Five Ways To Host Better Conferences

– Contributed content –

(ArtMuseumTeaching.com)

12 August 2018. Nobody wants to attend a dull or disorganized conference. The best conferences have an element of intrigue and fun – they make people eager to attend and they create a lasting impression afterwards. Here are just five tricks for hosting the ultimate conference.

Make it feel exclusive

While some conferences can be open to the public, more often than they’re targeted at specific people. In order to encourage these people to attend, it can be worth emphasizing the fact that it’s an exclusive opportunity. If it’s a sales conference, you could even offer exclusive deals to those that attend. You can even invite a special guest along such as a local mayor or an expert in a certain field to encourage people to come along for the exclusive opportunity to meet this person. Also consider mailing each of your guests a VIP pass – having a private ticket will help to add to the sense of exclusivity.

Choose a memorable location

Choosing a unique location will make your conference more memorable – especially for those that visit conferences all the time. Look into unique venues that you can rent out such as conference rooms in museums, historical buildings or local entertainment venues. If people are traveling from far and wide, you could even host the conference in a hotel so that they can book accommodation there as well. You could even hire a marquee and host a conference outdoors.

Make it interactive

Listening to someone talk at you for hours on end can be very dull – spice your conference up by making it more interactive. If you’re hosting a product demo, give people the chance to get hands on with your product and test it out for themselves. Allow people to ask questions and offer the chance for one on one conversations at the end. You could also use the opportunity for market research by getting people to take part in polls. Make your conference feel like less of a talk and more like an experience.

Cater to your guests’ individual needs

Certain guests may have individual needs – you may need consider disabled access whilst foreign-speaking guests may require interpreter services. You may even have VIPs coming who you can book private transport for. By thinking about the personal needs of each guest, you’ll endear yourself on a more individual level.

Give your guests a physical reminder to take away

Physical reminders – no matter how small and trivial – will help to leave a lasting impression. You could give everyone a branded pen or you could give everyone an information booklet to take home with them. You could even consider offering a voucher that gives each of your guests a discount. Make sure you have enough of these items to give away – you don’t want to be left in an awkward situation where someone feels left out.

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