Let’s run an event!

How Internal Communication is central to any company event

Hello there, and welcome to your latest newsletter!

This week’s subject is inspired by a conversation I had last week with a potential client on the importance of internal events. It was an interesting conversation as we discussed the benefits of events and what use they are to an organisation.

Let me first define what I mean by an internal event… this could be anything from a small town hall (an office get together for an update) right up to thousands and thousands of people descending on a conference centre for their annual year beginning meeting.

Both clearly have their place, but it’s important to make sure that a number of questions are answered before the event, during the planning of the event and after the event.

I’ve been lucky enough to run an internal events team in my career, something I really loved to do (and many people think they’d love it too!) Yes, they’re great fun, but what a lot of people don’t see is all the hard work that goes into organising and landing them.

Each event I ran (and still do run) was blooming hard work, but the results at the end were spectacular… (even if I do say so myself) so, let’s delve a little deeper into how internal communications can help in delivering events.

Here are five key pointers to help you create an event that actually delivers.

It starts with why – how do you define your purpose:

Why are we doing this again?

It sounds so simple doesn’t it… but this is often forgotten about in the planning process.

Before you start booking speakers or setting up venues, it pays to be crystal clear on your objectives and outcomes for your event, ask yourself what you want colleagues to feel, know, or do after the event?

“We’ve always done it this way” is not a reason. Events aren’t generally the cheapest things to run, so making sure you have a real purpose for the event should be the very first thing to focus on.

Think about it: do your events have a clear goal, or are you just doing what you’ve always done??

Now, before I move onto my next point, I wanted to make reference to events being treated like a project or a programme of works… there is so much from a logistical point of view that needs to happen for an event to land right (venue, costs, catering, registration, hotels etc. and the list goes on!).

While my focus today is how internal communications can help land an event, I didn’t want anybody to think that I’d forgotten about such a vital piece of the jigsaw. I want to be very clear that this is a MASSIVE part in the success of an event landing in the right way.

Don’t turn me off! – less is more!

There is so much to say around this point, and I guess we’ve all be there some time or another, but no one wants to sit through what seems like days and days of slides - death by PowerPoint should be a criminal offence!

For events, I’d always say that less is more, and interactivity is your friend!

Like the first point, for each ‘session’ of an event, always start with the end in mind… what are you trying to get out of this and what do you want people to leave the session thinking or having to act upon?

This will help you get to the end goal quickly, and will mean that the session focuses on what is right for those in the audience.

Don’t be afraid to suggest live Q&A, polls, panel discussions, and colleague stories to make it feel like a two-way conversation. Interaction is a great way to maintain energy and also keep people engaged. I love to use technology like Slido (other interactive tools are available) to ask questions, improve participation and gather real time feedback.

Practically speaking, try to keep presentations short, sharp, and relevant, attention spans are constantly reducing, so don’t feel like you have to fill an hour with content, when ten minutes could have just the same (or even more) impact.

Think about it: how are you wanting to engage with those at your event, do you want to bore them or engage them!?

Is this the right forum?

For any event that you’re running, always consider your audience and make sure it’s going to hit the spot. As an example, a briefing to a senior leadership team may look very different to an update to a team who work in a warehouse. It’s important to think about how each audience is going to respond to your update, and you may also need to think about the timing of the update too.

As an example, I remember having to give regular business updates to warehouse colleagues; because of their shift patterns, we always had to do these at the very end (or the start) of a shift on the shopfloor, so we didn’t disrupt the operation. Not only that, the update had to be quick, and provide just the information they needed along with a chance for questions. We did this, because it was what the team had asked for, they didn’t want a long update in an office when they could get off home or start their shift.

Depending on who your audience is, will depend on your approach; it may be that Microsoft Teams will do the trick (especially when you have a remote workforce and the update can be done online), but sometimes it may be easier to get everyone together in one place.

Choosing the right location and format is all about what works best for your people, so ask them what they want.

Think about it: Is your event held at the right time, and the right place that is convenient for colleagues?

Think about your presenters:

Presenters need to be engaging and need to be able to share the message in a way that is “real and authentic”. Not only that, they need to be able to answer any questions that may come their way in the session.

I’ve worked with some amazing presenters over the years, but some people really struggle with presenting as it’s not their thing. This is fine, because there are some great ways to help with this (whether that be one to one coaching or a rethink of how to present the content).

The point I want to make here is that it’s really important to think about how the message is going to come across in your event. It’s got to be real, and believable. One example (from a long time ago)... we knew that the presenter was not comfortable presenting, so we thought long and?hard about other ways of sharing the key message (we ended up using video). The end result worked, because we thought carefully about how we could share the message in a different way.

Remember, it doesn’t always need to be the most senior person presenting all the time, some of the best presentations I’ve seen are delivered by colleagues who are far more junior, but have actually helped to deliver some of the activity that is being shared in the presentation. This can really help raise someone’s profile, but not only that, help share the message in the right way.

Think about it: how real are those who present in your events, can you use other people to help share a message?

What’s next?

How you follow up is more important than the actual event!

A load of people seem to breathe a sigh of relief after an event, but for me this is when the fun really starts. An event isn’t over when people leave, it’s important to keep the conversation going with your post-event content.?

It’s important to share highlights, key takeaways, recordings, and next steps from the event so the messages remain relevant. Not only that, it’s important to empower those who went to the event with the key messages to share with their teams. Your message needs to remain consistent and it shouldn't be diluted when it’s shared, so making sure that cascade content is available is really important.

Just as important, is to find out what people thought of your event. Feedback is king and listening is central to this. You should always ask for feedback after an event, not just to measure it’s success, but to make things even better for any future events.

Think about it: How are you making sure that your event messages are kept alive after an event, and are you asking for feedback to make sure your events get even better?

In summary:

Internal communications is central to any internal event. When they’re done well, they can help to bring people together, create clarity, and build on an organisations culture.

Next time you’re planning an event, ask yourself:

Why are you bringing people together for your event? If you’re just running an event because you always have, it’s time to rethink.

Less is more, so think carefully about how you can keep people engaged.

Different teams need different formats, so make sure that your message hits the spot.

Not everyone is a natural speaker, and that’s okay! Think about who is going to deliver the message and find creative ways to share their message.

Keep your message alive, how do you follow up with clear takeaways, recordings, and messages? Don’t forget about feedback to make your next event even better.

It’d be great to hear what you think, let me know!

Thanks

Dave