I get asked all the time if I have any book recommendations specifically for event planners. And while event planning how-to guides are definitely useful (and serve their own purpose), there are so many great books out there that relate to the events industry – specifically how in-person experiences can be incredibly transformative, even in the smallest parts of your life.
With the holidays coming up, you may find some extra down time on your hands (pause for mini celebration), so I’m sharing my top five favorite books that every event planner should read at least once.
Some of the concepts may seem abstract, but there are ways to connect each book’s concepts and ideas to an event and what it means to throw a meaningful one.
Get your read on:
1. BELONG: Find Your People, Create Community, and Live a More Connected Life by Radha Agrawal
I first heard about Radha Agrawal because she’s the founder of Daybreaker (they started on Splash, and I'm super proud that they were one of our first Hub users) – an early morning fitness and wellness experience that promotes community and connecting with the people around you.
As event planners, we know the power of in-person experiences, and BELONG is all about creating them in your personal life, too, through meaningful connections. In this book, Agrawal walks through how to find, connect, and build a community with the right people.
You should read this if: you’re looking for a book that relates to your personal life and your professional life (and if you love beautiful illustrations).
2. The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker
Priya Parker wrote this book because she noticed a disconnect in our everyday events – specifically the way we spend time together at work, at home, and in our daily lives. We have small (or big) moments of gathering every single day, and they often feel mundane or meaningless.
But she believes we can transform these small moments of gathering into meaningful experiences of human connection and productivity. The Art of Gathering will really make you think about what it means to gather – whether it’s in an elevator ride with strangers, sitting at your desk at work, or making your next event a memorable one.
3. Into the Heart of Meetings: Basic Principles of Meeting Design by Eric de Groot & Mike van der Vijver
Into the Heart of Meetings is similar to The Art of Gathering because it focuses on the idea of human connectivity, but this book takes a scientific lens on what meetings are and how you can maximize them.
The authors use more of a methodical approach to explaining what a meeting is (first and foremost a tool for communication, rather than just a logistical operation) and how you can organize your meetings to reach their highest potential.
Whether you host multi-day conferences, VIP dinners, networking events, or educational workshops, every event planner will benefit from rethinking what a meeting is and how you can make the most of these opportunities to bring people together.
4. Open Space Technology: A User's Guide by Harrison Owen
If you haven’t heard of it, Open Space Technology is a way of organizing an event in a way that promotes a group of people to work towards a collaborative solution to a problem.
The book dives into a step-by-step process for facilitating an Open Space event, which can be especially effective at large conferences. Every event planner should keep the Open Space method in their back pocket (because it can be highly effective if done right), and this book is the all-in-one guide to getting it done.
You should read this if: you want a new strategy for organizing guests and their experience at your events.
5. Wayshowing > Wayfinding: Basic & Interactive by Per Mollerup
You might not know what the title of this book means, but you’ve definitely experienced it before without even realizing it. Wayfinding refers to how we orient ourselves at any place, and wayshowing is a more accurate way of defining this – including the signage and symbols that direct us to where we want to go or what we want to see.
Think of signs in an airport leading you to the right gate, or the signs in a grocery store that lead you to the right aisle. A lot of the elements discussed in this book – for example symbols and typography – can be directly implemented into your event design strategy. When I create a floorplan for an event, I always think about the concept of wayshowing and how I can optimize how guests make their way through the experience.
You should read this if: you love the small details, and especially when it comes to designing the on-site experience.
Feeling inspired to up your event planning game? Get your hands on our latest guide, The Universe of Events: 10 chapters of everything you need to strategize, execute, and measure successful events.
Ben Hindman is co-founder and CEO of Splash, the country's fastest-growing event marketing platform that helps businesses and brands more effectively market through their events. An event planner turned tech entrepreneur, events are in Ben’s DNA. Prior to starting Splash, Ben was the Director of Events at Thrillist, where he produced large-scale events from concerts to mystery fly-aways.