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by Ron Kaufman
Planning and conducting a corporate conference is an enormous task. Here are ten quick tips to help make your big event an even bigger success.
- Use BIG names on Conference Name tags:
- Use a bold, sans-serif typeface with the largest possible letter size. Name tags should be easy to read from at least 12 feet (3 meters) away. The whole purpose for a name tag is to make it easy for people to meet, mingle and say "Hello!". No sense giving out name tags that require your conference participants to squint and stare.
- Keep Participants hot by Keeping the Conference Room cool:
- Keep your conference room temperature set towards cool. Studies show people are most alert at 62-64 degrees Fahrenheit, around 23 degrees centigrade.
- Have participants move and stay active during the conference to keep warm. If necessary, advise them in advance to wear a suit, light jacket or sweater.
- This approach to room temperature is much better than looking out over an audience that is too warm, too cozy and too, too close to sleep!
- Distribute a Participants' Networking Sheet:
- Gather the names and contact information of all conference delegates. Assemble them into a user-friendly networking sheet for use during and after your conference.
- Use a scanner or digital camera to include head-and-shoulders portraits of each conference delegate. This makes it easy for participants to find each other during the event, and easier still to remember each other after the conference is over.
- Use a Variety of Activities:
- Keep you conference engaging and unique. Employ a wide range of conference activities, including speeches, conference games, interactive workshops, exhibitions, panel discussions, question and answer sessions with presenters, customers and suppliers, theme meals and social events, etc.
- Pick a Theme and Promote It:
- Give your conference a distinctive theme and title. If your event is already known as "The 3rd Annual Manufacturer's Convention" (or similar), then add a Sub-Title to the event to distinguish THIS YEAR'S event from the ones before, and after.
- Here are some examples of conference events I have helped design and conduct: "Thriving in the Future", "Reaching for the Top", "The Winning Team", "New Opportunities, New Challenges", "Setting the Strategy", "Putting Our Customers on Top", etc.
- When appropriate, couple your theme with an attractive logo that helps illustrate the key idea or message.
- Repeat the theme throughout your conference. Ask presenters to link their content and conclusions to your chosen theme. This provides continuity and continuous reinforcement.
- Repeat the theme on all of your conference decorations and take-home materials: folders, notebooks, name tags, banners, shirts, etc.
- "Set the Look" of Conference Presentations:
- Once you settle on a theme and logo or illustration for your event, encourage presenters and exhibitors to use them in their displays, take-home materials and presentation graphics.
- Provide presenters and exhibitors with "camera-ready" images in hard copy and on diskette. Send these out early so there is plenty of time for everyone customize their materials, making your conference "look good".
- Begin BEFORE the Conference:
- Get your audience participating in the conference even before they arrive on site. Send out advance mailings with selected readings, "think-about" assignments, information gathering responsibilities, a detailed program agenda, etc.
- Continue the Conference After It's Over:
- Extend and prolong conference value by sending out selected materials AFTER the conference is over. You can send a follow-up article, newsletter, results of a conference survey, printed version of action plans or decisions taken during the conference, etc. Put your own cover letter on top of the mailing with thanks and congratulations to the delegates, and an invitation to your next conference event.
- Put up a special page on your World Wide Web site with photographs from the conference, key ideas and articles presented at the event, conference survey results, etc. Promote the post-conference web site page during the conference itself.
- Always Triple-Check All Microphones, Audio and Visual Needs:
- If the first thing your audience hears is "Can you hear me in the back?", you failed on this key point.
- If the speaker says "Can we have the lights down please?" and the lights don't come down right away, then you failed on this key point.
- Make your conference a success. Triple check all microphones, projectors, screens, music sources, lights, air-conditioning controls, etc.
- And just in case, have back-up technology ready to go if needed.
- If You Start with Tea & Coffee, Schedule a Bio-Break EARLY:
- Offering coffee and tea during conference registration is a very nice touch, even nicer if you include muffins, danish and fresh fruit. But if your conference begins at 8:30am, don't wait until 10:30am to schedule the first break!
- Gain 15 Minutes with Salad on the Table at Lunch:
- When conference participants go to lunch, have an appetizer salad already waiting on the table. This allows participants to get started with their meals and saves at least 15 minutes over waiting for the hotel staff to serve.
- Avoid Heavy and Fried Foods:
- Avoid or minimize the amount of heavy foods and fried foods during conference meals and coffee breaks. Especially in the afternoon, those cream cakes, chocolate eclairs, and fried dipping quickly convert themselves into ZZZzzzzz!
- Begin With a Bang:
- Start your conference with a powerful video clip, captivating slides, a stirring song, strong first speech, dramatic performance, multi-media presentation or just about anything else that gets the audience interested and involved. When you start strong, your conference is off to a very good start.
- End With a Memorable Finale:
- Make your last impression a lasting one. Close the conference with a powerful speaker, stirring song, major award presentation, multi-media event or just about anything else that gets the audience motivated and reminds them why they came in the first place.
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