The Non-Obvious Guide to Event Planning 2nd Edition: (For Kick-Ass Gatherings that Inspire People) (Non-Obvious Guides) Paperback – February 28, 2023

I recently shifted careers after 17 years of one thing into event management. This has been my bible and study guide. Easy to read, segmented out and love the spark it gives me to generate ideas for what fits my events.

I had the pleasure of not only reading this book but getting to participate in a group discussion with Andrea herself! Not only is Andrea delightful and professional in person - her personality flows seamlessly on to the pages of her book. I found the flow and content of the book to be engaging as well as thought-provoking (if you look at my copy I have pink sticky notes everywhere). This is a quick, easy, and worth-while leave for anyone in the events industry.

Andrea wholeheartedly believes that the lively exchange of ideas and solutions matters deeply in a world of sometimes overwhelming change and connection. Her call to action: raise the bar when planning events and meetings. She generously shows us the way. A genius format, compulsively concise layout and conversational and humorous tone make this book one you will refer to over and over. It’s not a “nice-to-know” kind of read…delivering memorable meetings and events with lasting impact is necessary to move our ideas and solutions forward. Increasing the fun factor at work is the icing on the cake. I recommend meeting planners and business people who are interested in making meaningful connections with peers, clients, vendors, and communities take this book to heart. Andrea gets real, gets your attention and earns your gratitude and respect.

In a world of digital shiny objects and constant plays at our attention, meetings and events often stay the same. This book shares unconventional strategies for raising the bar... in a very easy to read, tight format.The chapter on transforming attendees into participants was particularly helpful. Attendees, more than ever, want to be a part of the experience. If it isn't an experience, they wonder why they need to attend in the first place.The book also offers advice on raising the game on panel and Q&A sessions as well as finding and winning event sponsors.This is THE book on creating powerful events. As the author says, we need to go from Bore to "Roar" (Return on attendee relevance.)

This book is chock full of incredibly useful tips, tricks, and ideas to create fun, engaging, impactful, and flawless events! Andrea Driessen delivers excellent ‘non-obvious’ advice throughout the book - I’m not sure how you can go wrong if you follow her lead. The layout of the book makes her messages easy to absorb, and her writing style and voice make the learning fun. Do yourself and your event attendees a favor and study this book so you don’t end up learning things ‘the hard way’!

This book is a go to… and it’s been handy working on hybrid and virtual events in this new COVID world. Some great takeaways: define content and then the platform for max attention/engagement and don’t forget the time zone (from east coast to west coast, EMEA and APAC). The Guide is helpful – lots of valuable, entertaining tips throughout.

My company puts on technology events and I sure wish I had had this book when we started doing them a few years back. Every page is full of the practical, down-to-earth tips and techniques that we have only started learning the "hard way."Even the layout of this book is helpful. Big concepts are pulled out as pull quotes, there are numerous numbered lists, and most of her suggestions are accompanied by real-world examples.In short, my plan is to read through this book each time I start planning an event.

This book is full of helpful information organized in an easy to read, engaging format. I particularly liked the two-color layout, online resources that allow the reader access to more in-depth information (even via the paperback version), quotes, plenty of white space and cross-referencing to other chapters which makes it easy to find related information. The "get-real" sections at the end of chapters help the reader activate what's been learned. Like a great meeting, this book is well organized, accessible and has many practical takeaways.