PLANNING AN EVENT?

Professional organizations and companies are thrilled with the response that comes after a Dynamisis consultant facilitates a program specific to their needs. Is your professional organization looking for a dynamic, professional speaker? Dynamisis consultants are professionally trained and known for energizing a room, facilitating memorable, powerful programs that involve audience participation and give participants new ideas that can be implemented immediately.

Your members and/or employees will walk away thanking you for bringing in a
powerful, dynamic facilitator.

Clients have said that working with your Dynamisis consultant is like having
a personal trainer for the mind and business. Is your business in shape?

TOP TEN THINGS TO DO WHILE PLANNING AN EVENT

1. Choose the Event Name
Use a colorful, vibrant description for what the event is all about. For example: Skill Building in Business vs. Maximize Your 3 Most Sellable Skills. Allow your participants to be eager about your event and look forward to attending to learn more about the major focus of your event.

2. Timing the Agenda
Know in advance what timeline you have for the entire day. If you have volunteers arriving early, be sure to include them in your timeline. Communicate your expectations to your speaker. It is important to let them know if you are running a tight schedule or have a more flexible schedule. Furthermore, if your allotted time for your speaker is one hour, for example, does the one hour start when the speaker begins? Sometimes agendas and timelines run a little behind schedule. Be sure to communicate with your speaker if you need them to keep to the time limit or to the time schedule. Many a frustrations can be eliminated if there is clear and transparent communication regarding the time allotted for each segment.

3. Plan to be Heard
Different venues call for different acoustic needs. Consider the audience and their needs when it comes to ordering and planning your audio/visual equipment. It is always better to make sure everyone can hear by ordering a microphone then risk the chance that the sounds and voices of the presenters will be lost in the size of the room. The same thing should be considered in terms of having projectors and screens available. If your audience will be more than 150 guests (depending on the set up of the room) consider 2 separate screens for projection purposes. If there are more than 50 guests, the use of a microphone (cordless or lapelle) is most preferred.

4. Choose the Top 3 Takeaways
When planning your event, consider how you would answer the following question: When your participants leave your event, what impression or ideas do you want them to take with them? Having clear objectives during the planning stage will allow everyone involved to confirm and support the major focus of your event. Your speaker can be a huge advocate for your cause. The best way to ensure consistency is to share your purpose and major objective with your speaker at least 3 weeks before your event.

5. Reminders Increase Participation
One week before and 2 days before your event send a soft-touch reminder to the registered
participants of your event. A soft-touch reminder includes only the necessary information for the event: Name of the event, date, time, address, name of building or location, what is included or a short…short…(did I say short?) description of the event. Include a picture and short bio of the speaker and a summary of the focus of their presentation. The reminder ensures the best turn out at your event. One week prior and 2 days before are the best times to send your soft-touch reminders.

6. Plan to Arrive Early
Setting the stage and event area is critical to having a successful event. Be sure to double-check the microphones, projectors, screen size and table set up. Attendants may arrive up to 30 minutes before time, depending on the type of event. No less than 45 minutes prior to the start of your event there should be an event personnel mixer that involves all the organizers, speakers and facilitators of the event. The agenda or timeline should be shared, clear directions on how to use the A/V equipment and who to go to during the event should anyone have questions. Designating an Operations Manager to handle all of the day's unexpected situations makes it easy to find
resolution if there is only one person in charge of handling concerns, timing issues or general
situations.

7. Setting the Space
General Rule: Large Room + Small Group = place tables close together forming an energy hub in the middle of the room. Small Room + Large Group = decide if chairs without tables would increase the ability to travel through the room. Be sure to place all chairs facing the front of the room. If circular tables are being use, use a half-moon approach to seating. That way, if more seats are needed, you can fill spaces in as you need. If your room to large and your group is small, the energy in the middle of the room gives the impression that the space is being used adequately and it will give the impression that there is a good showing, as opposed to leaving the room looking only half filled.

8. Engage, Engage, Engage
If your event is an in-house event where everyone works together or the opposite where different people come together, be ready to have a team in place to engage your participants as soon as they enter the room. We take for granted that every event is like another. People appreciate being welcomed, made to feel comfortable and thanked for attending (even if it is a work-sponsored event). To start your event off strong and high-energy at the beginning, it all starts with engaging them upon their arrival.

9. Prepare for the Introduction
An audience deserves to feel excited about the speaker that will be featured. Their anticipation adds to the energy of the event. Two weeks prior to the event, ask the speaker for their formal introduction. Decide who on the planning committee will be responsible for introducing the speaker. Practice the introduction to a point where it is comfortable and flowing. An introduction should build hype and engage the audience. The benefit of a well delivered introduction is that the audience will feel respected and fortunate to have a spot during your function.

10. Plan the Follow-Up
The most effective events have a solid plan in place for following up with their participants after the event if concluded. Be sure to thank them for attending and summarize the value of the event. Focus on the 3-major take-aways that your team intended on putting a major focus towards. Include the pictures, short bios and a link to the featured speakers in case your participants were interested in following up with the speaker. The most important part is including information on the next event or an upcoming event. Give them a way to register early by placing a link to the registration page, or providing an e-mail or phone number and name of the person they should connect with regarding the next event.

Contact us today to book your facilitator as you start the planning process for your upcoming event!