Meeting professionals have a superpower that most people don’t even know exists: the ability to hold 17 conversations simultaneously while smiling at the keynote speaker, texting the caterer about the gluten-free option that somehow turned into a gluten disaster, and mentally rewriting the run of show, all before 8 a.m.
You are extraordinary. You are the only people I know who can be invisible when everything is perfect and become the target when the smallest thing goes astray. But even extraordinary people have moments when they stand in a hotel corridor, quietly clutching a phone and wondering whether anyone would notice if they simply walked out the fire exit and kept going. That’s where FARC comes in.
Now, before you raise an eyebrow at the name (and I know if you imagine my Aussie accent saying it, it’s even worse), I know it’s four letters, and it does sound a little like something you might mutter under your breath when the A/V company sends the wrong cables, even though you checked three times beforehand, but this technique is designed for exactly those moments.
FARC stands for Focus, Awareness, Reframe and Conscious Choice. It is your secret weapon for staying sane, kind and in control when everything around you is doing the opposite.
Focus
Focus on the one thing that matters right now. When chaos hits — and in this industry, chaos doesn’t knock; it barges in wearing the wrong lanyard — the first thing your brain does is zoom out. Suddenly, you’re not thinking about the one thing that needs solving. You’re thinking about the 17 things that could go wrong as a result. Your mind sprints ahead into every worst-case scenario while your body is standing perfectly still in a ballroom, looking calm.
Stop and focus.
Ask yourself, “What is the one thing that needs my attention right now?” Not the speaker’s requirements. That’s a future problem. Not the CEO’s seating preference. He’ll live. Right now, what is the single most important thing? Focus there. Everything else goes on a mental shelf.
Focusing on the present moment allows you to notice more than you would in a semi-panicked state. Notice how you’re breathing. If you’re holding your breath, you’re focused on what’s going wrong instead of what you can do about it. One response sends cortisol racing through your system. The other shifts you into solution mode and allows you to breathe again. An overwhelmed brain simply doesn’t work efficiently.
Awareness
Be aware of what’s happening inside you. Most of us, under pressure, are completely unaware of what’s happening inside us — what we’re saying to ourselves. We’re so focused on the external situation — the missing centerpieces, the no-show exhibitor, the sponsor demanding a larger logo on every slide — that we overlook what’s happening internally. But your internal state is running the show. The stories you’re telling yourself, most of them untrue, influence your physiology and your interactions.
If you’re feeling fear, your brain filters everything through a threat lens. If you’re overwhelmed, your prefrontal cortex — the rational, creative part of your brain — becomes less effective. If you’re resentful, your communication shifts in ways you may not notice, but others certainly do. It shows up in your nonverbal communication.
Take a pause to notice how you’re feeling.
Become aware of what you’re saying to yourself because it determines how you feel. If you’re thinking, “Oh no,” immediately replace it with, “Oh, that’s interesting.” This simple change alters your physiological response. Your reaction shifts from panic to curiosity, allowing you to think more clearly. Tell yourself, “Oh, that’s interesting.” Say it out loud if you can. Curiosity signals to your nervous system that you’re not under immediate threat. And a curious brain is a creative brain.
Reframe
Reframe the narrative and choose a more useful story. Once you’ve told yourself, “Oh, that’s interesting,” your brain naturally asks, “What’s interesting?” That simple shift allows you to think more clearly.
Reframing doesn’t mean pretending everything is fine when it isn’t. It means consciously choosing a perspective that helps you solve the problem instead of spiraling around it.
Try these:
- Instead of, “The speaker is late, and this is a disaster,” try, “The speaker is late, and I have three minutes to make this work. I’ve done it before. I’ll do it again.”
- Instead of, “The client is impossible to please,” try, “The client is anxious. What do they need to hear from me right now?”
- Instead of, “I can’t do everything,” ask, “What can I delegate in the next 60 seconds?”
Most of the time, this isn’t a life-or-death situation. If it is, act quickly. If it isn’t, breathe and choose a different perspective. Being aware of what you’re telling yourself allows you to choose a more realistic and useful story—one that gives you more options.
Conscious Choice
Here’s the truth nobody puts in the event management handbook: You always have a choice about how you respond. You may not have a choice about what happens. That’s often out of your hands and sometimes completely ridiculous. Every event professional has a story as unbelievable as the gala dinner where the ice sculpture arrived as a pelican instead of a swan, even though nobody ordered a pelican.
You can’t control what arrives., but you can always choose what you do next.
A conscious choice means:
- Choosing to respond rather than react.
- Choosing grace rather than judgment.
- Choosing to ask rather than assume.
- Choosing to breathe before you speak, especially with that stakeholder who tests your patience.
- Choosing to notice what’s working before cataloging what isn’t.
- Choosing to extend the same grace to yourself that you so readily extend to everyone else.
You are not failing because something went sideways. You are a professional working in an industry built on impossible expectations and relentless deadlines.
One pelican does not define you.
Final Thoughts
FARC isn’t a technique you need to memorize before something goes wrong. You can use it in the moment, in less than a minute, while standing in a hallway pretending to check your phone.
If you need a laugh, remember to “feel it and FARC it.”
Focus on what matters now.
Become aware of what you’re feeling.
Reframe the situation.
Make a conscious choice about what comes next, including choosing kindness toward yourself.
You’re already doing the hard part by showing up. FARC simply helps you do it with your nervous system on your side.
The next time something goes sideways—and it will, because that’s the nature of this industry—remember: It’s probably not a disaster, it’s just interesting, and one day, it will become one of your favorite stories.
