From the Blog:
Types of Meetings and Events
What’s the difference between a seminar and a workshop? A trade show and an exhibition ? With all the different meeting terms it can get quite confusing! If you happen to plan meetings it pays to get your terminology right, that’s why we here at eVenues put together this handy list of all the types of meetings and events. If you see a term we missed just email us at team@evenues.com and we'll include it!
Annual General Meetings:
An Annual General Meeting (AGM), or a shareholders meeting, is a large gathering
held by publicly traded companies. These meetings are held in order to let shareholders
ask the board of directors questions about a company’s health, as well as to elect
new members to the board.
Board Meetings:
While the term “Board Meeting” technically means a gathering of a company or organization’s
board of directors, to us a board meeting really is a gathering of decision makers.
At this gathering, important facts are presented and decisions are made as to the
best course of action to take in the coming months.
Further Reading: Effective Board Meetings
Breakout Session:
At a convention or conference,
breakout sessions are meetings (workshops, seminars, or presentations) intended
for small groups. These meetings can be held in smaller meeting rooms within a convention
center or hotel as well as off-site meeting and boardrooms.
Further Reading: What is a Breakout Session
Business Dinners and Banquets:
These are generally formal celebrations organized by a company or organization to
celebrate achievements within the organization and to boost employee and member
morale. Depending on the size of the organization, these dinners may be a small
gathering at a local restaurant or conducted in a large hotel banquet hall or unique
event space like an art gallery or museum.
Further Reading: 5 Tips for Business Dinners and Banquets
Conference:
Although “conventions” and “conferences” are terms that are used interchangeably,
the meeting industry standard definition of a conference is of a meeting of a shorter
duration than a convention and designed to meet a specific objective. See: Convention.
Further Reading: What is a Conference?
Colloquium:
A colloquium can be best described as an “academic networking event.” Participants
are often experts in a given field and they meet to informally present and exchange
new ideas. Some academic programs require participation in a colloquium in order
to complete the program.
Further Reading: What is a Colloquium?
Conclave:
Conclaves are meetings conducted in secret. In general, conclaves are used to describe
“closed door” meetings between individuals who have a certain level of power or
influence. One of the most famous conclaves is the Papal conclave, where cardinals meet to elect a new pope.
Congress:
While most Americans generally associate the word “Congress” with the legislative
branch of government, a congress can also a large group of individuals who meet
on a regularly scheduled basis, often to make decisions through a debate and voting
process.
Consumer Shows:
A consumer or gate show is a trade show that’s open to
the general public. These shows generally have an entrance fee. People interested
in learning about the latest products (electronics, automobiles, etc) often go to
consumer shows.
Further Reading: What is a Consumer Show?
Conventions:
A convention is an a large gathering of people with a shared interest (usually professional
or fandom related). These events are often recurring, and are usually scheduled
at a specific time each year. Conventions usually have keynote speakers, as well
as presentations that familiarize attendees with advancements or trends within a
their particular field of interest. See: Conference.
Further Reading: What is a Convention?
Exhibitions:
An exhibition is a trade show that focuses on B2B businesses.
Expo or Expositions:
An expo is a large scale exhibition or trade show often conducted on an international
level. One of the most common examples of an expo is The World’s Fair.
Fairs:
A fair is a trade show or expo organized
for the purpose of exhibiting arts and crafts, industrial products and agricultural
products, but more local and on a smaller scale. Unlike most trade shows, entertainment
and fair food (think fried twinkies and french fry studded corn dogs!) are often
a major draw.
Functions:
A social gathering or party, sometimes of a ceremonial nature. A function is usually
one or one of several gatherings that contribute to a larger event. See also: Galas, Business Dinners,
Fundraisers:
A fundraiser can be a party, dance, dinner organized for the express purpose of
raising money for a cause or organization.
Further Reading: Successful Fundraising Events
Galas:
A gala is a large scale dinner gathering or party that often includes entertainment
and/or awards ceremonies following dinner. See also:
Function
, Business Dinner
"Green" Meetings:
"Green" meetings are events produced with sustainability in mind. When planning an event considerations are made
concerning the use of water, electricity, fuel as well as the consumption of renewable products as opposed to disposable products.
Further Reading: Why Green Meetings Matter
International Events:
According to the meeting industry standard definition, an international event is
any event where 15% or more of the participants come from out of the the event’s
host country.
Meetups:
A meetup is an informal meeting or get-together organized for people with similar
interests. These interests can be anything: dating, networking, board games, romance
novels, meditation, hiking, wine tasting–just to name a few. Most meetups
are associated with meetup.com, a website that
provides listing services for meetups.
Further Reading: The Quick and Dirty Guide to Meetup.com
Networking Events:
Organizing or sponsoring a networking event can be a great way to raise a company
or individual’s profile within a certain community. Networking events can run from
informal schmooze and booze affairs at a local bar to fully fledged galas complete with an open bar.
Party:
A generic term for any social gathering.
Plenary or General Sessions:
A large meeting open to all people attending an event. These sessions often kick
off a large conference or
convention
before it begins.
Political Events:
Political events are organized to raise awareness or funds for a particular candidate or cause. Democratic and Republican national conventions, the largest political events in the U.S. are organized to energize the base and bring in delegates from each of the 50 states.
Further Reading: An Inside Look At Political Event Planning
Press Conferences:
Press conferences are often organized by newsmakers (most often in politics but
also in business and in sports) to make an announcement or to field questions by
press who happen to be invited to the conference.
Product Launch Events:
Product Launches are often large scale events whose organizers invite journalists,
bloggers and social media influencers to witness the very first unveiling of a company’s
product. A successful product launch will often include a venue that is unique to
the product being used.
Further Reading: Product Launch Events
Receptions:
In the meetings industry, receptions refer to a social function where light refreshments
are served, usually buffet style. Receptions are often informal, and attendees will
usually stand up and socialize rather than sit down at a table. For weddings and
other social events, receptions are informal celebrations
or gatherings that follow a more formal ceremony.
Retreats and Team Building Events:
Retreats can be anything from go-cart races to ski trips to ropes courses. Essentially
the purpose of the retreat is to get team members to know each other better and
thus be more efficient as a team.
Further Reading: Organizing a Team Building Event
Seminars:
In business, seminars are meetings organized to inform a group of people about a
specific topic, or to teach a specific skill. Expert speakers and teachers are usually
invited to speak on topics like personal finance, investing, real estate, web marketing,
and many others. See Workshop.
Further Reading: What is a Seminar?
Shareholder’s Meetings:
See Annual General Meeting.
Social Events:
A large gathering organized to celebrate major life events and religious ceremonies.
Common social events include: anniversaries, weddings, birthdays, and bar/bat mitzvahs.
Symposiums:
Symposiums are meetings organized so that experts in a given field can meet, present
papers, and discuss issues and trends or make recommendations for a certain course
of action.
Further Reading: What is a Symposium?
Trade Shows:
Trade Shows are an opportunity for companies to exhibit some of their latest products,
as well as yet to be released prototypes to journalists as well as others in the
industry. See also: Exhibition, Consumer and Gate Shows, Expo.
Workshops:
The terms “workshop” and “seminar” are used interchangeably. While both are education
focused events, workshops generally have more hands-on and group activities. Workshops
are better for teaching skills that require interactivity and individual participation
to learn. See: Seminar.
Further Reading: Planning a Workshop