5 Tips for organizing a good conference

1.Increase name badges

What is the practical benefit of wearing name badges? They help the participants to remember forgotten names and can be helpful if you are looking for someone. But why are name badges often so incredibly small? Often they can only be read when you are a meter away. This problem can easily be solved by increasing the name badges. If you’re looking for someone, it’s nice if you can read his name from a distance. The larger they are, the greater the usefulness. ( There is of course a border…) A large and clearly legible font makes the ideal name badge.

2. A realistic program and time management

One of the biggest annoyances of visitors to a congress is a program that ends. The organizer has released his entire day, but the same does not apply to most visitors. When one notices that the congress is running out, one will have less eye and ear for the congress and spend more time keeping an eye on the clock and whether they can get their follow-up appointment or be at home for the children.

A realistic program

Avoid this problem by providing a realistic program. Make sure there is enough time to take a break. People want to be able to quietly leave the hall and have a quick bathroom visit, take a cup of coffee, eat a sandwich, call someone, send an e-mail or perhaps have a chat with another visitor. Your visitors want to have time and space, you should give that to them.

Briefing direction of the speakers

In addition, it is most important to have a clear briefing direction of the speakers. Tell them emphatically how much time they will have for their presentation, including questions etc.. You can let someone of the organization keep track of the time and give an indication of the remaining time, on for example a wooden board, by showing the board when 10 minutes are remaining and again when there are 5 minutes remaining. This way the speaker has a good idea at what point he is telling his story and also how much time there is left. This way you have a good time monitoring.

‘If we are short of time we always shorten the break or postpone the business reception!’…..NO!

Never try to win time by shortening  the breaks or postponing the business reception. As told before people are fond of their time and freedom. Never shorten this. For most visitors the breaks and reception are the most important moments of the conference. These moments will give them the opportunity to network! To optimize these moments for the visitors there can be created break-out rooms, were the visitors can withdraw themselves and network to one another.

3. Charging station

It is a fact people spend a lot of their time on their phone, also during your congress. There is a great demand for sockets or charging stations, you should act on this. Participants won’t be happy when they run out of battery. You are responsible for placing one or multiple charging stations for mobile devices, such as the Bano Charging Point. You can also place this Charging Point by using your own corporate branding. Make sure everything is well organized at this point. People use their mobile devices frequently for checking updates about the congress on social media and to exchange contact details during network moments. In other words, very important moments at congresses you definitely do not want to run out of battery.

4. Social media platform

Social media is the perfect platform to bring attention about the congress’s news. With simple tweets you can keep people informed about the state of affairs with regard to the congress. So you can inform people in advance about important issues, like the WIFI password on location or if the aforementioned charging points are available. An easy way to prevent annoying problems and severe disorders with your visitors. It is also a good way to create an interaction with you target audience, whereby the congress already begins to live.

Always send well in advance visitors an e-mail with the practical information about the dress code, the presence of catering, the presence or absence of WIFI and charging points. Use social media more for practical updates. The audience can respond on this and share their experiences and opinions. In short, the perfect way to induce interaction and vivify your congress.

5. Make your congress interactive

Many people are not waiting to listen to the story of a speaker twice an hour after the other. People only have a time span of 20 minutes at once to listen fully concentrated. So make sure the presentations take no longer. A presentation of 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of asking questions is fine. People will be fully concentrated and therefore remember the message a lot better.

A big clincher is therefore to give each speaker the same amount of time. ‘What does it matter whether someone is telling something interesting or not? We will give him the same amount of time as the “main speaker” of the day and if he is finished earlier, he can extend his story a bit, right?’ No! This is not gonna work at all…Ensure variety in speaking. This is much easier for the audience.

The opportunity for asking questions will lead to the necessary interaction. The speaker responds to questions from the audience, then again where others can jump in. Incorporate other interactive components to your program. After all, people like to talk about their own knowledge, experiences and dilemma’s. Give people the time and space they need during the discussion rounds or in the form of a debate or something like that. Go creativity here. As people come in contact with each other and can exchange information with each other. That’s really what it’s all about at a congress: The mutual exchange of knowledge!

Resume

A congress is all about the mutual exchange of knowledge and information. To optimally pursue your goal, be sure to follow the 5 tips as listed above. Bring your congress to a higher level with the 5 easy tips of Bano.