Mariska Kesteloo, founder of Word of MICE and an international speaker, author and digital nomad, will be presenting “Storytelling Superheroes: Activating Industry Experts” during MPI’s European Meetings & Events Conference (EMEC), March 3-5 in Luxembourg.

In advance of EMEC, we asked her about prioritizing collaboration, the importance of storytelling and what EMEC attendees can expect.

Follow Mariska’s journey across Europe.

Why should meeting professionals prioritize long-term collaboration with industry experts?

Decisions don’t happen overnight in our industry. It’s a long, often not transparent decision-making process with many factors involved.

Every day, we receive an overload of information. It’s important to be in touch with your target audience frequently, to stay and to remain top of mind. We do business with people we like and trust. An industry expert is the perfect match. Someone who has a proven track record in our industry and speaks the same industry language as us. Someone who understands the challenges we’re facing. A real person who’s approachable, trustworthy and active online and offline, meaning present at industry events. Of course, the industry expert is on top of the trends and developments in the industry.

Why is storytelling important for success in the meeting industry?

We are facing many challenges, not only in our professional careers but also in our daily lives. We need stories that are inspiring and stick in people’s minds to stand out from the crowd.

Stories make a difference and are the perfect way to explain the “why” (Simon Sinek) of your company. A younger generation is more critical and takes decisions in a different way, so it’s key to share the information about your company, your mission and vision. How you treat your staff, clients and partners. It’s the perfect way to differentiate yourself from your competitors, to stay top of mind and to stand out from the rest. And don’t forget the power and strength of humour. All these important elements you can use in storytelling.

Can you tell us a little about one of the case studies you'll be sharing during the "Storytelling Superheroes" session at EMEC (without giving too much away of course!)?

The purpose of my session is to inspire, inform and guide the audience about storytelling.

I will use my last project for Cote d’Azur, France, in 2023 as one of the highlights. How my biggest challenge became my strength. I never could have imagined that my personal tragedy would be so important for my professional career. I was transparent about what was happening—terrifying from the start, afraid that it might affect my clients. But the opposite happened. I created trust by being open about my personal life. The result is that my personal story was the profound reason that the client, Cote d’Azur, chose to work with me.

I encourage people to do the same and that’s what this session is all about. We are all superheroes with amazing stories. Meaning that this session will be interactive :-)

Why are you excited about your EMEC session?

It’s an honour and pleasure to share my passion and knowledge with others. This is how we learn and evolve as an industry. I’m excited to be on stage during an EMEC conference; it’s fantastic.

I hope to inspire the participants and I’m eager to have a younger audience in my session to exchange experiences and thoughts. Of course, everyone is welcome!

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve attended any MPI conference and I'm looking forward to catching up with peers and industry friends—and, of course, to learn from others, and to keep on track of the developments.

Can you tell us about a meeting industry trend you're keeping an eye on in 2024?

Good question, as I took a new challenge outside of the meetings and events industry from

January 2024. But sustainability in a large perspective is definitely of my interest, mainly the SDG goals.

I am now responsible for five open centres in the Netherlands to support people with cancer and their loved ones. My tasks are to manage these centres in such a way to release the pressure of the healthcare system. But the most important one is to give the support that these people need with qualified and enthusiastic volunteers.

One out of two persons have cancer in the Netherlands. How can we deal with this disease? More and more will be affected or influenced by this disease. Next, living in a region where mainly elderly people live, loneliness is a huge issue, in combination with mental health and chronic illness, and rising poverty.