There are many skills that an event planner needs to have, such as those outlined in this post from Zkipster. These skills can be split into soft, hard, and technical skills, but we aren’t going to dive that deep! Instead, here are some skills that you can work on and develop over time as you work on new and different events. Don’t forget that working on skills is also a lifelong journey, so keep working at it!
Organizational Skills
Probably the number one thing that any event planner is going to need to learn or already have in their pocket is organizational skills. These skills help keep everything on track, keep guest lists neat and tidy, and tie into almost every other skill that you need as an event planner.
Leadership Skills
As an event planner, you are, inherently, a leader. You have to take the time to learn how to lead others and make sure that they are taken care of. You also have to make sure that you are giving out the right information and coordinating your team in a manner that works with all of their skills. This takes knowing how to be a leader.
Team Management Skills
Something that, again, connects back to organization is team management. This also connects to leadership skills as well, because as a leader, you need to know how to manage and organize a team in a way that utilizes individual skills at their optimal level. It can take time to spot skills and abilities that each person has, or you can also have them take short surveys that will help you learn more. All in all, managing a team takes time, effort, and knowledge that comes through growth.
Strategic Planning Skills
Essentially, organizational skills on steroids. Have you ever heard of the game Risk? This is what strategic planning is like. You have to think ahead and plan every move for yourself and every move that someone else might make. It’s almost like playing four-dimensional chess! But don’t worry, it can be developed and worked with over time.
Data Analysis Skills
You’re planning events, so why should you need to have data analysis skills? Well, this comes in the post-event development of data and reports that you will need to send out to stakeholders involved in the event. If you want to have a solid debrief where your team is able to see the data that was collected, you need to be able to organize that data, assess the data, and present the data as well.
Digital Marketing Skills
Again, you’re an event planner, not a digital marketer. Not today! In today’s event world, you are also a marketer unless you have someone specifically designated to work as a marketer. More often than not, that planning and digital marketing is going to need to be done by you. This means flyers, social media marketing, blogs, advertisements, and more.
Budgeting Skills
If you could put another skill at the top with organization, it would definitely be budgeting skills. With any event, you are going to have a budget that you will have to adhere to. There are events where you may not even have a budget to begin with, and you have to come up with free ways to run the event and make decorations. Trust me, it’s hard! Having an event budget can keep you on track and help you make some hard decisions. Don’t forget your budget!
Communication Skills
Probably necessary in every career, but it’s definitely important in event planning. You have to communicate in multiple formats with multiple people, and probably across multiple applications. It can be a mess if you haven’t developed some of your communication skills. You want to be able to communicate with multiple people at varying levels of professionalism as well. You don’t want to come across as too professional to your close team, but you still want to have etiquette when it comes to talking to stakeholders and investors.
Bringing it Together
Unifying your skills is a tricky and time-consuming process that doesn’t happen overnight. These skills are developed with intent and often with additional classes and research that will help you grow even faster. Take the time to learn these skills, and you will definitely find that your job as an event planner will become easier and easier as time goes on.
