What techniques can you use to show you're a problem solver in event planning?

In event planning, to identify a problem, first, listen carefully to your team and clients. If something seems off, like a setup delay, look into it more. Ask questions to understand the issue better, like if a supplier says something will be late, find out why and how late. Then, clearly describe the problem, like “Our venue is double-booked on our event date,” not just “There’s a venue issue.” Think about how this problem will affect your event, like if it’ll cost more or change the schedule. Tell your team and clients about the issue. Don’t just guess what the problem is based on past events; each situation is different. Lastly, write down what the problem was and how you handled it, so you can learn for next time.

After spotting a problem in event planning, it’s time to think of many ways to fix it. Don't worry if some ideas seem too wild or costly at first. Be creative and use your past event knowledge to think of different fixes. Talk to your team, suppliers, or people who’ve done lots of events for their thoughts. They might have great ideas you didn’t think of. The more ideas you come up with, the better chance you have of finding the right one. Remember, sometimes even the craziest idea can turn out to be the best solution!

When faced with a challenge, it's important to think broadly and creatively, considering all possibilities without immediately dismissing any idea. This is where your experience in the field becomes invaluable, as it allows you to draw from a wide range of past scenarios and solutions. Collaborating with your team, vendors, and mentors can also bring diverse perspectives and innovative ideas to the table. Remember, the goal at this stage is to generate a rich pool of ideas – the feasibility and practicality of each can be evaluated later. This approach often leads to discovering effective and sometimes surprisingly simple solutions.

Once you've thought of different ways to fix an event problem, pick the best one. Look at the good and bad sides of each idea. Think about how doable it is, how much it costs, and how long it'll take. Also, consider if it'll make the event better or worse, stick to your budget, and make your clients and guests happy. Choose an option that has the most pluses and the fewest minuses, and that fits well with what you want your event to be like. The right solution should match what’s important to you and your event’s goals.

From my experience, it's a benefit to be able to see both sides of the problem solving analysis: the details and the big picture. Because this will make that you can do a better planning, scenarios construction and all possible results. The best technique is to show in practical terms how to solve a problem, and for that you should share events occurrences that demonstrate that a certain situation was resolved with success, by you and your Team.