Show don’t tell.

It’s a cardinal rule in screenwriting and it can definitely boost your conference sessions.

You organised some amazing speakers with an incredible backstory and a long list of achievements.

How best to show this off?

Your speakers are probably not comfortable tooting their own horns but would certainly like the audience to know their credentials.

If you have an exciting emcee they can certainly get the audience enthused for a speaker.

But why not show and not tell with a short and exciting video introduction?

Almost like a teaser trailer for your speakers.

Plenty of video production companies can put these together for you. Just ask your speakers to provide a few photos from their lives and maybe video if they have any, and they can be put into an exciting video intro including a powerful, Hollywood-style voiceover listing their achievements.

Then as far as your guests will be concerned, they are not listening to another speaker.

They are listening to a star!

How can you help guests get the most out of your conference?

How can you ensure they see the talks they’d get the most out of among the crammed schedule?

Well here is where your conference website comes in.

If you are at a big commerce site like Amazon, what do you see when you are looking at different products?

“If you like this you might also like this”.

Why not use this exact same system on your conference site?

If guests are interested in one speaker, recommend another with a similar topic or background.

That way guests can easily plan their schedule to ensure they get to the sessions they will enjoy the most

Pete

For more info visit www.petebooth.com

I’m obsessed about encouraging networking and interaction at events. That is what my roving event magic is specially designed for.

Here’s a really simple thing you can do to get people talking at your wedding.

If you have a website, app or Facebook event page for your wedding – or all three- the couple will of course be the stars.

But why not have a short bio about a few of the close family members and wedding party?

Nothing huge, just a bit about their relationship to the couple and a few interesting facts about them.

You can ask them to provide it or get a few bits of info and write it yourself.

Then come wedding day, everybody knows a few people there. Nobody needs to ask “What relation are you to the couple?” 

And conversation is a breeze. No searching around for a topic to talk about, straight into the conversation. 

“So you’re John? Brother of the bride? You like cricket? Well I used to play cricket”.

And so on.

Such a simple thing to make it an even greater time for your guests.

Better yet you could bring in some roving magic to get your guests really interacting and having a great time.

But more on that another time 🙂

Pete

For more info visit www.petebooth.com

So, too often the emcee’s announcements are like the safety announcements on a flight. The guests assume they know all the info and it becomes white noise. 

Of course next thing you know, everyone is asking the emcee and staff where the bar is and what time the next session starts.

However there is something in every conference room just perfect for reminding everyone of this information – the screens.

As I wrote in the previous article, the final presentation of the session should finish with a bang. So what if instead of the emcee returning to tell the audience about the next session, the presentation ends, the lights go up, the music comes on and then all the information about the next session appears on the screen? Along with any other information the guests need.

The great thing is, now projection is so easy that any updated information on time changes can be easily added.

So take advantage of those big looming screens. The staff will love you for cutting out all the questions they are asked by confused attendees.

Pete

For more info visit www.petebooth.com

Today I’m writing about what conferences can learn from the world of theatre.

I have worked a lot in both conferences and theatre productions, and in theatre everything is designed to keep the correct mood and momentum.

But you don’t need a full rehearsal for your conference presentations.

All you need are some very basic elements of theatre.

For example before a production, music is setting the atmosphere.

The lighting changes as either a voice over introduces the emcee or the emcee walks on stage to applause. Either way the audience knows things are about to begin.

There is music played briefly as each speaker takes the stage.

Most importantly, after the last speaker has finished on a bang, the show ends, normal room lighting is resumed and music plays to bookend each production (more on this in the next article).

All of these elements can be used to make your conference sessions run smoothly and add an element of theatre to the proceedings, therefore increasing your audiences attentiveness.

I’m Pete Booth, thankyou very much! (I walk off, lights come up and music plays).

Pete

For more info visit www.petebooth.com