It has been a few months in the planning. We’ve searched Europe to find the best Event Technology speakers and we are now happy to announce the final programme is complete.

This is the very “traditional version” of the TechFest 18th July Programme. We hope you like it. We have another version that you might like too!

We’ve structured it along the best principles of Meeting Design and we have built the event around true and proper networking. We’ve tried to put into practice all of the blogs that we’ve posted over the last months. Tech-Fest is not all about content although content is exceptionally important. So to fully understand the event we suggest you follow the programme and then read a few of our blogs. 

We can’t wait to welcome you to what we think will be the most innovative event for organisers in the UK:

Creating Memorable Conference Sessions

Innovation Counts and Where To Find It

When Less is More

Figures make events: people make experiences

We believe that the best event organisers put into practice what they preach. See if we do:

www.tech-fest.co.uk

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It’s not just down to our speakers to deliver creative content. I think it is an organisers job to be creative too. When I construct conference sessions I make sure that I tell speakers that their job, on my programme, is to be remembered. Research has proven that conference sessions which are interactive, engaging and no longer than 30 minutes tend to be remembered and they have a higher chance of the key messages being retained by the audience. And after all that’s what you want: ALL of your sessions to be remembered.

Show are tell = bored and forgettable

When recruiting speakers why not help them construct memorable and engaging sessions. Tell them that you want them to be creative and that you are here to help. You will be amazed what you get when you let your speakers creativity be unleashed!

Send them this list: Here are a few ideas and examples to get your creative juices flowing for your upcoming session.

1. Engage the senses

Most conference sessions only trigger sight and sound. So how can participants feel, taste or smell your session? This may sound like the impossible challenge but it is easier than you think. Once you start to think creatively. 

2. Sight and sound doesn’t have to be you speaking in front of powerpoint!

Can a video be played on the big screen or a song played through the PA that carries your message much better than you? Rich media can be very useful in breaking up your session and adding much appreciated texturisation within your session.

3. Messages without time for reflection are quickly forgotten

Building in as little as 5 minutes participant reflection at the end of your session has been proven to greatly increase learning. If attendees have the opportunity to discuss your content before they move on to another session your content will be remembered.

4. Breakdown barriers

As an organiser I am here to help you be creative. So feel free to ask us to do the things you have always wanted to do in a session. If you do not want to use ANY presentation on the screen; if you want the audience to come on stage and you to present from the floor please just suggest it. We will do our best to support your creativity!

5. Turn attendees into participants

A growing trend within conferences is for speakers to consider their audience as participants and engage them throughout their presentation. Using the technology we will make available you will be able to ask the audience questions at any time and receive almost instant results. This allows you to tailor in real time your content which is a wonderful way to ensure your messages hit the spot.

6. Does your session even need you?

Is there a document, piece of research or long video that will have more impact than a traditional talk? Can you use the space to allow attendees to watch or read information? If you build in time for reflection (covered in point three above) this can be a very powerful medium.

7. Play quarter back

Well structured facilitated discussions are exceptionally popular with audiences. Allowing peer-to-peer learning in your session will ensure that you are able to distill the knowledge in the room. With you at the heart of the session you will create a memorable and useful session.

8. Give your session legs!

Building on from point 7 is there content which you can start to create during your session? Can your session be the birth place of important content that is added to after the event? Content that goes on to create real long term value for not just the participants but the wider industry?

9. Allow co-creation

Can you distill the knowledge in the room including you knowledge and your participants knowledge to co-create top tips, quick guides or lists of do’s and don’ts. These bitesize sessions are very popular and very practical.

10. Your session starts now!

Can you start to engage with participants and likely attendees now? Can you ask your social media networks for support in designing your session? Can you upload a questionnaire that will form the basis of your session?

Content is important. But how it is delivered is king. 

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We’ve all seen a presentation delivered at a conference that has too much information on the slides and we’ve all seen that presentation forwarded to attendees that basically tells you nothing. Maybe a picture off a bird dipping it’s beak in to a pool made sense then, but it doesn’t now!
The reason both things happen all to often is that the presenter is using only one presentation.

A presentation can not be all things to all people. The presentation you deliver in front of an audience should differ from the presentation you upload or give to the organsier to distribute. This is probably obvious to most people but it is very interesting to see that the majority of presentations delivered in front of a live audience are the same versions sent to attendees post event. And that is a shame: it is a learning opportunity missed. This happens because we organisers never ask our speakers for two different versions. 

Some simple tips on making the easy transformation

1. If you are an organiser explain to your speakers that spending a little bit of time changing the presentation will make a big impact on the learning for your attendees. Simply by explaining and then showing the differences you can increase the learning of your attendees. So ask for two versions but do provide some guidance; some of which is below.

2. We have all been told that you should NEVER use bullet points in your presentation, well, that’s not exactly true. Bullet points are perfect if you want someone to take in your key points when they don’t have the distraction of you talking as well. So when presenting bullet points are bad. When completing your version to send to delegates bullet points are good.

3. When presenting use big bold strong images. These images don’t need captions of extra information on the screen (that’s why you are there) But when you complete the other version reduce the physical size of the image and add the title or the key take home message you want delegates to take away.  

4. A lot of text on a slide when you are standing next to it on stage is not a good idea. Attendees will find themselves distracted between the information on the screen and the information coming from you (even if it’s the same information it’s still confusing) However without you filling in the details, a lot of slides needs a lot of information. Don’t be scared to add what seems like a lot of detail to your slides post event. This info replaces you. 

5. When you present your talk it will likely last 30mins so think about how long it should take to read the presentation. It should be a lot shorter. Don’t overload the second presentation; remember you should only have the same 3 to 5 key points. 

6. Adding links to further reading related to the topics you cover works really well in the second, take home version, much less in the “live” presentation. Sticking up a 20 character web address on screen and hoping that attendees take it down properly and then remember to use it doesn’t work so well.

7. Add links to content in your attendee version. You will perhaps be directing them to your other presentations or content or to interesting events so make sure you make it easy for them. 

Why this is so important

1. As an organsier you are really showing your delegates love. You are demonstrating value to them and also that you understand their learning needs. Tailored learning isn’t easy to do but does show your commitment to their needs. 

2. You have more content and content is very important. You are not sending them stuff they have already seen but real added value stuff. 

3. As a speaker you are showing a commitment to those who took the time to come and see you. I personally think this helps you stand out among other speakers. It’s also an extra thing to do to justify you being paid (which for a whole host of reasons I support) 

4. The savvy attendees should be demanding this at the events they attend. So put the effort in so they continue to attend your conference and not someone else’s.

Hopefully a helpful example

I spoke recently at an event in Budapest. I’ve uploaded the version I presented and the version I then forwarded to the organiser. This is far from perfect (especially with the problems Slideshare has dealing with Keynote) but it should provide a useful guide for you to forward to your speakers.  

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I write ‘wooly’ but thankfully most of the industry agrees that designing experiences is a great approach to creating loyalty, increasing enjoyment and improving information retention for our attendees.

Actually I also proudly write ‘wooly’ because I believe a presentation covering something as abstract as an idea of an ‘experience’ has to be pretty loose and particularly general. Or put more directly: how can one really present practically on how YOU can be creative? It is the concept not the application that one has to get across.

Event or experience – what’s the REAL difference?

After my session in Hungry someone commented (I have a thick skin, it could have been a criticism) that I hadn’t offered any examples. Or put another way, I hadn’t created any ideas for them. Well, that my friend isn’t my job. Being creative means creating things. Not copying things. My job is to help you understand that the business events can be better. And one way to do that is to think of them as experiences not events.

Here’s the difference in a nut shell. When considering your next meeting, if you are thinking about feelings; senses; people; attendee state of mind; their environment and how to make this all different, then you will more than likely end up with an experience.

If you start by thinking about the size of the room; the desired profit; the number of seats around a table; the number of refreshment breaks, and how you can make everything similar to make your life easier, then you will end up with an event.

I will re-emphasise. People makes experiences. As an organiser you are the one person who can really make that event an experience.

We will be putting on our own little experiences at Event Tech Circus in Amsterdam in May and Tech Fest in July in London. Don’t come to the event: come enjoy the experience.

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There is of course no particular ‘one best way’ to manage an events department. However after running several event businesses in associations and completing events consultancy for organisations – as varied as the events they run – we have discovered that there are five areas which organisations can focus on to make more of a success of the events they run.

Here’s the full presentation.

The five keys areas that successful events departments focus on in Associations:

1. Understand the power of the events you run!

2. Understand how technology can support your events and your event department

3. Tell people what they are missing not simply what is going on

4. Get the most out of your event organiser / PCO. Be more demanding!

5. Focus on delivering value to ALL of your stakeholders

By looking at the areas outlined in the presentation you should be able to take a more subjective view of your events and your events business. In each section we have pointed to “what successful events businesses” do and we hope that provides a benchmark for your events.

The presentation is designed to help you analyse your events and to start to make some improvements. Of course this process can be challenging and even daunting. So if you think your events have more potential get in touch with Gallus Events. We will see if we are able to help you turn your events into experiences and your events department in to a valuable asset for your association.

William will be delivering a tailored version of this presentation on the 11th February in Budapest at MCE CEE 2013 

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During one such memorable and particularly coffee powered chat with Sam and Emma at Evently we touched on innovation in the events space. I stated my view that there is a lack of innovation from the events professional (in general). To back up my evidently sweeping statement I focused on the pretty standard format of our big industry events (EIBTM and IMEX) and trade association annual events such as Association of Event Organisers annul event and MPI Europe (I picked these two for the simple fact they both take place this month). If innovation in our industry came from event organisers it would be at these events where we would see it put in practice. However In terms of innovation a lot of these events are as barren as a spaghetti western back drop.

Organisers can only have so many strings to their bows

I also commented on the core skills of most organises. Almost every organiser is fantastic at making things happen; juggling many different tasks and priorities and adapt at dealing with many stakeholders. But being innovative and creative is a skill that many organisers don’t possess. Another sweeping statement I wonder if you agree with?

Seeking out innovation

I think it is incredibly useful for organises to find the innovative events. You can not of course attend every event but fortunately you can put events to the test without lifting your eyes from your computer. Look at a few of the upcoming trade association annual events (I’ve given you two above as a starter) and score them against Julius Solaris’s fantastic 2013 event trends or my top 10 things great events should do in 2013. See if you can find innovation in the environment where surely it should be most obvious.

To add flesh to the bone or fuel to the fire, here is another challenge: attend a big event industry exhibition or event association annual conference and find ANYTHING, just one thing, that isn’t replicated at the hundreds of exhibitions or annual conferences run for every other industry: you will see how frighteningly difficult that challenge is. And that can not be good for our events or for our industry.

160 years of Exhibition innovation by organisers

These are two images I’ve used on several occasions when speaking to organisers on various topics focused around “events as experiences” Look what a century and a half of innovation by organisers has done to exhibitions! If there is one area within our industry that needs a major review it is exhibitions.

Innovation – not in my back yard!

So my central question is: do shows the size of IMEX, EIBTM or our leading Trade Association / Membership events have a duty to the world of events to be innovative?

Or do we want our trade associations and membership bodies to focus on other things rather than run inspirational and though provoking events? Do we think that being innovative simple isn’t Reed Travel Exhibitions, Regent Exhibitions, MPI, ABPCO, AEO etc job?

If not in my back yard then whose?

I think the time has come when every organiser has to show innovative within some of their events. And I think it should start with our leading events. If we are to positively influence the general view of the events “profession” as just that; an actual professional, then we have to show more innovation in our own events. We should be using our industry events to take the risks and to try the things we would never dare test with other people’s events!

And here is a job for our clients: be more demanding: insist that we improve the events we run for you. Ask how our events will be different and better than the previous year? Make sure the events we run for you deliver everything that they should. Again the two check lists from Julius and myself will be very useful.

As I have stated above innovation is of course not just the job for the big guys; it’s the duty we all carry. Our industry is calling on us to be be innovative and we all have to deliver. 2013 is a big year for all of us. Let’s make it the year of innovation.

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