You may have seen the blockbuster film Battle of the Sexes about the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs that ended up being the most watched TV sports event ever. King is a life-long activist who has been fighting for equal rights long before her famous “Battle of the Sexes” took place. Her experiences and advice is relevant to everyone, and she was one of the many inspiring people who spoke at PCMA Convening Leaders earlier this month in Pittsburgh, Penn. to remind event planners that everyone can use their voice and talents to transform the industry for the better.
“Every single person in the world is an influencer and every single day you can make a change. You have to do what is right, not what is always popular,” she told an enamored audience of event industry professionals.
The conference included nearly 150 speakers and more than 4,000 attendees. The theme was to ‘Disrupt and Deliver’ — it encouraged attendees to take what they learned at the conference and help make a difference in the future of the events industry.
Speakers like King stressed that event planners have the power to change the outlook of their attendees by encouraging inclusivity and forward-thinking.
They stressed that event planners can bring people together from different backgrounds who have similar interests and missions. Consider the masses when planning an event and be open- minded and inclusive to all attendees.
So what does that entail? Technology is an invaluable tool when it comes to making sure everyone, in-person or online, feels included in an event. 
Tech like streaming video allows for events to have higher engagement and more participation and interaction. Event planners can use technology to reach more people and to spread the message of inclusivity and forward-thinking. PCMA made sure to follow that advice, because Mediasite Events sponsored the conference and streamed the sessions to an online audience of nearly 1,000 viewers.
Event planners can use King’s powerful message to help guide their next event.
Read this blog post to see why PCMA is such a forward-thinking organization when it comes to their events.
P.S. At the end of her keynote session, Billie Jean hit autographed tennis balls into the crowd and I was lucky enough to catch one!
