaud you for doing your own podcast. It's always hard doing it on your own, have something on your own, especially something that you're like only accountable to yourself. So having her, the two of us kind of as accountability buddies has been really fun. And it's just been an fun journey to see what resonates with our listeners. We've met so many people because of the podcast. It does have all English-speaking countries kind of reach. So we've run into people out in the wild who have heard of the podcast, usually in added of at events for event people, but still pretty cool. Um, and it's just turned into something that we feel like it's our love letter to the event industry. And I encourage more people to have a podcast because I wish someone else had a podcast like ours that I could listen to, because I love being the fly on the wall in other people's like how they make event decisions and how they do their process, because so much of what we do is learning by doing or learning from observing, and that's kind of our goal with the podcast is to be a free resource of you getting to observe two event planners in the wild doing doing what we do and sharing our lessons learned both the easy way and the hard way.

SPEAKER_00

I did not know that story. So small world Kismet and the Warriors have this quote of strength in numbers, and it's something I totally believe in, and I think it's so true. And I had no idea that you called her up and then went in on the same proposal together. You guys are a true example of what it's like to both have your strengths and work together, not just with the podcast, but in in business and in life. Anyway, I'm gonna stop gushing. So with your podcast, and I know you said me doing it by myself. I learned a lot just doing this by myself, so I can only imagine what you guys have learned in doing this for several years. What have you learned seeing like the community kind of flourish and and in building the podcast? What does that look like for you guys? Or for you, I guess, because Mary's not on. We'll we'll get her on to tell her side of it too.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, um, it's been amazing. I think again, just we believe strongly about coming over competition, and the podcast has helped us bring people together. I mean, I I talked about saying people's names in rooms that they're not in. That's like I get so much joy out of seeing folks I know meet other folks I know, and then they have a relationship. Like that's kind of cool, and that's something that has come from this podcast, which is a very solo activity of people listening to this by themselves, but we've then birthed the community and then we have a conference, and the conference has been really cool for folks to meet. We always challenge people to meet three new people every year we do this conference, and from that I've seen business partnerships come out. I've seen people hire each other for events. I'm sure there's conversations that we're not privy to that happen offline with people who have met each other through that. Um, and so that has been honestly the best part to me. Um, and just even knowing if we've helped one person be a little less stressed because they felt seen in an episode, like that to me is worth all the time and effort that goes into this podcast. Um, and then a side part, it's it is kind of fun. We now have like a time capsule of ourselves to go back. We do an annual episode where we set goals and then we go back and listen to that the next year. When we set new goals, we also listen back to our old goals. And it is very humbling and and exciting to hear back, listen back to like younger us and either the naivety we had or just how cool we were going for something and we did it. But sometimes we were like, wow, last year we really thought this year was gonna go this way and it went that way, and they're not bad or good, but like just different. Um, so it is fun to see see that, and we definitely need to like dive back more because I think there are some things we said in our opening episodes that like our stance on it might have changed and evolved, and it is very cool to have like a record of that of just showing that there's not like one right answer to things as we kind of learn and grow. So we're very grateful to have that with the podcast.

SPEAKER_00

It reminds me, it's hardly controversial now, but like Mr. Beast, how he started his YouTube career with saying what he was gonna do like 10 years out and then having a new YouTube video that launched or then showed it whatever the year it actually was. So, really just like calling your shot, even if things change, which I think it it's it happens, um, it's inevitable. But it's cool that you have that as like a memory, or even just like, oh wait, I did have that goal and why did that change? And then just just even for the future, you know, when we're a hundred years old, you have something to look back on of this time in our life. Okay, so I know we're coming to a close, but is there one thing, any any takeaways you want the listeners to know more, either about the podcast, about you, about production?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I think I would just encourage listeners, like the answer right now, if you're scared to reach out to someone, whether it's just to make a new connection or to meet someone or maybe to get that new opportunity at a company or an event, like right now, before you've even asked, the answer is no. So the worst it can be is still be no if you make that ask. If you ask, you just don't know where that's gonna lead. Um and so I just highly encourage you. We've talked a lot about here on like relationships and saying getting your name said in rooms you're not in and like how you can create growth that way, that like don't be discouraged if you've tried reaching out to some folks and it hasn't turned into anything. But just keep doing it because you never know where it's gonna hit. Who's gonna be that person, like Kayla to your story, who could needs an intern right now and they've had your name on their on their desk or in their inbox that that's when they're gonna reach out. Because um, I think if you sit back and be passive and think that your career will grow just because you're you and you're amazing and people just figure it out, that might happen to like 2% of you. But a lot of us have to actually kind of put our names out there, and then yes, things will be happening, but you still like I'm constantly reaching out to people, even as I've grown in my career, and I get to be more selective because I don't know where they're gonna be in 10 years. You don't know where I'm gonna be in 10 years. And so just making sure that you are making that outreach, and that applies to like for production, because again, you don't know if you want to bring someone on, have somebody who can help you with your A V or just be curious. Like sometimes a TD technical director, someone might be willing to give you 30 minutes of a phone call for you to be like, I have these three questions on my quote, or I just don't understand how this worked at my event. What would you have done differently? I know most people will give you 20 minutes to explain that to you so you can start to grow and learn and have that in your pocket. And I'm bringing it back to the podcast because we're always about learning, and that's my big thing of like as you want to grow in your career, I think just constantly finding sources like this podcast, like our Better Events podcast, where you can gain that knowledge. A lot of us are doing this for free, which is awesome. Get that free knowledge, and then realize if there's some things you need to invest in. But I think there's just so many resources out there for you. Don't get overwhelmed. Start small, pick something, and then just kind of stick with it. Um, but with our podcast, I'm like, we have 260 episodes. Go back. You can cherry pick the ones you really want to listen to. We are both thrilled and cringing a little bit that some of our top episodes are from like our first 15 episodes. Mary will say that because she hated her mic from our early days. Like, but the information is still solid. So um I just think there's a lot of opportunity there in events. It's a I'm a forever an optimist, but there's always a way to make it in your career, whether you're trying to move in-house or find that new shiny event that you're going after. But it kind of the onus is on you to make that outreach and build those relationships now before you need to cash in on that.

SPEAKER_00

Final question What does better events look like now than it did maybe five years ago for you? Ooh.

SPEAKER_01

I think now I'm definitely I feel like when I started, we were big on community, but we just didn't know. Like when you start something new, it's scary. You're like, I don't know how many people are gonna be into this. And now I definitely feel like we have a very engaged and like intimate group of people that I am doing this for, in the sense that um I've seen some of those relationships come out of it, and that that is what fuels me for why we continue to do the work of this free podcast, putting it out there and our conference that we host every year. Um because it's about the people. It's and that's in my career, that's the same thing. I'm like, I do certain events just because the people make the project. I'd like to say it was the cool shiny check or the cool amazing event, but it's not. It's the people make the project. And so we've gotten to meet so many amazing folks that we never would have crossed paths with, or very rarely maybe would have crossed paths with because of the podcast. And so it's something that I'm very passionate about continuing and seeing what those ripple effects are for folks who then get to meet other people in that, maybe indirectly because of that process. I think that was beautiful.

SPEAKER_00

Better Events is seeming to be like better together, like we're we're a better community when we work together. Where can listeners connect with you and listen to the Better Events podcast?

SPEAKER_01

If you want to connect with me, Logan, I would say LinkedIn is probably the best place to go. So if you just search Logan Clements on LinkedIn, I have the pretty pink sweater in my headshot. Always willing to connect. Just put in the message that you like heard about me through this podcast. Um, and that's again a network that I utilize often. I'm not as good on social media. I'm currently limiting my social media use, so you can definitely find me. But my work is at loganstrategygroup.com. And then everything about the podcast is Better Events Pod. So that is our email, bettereventspod at gmail.com, if you want to send us an email. Um, but that is our social handle on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. And we post all of our like weekly episodes and everything there. I do remind people I used to do social media marketing, don't do it anymore. So we are doing probably just the minimum of the weekly posts there, but um, that is a great way that we've connected with listeners through social and through our email.

SPEAKER_00

In the show notes and description so that everyone can click the links and then directly connect with you there. But it's been a pleasure. It's really been great to talk to you. Thank you so much. Like I said, I said it at the beginning, the middle, and the end. Thank you for being on the podcast. I know your time is valuable, so I appreciate it and look forward to getting this out. Thank you so much, Kayla. This has been amazing. You're a great host, so always a pleasure. Takes one to know one, and I'm just following in your footsteps. So thank you, Logan. Thanks.