This word will not serve you.

I absolutely hate this word. ????

Whenever I see it, it feels like the air being let out of a balloon…. deflated, sad, heartbroken. ??

4 letters… but oh so damaging to relationships between industry professionals.

The word???

?? “Just”. ??

You’ve seen it too….

?? “I’m just connecting on the proposal I sent….”

?? “I’m just following up on the contract…..”

?? “I’m just wondering if you’d like to grab lunch sometime….”

“Just” takes whatever respect and admiration someone developed for you, and reduced you to someone less than; someone whose role is not equal to the other party. ??

My friends, “just” inadvertently creates a hierarchy when it comes to the success of a project, meeting or event. A hierarchy that moves you from being a partner, someone who is integral to the success of a program, to being a background character. ???????

My friend, no matter your role in a meeting’s success, you are not a background character. You are an integral part of a program’s success, you are not “just” doing anything.?You ask questions and offer your services with intention and impact.? By positioning yourself as such, you will be seen and respected as an equal partner. ??

So the next time you find yourself “just” following up, do yourself a favour and don’t “just” do anything. You’re worth oh so much more than that.?

To knowing your worth, ??????

-Leanne

?? Explore your worth and all that you have to impact and influence your community through your personal brand.? See if my course Brand Plan Academy is open for enrollment!

??? MPI’s World Education Congress - June 21-24

?? MPI’s WEC is heading to sunny California!! ??#WECSanFrancisco runs June 21-24 and will feature ground-breaking sessions around event design, contract negotiations, and event wellness.? There’s lots of LinkedIn love to go around - Dawn Rasmussen will be there presenting on LinkedIn on Tuesday, and? I’ll be presenting on both LinkedIn on Wednesday (and handing out my coveted Top 10 LinkedIn Tips cards for session attendees!)

??? Canadian Meetings + Events Expo Returns to their August timeslot! - Aug?16-17

?? After last year’s Q3 pivot to October, CMEE returns to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre this August!!! The programming is just starting to come together; please save the date and visit the site often to see what’s up and coming!? Already confirmed are Heather Reid , Candice Chan , and Alison Slight .

Thank you, Melissa Arnott and Meghan Bradley for pulling together such a fantastic show this year!

??? PCMA Educon - June 5-8 New Orleans

?? PCMA ’s June marquee event heads to New Orleans!?They promise rich, human connections, where you can connect with colleagues and business partners for collaboration. Mentors for inspiration. Community-sourced content to fuel conversation-driven programming.?

?? Learn more and see if Educon is a good fit for your professional development this season!

Thanks to Alison Milgram , Philip Pang , Deborah Sexton , Keri Kelly , and Morgan Houston for bringing us this event!

It’s not for some, but polls may be new to your content mix, so it’s time to refresh on why we should all be incorporating polls into our content mix. ??

Polls and quizzes provide quick wins for everyone involved - it creates great engagement for you, it gives you valuable feedback on the topic at hand, and it allows your audience to engage with a simple click of the button.?It's one of my favourite content formats because everyone can get involved in the post, with very little effort. ?? Many of our audience members on LinkedIn, are likely sitting back on their heels, wondering how to get started. When you launch a poll, you've given them an easy way to get started. ??♀?

Some great ideas for polls include:

?? New ideas, features, tools

?? Industry trends and topics

?? Fun, engaging, personal polls

When you're ready to create your poll, set up the context of your poll inside your post.?

?? Select "create a poll" along the bottom of the post.??

?? Craft your poll question and options into the poll builder

?? Don't forget to include an open-ended option to encourage engagement

?? Press done.??

Once you're ready to post your poll, hit Post, and watch the votes and comments roll in. ??

Looking for an activation at your next conference or tradeshow that can help your attendees and partners level up their LinkedIn game and add value to your programming? ??

Leanne’s LinkedIn Corner is here to help! ?? ???

?This activation is aimed at helping professionals with their LinkedIn profiles and presence, helping each visitor:

? Set goals and objectives around their LinkedIn activity

? Discover keywords that they can use through their profile and content in order to impact and influence their target audience

? Uncover areas of their current profile that can be improved for greater industry impact.

The LinkedIn Corner Activation is a great way for sponsors to gain more visibility to their ideal clients and prospects, and a great way for the conference host to share costs and visibility within the Corner.

?? To see if a LinkedIn Corner activation is a good fit for your next show, connect with Leanne to learn more .

Tips for a Successful Morning Routine

Morning is my favourite time of day! ?? It’s when I have the most energy and when I have the highest hopes for the outcome of my day! It’s also the only time I have to myself before the rest of my house wakes up and the Zoom meetings start. Setting myself up for success each morning always works better when I take some time to exercise (no pun intended) and some good morning habits. A good day doesn’t happen by accident; it takes place with careful design including a good morning routine. ??

?? Learn 6 reasons why a good morning routine will help you slay the day, and 8 sample activities that you may want to infuse into your own morning routine. ??