Simple Isn’t Always Easy

Just because an event appears to be simple does not mean it is easy to plan or execute. Dictionary.com defines simple as “not complicated, not complex, or easy to understand.” It defines easy as “not hard, requiring no great labor or effort, not difficult to overcome.” A simple event with very few components might look like: a general session with a keynote speaker, a couple of breakout sessions, and a quick networking reception at the end. No meals to plan and all of the AV, room rental, and internet is included in the price of your contract. Simple. The program itself is uncomplicated.

However, let’s break down how easy it is to pull off said simple event.

For the general session; a keynote speaker needs to be researched, vetted, and contracted. Then travel and accommodations planned, a host assigned, and an itinerary created that makes sense for everyone which includes arrival and departure times, when to arrive for a soundcheck, slide and content review, and scheduling a meeting to discuss the goals of the event and the audience they will be presenting to. Not only that, but you’ll need to know if the speaker prefers a handheld, lapel, or face mic, then compare their request to what is covered under the AV portion of your venue’s contract. You will have to determine the best chair setup for the room (it’s obviously theater, but with or without a center aisle?), and work with registration to understand how many people you can anticipate so you know how many chairs to set, ushers to recruit, and how many programs to print. This doesn’t even consider the order of service which might include time for a sponsor to speak or show a video, for someone to introduce the speaker, or for the host organization to welcome guests, provide housekeeping notes, or entertainment. And, we haven’t even touched production.

When planning the breakout sessions, again, speakers need to be researched, vetted, and contracted. The right topics need to be selected to support the event’s theme and overall goals. This may also include travel, hosting, soundchecks, and the like. Then the question is; do you have attendees pre-register for their breakout session or leave things up to chance? You need to know the room sizes and setups in order to prepare for the appropriate number of attendees for the speaker’s comfort level, materials they brought, and fire code for the rooms selected. You have to consider if you will video and audio record each breakout or not. A host should be available to welcome attendees, and if needed for continuing education, scan badges as everyone enters the room. Again, any AV needs required for the breakout sessions to be successful will need to be compared to your “all-inclusive” contract to make sure you don’t need to add any equipment to the mix.

For the networking session, there should be a discussion to determine what the best time is in the schedule, if you want attendees to pre-register or just show up, what room in your contract is ideal, how you’ll set the room, what, if any, organized activities you’ll include in the programming, if you’ll serve any food and beverages and what, and who on your team will lead the session.

On top of these logistics, the event itself needs goals and objectives, a budget, a full task list developed, people assigned to complete all of the tasks, a timeline set, milestones identified, decisions made about staffing whether you’re hiring or recruiting volunteers, a location selected, time of year determined, and maximum capacity for attendance set. There will need to be some type of marketing or communication plan in place in order for people to know about the event, a registration price determined, and a decision-making tree established so things can move ahead without being bottle-necked by any one person.

Other things most people don’t think about with their simple event include: safety and security based on the number of attendees, performing a risk assessment and creating a risk mitigation plan, and writing an emergency action plan. Don’t forget to consider the number of hours it takes to research the right venue that checks the most number of boxes, the right speakers for the audience and subject matter, and to recruit the right number of volunteers or staff members with the appropriate skills to accomplish the tasks that need to be performed to bring the event to fruition. Oh, and manage the project to be on time and on budget.

So when you work with a Certified Meeting Professional who makes everything look easy because they are a skilled, experienced planner, don’t be misled. A simple event and easy planning do not always go hand-in-hand.

Do you have an experience with a client confusing simple and easy?
Send me an email with your story, I’d love to hear it!

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