Info for Meeting Planners
Lo-Glitch No-Glitch Event Tips
© 1990 Patricia Katz, Optimus Consulting
Conferences and workshops are important to organizations. Delegates gather to share ideas, plan programs, set policies, and improve skills. With time at a premium, participants appreciate low-glitch-no-glitch events. So plan ahead.
Alert group members to registration procedures in advance. Advertise a registration time prior to the start time of your event so some of the registrants will arrive early.
Handle as much registration detail as possible before the event begins. Collect participant info and fees ahead of time to cut down on confusion at the door. Prepare name tags and group lists in advance but be ready to make corrections. Use bold print for the first names on tags to avoid eye strain and embarassment.
Stage manage the arrival area. Welcome people personally and point them in the right direction.
Plan a logical flow to the registration area. If people are carrying briefcases and wearing coats, allow them to hang up their coats before you ask them to struggle with fees, name tags, and registration kits.
Move the registration desk far enough into the room so that it doesn't create a logjam at the entrance.
Set up multiple registration areas when you deal with large numbers of people. Divide the registrants into subgroups by: type of delegate (volunteer, agency, business rep); geographical location (region, province, district); or surname (ie.-A-K registers in one area and L-Z in another).
Display the grouping signs above or behind your tables. Don't set or hang them on the front because the signs become invisible as people gather.
Match your attendance figures to your seating. People will first fill the chairs and tables at the back of the room. When the seating exceeds attendance, you're left with a gaping hole between your speakers and the delegates. This creates communication problems.
Estimate conservatively, but be prepared to expand the seating. Rope off chairs or place reserved signs on tables at the rear and outside edges if you wish to fill those sections last. Open the extra seating areas as required.
If mixing and networking are an important part of the event, assign those who travel together or work together to different table groups.
Avoid the irksome practice of counting people into groups and reassigning them to tables after they have already settled themselves.
Code name tags with table numbers or colors, or ask participants to draw table numbers as they register.
If you need to group and regroup participants throughout the meeting, code name tags or name tent place cards with a variety of symbols. Corresponding symbols on signs posted around the perimeter of the room allow participants to form discussion groups quickly and easily.
Distribute a playing card to each participant. This allows you to group and regroup in pairs, foursomes, or groups of eight or thirteen. Simply ask participants to locate partners by matching card numbers, card suits, card runs or colors.
Need to prime the discussion? Place an information sheet at each seat listing questions to think about before the meeting begins. Project an overhead transparency with questions to consider or a list of choices for fund raising projects.
Handouts to circulate? File them in the registration package in the order in which they will be handled, or set up a side table and ask participants to collate their own collection of handouts before the event begins. Place a stack of handouts at the end or in the centre of each table.
If you don't want delegates to read ahead, pre arrange with a number of helpers to distribute handouts at the appropriate times during the presentations.
Be specific about break times. Announce the length of the break and the time that the session will resume.
Check to see that the coffee set up flows in the right direction and doesn't dead end in a corner. Separate the pouring and mixing areas to avoid backlogs at the coffeepot.
Get creative about the way you reconvene the meeting. Have some fun and tailor the props to your group. Flicking the lights and hollering "Let's get going" works, but so does ringing a cow bell (for a group of dairy farmers), blowing a crazy warble whistle (for bird watchers), or playing an appropriate musical theme.
Above all, anticipate and double check everything.
Patricia Katz, MCE CHRP, works with the overloaded and overwhelmed to accomplish what matters most and find more peace of mind in the process. Based in Western Canada, this speaker and author of three books specializes in productivity and perspective. To bring Patricia’s expertise to your organization, call toll free (877-728-5289).
Note: You are welcome to reprint or repost this article with the understanding that: 1) Optimus Consulting retains full copyright. 2) Contact information is included as it appears at the end of the article. 3) Patricia Katz of Optimus Consulting is contacted and sent a copy of the publication or notice of the link in which the article appears.
