The Key Points to Organising a Perfect Event

Nothing more boring, antiquated and off-putting than seating in a room, watching a group of panellists who are barely able to see each other (other than their profiles), let alone the audience.

There is, similarly, nothing more annoying than watching someone standing a long way away from where you are in the room, reading the slides that are up on the screen, word for word.

I hate badly organised events, boring panellists (read nodding heads, patting each other’s backs because of how marvellous they are) and speakers who are so bad at telling you what their presentation is about, that you just feel like standing up and telling them “hello, are you awake?”

But let’s not get into the complexities of public speaking and engaging rhetoric – that’s a different topic altogether. Today I want to share with you how brilliant events should look like and what a perfect event should have/be from my perspective.

It’s not difficult, it’s very easy.

BEFORE THE EVENT

Make sure that you send the attendees and speakers/panellists accurate information about the location, timings and sequence of the speakers etc. Ideally, include a map with the exact outline of the place, showing the room(s), facilities, exits, registration, break out areas and so on.

Not everyone will be familiar with the area, so provide plenty of information about public transport to get there, taxi fares from airport/stations/town centre, taxi companies you recommend, etc.

There may be no public transport (or a very limited one). Don’t be surprised, but many countries don’t have a reliable public transport so, if you organise an event in the Middle East, for instance, it’s unlikely anyone will use “the bus” to get to your event.

By the way, if you commit to arrange the transport for the VIPs, speakers and panellists, make sure that you do. If you change your mind, just let them know – it’s ok and no one will think any less of you. It’s far worse if the poor souls stand like catwalk models outside their hotels and wait for “the shuttle that never came to pick us up”.

Capture every attendee’s name and organisation clearly on their corresponding badges – and don’t forget to actually make them a badge! It happens more often than you think.

If you’re a speaker/panellist and present at an event which doesn’t even have your name correctly or doesn’t have your name at all, then that screams “incompetence” – there are no excuses with this one!

If your event is international, especially if it is an exhibition of some sort, rehearse the directions (I’m not joking!) the event staff is supposed to give the attendees. For instance, I was at an event recently and I had the unpleasant surprise to be given wrong directions by the “doorman” whose role was to direct people … do not assume they should know how to direct delegates! Check that they really do!

You can never ever have enough posters, banners and whatnots giving people directions or signposting where the coffee area is, where the toilets (restrooms) are, where the smoking area is (you must have one unless you want to pick butts from the pavement for several hours) and where the food is being served (if any).

The more the signs, the better. And the most important sign of all? EXIT!!! (not just the one in case of an emergency but, also, the one taking people out of the building).

Do you have exhibitors at your event? Sponsors? Many panellists or speakers? Why not be nice and really helpful and have a couple of displays (or similar) with various promotional literature items of their organisations?

It beats the hell out of those stupid bags (which are mostly empty) that have a miserable pen lost somewhere at the bottom and a notebook that would probably be put straight into the blue bin (i.e. recycling) or given to the kids to draw on.

Plus, think of all the time and money you’d be saving by not having to manually handle, fill and store the bags… by all means, if you have something really useful and enjoyable to give your attendees (and I must commend Vuelio here for their “goodie bags”), by all means, fill them up!

Make sure you have all attendees’ mobile phone numbers (ideally) and/or e-mail addresses (GDPR compliant) and, no sooner than 12 hours before the event send them all one text message and/or e-mail with the contact details of:

• the person they should contact in case they cannot attend the event anymore;
• the person they should contact in case they can’t find the place;
• the person they should contact in case of an emergency (of any nature).

And make sure that those people on this list DO answer their phones and check their e-mails!

If you organise an international event, make sure that when tickets are bought or the registration is made or whatever, you ASK the delegates (on the registration form) about their language preference! It’s in your best interest to ensure that everyone understands perfectly what is being said during the conference/event.

And yes, you will need interpreters (and booths for them) and special interpretation equipment.

Make absolutely sure (regardless of the country where you hold your event) that the room/venue is accessible to disabled people: access, restroom, lifts and so on. If it doesn’t, don’t bother holding it there (the reputational risk for your organisation will be significant if you overlook this aspect).

You need a cloakroom too!

Regardless of the weather (but even more so if it’s not summer), you need a secure area where attendees can leave their stuff: luggage (some may be travelling back home on that day), briefcases, umbrellas and so on.

For instance, there are women who get to events wearing trainers or flip flops (I’m one of those) and then change into proper shoes. I’ve never attended an event where I could leave my not-so-posh footwear somewhere unless it was winter …

Everyone is one their phones these days. You want them to be, too, to share the highlights of your event, in real time. But they need to be able to charge their phones, don’t they? The number of conference venues which only have 2-3 spare sockets is unreal! Be smart and rent several mobile charging points for the day – your attendees will be very grateful to you for that!

There are many visually and hearing-impaired people who, sadly so, are not made to feel included at most events. The latest ones I attended (international, with hundreds and thousands of delegates), had absolutely no amplifying systems for those with hearing problems, let alone presentations/slides or signage in Braille for the visually impaired.

For most event organisers, these are considered “too much of a bother” – they shouldn’t be.

FOOD AND DRINKS

If you provide food at your event, please don’t have it all in one area! Those never-ending queues are such a sad sight to see … ensure you have at least two identical buffet areas that attendees can go to.

Separate the fruit and sweets from main courses and starters, so that your crowd control measures are even better.

Not everyone will be happy to stand to eat – if you can, provide the delegates with seating for lunch. It’s so difficult to speak with someone holding a plate in one hand and a glass in another; if someone gets introduced to you, shaking hands is out of the question. It’s just bad and uncomfortable for everyone.

There are things that should be abundantly made available: napkins, salt and pepper. You wouldn’t believe me but the number of events I’ve been to and the salt and pepper were almost non-existent …

For all events (but, especially, for the more exclusive or high-level ones), it would be great if you could have some tags in front of each tray/platter, describing not only what that dish is but, also, if it’s kosher / halal / vegan / vegetarian / nuts / shellfish /gluten free and so on.

There are two ways you can deal with food allergy issues:

• take all necessary precautions to ensure that no food products some attendees are deadly allergic to are present at all (very difficult to do for buffet and large events);
• issue a disclaimer saying that, although you will attempt to do everything possible to ensure the allergy sufferers will be catered for (but do it, don’t just say it), you cannot guarantee it.

If at all possible, arrange the break and lunch areas not too far away from the restrooms – it helps.

As a minimum in terms of drinks, you should have water (still and sparkling), coffee (normal and decaf) and tea (whatever and decaf). Anything else is a bonus. If you do hold your event in a Muslim country or have a Muslim audience, do not serve alcohol nor pork.

Do your research and observe, as much as possible, the cultural norms and values of the host country and your delegates.

Make sure that the venue where you hold the event has a first aider or a nurse/doctor available for the entire duration of your event.

There are people who have allergies and some of them may not even know they do. People can choke on a bone, someone can have an allergic episode (or an anaphylactic shock) or someone may have simply forgotten to inject themselves with insulin that day. Anything can happen and you must always ensure, as a minimum, that you (or someone there as your staff/contractors etc.):

• has first aid training;
• has a first aid kit;
• can provide immediate medical assistance;
• can operate a defibrillator (anyone can have a heart attack);
• knows the contact numbers of the nearest clinic/hospital and local ambulance service etc.

HOUSEKEEPING

Have plenty of staff at the registration area. You want every delegate to feel respected, appreciated and really welcomed. You don’t want them to feel bothered by queuing or by being made to use electronic registration desks which, highly likely, many have never used before or find it difficult to.

Every delegate should be given a lanyard, a briefing pack (different than the promotional literature I mentioned earlier) including the conference programme (in their preferred language), speakers’/panellists’ biographies or similar, a map of the venue (signposting the toilets, break out areas, lunch, smoking area, fire exits and exit, taxi rack or similar), and their simultaneous interpretation equipment (making sure you tell them which channel their language will be on.

Any event should be inclusive.

Panel table + audience, lectern + audience, armchair seating + audience are outdated, boring and non-inclusive. Your speakers/panellists are there for the audience, and the audience is there for the panellists/speakers. Give them an experience, not just “another conference/event”!

There are many ways you can play with the seating chart/area, and even more ways you can “insert” the speakers and panellists. Bring them in the middle of those they came to talk to – the audience. Have the audience surround the panellists/speakers.

Make your panellists/speakers walk the room, make eye contact with the audience and bring them in!

If you must have slides, use at least three screens (for large events): front, left and right sides of the room. Nudge the speakers into framing and building on the slides, not reading them. I was at a PR conference some time ago; there was a speaker I really wanted to listen to – the moment she started reading her slides, I stood up and left.

We can read; we attend events to discuss and debate, not to be “read to”.

If your event allows for questions and answers, have plenty of roving microphones available and staff handing them out. The panellists/speakers must be mic’ed up, ideally (lapel microphones) or given a microphone each.

Before the conference, just go and check the sound system yourself – make sure the microphones work, the interpretation system is in perfect order, the room is echo free etc. The more effort you put into the details, the better the event will be.

SHOW TIME!

While all the preparation I mentioned above matters significantly, the quality of any feedback on your event will be largely driven by the quality and public engagement prowess of your speakers and panellists.

If you have a panel session, make sure you have the best moderator you can get!

He/she is your showman, and the one who will be able to save the event no matter what (I had to save one very recently, in a room 80% empty, with VIP panellists and so on – it wasn’t easy, trust me)!

The first thing you need to do when everyone is seated and BEFORE the event itself starts is to ensure someone (usually the moderator or the venue staff), provides the safety briefing!

It is extremely important to tell people that (no) fire alarms are scheduled and that, if they hear one (describe how that should sound – usually, this can be a brilliant ice breaker if humorously done) they should all slowly head towards X (you point to where) and assemble in Y (the muster point).

There are many buildings across the world which don’t have fire alarms; it makes no difference – tell them that, if they smell smoke (or someone comes in shouting “fire, fire”) they should be doing “XYZ”.

Your delegates are your responsibility and you cannot pass the buck (some good lawyers might be able to clear you from corporate manslaughter) to the building owners saying it was their fault if something tragic happened.

Make sure all your insurances are up to date (especially the public liability one) – you’ll need them if something goes wrong; however, it’s your duty to ensure nothing does.

Risk in our line of work comes from many sources, and organising events (for yourself or on your clients’ behalf) bears high-risk.

If no questions (or very few) come from the audience, the moderator should have the ability to engage the panellists in a conversation to last, at least, until the end of that session.

The moderator should also be competent, astute and modest: you don’t want a moderator who loves to hear themselves talking (we’ve seen plenty of those!) but one who acts as a conduit between the audience and panellists.

Moderating a panel session properly is far more difficult than giving a 20 mins presentation – it is an art to be able to profile the panellists, “feel” and “read” the audience, bring up issues that are of interest to the audience (and panellists) and so on.

Make the event engaging!

The more questions you defer back to the audience/panellists, the more lively the event will become. I go to events where I know I can raise my hand and ask plenty of questions – I don’t like going to events where I’m supposed to sit down nicely and bow down in awe at the might of the speakers/panellists.

I like discussions and dialogue but, most of all, I like to feel “included”; wouldn’t you?

A classroom/theatre style seating, in a dark room, with a poor sound system and minimal lighting, a terrible panel or subpar public speakers, and not allowing enough time for questions and answers are sure to guarantee that whoever attended your event this time won’t attend another one again!

For many organisations, events are either a source of direct income (by selling tickets, sponsorships and so on) or an investment with the hope of bringing money in at a next date (promotional activity). So, be careful how you organise them.

There are many other minute details, in addition to everything I have outlined so far, that solely depend on the size, type, location, protocol and so on of the event.

Use my points above as a blueprint of how to make an event memorable in a good way… then, if you can, virtually take yourself to it: use your imagination and go for a “mind” walk.

Once you’re happy that all the arrangements have been made, that there is nothing else you can do to make that event spectacular, walk away from it.

Give yourself at least five hours away from it (from anything that has to do with it), then go somewhere quiet where there will be no interruptions for at least 30 mins. Get into the “zone” and picture yourself heading towards the place where your event is being held – get there as an attendee, not as an organiser.

Visualise everything, starting with the registration area, to needing the toilet, wanting an extra portion at lunch, dropping your coat off, needing to charge your phone, asking questions and so on.

Your “mind walk”, since it is using other brain stimuli which bring up feelings/recollections from your unconscious mind (I’m not going to get into the details of this here, don’t worry), is highly likely to uncover some things (usually minor issues) you haven’t thought about. Don’t panic – you will still have time to fix them or come up with alternative solutions.

Most of all, GOOD LUCK, and do let me know how you made your event a resounding success!