Innocent and seemingly-small mistakes can bring your virtual events to a screeching halt. Avoid errors and embarrassing blunders with these tips for virtual event organizers.
What could honestly go wrong?
Any number of challenges may present themselves as you plan and execute your virtual events. Being aware of the potential pitfalls will help you to be prepared if they do.
Here are some common mishaps that can negatively affect your virtual events:
- Technology failures with no backup plan
- Speaker or talent availability changes
- Communication errors
- Participants don’t receive support
- Going live without a clear plan
How do virtual event organizers prevent errors?
There are several ways that virtual event organizers can prevent errors, including the following:
Planning is everything – Develop a clear objective, agenda and run of show for your program. Create a schedule of action items and assignments before the event planning begins. Stick to your schedule as much as possible to ensure that all tasks are completed accurately and on time.
It’s OK to over-communicate – Double-check and communicate all event details to your team before the event is scheduled and promoted including the date, time, event platform, event expectations and other important information.
Communicate clearly and effectively with all team members, volunteers, and attendees to ensure that everyone is on the same page and aware of their roles and responsibilities. Gather feedback from your team to continue improving and help them to feel heard.
Technical rehearsal is required – Conduct tests with your technology stack and equipment in the weeks and days prior to ensure that everything is working properly in support of your event expectations. Encourage your team to join from the equipment and the location that they plan to use on the day of.
Assure that all presenters have quality audio and video communication and complimentary backgrounds and lighting. This is your time to catch any kinks and leave your team confident and prepared for your event.
Bring a back-up plan – Prepare a contingency plan for as many event elements as possible in case of any unexpected issues or errors that arise during the event. Doing so will help to minimize the impact of any errors and keep the event running smoothly.
Who will share the slides and who will have the slides as backup? Who will manage chat and questions and who will assist if it gets busy? While we certainly can’t make every feature of our events redundant, we can be prepared to address issues calmly when the unexpected becomes anticipated.
To sum it up, the key to preventing errors as a virtual event organizer is to have a well-planned and organized approach which includes selecting the right team and technology.
At EventSpace, we want you to be prepared to do your best work. Our platform is designed to eliminate common errors and our team is here to support and advise you or to take the wheel for you. Let’s start a conversation.
