Live Events

High energy events require stimulating and invigorating audio visual to keep the crowd engaged and entertained.  Live events need the right amount of focus on the presentation so that everyone can see and hear clearly, even guests in the back of the room.  Whatever your ideas are, clear communication and the right questions to your AV solutions partner will guarantee that your event provides the AV services needed for success.  Talk to your AV solutions partner about your wants vs. your needs and see what room you have in the budget to achieve your most important goals.

It helps to know what you’re talking about before contacting AV companies with your questions and goals in mind.  Knowing the terminology and the equipment that may be available to best support your event will be helpful when contacting AV companies for your own AV event solutions.  Some venues offer AV services at a discount, this is where some education will really help you to make the best decision.

Third party Audio Visual production companies may offer innovative and creative ideas with more advanced equipment or just better solutions. It pays to ask the right questions of any discount provider and a reputable AV services provider to fully understand your options.

As a Presenter, it’s essential that you also know other areas of the Event Industry. There’s no better place to get this information than from the people on the frontlines – Event Planners.

Socialtables.com recently released a list of 17 Facebook Groups that every Event Planner should join. I see this as an opportunity for presenters, as well. It’s a great way to gather knowledge directly from the people in the trenches.

Event Planners are your connection to the speaking circuit. I see this being useful in two ways. If you have questions about event logistics (contracts, setup, protocol), then join a group and ask around. It’s also a great place to meet planners who may be the conduit to your next speaking engagement – a win-win for both sides of the banquet table.

FROM SOCIAL TABLES…

Facebook Groups with a focus on event planning are great places to find planning inspiration, troubleshoot with peers in the industry, network, and brainstorm creative ideas. Facebook Groups for event and wedding planners vary from public to private and are as small as 200 members to as large as 20,000 members. You might find that people in these groups are just getting started with an event planning career, or they may be experienced event professionals. 

To get the most from event planning Facebook Groups, join active groups that discuss topics relevant to your interests and don’t clog your feed with promotions. It’s also essential to participate and offer valuable insights yourself. 

We’ve done the research, read the reviews, and gathered the best Facebook Groups for event planners. Read on to discover which event groups are the best fit for you, and learn the best ways to contribute to the group after you join.  

Panel Success

If you’re going to hold a panel discussion:

1. Have a few panelists (3) not a lot, otherwise everyone will drone on about every question.
2. Move things along and make sure audience questions are the focus.

The event industry is constantly evolving and the most popular components in any event are the audio and visual equipment. People use this equipment in order to create a more spectacular event and increase the energy of the event. Event management companies have stressed on several occasions that including these two components in presentations, conferences and marketing events. can be more fruitful than a simple event.

The present generation depends on technology more than anything and has set their priorities very clearly. In order to keep up with the need of the present generation, introducing technological aspects to the events is important now more than ever. However, many companies and enterprises prefer to rent the equipment than investing on them.

A company that holds occasional events has to invest on audio visual equipment or keep in touch with a reliable audio visual hire company. These companies have a stock of different types of equipment and provide their clients with the necessary gear for a specific event. Rental equipment is more cost effective and can help in investing that money in some other place.

There’s more to a great tech event than blazing fast Wi-Fi, flashy A/V, or cutting-edge VR experiences. In fact, the biggest variables for great tech events don’t involve tech at all. Take it from these tech event veterans—if you want a tech event with some real byte, focus on these fundamentals.

Bryan Mattimore, cofounder of the Growth Engine Innovation Agency, facilitates interaction with idea-generation exercises. He recently planned an event for the California Institute of Technology that combined keynote speeches and workshops with teambuilding. “They went a long way in helping build community amongst a group of people that didn’t know each other before the event,” explains Mattimore.

Here’s how Mattimore got people talking: After listening to the keynote, the attendees engaged in a triggered brainwalk. Mattimore put up flip chart “ideation stations” around the room. Small teams of attendees brainstorm together, writing their action-oriented ideas based on the speech they just heard. Next, these teams rotate to their neighbors’ station and add to the ideas or create new concepts.

“We usually have teams rotate three or four times, generating new ideas at each step in the process. As a final step, teams rotate back to their original station and circle the ideas they like. “People are moving, making new connections, being creative, exercising their brains, and having fun.” – Bryan Mattimore, cofounder of the Growth Engine Innovation Agency

The event pros who hold the most successful conferences are always on the lookout for tips and tricks to polish their strategies and tackle their to-dos. If you’re looking for ways to improve your process, maximize the effectiveness of your conference, save yourself some headaches, and make you sure have all the bases covered, use these 8 foolproof conference planning tips. And for a quick guide to conference planning, we wrap it up with a helpful conference planning checklist!

1. Make sure the venue aligns with the event 

Alternative venues can lend unexpected flair to a conference. Locations like museums, historical sites, theaters, libraries, and sports arenas have all hosted conferences. But consider the needs of your group: A venue should set the stage for the conference to do its work, not steal the show.

2. Give every attendee a leg up on networking  

Get your conference name badges ready: Networking is a top reason people attend conferences. And in a job search, face-to-face networking is several times more effective than networking online.

3. Build a detailed content plan with unique takeaways

If attendees are coming to your conference to deepen their knowledge, follow a clear plan to source your content.

First, if possible, poll your audience about topics, sub-topics, and depth of subject matter knowledge. This might seem like a Catch-22: If you’re drawing an audience with your content, how will you have an audience to poll before you have content?

For planners looking to increase attendee engagement at professional and social events, LinkedIn has all the makings of a fantastic tool. Users tend to be on the platform for professional growth and networking. In fact, 91 percent of executives name LinkedIn as their first choice for “professionally relevant content.”

You’ll find LinkedIn Events in the menu bar on the left, below “Recent” and “Groups.” It’s an unassuming line that says “Events,” with a plus next to it. Click that plus, and start exploring what LinkedIn Events can “add” to your next event.

10 Tips for Promoting LinkedIn Events

1. Choose a dachshund-butterfly name 

Like a dachshund dressed as a monarch butterfly, your event name should be:

• Short
• Unique
• Memorable

A good event name lets people know what to expect at your event, but it doesn’t have to convey every last timing detail and content nuance. It just needs to give people enough information to know whether they want to find out more. 

2. Use images that capture attention

Maybe when you were a kid, you were encouraged to “use your words,” but when it comes to marketing, definitely “use your images.” According to one study on visual marketing, three days after only hearing information, people are likely to remember just 10 percent of it. Add a relevant image, and three days later people remember an average of 65 percent! 

3. Deploy persuasive copy to sustain interest and answer questions 

Writing persuasive copy is a specialized field that is a career for some people. Good news: You can learn from those people.