7 Problems at an Event to Avoid
There will always be unexpected and unforeseeable issues that can crop up last minute whilst planning your event. It’s always important for event planners to think on their feet and have a plan B and C in place. However, expect the unexpected as the unexpected often happens. Some things you just can’t control but with more preparation, these event problems can be avoided.
1. Presenters Running Late Or Not Turning Up
This does happen from time to time. Always ensure you have a team member to fill in for this person or have another presenter on standby. You could also extend the refreshment breaks where necessary or make this empty timeslot a networking opportunity for your delegates.
2. Too Many Chiefs and Not Enough Indians
Lack of control over the organisation of your event is a route you really don’t want to head down. Allocate one event manager who oversees everything and have them supported by as many team members as required. This will help with communication lines and keeps you on message.
3. Choosing The Right Location
City centre locations are more easily accessible by car and public transport for your delegates. Choose wisely to foresee any nationwide transport problems, the last thing you would want is an empty conference room because your guests can’t get to your venue.
4. Are Your Delegates Comfortable?
You’d be surprised with how many of our clients don’t take into account such a fundamental thing as climate. If visiting a venue in the winter in preparation for a summer event, find out if the venue has air con. Pick a location with the weather in mind and provide cover or cooling to certify your guests are comfortable for the duration of your event.
5. Boring Your Delegates
Make sure you content is rich, concise and captivating. Steer clear from the risk of ‘Death by PowerPoint’ and booking any unengaging presenters as your audience will eventually switch off. To keep your audience alert, make sure they have enough time on their refreshment breaks and time to network with other guests.
6. Not Receiving Feedback
If you encountered any problems on your event, it is vital to engage with attendees after the event to receive valuable feedback. Provide your delegates with evaluation forms at the close of your event or simply send out an email to receive their opinions. Learn from the problems you came up against.
7. Technical Failure
Getting the audio visual and technical aspects right plays a crucial part in the success of your event. We have to say it but if you want problem free AV, you do need to have a professional AV company on your team. We actually know a very good company that we can highly recommend, you may have heard of them. Istead? Fantastic bunch of guys!
Seriously though, if you want your presenters on stage to look and sound great, we can make that happen.
There’s no point stressing about problems that are out of your control be it a local power cut, loud drilling in the street outside or volcanic ash disruption, we’ve seen it all! Instead, worry about things you can control like the issues we’ve listed above and put a backup plan in place.
We are an audio visual company providing full AV support and conference production across the UK and Europe.
www.istead.co.uk
