Conferences and workshops are a great way to develop new ideas. Whether in a business or academic setting, they bring people together in order to find the best solutions.
Organizing these events can be quite the task. However, as long as you follow a few simple steps then you will be sure to get the most out of your conferences and workshops. Below we outline how to go about the planning and organizing of these events.
Overall Theme
All great conferences and workshops start and end with a great theme. It is important to know what message you want speakers to deliver and what information you want attendees to take away. Another way to think about a theme is what the goal of the event is. Once you have an idea on the overall purpose of the whole thing, then you can go about planning the details.
Consider the wording for the theme of your conference. If it is an academic workshop, then it might be appropriate to use a longer title with technical terms. If it a business conference for social media companies, then it probably makes more sense to use simple language that is more catchy.
Logistics
You will find once you start diving into the details that there are a lot of them. Here are some of the most important things to check off your list.
- Location. What venue will it be held at? Is it available for your planned dates? Do you need catering?
- Transportation. How will the attendees get to the conference? Do you need to arrange travel?
- Attendees. Who will be invited? What date do they need to register by?
- Speakers. Who will the speakers be? What topics will they present?
- Workshops. How will the workshops be organized? What are the size of the rooms?
- Equipment. What equipment will be needed for registration, workshops, etc.?
- Food and Entertainment. When will there be breaks? Will meals be provided? Will there be social events, awards, etc.?
- Social Media. How will the event be covered? Will there be hired photographers and/or press coverage?
Finances
Running conferences and workshops can get expensive, fast. Make sure that once you have all the logistics organized that you start to budget everything. If there isn’t enough money in your budget then you may have to make adjustments.
You can also try and find sponsors or apply for grants. If you are running an academic workshop there are often lots of public and private grants to apply for.
Business conferences can also often find sponsors. For example, if you’re running a conference in the video game industry, try to get a video game company or an energy drink company to help sponsor the event.
The best way to get money is to go to the people or companies that will benefit from you having a successful conference or workshop
Get Outside Help
There will always be some roadblocks along the planning process. Sometimes it can be hard to develop new ideas with the same people you work with everyday. If this is the case, it can be a good idea to hire someone to come in and help shake things up.
Companies like Icreon can help develop new ideas to make sure your conferences and workshops keep up with the latest developments in your field.
Conclusion
Good conferences and workshops can help develop change in business and improve companies. Attendees, whether they are students or professionals, can learn a lot from them. It is important for event organizers to plan an overall theme, figure out the logistics, and make sure they can afford the whole thing. When troubles arise, it can be useful to get outside help to ensure you get the most out of your conference or workshop.