Organising a conference? This is how to make it a success
Conference organisers always want to host a successful event. The question is, how exactly is that achieved?
A conference is described as a ‘formal meeting of people with a common interest', usually with an audience of staff, clients, or prospects. Objectives can vary from motivating employees to driving sales and while there may be a seemingly endless variety of conferences, here at Sleek we have found that there is one common factor that determines their success.
The audience must leave engaged, energised, and excited about what you chose to share with them
And that really is the trick.
Conferences tend to span a day or longer but the average human attention span is only 8 seconds. Maintaining concentration over a long period of time is tough, even for high performing decision makers who are genuinely interested in the content. The truth is, even when people want to pay attention, their humanity means they may struggle to do so.
Organising your conference based on audience attention can be transformative
Media brands know just how valuable an audience's attention is. It’s their business. Their conferences are always memorable for the right reasons; The environment, schedule, and delivery are all focused on holding interest and ensuring key messages land.
One brand moves their 500+ staff to a cinema every quarter just for their financial meeting! They engage a media personality to host and greet staff with luxury brunch boxes. The numbers are delivered on the big screen in stunning visual presentations with surround sound. They continue to extensively invest in this format simply because it works; their staff love the experience and they leave feeling informed, inspired and valued. It doesn’t have to be a big budget though, there are subtle touches that can easily elevate any audience experience.
Sleek has organised conferences across a huge variety of sectors with a wide range of audience sizes. This is our guide to making your conference truly memorable.
Robust organisation is vital to a successful conference
First things first, it’s critical that the mechanics of your conference run completely seamlessly. We are speaking about pre-event emails, the registration process, catering, and everything else in between. Your audience should only be talking about your message, so don’t give them a reason to speak about long queues, confusing signage, or anything else negative! If you can engage an agency like Sleek, this area is where you will immediately see the value. Our extensive experience and robust processes make these aspects appear effortless.
Conference organisers should always conduct a thorough scenario planning exercise with their team. Situations can occur that have the potential to negatively impact the wider event. Considering these and planning your responses accordingly can be invaluable to a conference's success.
Treat your audience as an audience. Make it an experience!
Selecting an interesting or aspirational venue when organising your conference can elevate the atmosphere. There’s a reason people pay more for luxury cinema; comfort is key! Be sure to check how the theatre seating performs over a period of time as it can make such a difference.
Ensure you prioritise a high standard of audio/visual production values. It directly reflects on your brand and any issues are guaranteed to pull focus from where it should be.
Make sure everyone is well fed and watered. There’s genuinely nothing more distracting than a rumbling stomach! Regular comfort breaks with seriously good coffee and snacks will keep your audience happy and focused. If you can offer natural daylight in the break area, all the better.
Be cautious of needless distractions that can catch conference organisers out. This can be as simple as an obstructed view, intrusive noise from pre-function areas or the theatre temperature being too hot or cold.
The best conference organisers know that enjoyment leads to engagement
Providing your audience with variety outside of the main theatre content can make a conference both enjoyable and memorable. From demo pods to team activities and exhibitions, these aspects offer a break to the audience and boost engagement for when you need them to focus.
Offering an element of fun should never feel overly wacky or contrived. At Sleek, we work with our clients to deeply understand their conference audience and then create informal, enjoyable additions to the schedule that are bespoke to the event. We are all human and, ultimately, we like to enjoy ourselves. Conference organisers know that this aspect can build an emotional connection to their brand or product and prioritise it accordingly.
Organise your conference schedule to heighten engagement
The schedule should include a variety of elements including presentations, videos, panellists, and audience interaction. Each of these sessions should be brief to maintain audience focus.
Ensure presentations are short, sharp and delivered by speakers who are engaging and comfortable in their delivery. Allow plenty of rehearsal time and provide a comfort monitor and countdown clock to keep things on track.
The slides that are shown should be clear and visually engaging. Presentation designers can be worth their weight in gold when it comes to elevating slide content.
Brands can engage professional media personalities to host; they are able to manage large audiences and move through the schedule concisely whilst entertaining. This creates an atmosphere and keeps momentum. They are also a great choice to conduct on-stage Q&A’s.
Lastly, conference organisers should ensure they are continually relating the content to the individual. How does this information impact them? What difference does it make if these goals are achieved? Structuring the messaging from this standing point brings it to life for your audience.
We hope the above has been beneficial to organising your conference. If you want to find out how we can ensure it’s a truly memorable event you simply need to #speaktosleek