Whether you remember the line from Cool Hand Luke or the Guns n’ Roses sample, it has a way of coming to mind every once in a while when one contemplates those “certain” situations: What we’ve got here is… failure to communicate…

When it comes to the topic of miscommunication, almost everyone seems to have a story to tell. Sometimes, the chain of communication among clients, planners, and suppliers can begin to resemble a game of “Telephone,” in which participants attempt to repeat an initial message until it progresses into nonsense. Minus clarification along the way, the message the end recipient hears could be quite unlike the original. For meeting planners and suppliers, a lack of communication can result in frustrations, errors, and issues.

“Never be afraid to clarify detail with a client,” says Andy Sharpe, director of Song Division. “It is much better to ask lots of questions and be 100% prepared, rather than ‘not bothering’ the client. You'll always pay for it on the day [of] if you've failed to get the detail.”

Sharpe knows from experience how an event team that lacks communication skills can leave suppliers in some pretty awkward situations. He recalls an Australian event company that brought in the Song Division team to help a group of 200 Microsoft business partners develop their own rock song during a three-day education program. After several discussions at the event company’s offices, Sharpe says, his team was notified that the Microsoft decision-makers would be joining in on the next meeting—also to be held at the event company’s offices, so they said.

“We turned up at the office, only to be told that the meeting had been moved to Microsoft—something that the event company had failed to tell us,” Sharpe says. “Microsoft was on the other side of town. It was 4:00 p.m. on a Friday and raining, so the traffic was horrendous. We arrived a good hour late.”

In the meantime, the event company had all its phones off and had neglected to inform the Microsoft group why the Song Division team had not arrived on time, “so when we walked in, it didn’t look good,” Sharpe says.

Despite the uncomfortable circumstances, the Song Division team made it through the meeting with Microsoft and agreed among themselves that the event company could not be trusted to impart essential information.

“We are always very careful with our own communication, making sure to state all the facts and never assume anything,” Sharpe says. “More communication is better than less. After being burned by this event company, we were very careful with any of their communications, immediately asking for clarification on any missing details (of which there were a lot).”

In the end, Song Division carried out its part in the event to much satisfaction for the Microsoft group. Sharpe feels his company’s success was a result of proactive communication measures by his team. Of course, there is also an element of karma to the story.

“The event company went out of business a few months later,” Sharpe says, “no great surprise there.”

Deanna Allen, national director for a Colorado Springs organization, is currently dealing with what she calls a “not-so-funny meeting planner’s fiasco” that has yielded a few observations of items to watch out for during the planning of a large event.

“Our situation is [with] a mega-church where the senior pastor didn’t know anything about the national event until three weeks prior,” Allen explains. “The person who is to be handling all the facility stuff—sound, media, stage, speakers, resources, tables—not only went out of town for a conference for a week (two weeks prior to the event), but is also coordinating another major event just the week before ours, which has consumed all her time.”

Based on the situation in which she is enmeshed at present, Allen offers the following pointers:

1. Make sure the person who is really in charge of the facility you will be using has been made aware of your event.
2. Make sure the facility contact person who will work all logistics of the site has no other large commitments during the month of the event.
3. Have a promotions committee with a project timeline clearly indicating outlets to reach and how to do that.

Sometimes, when a lack of communication is discovered in time, unpleasant outcomes can be averted through open conversation between involved parties. Richard O’Malley, president of The O’Malley Project, recalls a recent experience in which a trade show producer hired his company to handle the drayage for a food show. In this case, the producer could have been faced with the very costly consequences of a misunderstanding.

“We put together the exhibitor packets with all directions and charges and sent them to all of the vendors at the show,” O’Malley says. “As time progressed, all the shipments began to arrive at our warehouse and were logged in and bills created.”

When the week of the show arrived, O’Malley says, the producer suddenly realized that several shipments had ended up in the wrong place. Instead of being sent to the show site, where they belonged, the shipments had been sent to and stored in O’Malley’s warehouse.

“These shipments were massive and were billed at a rate of over $80,000,” he says.

Luckily for the producer, this was a working relationship O’Malley values enough to make an exception.

“This could’ve been a huge problem for the show producer, but, since we had done so much business with each other previously, we reached a very fair settlement and the show went on without a hitch,” O’Malley says. “If it was almost any other client, that bill would have to have been paid in order to release the goods.”

What is the lesson to be learned from this situation?

“Make sure you understand your shipping agreements before you make your decisions on where to send your items,” O’Malley says.

While a lack of communication can sometimes result in truly large-scale problems for a meeting planner or supplier, there is the occasional story like that of Greta Lint, who handles public relations for the Fun Fourth Festival in Greensboro, NC. A local hospital regularly sponsors the event, and Lint recalls a recent incident in which her organization wanted to do something extra in return.

“This particular year, we decided to build a media preview around the sponsor,” she says. “Since there were children in the pediatric ward who would not be able to participate in the festival, we decided to take it to the kids.”

At first, everything seemed to go as planned.

“We all showed up at the hospital as expected—Uncle Sam, event organizers, the PR person for the hospital, and the balloons,” Lint says. “We even had toys for the kids. The media was there, too—print and TV.”

However, when the crowd arrived at the hospital, something was missing: “When we got to the pediatric ward, doctors had released all the kids for the July 4 holiday,” Lint says. “The hospital PR department had never informed the doctors of our plans.”

At that point, what could really be done?

“We laughed and went home,” Lint says.

While some incidents of miscommunication leave little room for laughter—at least at the time they occur—Allen suggests that industry professionals should try to stay in touch with their lighter sides and not let complications obscure the view of an event’s central purpose.

“Do not put so much personal ownership into it that you lose the joy in the journey,” she says. “Hold the expectations of outcome rather loosely and remember that control is a moving target. Nothing will entirely be under your control. Enjoy the journey, keep a smile on your face, remember why you are doing what you are doing, stay focused, and the event will be great.”

Of course, that is not to say that industry professionals should not take serious measures to ensure communication is properly maintained throughout the planning and execution of a meeting or event. With all the moving pieces that often comprise an event, some items can easily fall between the cracks without consistent communication and clarification.

“When coordinating an event where multiple parties need to come together and be on the same page for a successful event, the more communication the better,” Allen adds. “Get things documented and have clearly established roles, responsibilities, action items, timelines and back-up plans. If facility coordinating or other contractual details are being negotiated between vendors, organizations, etc., make sure to have received a sign-off from someone with authority to do so. If committees are to be formed, get contact info and details of each role and function with a key contact to make sure things are coming together smoothly, so there are no last-minute surprises or snafus.”

In addition, Sharpe believes industry professionals shouldn’t worry about bugging clients if it means the difference between solid information and potential miscommunication.

“Don't be afraid to keep asking questions of your contact… until you are totally across the minutiae,” he says. “If you don't feel you have all the required information to guarantee the success of your area of responsibility, keep at them. Sometimes people don't want to ‘disturb’ the client, but it is you who will pay the price if you don't have all the necessary detail and things go south.”

“Make sure everyone is speaking the same language by continually reiterating what is being said, heard, and moved upon,” Allen adds. “Sometimes, a planning group has a left arm and right arm, and they can unintentionally work against each other or cause more work for each side.”

In the end, the solution to a lack of communication might be… communication. If a misunderstanding arises, work with your team members and your business partners to find a mutually beneficial resolution. Ensure you know who you really need to talk to, and don’t stop asking questions until you have all the information you need.

Serenity J. Knutson is the Editor in Chief of PlannerWire.com, the News, Information and Community website for meeting and event planners. Contact her at Serenity@PlannerWire.com.

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