1) Visualizing
You must learn to visualize exactly how your whole event will turn out. Spend some quiet time before you start planning for your next event to sketch the picture in your mind and picture it as a successful event.
Visualising is a powerful tool. It is difficult to create something before you can picture it in your head. Before anything is built, it is first a thought. So have that successful event in your mind first. Now, let's get on with the details...
2) Have A Programme Schedule
This is important so that you and everyone involved knows what is going to happen minute by minute of the event. The flow of the programme is determined by no one but you, so create a schedule to plan out the start of the event to the end. This will give you an idea of how much time to allocate for each item on the programme. How long should the CEO's welcome speech be, when and how long will the timing be for tea breaks and other meals. How long should you allocate for each exercise or games that you want your participants or guests to take part in.
3) Have An Event Task Force With Their Job Scope Spelt Out On Paper
Depending on the size of your event, you must know who and what support you need to make the event happen. If it is a 1000 pax 3-day conference involving 7 to 10 speakers per day, you may need a team to handle registration for delegates, usherer, a team to take care of the audio visuals, speakers liaison officers and media liaison officers and so on.
Know what their exact job responsibilities are and write it down. As the event planner or project manager, you must work with all of them and ensure that everyone knows what needs to be done and when to do them. Get it down on paper, allocate responsibilities and assign a team leader if need be.
4) Banquet Instructions To The Banquet Staff/Venue Manager
If you are organizing your event in a hotel or convention venue, you will be working with someone from the banquet department. No matter how many meetings and prior discussion you have with them, it is not enough just to instruct them verbally. They must be given clear instructions on how you want everything to be set up in writing. From the wordings on the signages and seating arrangements, what food to be served, where the banquet will be, stage and registration set up - you must write down a list of instructions to the banquet staff and venue manager.
5) Run Through Everything That You Planned The Day Before With Everyone Involved
This may sound like common sense but not everyone practice this. You must have a mini-rehearsal or at least an event briefing before the event starts. Go through the event schedule, event task force list, banquet instructions, with everyone that are involved. Ideally this should be done on the day before. If it is not a big event, two or three hours before the event starts should be sufficient bearing in mind that everyone already has a copy of the event schedule and the event task force list prior to the briefing.
6) At Your Event - Have a standby technician to help you with the Audio Visual
The number one thing that can go wrong at any event is the audio visual systems. Its always a "technical fault" Remember that when you do your events at hotels, they only provide a basic sound system. If you want your event to go smoothly, get a reputable sound system vendor - you may have to pay a bit more but it is worth it. What's more, you can get them to standby at the event to ensure that the AV system works and if it doesn't, they can rectify it immediately.
If you use the hotel's sound systems, their technician has to take care of other rooms in the hotel if there are other events going on. To get them to give you a new microphone if yours suddenly did not work can take ages and as you know some guests do not like to wait.
7) Anticipate! Anticipate! Anticipate!
As the event manager, even though everyone has been briefed on what must be done and when, you must be able to anticipate what is going to happen minute by minute of your event. For example, if the first item on the programme is the welcome speech and the CEO is already on stage speaking, you must always anticipate what is next on the agenda and ensure that whatever it is that must be there is already standing by.
The idea is to anticipate what must happen next. I can assure you that if you follow all these 7 tips, your next event will go smoothly and as planned!
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