The venue and the food and drinks are important elements to make great conference, but in order to inspire, excite, energise and educate those attending,meticulous and careful planning is imperative. Ultimately, it is the audience’s experience and reaction that is critical to the success or failure of an event. One thing is certain: the book always rests with the organiser. Conferences are too expensive and time is too valuable for speakers not to be passionate about what they have to say – or at least they must appear to be. An audience is not going to connect, be motivated or even remember a conference if the presentation is solely based on slides and spread sheets. This is why organisers need to be thinking about the “world of theatre” when working with speakers.
Choosing your cast
It may seem obvious, but you have to be clear on the reasons why the event is taking place. What are the expectations? Whether you are an in-house organiser or an external, you need to do your homework very carefully, as this will dictate the look, feel and effectiveness of the conference. Once you know the script, then you can choose the cast. Choosing your speakers (if you are making this decision) is often the biggest challenge, whether you are organising a large corporate conference or an in-house event. Ultimately, your decision is based on what the overall aim is. Are you choosing a speaker because of their knowledge or because of their ability to perform? Remember: a poor communicator will be the death of your conference. So it may be necessary to arrange coaching for some of your speakers and to ensure time is allocated for preparation and rehearsal. You may need to work with them to devise a clear structure for your conference. If your speaker was chosen because of their celebrity profile or ability to entertain, it is important to strike a balance between fun and communication. Too much focus on entertainment doesn’t necessarily add value. How often do you hear an audience say a speaker was funny but can’t recall the key message? To ensure this doesn’t happen, spend time clearly outlining your expectations from your speakers. If you are paying for a speaker, get references, go and see them perform, get feedback from previous speaking engagements.
Getting Ready
It is a good idea to provide your speakers with coaching prior to the big day, especially for non-professional speakers. Most mistakes that arise in presentations are very simple and easily rectifiable. Common pitfalls range from an unfamiliar subject matter, to flat delivery or overcomplicated slides. Hiring a professional communications coach for a few hours will be money well spent. It means speakers are put through their paces and pull off a great performance. If budgets are constrained, you may have to slot into the role of coach or director yourself. Rehearsals are critical: you wouldn’t expect actors to go on stage without rehearsals. A conference needs to be handled in exactly the same way. An unprepared speaker can be detrimental, so you will need to stay assertive, and liaise with speakers to create a realistic rehearsal. Many people mistakenly think that it is sufficient to fiddle with slides as a rehearsal – it’s not. Rehearsing requires speakers to stand up and practice aloud until they are comfortable with their delivery. It should also involve getting familiar with technological equipment, the stage and the other speakers. At the rehearsal stage, you will be able to assess whether the message is clear and identify areas needing improvement.
Setting the stage
Light Design: Lighting of the stage is a subtle feature that can bring a performance to life or deaden a performance. It shouldn’t be ignored. The easiest thing to do is to view the space when there is another event taking place. Speak with the venue manager to share any concerns you have. For large events, perhaps it’s worth seeking advice from professional.
Stage Props: Choosing to arrange the presentation on a podium may be a common option, but it may be better advised for speakers to move away from it. There is something powerful about a speaker who can stand relaxed in the centre of a stage and talk to the audience. Technological equipment is a prop of a delicate kind. Microphones, slides, music and videos need to be double checked before the event. To this end, a rehearsal is advisable.
Reviewing the show: While most conferences provide for a method of feedback sometimes it fails to reach the speaker. When it does, it is not uncommon for complaints to have been filtered out. Informal feedback generally tends to be non-specific and usually nice and polite. However, an organiser should not refrain from pointing out where problems arose. An actor is only as good as his last performance and a speaker should work off exactly the same principle. Organisers should spend time designing a feedback sheet for the audience, based around speakers’ effectiveness. It is also very important to let speakers know in advance that they will receive feedback. This alone will motivate them to give a great performance.
Getting the most from speakers: A performance bonus can be a very useful incentive for speakers especially for in-company events. Providing a cash prize for the most enjoyable, engaging or educational performance, with the audience acting as judge, can bring a little competition and motivate participants. Event organisers can feel powerless knowing some speakers are not prepared or even competent. What would happen if you suggested that videos of the conference presentations were to be included on company websites (purely as a marketing tool, of course)? The standards of performance are guaranteed to dramatically improve.