Do not allow CEO’s/MDs to deliver the same old boring conference/event… this is the opportunity to inspire, inform, engage, listen and motivate.
Having attended numerous events over the years I am mindful of the need to ensure a good risk assessment has been undertaken. I have been a guest at events where table decorations have ignited, sets have fallen on lighting and once a Plasma screen dropped from the heavens. Also a client in a break out room had the idea of placing a card in front of the lens – only the projector and table caught fire!
You only ever get that one chance to get it right, the nature of a live event! So work with an experienced team that you can fully trust.
Avoid the mistake of not being prepared for the unexpected, have very good communications in place and anticipate the need for plan b, c….
Don’t trust a venue floor plan if you’re planning on having a floor to ceiling set put in. On medium to large events a technical site recce is a must. Some would argue a site visit is a must for any size of event. It’s not just a question of fitting the set in the room the access to the room needs to be thoroughly checked to ensure the set can fit. Being a belt and braces person I tend to want to do a technical recce and a walk through for every size of event.
Presentations in 4:3 or 16:9 – Picture the scene, its 10 minutes before the conference starts, the presentation show slides are all ordered. A speaker turns up with a memory stick with his presentation on – hands it to the data tech to load.
Don’t overload PowerPoint with lots and lots of embedded videos – if you want to show a lot of videos these should be loaded onto a separate dedicated device.
When creating your PowerPoint slides try not to over complicate the slides. A good rule to stick to is to ensure your text can be read at the back of the room. Some people advocate avoiding PowerPoint altogether!
If your budget permits add a confidence monitor to the job spec. It’s not a massive expense and will help stop your presenters from turning away from the audience all the time to look at the screen.
Lighting and projection in the venue – is it up to spec? Are there blinds in the room to block out some of the daylight?
Make sure that clear and measurable objectives for the event are agreed.
This list is not in priority order or attempts to be definitive…it is designed to be an aide memoire and to act as a catalyst for other tips.