The Running Order

Now you have your agenda, speakers lined up, audience getting excited it is time to produce a detailed running order. This is split into the following phases:

Before the event

The technical host needs a copy of all material – that way if anything goes wrong a speaker can present from a phone line while the host moves the slides.

Rehearsal

At least 48 hours before the event it is important to go through all the presentations. This can be individually or as a group. this gives everyone a chance to understand what their display will look like to the others as well as to practice their presenting style and deal with any technical issues ahead of time.

The event

Create a checklist of who does what when. Each step should be listed so another person can take over and simply go down the list. This ensures that the details have been considered and it also helps build confidence in the team if someone cannot arrive or arrives late. Adding specific note to remind speakers how to line up their presentations also helps. It is perfectly natural for every presenter to forget everything the first time they are faced with a wall of faces waiting on them speaking – the brain fogs over and even remembering which keyboard button moves the slides forward can become a problem. So a printed checklist stuck to the desk is a great help.

Don’t forget to discuss the next meeting and tell everyone what the future plans are. If you have a good mailing list then you can send a follow-up mailshot or a survey, but once you have agreed a date you can close the meeting and plan the rest later.