Organising and running a conference is no easy task. There is a great deal of pressure on you for everything to go as planned and be a success. Whilst learning any skill, mistakes are made, but they provide us with the chance to learn, develop and improve. Regular mistakes though are a different matter and here are some top errors repeatedly being made by organizers of such events:
Using the Same Speakers
You’ve booked a fantastic speaker who goes down a storm, but just because they’ve been a success once doesn’t mean that will the case if you re-book the same person. If you invite them back, they will speak on the same topics and the same ideas, which will grow stale for returning delegates. You need fresh speakers and new material to keep the content current and engaging. Don’t bring the same speakers back too often.
Ignoring Technology
Staying on top of current trends and cutting-edge presentations are the key to conference success. You won’t inspire confidence in your speakers or your message if your event feels out of touch. How can your advice be relevant when you’re stuck in the past? Remember your delegates will be carrying smartphones, tablets and smart watches etc so the very least on offer should be free WiFi. This provides them with the opportunity to network, send emails and connect with other delegates via social media and LinkedIn for example.Technology can work wonders for the far-reaching effects of conference and events. Live streaming an event makes it accessible online to those who could not attend, for example.
Ignoring the need for Networking
It’s important to remember that whilst the presentation and speakers are an important element of an event, it’s not the sole reason people attend. Many attendees will be looking to use the event as a chance for some serious networking. Try to include time both before, during and after the event to allow delegates to mingle, meet and talk. Why not hire a dedicated event management business to organize everything for you? For an Events Agency Dublin, visit http://davisevents.ie/
Including too much
An important skill for event planning is time management. You might worry about gaps in time and aim to fill every available space with activities and presentations. However, time must be factored in for those presentations that overrun, time for setting up new presentations and adequate rest periods to avoid overloading your delegates with information. Another important activity that is often not given enough time is the Q&A session after each presentation. These are essential as they allow delegates to engage more deeply with the topic of discussion and seek clarification.