9 skills every event planner should have

Planning events is demanding work. If things go awry, even the most experienced event planner can be thrown into a state of alarm. 

Talent helps, but what’s the real secret to building a successful event management career?

The answer comes down to nine essential skills — everything from a sharp eye for detail to shrewd negotiation tactics. These skills can make or break your success in the industry, and fortunately they’re not impossible to learn. 

Here are the key skills behind every truly great event professional and what you can do to hone them.

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1. Attention to detail

Attention to detail is the most essential skill for becoming an event planner, which is why we put it at the top of our list. 

Great live events don’t happen by accident. They take lots of planning and careful work to ensure everything goes off without a hitch. Being detail-oriented and paying attention to the little things — everything from checking the correct spelling of your guests’ names to confirming the coat check has enough tickets — pays dividends in the event industry.

Attention to detail is doubly important if you’re working as an event organizer for external clients. You need to be able to answer any questions quickly and with the most up-to-date information. It’s that skill that will keep clients coming back to you for future events.

If you struggle with details but want to improve, start by writing comprehensive checklists and timelines for every phase of the event, from set-up to the post-event follow-up. Organize all communications, decisions, and other documentation in one place and regularly schedule time to review and update the details before finalizing plans.

2. Organizational skills

To be a successful event planner, organization is a must. Every event planner needs to know how to juggle multiple event-planning tasks and allocate enough time for each of them. 

This includes project management and time management skills like staying on top of timelines and checklists, spearheading event runs and last-minute venue walkthroughs, and multitasking while under pressure. 

Contingency planning is another secret weapon of organized event planners, so get into the habit of asking yourself “What if?” What if a speaker cancels at the last-minute? What if it rains during an outdoor ceremony? 

In other words, anticipate problems before they occur so you can give yourself a plan B (and C and D) if the unexpected happens. The more events you run, the better you’ll get at this over time.

Thankfully, technology makes staying organized easier than ever. Productivity tools like Trello or Monday can help you manage and prioritize your to-do list, track your team members’ progress, and efficiently handle tasks to completion. 

3. Flexibility

No matter how detailed and organized you may be, all those checklists and systems won’t matter if you can’t roll with the punches. Sudden changes and last-minute hiccups happen daily in the event planning world.

Adaptability is key. Event planners need to be able to think on their feet when unexpected challenges arise. That means learning how to let go when things don’t go as planned and knowing when to pivot to an impromptu solution. 

Let’s say you’re minutes away from the start of an event when you find out the keynote speaker is running an hour late. If you’ve honed your flexibility skills, you’ll be better equipped to stay calm under pressure and modify the event timeline in such a way that guests won’t even notice the change of plans.  

Whether it’s adjusting your digital seating chart minutes before an event or dealing with a vendor who’s running late, you’ll need to get comfortable making changes in the eleventh hour and patching holes under pressure.

Read more about how flexibility is the new currency for events.

4. Natural leadership

One of the keys to better event management is just that — management. We’ve yet to meet a person who could put on a big event without the support of a hard-working team. That’s why it’s so important to have top-notch leadership skills and know how to earn the trust and respect of your team. 

No matter where you fall within your team’s hierarchy, the ability to take charge of your responsibilities and ensure everything gets done will make you a rock star among your coworkers.

Keep in mind that being a great leader isn’t about delegating tasks or looking over your team’s shoulders to verify things are getting done. It’s about knowing how to inspire and influence your coworkers to want to do the job as efficiently, thoroughly, and successfully as possible.

The best way to develop your leadership skills? Learning by example. Finding mentors in the event planning world is a great way to learn from other people’s successes, as well as their failures. 

Study how industry veterans command a room without raising their voice, or gracefully navigate challenges while keeping their team motivated. Pay attention to the cautionary tales, too — don’t be the absentee leader who disappears when things get tough. Remember that your team is watching how you handle pressure and will mirror the behavior you model, whether that’s panic or confidence. 

Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the largest events association in the world, is a great way to network and find a mentor. MPI has local chapters throughout the United States.

5. Stress management

Event planning can be stressful. There’s no way around it. That’s why event professionals need to be adept at managing tension and diffusing conflict. 

Whether it’s addressing a frustrated guest’s complaint or reassuring an anxious client, having the interpersonal and problem-solving skills to manage other people’s concerns and stress is invaluable for survival — and throwing successful events.

Of course, stress management works both ways. You’ll also need to know how to manage your own stress levels as you deal with the unique pressures of running a special event. It’s true that even the most confident and experienced event planners confront a range of emotions on the big day, but understanding how to deal with them will help you stay in control.

6. Empathy

In addition to mastering stress management and other interpersonal skills, event planners should know how to tap into their empathy. 

When planning events, putting a guest, client, or co-worker’s needs above your own is what distinguishes an event planning professional from an event planning amateur. It’s also the number-one way to keep your services in high demand. 

If you’re eager to improve your empathy skills, we recommend practicing active listening with clients, shadowing caterers and other vendors to better understand the demands of their jobs, and conducting post-event interviews with guests to understand their emotional response to the event. 

7. Communication skills

Great communication is a must-have soft skill for event planners, who can sometimes find themselves caught in the middle between clients, guests, sponsors, staff, vendors, and other stakeholders. 

You’ll need strong communication skills to express your ideas clearly, delegate tasks, resolve conflicts, and work through solutions when problems inevitably arise. 

Remember that effective communication is about more than how you speak or write — it’s also about empathy and listening. The only way to pull off a successful event is to truly listen to the client and understand what they want and need. The same applies when communicating with your event staff.

Great communication skills really come in handy when a client makes a near-impossible request or asks you to pull off a miracle at the last minute. With the right words, tone, and delivery, it will be easier to say “no” while offering a more realistic, alternative solution.

8. Negotiation skills

One of the most important steps in the event planning process is figuring out how to allocate your budget. That’s where negotiation skills come in.

No matter how big or small your event budget is, knowing how to negotiate will help you stick to it. Negotiating better deals with venues and vendors can give you some wiggle room. 

For example, let's say your venue budget is $10,000, but the venue tells you their price is $11,000. With effective negotiation skills, you might be able to get the venue to lower the cost. You could even get creative when negotiating by agreeing to host at least one additional event at their venue within the next year. 

Adaptability, active listening, patience, persuasion, and emotional intelligence are critical for negotiating better. It’s also more effective to negotiate in person than by phone or email, since it allows you to observe and respond to non-verbal cues while building rapport.

Negotiation not only helps you save money, but also helps you create a more memorable experience for guests by letting you reallocate funds to high-impact elements — like upgraded entertainment or better menu options.

9. Tech skills

Event planning technology is always evolving, and you can save yourself a ton of time and stress by learning how to use top event management software tools like zkipster. 

From setting up contactless check-in points to tracking RSVPs and monitoring guest lists, event management software can make your life easier and improve the overall event experience for guests. 

Essential skills for event planners: final thoughts

Even if some of these event planning skills aren’t your strong suit, you can practice and develop them over time. The more events you organize, the better you’ll become at planning them, managing them, and overcoming obstacles.

In the meantime, consider bookmarking these essential event planning websites and resources to help you get inspired. Many event organizations and peer groups offer training and courses to help event planners develop their skills and gain relevant qualifications.