Fourteen
Quick Tips To Make Your Conference Outstanding
1.
Mail your brochure early, 14-18 weeks before the program.
2.
Use oversize nametags, so everyone can read them from a distance. Make sure
nametags are secured so that wind or gravity does not remove them.
3.
Do something splashy, but relevant.
--give
participants one of the keynote speaker's books
--have
a picnic on the garage roof
--give
participants a free drink coupon
--schedule
an aerobics session, fun run, or dance
--have
unusual hors d'oeuvres with eye and taste appeal
--give
everyone a t-shirt or hat containing the conference logo
4.
If no banquet is planned, organize dinner groups at area restaurants.
First-timers and people traveling alone especially appreciate this.
5.
Take advantage of the meeting area's unique food, recreation, and historical
sites. For example, plan a trip to a local brewery, winery, organic farm, or
tour some historical landmark. Get a local winery to donate wine for dinner.
6.
If a banquet is scheduled for your group, eat that meal a month before the
program. If it isn't good, you have time to change the menu.
7.
If you have a stiff handout binder, print your college or your association's
name on the spine. It will sit on office shelves advertising your group for
years to come.
8.
Use identifying signs on your registration table and in breakout rooms. Banners
and simple printed signs mounted on walls; doors or easels help move crowds
quickly and make people feel special.
9.
Have your after-dinner speaker talk before the reception and dinner in a
general session. He or she will be grateful, as will the listeners who may have
had a long trip, a big dinner and several drinks.
10.
Make sure registration forms accompany all promotional mailings and advertisements.
11.
Have a brief training session for your registration staff before the event. If
you have moderators, panels, or session chair, also schedule separate meetings
with them. Let each know what is expected of him/her.
12.
Pack a box of supplies for the unexpected. Include receipt books, stapler,
phone book, scotch tape, extra name tags, band-aids, blank transparencies, and
credit card slips. Ask the hotel meeting planner for bud vases, telephone, etc.
13.
Remember walkie-talkies, pagers, cell phones, or some other means for communicating
with others on the conference or meeting team.
14.
Think of one special thing that attendees will remember.
·
One
conference I attended had an old fashioned hoedown square dance one evening at
a nearby farm with a barbecue and various wonderful refreshments. It was most
enjoyable.
·
At
a conference I helped organize at Syracuse University several years ago, a
couple of committee members hung a huge sign out the window of the conference
building (on a hill at the top of the campus) such that when people were
walking up the street towards it from the hotel or driving up the street to a
parking lot they could see that sign. I had people years afterwards remark on
remembering that sign.
·
At
another conference in Oklahoma, organizers provided transportation to the
memorial for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. I will never forget it.
·
At
a conference I attended in the Netherlands, organizers had everyone participate
in a dinner on a large boat that traveled down a canal. It was quite an
experience.
____________________
Created January 1, 2009
Return to the planning page.
Return to the home page.