4 Event Mistakes That You Must Avoid
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”― Albert Einstein.
Well, I am not going to go against one of the smartest people to ever walk the earth. None of us is perfect, right? But, making the mistakes that you know you shouldn’t make or the ones that are easily avoidable is one of the things that are just not as forgivable.
When it comes to planning and running an event, the devil is in the minute details. It’s all about how detailed you can get and the consistency throughout. Nobody really notices how good of a job you’ve done if everything goes right, however, everybody notices it when things go wrong.
It’s unfortunate that event planning falls into this category. It can even add tremendous stress to an event planner. So to help with that stress, we’ve curated these 4 event planning mistakes so that you can avoid them the next time.
Not being tech-ready
Problem:
You may think that you have the best equipment in the industry already, so there is little chance that the equipment will fail. But, this may be one of the most common oversights that will prevent your event from running smoothly. Having a piece of crucial equipment fail during a critical point of your event is an indication to your audience that you are not aware of the things that can go wrong. It would be really awkward if your equipment is not booting up while your audience is waiting and you have no idea how to solve it.
Solution:
Have your tech support team carry out a full tech-check to ensure that every single piece of equipment is working. On top of that, if you want to go a step further, have backups in case the main equipment completely fails. Keep in mind as well that during your event day, the environment can often vary from when you first rehearsed. Hence, always pick the equipment that can handle more than what you thought you need.
Not having enough crew members
Problem:
This is closely related to underestimating the size of your event. Picture this: There is a long line at the registration counter while the receptionists frantically try to keep up. If you delay this, your guests are going to be frustrated as they are left standing in the line and not being able to enter. When the first impression of the event is already not a great one, your main event will need to be something mind-blowing as a remedy to this issue. The idea of having enough crew members is to ideally, completely eliminate the bottleneck processes and allow for a pleasant experience for the audience.
Solution:
Firstly, get more crew members than you need. There will always be something else that pops up that needs to be fixed. Not just hired anybody, but choose the ones that are professional and have experience working for the type of event that you’re planning. Then, fill them in with every single detail and who their point of contact is if there are any issues. It will be super tough trying to control these variables, but try your best to mitigate any negative encounters as it will sour both your client and your guest.
An overwhelming schedule
Problem:
We’ve seen those events that are jam-packed with presentations after presentations all day long. Yes, I know that you have so many things to say in so little time, you want to give your audience everything they can possibly get. But there is only so much that your audience can take in at once before they feel overwhelmed. Having a back-to-back-to-back schedule with little breathing or networking room for your guests will only leave them feeling exhausted.
Solution:
Book your speakers in as early as possible. Have them rehearse their speech (plus Q&A) a number of times and get the average duration of it. Doing this will minimize the chances of them going above their time slot. Even then, allow rest periods in between the speakers for the guests to have toilet breaks or refresh themselves. Then, slot in the bigger rest periods such as lunchtime or networking time. Doing so will greatly reduce stress in your guests and enables for a better experience.
Not budgeting for the ‘rainy days’
Problem:
Experienced event organizers know this: It doesn’t matter how detailed your budgeting is, there will always be something that surprises you. An event simply consists of way too many components to keep track of all the time. Just about anything can go wrong and you’ll need additional funds to look for a solution. What happens when you don’t have these funds available to dip into when these things come about?
Solution:
Firstly, start with the most detailed budget you can come up with, record every single transaction up front to minimize the surprises. Then allow 10 to 15 percent of buffer to cover the unforeseen costs. Also, be sure when booking vendors and suppliers that everything you expect and require is in the correct amount. Remember: You either spend a little more to have a little room for mistakes or you risk a bottleneck procedure during your event.
These are just some of the items that are avoidable if you pay attention to them from the beginning. A good way to ensure that you have all of this down is to build your checklist during the evaluation of your event. Don’t wait, start now. Any of these event failures that you can avoid is an added layer of security to prevent your event from failing.
If you’re having trouble with your event, Annaba Resources will help guide you through every step of your event planning. Our professional project managers will oversee the entire logistical management with you.
Contact us now to set up a casual meeting at your convenience and let us help you with your upcoming project!
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