Lessons Learned – Hosting a Conference (part one)

One of the things I like about working for a smaller organization is getting to wear many hats. In addition to my social media manager role, I help with the planning and execution of our Association’s annual conference. With five of these under my belt, I confess I’m far from a pro, but I’ve learned several lessons along the way. Here they are, in no particular order:

1.) Script out the flow

Whether you have an emcee or not, scripting out the flow is beneficial for several reasons. First, it helps keep things on schedule.  Second, it helps ensure that you have covered all necessary messaging; essentials around logistics (bathroom locations, registration info, etc…) or announcements about your organization. Lastly, it’s helpful for the A/V team, especially if you plan on having video segments. You don’t want to have awkward downtime with you A/V team guessing when to queue up the footage.

2.) Read the fine print on all of your contracts

Regardless of if you have a meeting planner or not, you must comb through all of your contracts. Without fail, our main event planner finds missed or incorrect details every year. The other reason it’s important is because plans change, and knowing implications ahead of time can save time and money as opposed to knee-jerk decisions. Also be sure to scrutinize the floor plans that are sent over and don’t be bashful about requesting changes or asking questions.

3.) Consider short catchy video updates in lieu of long monologues

For an association’s annual event, it’s our one time to get a lot of information disseminated to a captive audience of members. That also runs the risk of having on of our staff or board members on stage for way too long. After a few minutes, glazed over attendees aren’t likely to absorb the information you’re trying to share anyway. I flash back to lecture halls in college and the symphony of bobbing heads from students falling asleep. Not to mention that you also risk the speaker losing track of time and getting off schedule.

Last year we experimented with this concept and created short videos (approx. 1-2 minutes) incorporating graphics and upbeat music to help keep individuals engaged.

Stay tuned and I’ll continue with part two, during which I’ll cover working with third parties, more on keeping the event on time, and other considerations for ensuring your guests have a positive experience (and post about it on social media).