The Power of the Pause
Oh friends. Let me tell you about the phone call that wrecked me yesterday.
The shelter called about this sweet senior pup named Susie Q who desperately needed a foster home, and my whole heart was like YES GIRL, LET'S DO THIS.
But then I looked around my house.
Boxes everywhere. Furniture arriving Thursday. The kind of moving chaos that would send an anxious dog into full panic mode. (Not to mentioned by husband would lose his every loving mind..)
I had to tell them no.
And can I just say? It KILLED me. Because saying no felt selfish. Like I was choosing my own convenience over helping this sweet dog.
But here's what I realized: saying yes would have actually been the selfish choice. It would've been about making ME feel good about myself, not about what was truly best for Susie Q.
Y'all, this is EXACTLY what happens with events.
We get all fired up about hosting something. A workshop! A networking thing! A whole conference! The venue's available, our creative juices are flowing, and we're already picking out name tags before we stop to ask the most important question:
Wait... is this actually what our people need right now?
I cannot tell you how many times I've watched event planners (including me) schedule something because the timing worked for THEM.
Because they wanted to feel productive. Because doing something feels way better than doing nothing.
But the best events? They're not about us feeling accomplished or checking boxes. They're about our people getting exactly what they need, when they need it.
Which means sometimes the right move is saying no. Even when you've done all the research. Even when sponsors are practically throwing money at you.
Maybe the timing's off. Maybe your audience needs something completely different.
Maybe (and this is the hard one) the event serves YOUR need to stay busy more than THEIR need to actually connect or learn.
Repeat after me… It's not about you. It's about the people you're trying to serve.
So give yourself permission to say no sometimes.
Because that’s actually how you build events that matter.
Before you say yes to that next event idea, ask yourself:
Does the TIMING actually work for my audience, or just for me? (Are they in busy season? Do they have budget fatigue? Is this competing with something they care about more?)
Am I solving a real problem they've told me about, or am I assuming what they need? (When's the last time you actually asked them what would serve them best right now?)
Do I have the capacity to serve them well, or am I spread too thin to give this the attention it deserves? (Be honest. A mediocre event helps no one.)
Is this event actually about THEM connecting and learning, or is it about me feeling productive and accomplished? (Ouch. But you gotta ask it.)
If I say no to this, what opens up? What could I create instead that would serve them even better? (Sometimes the best idea is waiting on the other side of no.)
Let’s plan better events..not just more.
