Smart Start Radio: Fuel for the Purpose Generation of Meeting Planners

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? In this Coffee Chat, Smart Meetings multimedia editor Eming Piansay explores how meeting planners can help an event’s impact last long after attendees return to their desks. Inspired by the Smart Meetings article “The Monday Morning Test: How Meeting Planners Can Make Inspiration Last” by Lisa Ryan, this episode looks at the challenge of...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? What makes an event stay with attendees long after they return home? Smart Start Radio host Eming Piansay speaks with EJ Corporan, director of growth and marketing at Ansera, about the science behind unforgettable event experiences. Corporan explains why predictable events are easily forgotten and how planners can use cognitive load, enga...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? Music is more than background noise. It can shape the way attendees enter a room, connect with one another and remember an experience. Inspired by David T. Stevens’ Smart Meetings story, “Wellness That Works: Sonic Power,” this Coffee Chat explores the role music can play in intentional event design. Smart Meetings Multimedia Editor Eming...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? In this Smart Start Radio Coffee Chat, Eming Piansay looks at AI’s growing role in meetings and asks a more human-centered question: not just what can AI do, but what should still be protected from automation? Inspired by Malik Anderson’s story on highlights from IRF Invitational 2026, this episode explores how planners can use AI to redu...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? After an Ariana Grande concert merch line became its own side quest, Eming Piansay looks at what planners can learn from a funny-chaotic crowd flow moment. This Smart Start Radio Coffee Chat explores how unclear lines, limited signage and overlapping attendee pathways can create friction, even when the experience itself is worth the wait....

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? What does event data actually tell planners, and how can they use it to create better attendee experiences? In this episode of Smart Start Radio , host Eming Piansay talks with Shawn Pierce, President, Strategic Events, Meetings & Incentives of MCI USA, about why data should be more than something planners collect after an event. Pier...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? Event tech is everywhere, from AI-powered personalization and immersive activations to digital check-ins, matchmaking tools and engagement dashboards. But more technology does not always mean a better event. In this Smart Start Radio Coffee Chat, Multimedia Editor Eming Piansay explores Kate Zaliznock’s Smart Meetings story, “The Best Tec...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? In this Smart Start Radio Coffee Chat, host Eming Piansay explores the “activation afterlife,” or the moments attendees keep talking about long after the event is over. Inspired by Kate Zaliznock’s Smart Meetings story, “Marriott International’s Luxury Group: Activations That Stick,” this episode looks at how planners can design experienc...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? Connection is at the core of the events industry. But what happens when that connection is needed beyond the ballroom? In this episode of Smart Start Radio , host Eming Piansay sits down with Kate Patay, vice president of global engagement at Terramar DMC and chair of the SEARCH Foundation, to explore what it really means to support the p...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? AI is not coming. It is already here. In this Coffee Chat, Eming Piansay breaks down what AI actually looks like in the day-to-day reality of event planning. From registration platforms to spreadsheets, AI is already embedded in the tools planners use. The real question is not whether to adopt it, but how to use it intentionally. Fresh of...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? What are you really building when you plan an event? In this episode of Smart Start Radio: Coffee Chat, Eming Piansay unpacks a simple but powerful idea inspired by a Smart Meetings article Trust Happens in the Room : in industries like finance and insurance, events are not just part of the marketing mix. They are the moment where trust i...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? When the event ends, most planners move straight into what’s next. Fix what broke. Prep the next timeline. Keep it moving. But what if the real opportunity is in what worked ? In this Coffee Chat, Eming Piansay explores the idea of “me-o’clock,” inspired by a Smart Meetings story, and why intentional reflection is one of the most overlook...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? Food can make an event memorable, but it can also make it memorable for the wrong reasons. In this episode of Smart Start Radio, Eming Piansay talks with Executive Chef Kaitlyn Weber of Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa about the reality of feeding hundreds of guests at meetings, conferences and weddings. They discuss menu design for larg...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? When a destination suddenly finds itself in the global spotlight, meeting planners start paying attention. But how does that visibility turn into real opportunities for conventions and events? In this episode of Smart Start Radio, host Eming Piansay talks with Peter Gamez, president and CEO of Visit Oakland, about how recent cultural mome...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? In this Coffee Chat episode of Smart Start Radio, host Eming Piansay takes a closer look at why B2B events are shifting away from larger formats toward smaller, more intentional experiences. Inspired by a recent SmartMeetings.com article, the conversation explores how tighter budgets, travel fatigue and the rise of Gen Z attendees are cha...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? In this Smart Start Radio: Coffee Chat episode, host Eming Piansay breaks down the concept of chronodiversity and explains how understanding human energy patterns could change how planners design event agendas.  Inspired by a story on SmartMeetings.com , this episode explores simple ways to create schedules that support engagement, learni...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? In honor of International Women’s Day, Smart Start Radio goes beyond surface-level celebration and into what leadership actually looks like in today’s meetings and events industry. Host Eming Piansay sits down with Christine Erickson, senior vice president of global supplier relations and partner network at BCD Meetings & Events, who...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? In this week’s Coffee Chat, Eming Piansay, Multimedia Editor at Smart Meetings, breaks down one of the biggest shifts shaping events right now: attendees aren’t behaving by age group or job title anymore,  they’re behaving by pressure. Inspired by the SmartMeetings.com story What Meeting Planners Need to Know About Event Attendees in 2026...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? Headlines can be loud, but reality on the ground is layered. In this Smart Start Radio: Coffee Chat, host Eming Piansay breaks down takeaways from Smart Meetings’ March story “Breaking Through ICE,” by editor-at-large Gary Diedrich, and translates them into three practical moves meeting planners can use right away. You’ll learn how to rig...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? If you’ve read one more 2026 forecast and thought, “Okay, cool… but what do I actually do with this?” this episode is for you. In this Coffee Chat, Eming Piansay breaks down three shifts that will realistically impact planners heading into 2026: meeting space compression, international travel perception and accelerating vendor mergers. No...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? In this episode of Smart Start Radio , host Eming Piansay examines how diversity, equity and inclusion work is evolving in today’s professional landscape. Eming speaks first with Alexis Braly James , CEO and founder of Construct the Present, about inclusive leadership and organizational accountability, followed by a conversation with auth...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? In this episode of Smart Start Radio , host Eming Piansay sits down with Yush Sztalkoper , founder of NeuroSpark+ , to explore how neurodiversity can reshape the way meetings and events are designed. Drawing on nearly two decades in the events industry and her personal journey following an ADHD diagnosis, Yush reframes neurodivergence not...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? In this episode of Smart Start Radio, host Eming Piansay steps into the world of Event Rap, the creative powerhouse blending hip hop, storytelling and live performance to transform how audiences experience conferences. Founder Baba Brinkman breaks down how his background in literature and “peer-reviewed rap” evolved into a full-scale serv...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? In this special episode of Smart Start Radio, hosts Eming Piansay and Sara Robertson sit down with Liz Van Voorhis , founder and CEO of FIT COLLECTIVE , and Ashley Brooke James , co-founder of TRILUNA  to explore what wellness really means in today’s fast-paced meetings world. From burnout and boundaries to building sustainable wellness p...

Let us know what you think! What do you want to hear about? In this special Smart Start Radio: Coffee Chat , recorded live at IMEX 2025 in Las Vegas, host Eming Piansay explores the energy and insights of the industry’s biggest event. Eming’s first guest is Aviva Kohen from Tourism Calgary, who shares what it’s like to experience IMEX for the first time, why Calgary’s food scene and pancake tradit...