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7 Suggestions for Running
a Great Conference As a speaker I've nothing but admiration for the individuals and organizations who run successful conferences, it takes a phenomenal amount of work. Here are a few of my observations, which could help make your conference successful. 1. The Opening Keynote The opening keynote is vital in setting the tone for the conference. Choose your speaker well and have him/her start the conference first thing in the morning. It is generally a mistake to try to get in an extra presentation by having a keynote the evening people arrive to register. If people have been working or travelling most of the day they want to socialize, connect and relax. So have a wine and cheese or social event, but not a formal presentation. A good presentation on a Thursday evening will be a great one Friday morning. Nobody wants an off-keynote presentation. 2. Less is More The biggest mistake made by many conference organizers is to schedule too many speakers and too many sessions. This makes for an impressive looking program, but can turn the conference into an endurance event. Nutrition breaks should be half an hour to allow people time to walk, stretch, use the bathroom and have some unhurried refreshments. I like 2 hours for lunch, again giving delegates time for a relaxed meal, maybe following a walk or a workout. Don't go later than 5 o'clock and give people a good break before dinner and any evening entertainment. It takes courage for a committee to restrict the number of sessions and speakers, but 5 fine presentations beats a grab-bag of 50 time-challenged professionals. Remember the words of Nietzsche that, "You never have a great thought sitting down," especially on hotel chairs designed for stacking rather than comfort. Another benefit of having a good break between sessions is that it allows time for audio-visual aids to be switched from one presenter to the next. (The substitution of one laptop for another for Power Point presentations takes time and you can't rush a computer.) The extra minutes also provide time for members of the audience to have a few words with the speaker at the conclusion of the presentation. 3. Timing is Everything Timing is not quite everything, content and relevance are vital, but it is very important for the success of a conference. Start sessions on time and be very firm with presenters about finishing on time. It is helpful to have a monitor or moderator available to warn speakers that there are 5 minutes to go before the session must be complete. It is very helpful to speakers to know precisely how much time they have. I have been in situations at banquets and opening keynotes where I have been asked to give a 1 hour presentation, but where my speaking time has been eroded by introductions, greetings from the mayor, political speeches, housekeeping announcements, door prizes, 50-50 draws, and blessings, until my actual speaking time has been reduced to 15 or 20 minutes. I can adapt, but the delegates and conference planners don't get their money's worth.
Provide encouragement, time and opportunity for
exercise during the day. This could be an early morning walking group,
yoga or stretch breaks or rental bicycles available to delegates. Provide
healthy snacks for the nutrition breaks and light healthy meals. Good
eating and a little exercise will keep attendees alert and send them home
refreshed, instead of beaten down by hours of sitting, accompanied by
heavy meals. 5. Conference Gift Packs Again, less is more. Many times after people leave a conference, their rooms are littered with all the 'gifts' that they decided to leave behind. T-shirts and mugs are expensive and often thrown away. Things I have enjoyed and used include a pedometer from the Cancer, Exercise and Nutrition Conference in Atlanta, and a knapsack, which I've had for 8 or 9 years. In order that delegates can take something away from the keynote presenter, another successful conference gift is a book, tape or CD featuring the speaker. At Speakwell, we've had many conference orders for "A Little Book of Lifestyle Artistry" which we are able to supply inexpensively for bulk orders. I also appreciate a list of delegates' titles, addresses and email addresses, which facilitates future contact and makes it unnecessary to collect a lot of business cards. 6. Make a Creative Contribution
This is an example of a win-win-win situation.
In past conferences Centra Gas employees have worked on the Trans Canada Trail, stream maintenance, baseball diamonds and salmon habitat restoration. Everybody wins when a conference makes a lasting and positive impact on a community. It might not be possible to do physical work but a larger conference might raise money for planting trees, donating a bench, or some other lasting memorial. 7. Always make sure you have a competent and knowledgeable conference representative assigned to each workshop or breakout session. I've been to a number of conferences where speakers at smaller sessions have been abandoned to fend for themselves. This is unprofessional and unfair to the presenters and the audience. Extra: Conference Planners
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4.
Make Wellness Part of Your Conference 
There
is no one formula for creativity, you can do some things with a small
homogeneous group that would be impossible with a large diverse group.
One example at a conference I attended recently was brilliant. The delegates
were all employees of Centra Gasand each year they donate one afternoon
of their retreat/conference to community service, usually of a physical
nature. I quote from the local Parksville newspaper 'The News.' "In
a welcome retreat from the conference table, Centra Gas employees laced
up their work boots and put in some time pruning and cleaning Foster Park.
Members of the company's customer service department from all over Vancouver
Island took part while in Parksville for an operations business meeting
last week." Following an afternoon's heavy work, the Centra Gas group
enjoyed a very happy 'Happy Hour', which they had earned.
