Being in the events space now I have started to keenly observe each event I attend. I did the similar exercise for the last event attended and have the following learnings to take back. Thought might be of help to us all so posting it on my blog.

 Good Things:

• •  The speeches for the President and chief guest were well researched & written.
• •  The Chief- guests session was short and crisp and presented in such a way which even person lacking in-depth knowledge on the subject could understand
• •  Distributing agenda on a colored paper seemed to be a good idea as this can be co-ordinated with the theme colors of the conference
• •  Separate Lunch Area for the speakers really gives them privacy and promotes networking.

Potential Improvements Points:

• •  I observed that while designing the backdrop of the event we should keep in mind the theme, topic of the conference and also the profile of the guests as that is the first thing which will impact their minds
• •  The agenda which is given as handouts to the delegates should be detailed and talk about the sessions in detail so that the delegate, sometimes so happens the delegate may not be aware of a particular subject and might just discard the session as non-important.
• •  As a practice the sound testing should be done before the arrival of delegates
• •  If there is a delay in commencing the session networking between the delegates should be encouraged or arrangements
• •  While the delegates are waiting for the conference to start news channels can be shown, this can also be offered as an additional benefit to the television partner
• •  The volunteers should be used according to their capabilities; important resources should not be wasted
• •  The speaker area should be clearly demarcated
• •  The dias should not be over crowded while lighting lamp
• •  A separate area should be created for photo journalists
• •  Efforts should be made to make the speakers comfortable
• •  In case a report is being released, it should not be shown to the audiences before the chief guest unpacks the study

• Contributed by : Richa Kapoor, Knowledge Buddy, External Relations, Milagrow