Increase participation in surveys by offering attendees something in return for completing them, suggests some members of PCMA’s Catalyst community. Also, advice on sponsor benefits.

Convene asked two event professionals with expertise in applying neuroscience to events for their top book picks.

Here are five things to know about Houston to help visitors experience the best of the city during Convening Leaders 2025 — or any time.

Audience feedback and input from event professionals have helped shape the education program — here’s what participants can expect and what’s new.

Psychologist and author Jamil Zaki on how conferences are an antidote to cynicism — and how to help participants connect more deeply.

Dan Berger reveals how founding — and selling — an event-planning software company taught him the true meaning of belonging, and how event professionals can apply those lessons to create meaningful connections.

According to author Dan Berger, business events offer five out of the six major categories of activities or strategies that promote the sense of belonging.

How the ‘hotelification’ of event venues like the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center speaks to attendee needs and taps into their emotions.

DEI expert Ritu Bhasin shares seven tips for creating authentic, inclusive, and emotionally resonant event experiences.

A neuroscientist has developed an app that makes connections between incoming first-year college students with a high likelihood they’ll turn into friendships. Up next: conference participants.

For the debut of Volvo’s new line of electric SUVs — and a signature scent — an ethereal, forest-inspired event felt only natural.

Nick Borelli, one of the event industry’s leading technologists, shares three ways to use Spark that most impress planners.

Two questions from members of the PCMA Catalyst Community: Do speakers pay a registration fee for the events where they are speaking, and what is your AI policy for a medical conference.

CodeMash’s move to make the tech conference more accessible and affordable led to a family-friendly event that spawned the spin-off KidzMash just for attendees’ children.

Over this past year, representatives from major hotel brands and housing services providers met for three PCMA roundtable conversations to discuss housing booking challenges — and potential solutions.

Energy Disruptors: UNITE is an immersive energy sector summit that aims to bring together diverse voices — along with an unexpected infusion of the arts — to spark change.

Negotiation expert Alex Carter, who will present two PCMA Convening Leaders Business School sessions in January in Houston, talks to Convene about a negotiating strategy that’s especially effective for women.

Alex Carter will lead two PCMA Business School sessions on negotiating during Convening Leaders 2025. But this United Nations negotiation trainer and Columbia Law School professor will not be helping participants prep for battle: Her approach is more about steering than winning.

Annual conferences can be a valuable platform for helping your attendees — and their organizations — develop and retain future leaders, aka “hi-po’s.”

Having new exhibitors at an event can create buzz, encourage repeat attendance, attract new audiences, and help position a show as the go-to source for product discovery.

As event organizers, it is no longer enough for us to create space and then stand back and let our attendees do the work of networking. We have to make it easy for them.