Oddly enough, not only beginners, but also those who have been working in this business for a long time, can face difficulties in organizing scientific or business conferences and forums. The fact is that very often, repeating the same actions, a person may stop paying attention to some details, which, in turn, are very important. In this article, we will cover several points that play a very important role in organizing a conference.
SUBJECT.
Before organizing a conference, you must clearly understand the purpose of the conference. When you decide on a goal, most likely, it will push you on a particular topic. It is important that the topic is as clear as possible not only for you as an organizer, but also for all possible participants. Looking ahead, we can say that the topics and plans of the speakers also apply to this item. It doesn’t matter if it is an open conference or an invitation-only event – you should be aware of the topics of the participants’ reports. In addition, topics should be consistent with the overall focus of the conference. Therefore, it will not be superfluous to clarify with all the speakers, the topics of the speech and the brief theses of their speech.
DATE.
It would seem that everything is very clear here – you need to follow the calendar of events and choose the maximum free day so that as many people as possible attend your event. But, quite often, this simple rule goes unnoticed. Keep a close eye on what other events are pending during your conference. If you understand that the month is full of events of various types and sizes, it may be better to postpone your event a little.
When choosing a day for your event, it is best to avoid your competitor’s conference date. You have one target audience, and therefore you may face the fact that by spending money on the organization, you will not get the desired result. You should also avoid dates of official and religious holidays, important social events. When organizing a conference, it is also necessary to take into account the season of holidays and vacations. It is also best not to hold the conference on Monday, as people have not yet gotten into a working rhythm after the weekend and are unlikely to want to attend your event. Better to give preference to Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
DELEGATE RESPONSIBILITIES.
There is no need to try to take everything into your own hands and cope with all the responsibilities on your own. The ideal option in this case is the correct delegation of responsibilities to professionals. Let the specialized company not only book conference rooms for you, but also organize catering, if necessary, arrange the services of an interpreter, meet your guests and arrange their accommodation.
Thus, you free yourself up for more important tasks – communication with speakers, etc. During the conference itself, assign which of your employees will be responsible for a particular area of the event – preparing speakers, seating guests, meeting participants, etc. Speaking of the venue. It is important to understand where to host the conference. It should be spacious and easily accessible from anywhere in the city.
MODERATOR.
Do not skimp on a moderator, order the services of a real professional, because the atmosphere of the event and adherence to the regulations will largely depend on his skills. First, the moderator must be able to fill in the pauses between speeches and in the intervals between speeches. Secondly, speakers often start talking, and instead of a 20-minute speech, they can talk much longer, which in turn will slow down the entire conference. The moderator must clearly follow the rules and be able to tolerantly remind the speaker that his time is running out. Thirdly, the moderator should be able to hold the attention of the audience and, perhaps, even help the speaker during his speech, ask leading questions, etc. As you can see, the moderator plays a very important role in the conference, and depending on his professional qualities, he can either pull the event or completely sink it.
FINAL CHECK.
It will not be superfluous to check the full readiness for it the day before the event. Make sure you have all your handouts ready, all speakers have confirmed their presence and know how to get to the venue. Check if all your employees know who is responsible for which area of the event, whether all presentations are in your hands … Such a final check cannot be superfluous when organizing any event format, not only conferences, but also smaller events, because how well everything goes will depend on the overall impression of the whole event.
