No matter what kind of event you’re hosting, it takes careful planning and scheduling to host one as an event manager. With all the effort and long hours that went into it, the last thing you want to see is your guests leaving early. So, what exactly should you do? Fun Planners has the expertise in Florida team building skills to help you keep those guests focused and entertained throughout your event.
- Keep it Short and Sweet. Sometimes, we try a little too hard to please our guests, which in turn lengthens the event more than it needs to be. Having a packed agenda can push the limits of your audience. Not only does this tire your audience, but it’s setting yourself up to fail as well.
- Location Does Matter. Consider what the best location may be for most of your guests arriving. Of course, you can’t adjust it according to each of your guest’s comfort, but at the same time, you wouldn’t want to cause any members arriving late or having to leave early. Most times, people tend to decide not to attend at all if they know they will be forced to miss a chunk of the event.
- Save the Best for Last. A great way to build anticipation or have the guests leave with a lasting impression is to end the event with the best you have. One example of this can be to present a must-see speaker at the very end.
- Communication is Key. Keeping up with time is a must for all events. Throughout the day, announce and ensure guests that the event will wrap up on time. If you do happen to get behind schedule, communicate how you will work around this, such as slightly changing the timings of presentations. Encourage and make it clear to the attendees on why they wouldn’t want to miss a single minute of the event.
- Keep the Cat in the Bag. We mentioned earlier to save the best for the last. However, in order to have anticipation build up, give clever hints here and there throughout the event. By doing so, the amount of excitement and hype will greatly expand before you know it!
- Incentivize. Having prizes should be taken into consideration as it requires the possible winners to collect the gift in person after the event has concluded. An easy way to do this is to gather the badges as people return for the final plenary, then draw a name, confirm they are there and distribute their prize.
- Responsible Seating. Have your staff members or volunteers encourage guests to fill the front rows. Avoid large spaces of spare chairs as this looks better for both the event photography and the person presenting. Furthermore, gathering the guests closer together pushes for engagement with one another.
- Amaze Them With Content. Bring and firmly establish value in your event by making sure to meet and exceed their expectations on your event’s objectives. By creatively mastering this, more people will be willing to stay until the end. The biggest compliment to receive is when people who originally planned to leave early ended up staying to hear more, or when people are still networking despite the event being over.
Hosting an event is definitely stressful when countless numbers of factors are taken into consideration. Of course, the main goal for any event manager is to have their guests all fully attend from start to finish. Making your event a memorable night may be a strenuous task, but it isn’t impossible with attentive planning. Combining these eight steps from Fun Planners is a great way to master your event planning. For assistance Florida team building, call us at 407-880-3521 or contact us online.
