Live for the planning…. simples!

Posted on December 16, 2010 at 3:14 pm, by aspect

Failing to plan is planning to fail… simple. When it comes to the world of events management ‘What? Why? When? Where? How?’ may sound like the ramblings of an inexperienced amateur but it is, in fact, the beginnings of an all-important plan. Whether you have one year or one week to organise an event, it always come back to the planning. Simple right? Like all things in life, structure is needed. Think of planning an event like cooking for a dinner party. If you don’t study your recipes and prepare a shopping list you could easily forget a vital ingredient! My advice would be to create a system that works for you but – however you choose to go about it – here are a few key pointers to bear in mind:

1. No.1 is the most obvious but also the most fundamental – scope out your project critical path in full. It will force you to think through the whole project from beginning to end, as well as highlighting key deadlines.
2. Decide how the attendees should feel at the end of the event as they walk out of the door, and then work back from there. Everything you plan and do should be focused on achieving these objectives. It’s not just about what you say but how you say it – the décor, the tone and style, the pre- and post-event communication, the onsite activities – every element should work together to deliver your message.
3. Put yourself in the audience’s shoes (believe it or not most people forget about the audience when planning an event!) Think through the whole flow of the event through their eyes – it will help you iron out the practical elements and identify any logistical wrinkles.
4. Make sure the audience is engaged all the way through the event and delegates are interacting and sharing their opinions. They should be working hard at an event – not falling a sleep in their chairs!
5. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse – strong messages and content are worthless if they are not delivered effectively.

Whatever the event you’re planning, remember the 3Ds: DEFINE the target audience, DEVELOP the message and DELIVER the desired business outcome. Want to know more?…

I went to an AGM and all I got was this bloody biscuit

Posted on December 9, 2010 at 12:21 pm, by aspect

Annual General Meetings – WOW – what a discovery for me in my retirement. I thought coffee mornings were in the past now that the children have moved on from junior school!  But how wrong could I be? They’re back in a big way, and I mean big, because these AGMs have an endless supply of free coffee, free biscuits and – if you’re lucky – you even get lunch thrown in as well. I like to think of myself as a bit of a silver surfer. Over the past year, I’ve been buying the odd share in each of the Top 100 blue chip companies and I’m now starting to think that it was the wisest investment decision I ever made – it could feed me for the entire year! I’ve only been to one AGM so far but I’m already looking forward to my next ‘shareholder experience’ – coffee mornings here I come! Biscuit Biddy