How to Explain Event Planning to a 8-Year-Old

“If your message, plan, or instructions are too complicated and hard to understand, there’s a big risk that the recipient will interpret it their own way.”

Let’s start with a definition, even though I’m not a big fan of boxing things into a single mold that has to work for everyone. Simply because we all see and interpret things subjectively, through the lens of our own worldview, knowledge, and experience. Even the term "event production" probably means something different to each of us.

For me, event production refers to the entire process, from the initial idea to post-event follow-up, including the planning, preparation, execution, and live phases. I also break down event production into three dimensions that apply to any service product or idea: enabling promises, making promises, and fulfilling promises. It’s a bit wordy, but by separating the terms, "event" and "production," I make "making promises" its own entity. In practice, making promises refers to branding, marketing, communication, and sales—things that operate with a different logic than the core content planning and execution of the event.

But back to the main topic: how do I explain to my 8-year-old daughter what an event producer does?

Let’s start with the event. Events bring together many different people to spend time in the same place at the same time. For everyone to enjoy what they see, hear, and experience, someone needs to be the organizer. The organizer’s job is to make sure that the event space is ready to welcome people. The organizer must also ensure that all the necessary items are gathered for the event. Since there are usually a lot of guests at events, there need to be many people helping with different tasks. And if there’s something we can’t do ourselves, luckily, there are always professionals who can help. Let’s call these support services.

So, what does an event producer do? They do the same things mom does when organizing your birthday party. Guests are invited, and based on what the birthday star likes, the activities and food are planned. If someone is allergic to certain foods, we make sure not to use those ingredients. Once we know what we want, we start organizing. We buy everything we need from the store, like ice cream and balloons. Then, we clean and arrange the house—it’s a family effort! If there’s something we can’t do ourselves, we get help. For example, if the oven breaks, we need a technician to fix it so we can bake the cake. Once everything is set up, the guests can arrive. After the party, we clean up, and finally, we jot down notes about what happened and think about what we could do differently next time.

This exercise is actually great, and I encourage you to use it as often as possible. If your message, plan, or instructions are too complicated and difficult to understand, there’s a big risk that the recipient will interpret it their own way—and act in a way that doesn’t align with the big goal. It’s easier to explain things to a child by distilling the most important points. From the explanation above, I would highlight the following words: organizer, guests, space, items, people, and support services. Practically every task involved in organizing an event can be categorized under these six elements.

When we tweak these elements a bit, we get: 1. Management & Leadership, 2. Customer Experience, 3. Space, 4. Stuff, 5. Staff, and 6. Support Services. This is the simple model I use to plan, produce, and execute events. Any event is built by linking these core areas together through specific actions and tasks. Each area has its own processes, which need to be considered to achieve a great final result.

I call this framework: The Event Magic Cube.