Plan Your Business Meeting Using Charles’ Event Planning Guide
The following is an event planning list that, if followed, will take you 75 percent of the way toward creating a successful event. The other 25? Contact Charles Marshall, motivational speaker:
1] If a hundred people are going to attend your
event, the room should hold about seventy-five. If five hundred people are
coming, the room should hold four hundred. You want the excitement of a
standing-room-only, bumper-to-bumper crowd.
2] Set the thermostat no higher than 68-70 degrees. A room that is too warm will
stifle your event. Remember that a room will warm up once people fill it up.
3] Try to avoid rooms with high ceilings. If there is extra space at the back of
the room, put up screens or use plants to cut down the excess space.
4] Studies show that people remember more and laugh more in brightness. Turn the
lights up all the way during the program. People should leave the event
discussing the
the motivational program, not the table candles.
5] Try to avoid having a head table. It blocks crowd interaction and inhibits
intimacy. Also it is sometimes considered offensive to those in the crowd and
creates an "us/them" mentality.
6] If the event is a banquet, tables should be set no more than 4-5 feet apart
to ensure crowd intimacy. Some hosts worry that people won't be able to walk
between the tables. Untrue. It'll be close, but not uncomfortable. Remember:
Hotel employees will always set up a room the way it would be best for them, not
best for your
speaking event!
7] Have the podium set back a few feet so that the
professional speakers can walk in front of
it.
8] If the event is a breakfast, lunch, or dinner, the introducer should politely
request that people with their backs to the stage turn their chairs forward so
they don't have to strain their necks.
9] Request that the photographer not take pictures during the first 10-15
minutes of the program. It is best not to have any distractions while the
audience is warming to the
public speaker.
10] Be sure that the waiters do not clear tables after the program begins. Many
in the audience will be annoyed at the distraction and won't be able to
concentrate.
11] Use masking tape to strap down any door latches that might shut with a bang
while the speaker is talking. Hotel rooms are notorious for this.
12] Have the first row set very close to the stage. Too much space between the
speaker and the first row creates a lack of chemistry with the audience.
13] Use masking tape to seal off the back rows in order to ensure the audience
will fill in the front rows first. Your audience will want to scatter but you
want them compact. You can take the tape off the rows from front to back as
people fill up the forward sections.
14] Introductions are critical! The stage must be set. Always try to have a good
speaker do the introductions rather than someone in the organization who is just
being given the honor.
15] Outside noise from the adjoining rooms and hallways is the No. 1 killer of
meetings. If another event is being held in the rooms adjacent to your event,
make every effort to book another venue. If you can't hear a pin drop, you're in
the wrong room. A quick phone call to the catering manager will ensure total
quiet.
16] Always request that an engineer be in the room during the entire program in
case of microphone problems.
17] Station someone in the back of the room whose sole job is to put out fires.
Let them search for extra chairs, adjust the lights, quell outside noise,
welcome late arrivals, and catch slamming doors.
Have a
date in mind for your event? Call or
e-mail
our office at
charles@charlesmarshall.net for fees and
availability.
M
Power Resources, LLC
1904 Winnbrook Court
Dacula, GA 30019
770-682-6070
