18 great tips for organizing conferences

I am very lucky. There are two reasons for this:



Last summer, colleagues from Rackspace asked my company Rosenfeld Media to participate in organizing a conference on user behavior among industrial solutions. The idea was great, Rackspace helped us a lot, among other things, by providing space for the event.

The second reason - people are very nice in communicating with me. I asked various people who organized successful conferences, tips, and their answers were very helpful and voluminous. The least I can do is collect them in one place and pass their knowledge to you.

')

So, I present the most useful tips for organizing conferences.

1: Make sure your event is needed

In 2015, according to experts, about 6,000 conferences will be held on user behavioral characteristics. It is only on Earth. Many will be good, many will be great. Serious competition, right? Are you going to organize an event just for the sake of an event, or do you know that it is really necessary?

I would like to know in advance that, no matter how exciting my idea was, you first need to check whether those who needed to buy tickets for it need it. Then I would not waste time and energy. All you need is to think about why this event. Is this problem close to people? Does my conference promise to help with it, and will clients want to take part in it?

- Jonathan Kahn (#dareconf)



Organizing conferences is more expensive than you imagine. So as not to go broke, first make sure that there is demand. You can start with inexpensive intelligence activities - to organize discussions in social networks. You can learn a little about the demand and get the opportunity to discuss your idea of ​​the conference with people. Or, as Jeff Crum advises:

The best conferences I have seen focus on the initial creation and support of the community, after which events are organized for their personal meetings. This leads to more energetic conferences where people want to participate in it, and not just have to be there.

- Jeff Crum (Delight Conference)



For the Enterprise UX 2015 conference, we are already working with the audience in a variety of ways, including organizing monthly discussions and consultations. We first discussed the idea of ​​holding a conference with many of our interlocutors on several social networks, and their reaction was something like: “Well, finally, someone does it!”.

2: Decide on the type of event

Jared Spoole identifies five types of events. The type greatly influences the development of the program, the choice of venue and the cost of tickets, not to mention other things.

Related: events like the IA Summit, UXPA and Interactions, where people meet on a single project. Most often this is the only way to meet people who make common cause with you. Usually they share experience and technology there.



Network: organized by venture capitalists. The program is of secondary importance after social activities, when people meet and meet. Long breaks and meetings are more important than lectures.



Merchant: a mobile fair for sale and trade. Exhibition space is more important than lectures, which are usually just advertisements paid by sponsors. Examples - Macworld and CES



Educational: visitors want to learn new technologies and gain skills. It is important who makes the reports and on what topic. Social activities are minimized.



Academic: designed to receive references in publications. Examples: CHI, UIST and SIGGRAPH. The works are reviewed by the public and published so that the authors can get the necessary references for their academic degrees.



The mistake of novice organizers is that they do not take into account that different types of conferences require different formats and structures. Hybrids work out badly. The type of event affects everything from time to recess until program management.

- Jared Spool (35+ conferences for 20+ years)



If your conference is not intended for a wide audience:

Only by invitation, without receiving applications from the outside, so as not to bother with the application system, if we know who we want to invite.

- Dan Stsuk and Joe Wong (UX Hong Kong)

3: If the details are not taken care of, the participants will take care of them.

Every detail is important. At the meeting of designers, make sure that all the little things are done as it should. Professionals in the field of behavioral features of users are very critical of all this, they will discuss this during the event, and this impression will affect the overall impression of the event.

- Cornelius Rahir (UXcamp Ottawa)



Details are important in the long term. If visitors tell how well everything was organized, it will positively affect their return next time. And it also means that you did a good job this time, and next you only need to polish the roughness, and not redo everything from scratch.



It is best to go through the whole program from the points of view of different participants:

Stay in the place of not only visitors, but also speakers, sponsors, volunteers, hosts, the press, security guards, ordinary visitors, etc. Examine and imagine what they need before, during and after the event. It would be nice to think about different details, but do not forget about basic needs according to the Maslov pyramid.

- Grant Carmichael (Midwest UX, TEDxGrandRapids)

4: Seek help from professionals

At one or two of the very first event attract professionals who make the organization of events. Logistics when working with hotels, menus, Internet, location of rooms, flows, registrations, refund is just a nightmare.

- Christina Halvorson (Confab Events)



Because of the complexity of the event, it is necessary to learn from others.

5: Separate responsibilities from the start

Do not charge the conference to too few people. Divide the team into several groups, in each of which 1-2 people will be responsible and manage it. Working with speakers, sponsors, design, budget, volunteers, content, public relations, production, tickets, legal subtleties - all this must be done. Follow the work of the groups and let the whole team periodically talk about their progress with each other.

- Grant Carmichael (Midwest UX, TEDxGrandRapids)



We realized early that work with documents should start from the very beginning:

Do not underestimate the time that will be spent on tedious things such as changing registrations, processing invoices, answering emails to questions that you have already covered in detail on the site.

- Donna Spencer (UX Australia)

Volunteers are fine, but make sure that trustees work with you. Three to four people you can rely on without lowering to micromanagement.

- Jared Spool (35+ conferences for 20+ years)

6: Be a role model

The nature of the organizers influences the impression of the conference. I was inspired by the personal sacrifices of some and disappointed by the self-centeredness of others. Before organizing the conference, gather a team of people who share your views, values, goals.

- Brian Sullivan (Big Design)

7: Treat Your Business

Whether you like it or not, the conference is a business, and a risky one:

People can book a ticket and not pay, ignore payment reminders and cancel at the last minute. This is especially bad for conferences with disabilities, since you have lost both money and the opportunity to sell a place. It would be easier for me to live if I realized how people can be scary, and would be more assertive, chasing payment and canceling those who did not pay.

- Donna Spencer (UX Australia)



Your creditors are likely to clearly indicate what they want from you. Similarly, you should clearly indicate to participants what, how and when they need to register (or cancel). Speaking of tickets: Jared Spoole believes that they should not be underestimated:



Free events are organized to sell something. For values, people are used to paying. If you choose too low a price, you will frighten off anyone who thinks that the quality of the event will correspond to it.



And of course, be sure to cover all costs. Use the following formula:

Go to zero = Fixed expenses / (Cost - Variable expenses)

First of all, it is necessary to evaluate variable and fixed costs (fixed costs are the costs of accommodating the first participant. Variables are the costs of each subsequent participant).

After determining the costs, choose the price and look at the formula. Play with numbers until you are sure that in any case make a profit. This is the first thing we do for each conference. Then we constantly compare these figures with reality. This helped us learn how to evaluate the cost of events well and figure out how to make each conference profitable.

- Jared Spool (35+ conferences for 20+ years)

8: Sell, but don’t sell to sponsors

Sponsors are important, but more important is the impression from the participants of the conference.

Give sponsors the opportunity to advertise their products and services, but do not let the event lead. No one likes speeches from sponsors or their advertising. This is disrespectful to the people who paid for the ticket.

- Bruno Figuerdo (UX Lisbon)

9: Let people relax (and pee)

It’s good that we understood that it is much more important to take a lot of breaks so that people can communicate than make many presentations.

- Cameron Koszon (Brooklyn Beta)



Sometimes you want to cram into a bigger program - but the rhythm is very important. Visitors need to get up, warm up, drink coffee, check mail, go to the toilet. Learn new ideas, discuss them with each other or think about them alone.

I saw conferences, where they tried to shove valuable information at every second, did themed lunches and dinners, debates in bars ... It seems to me that visitors need time to relax and hang out. Give them good food and drinks, and everything will turn out by itself.

- Bruno Figuerdo (UX Lisbon)

10: Be prepared to pay or part with the speakers.

It is very important to document your rules and adhere to them, and publish them so that speakers have a detailed idea about them. Some speakers will not agree to speak with you on your rules. You need to be ready to part with them and find another speaker in their place. It's bad when you choose a speaker, but he refuses due to insufficient payment, but it happens.

- Christian Manzella (Giant)



Find other ways to compensate for speakers, for example, offer them professional-looking videos of their speeches or consult with an oratory trainer.

We began to give our speakers basic directives such as font size, and soon we will try to provide them with elocution lessons. It is also nice to have a room to prepare a speaker.

- Eva Caniasti (UXPA Boston)

11: Feed the speakers until you reach the podium

Speakers, like all people, do not read letters, do not know what you want from them, do not know how to put a deadline in the calendar, and ask questions about what you have already discussed several times.

- Donna Spencer (UX Australia)

Most of the time is spent running around the speakers.

- Andy Bad (UX London)



We are already faced with the need for constant kicks. We are worried that we have already got everyone, but the speakers know that this is an inevitable evil.

12: Location is the basis of everything.

A traditional place like a hotel or conference center is not always the best choice. First, consider the requirements and limitations of the event, then look for the most appropriate place.

Provide a place where people will be most free, while at the same time it was not too expensive. In most hotels and conference centers, you are obliged to use their food and drinks and pay all overhead costs.

- Brad Smith (WebVisions)

The place greatly influences the feeling of an event, therefore prefer to network hotels or large conference centers some more interesting places. Sometimes cultural centers work well.

- Andy Budd (UX London)



If you have an amazing program, visitors will not care where it goes. I have been to great conferences that took place in the most boring places.

The first thing that provides a place is the concentration of visitors to the purpose of the visit. If this is not a disneyland or a meditation conference, they came to participate in the program, and not to admire the views. Let the place support the event, and not compete with it.

- Jared Spool (35+ conferences for 20+ years)

13: The program is management and design

The conference program is not just a bunch of reports. They need to be interconnected and arranged in the correct order.

It's hard to overestimate the importance of a good program. The schedule can be made in a couple of minutes, but it takes several days to build a good structure, pace and flow. The larger the program, the more it will take up its compilation.

- Steve Beiti (UX Australia / Interaction)

Try to make a program as a presentation. It's amazing how many conferences look like a messy bunch of events.

- Andy Bad (UX London)

A good conference is a carefully planned impression. I do not mean only designer delights. This is an emotional and educational presentation. An ideal conference is going on as one event, so that all participants get the same feeling throughout the day or days.

A good conference is like a good playlist or album. Each song adds its own, and their order matters. Invite well-known consultants to speak - this is nonsense. We must look for new talents and ideas. We need to create an environment in which the speakers would like to sit and listen to other speakers, thereby increasing the teaching flow and interaction of ideas. And for this you need to very well understand your topic and the people who develop it.

- Jeffrey Zeldman (An Event Apart)

My best conferences, which I developed, spoke at, or attended, created a multi-layered impression that made it easy to move from one layer to another. For example, at the last minute, having decided to communicate with people, I should be able to do it without problems.

Multi-purpose conferences suggest that people will move between presentations, but rarely think that some will want to be distracted from them altogether. Is there a place to think about what was heard and to discuss? To answer the mail? To just have fun?

- Kevin Hoffman (IA-Summit)

14: Be prepared to fill the pause.

Cameron Koszon showed me the value of bad jokes. He was ready to fill the pauses when the speaker was messing with slides or a technical failure occurred. Then there were jokes to keep the audience.



Maybe you are not ready to tell even a bad joke, but you still need to prepare, and say something on a procedural issue, or about the next speaker.

15: Think of a feedback system.

Some organizers consider it important to have feedback through feedback forms ...

Be sure to be able to leave reviews on paper in the classroom. People are more disposed to make reviews immediately after the report. Reviews will vary from "the best event in my life" to "only money spent in vain." It's amazing how much experience can vary!

- Christina Halvorson (Confab Events)



Others recommend personal surveys.

I prefer to personally receive feedback from people through small surveys, rather than shutting themselves off with pieces of paper.

- Bruno Figuerdo (UX Lisbon)



Do not forget to interview and speakers:

We always not only collect opinions of speakers, but also give the opportunity to make anonymous reviews. Sometimes the only way to find out about the shortcomings, especially of a private nature - payment, preparation, etc.

- Arias Styles (Environments for Humans)

16: Plan carefully

Once we did not attach importance to the expenditure of effort to maintain our health, and now we are trying to fix it. Similarly, conference organizers cut corners, understating ticket prices or underpaying speakers. Every compromise generates a pattern that is increasingly difficult to break over time.

- Ari Styles (Environments for Humans)

17: Leave time to attend your conference.

Stay in the shoes of a visitor to your event.

At each conference, I definitely try to take part in the conference as if it were someone else’s event. Suppose I take out a laptop and try to take notes. Therefore, I plan the work so that there is time for such things.

- Christopher Schmitt (Environments for Humans)

18: Do not forget to thank

Do not underestimate the significance of gratitude for all the people who helped organize your event.

- Brenda Sanderson (Interaction)



And following Brenda’s advice, I thank everyone who has shared his experience with me from sweat and blood.