Events, events, events. They come in a myriad of forms, and all require different personalities and techniques to drive them to their ultimate goals. For the uninitiated – and even the experienced entrepreneur, learning the steps to a successful presentation can be intimidating. This is especially true if you are about to lead your first session. This article will guide you through a few of the general rules of thumb when running virtual events so that you can approach your next virtual event with confidence, assertion, and a solid plan.
How Your Niche Factors In
First, remember that every event concept presentation is unique. This is even more true when you acknowledge how each and every business is unique and caters to its own niche. So, with this in mind, you will realize that there is no one set of rules to follow when leading an event. You are the ultimate arbiter of truth here. You know who your team is, and if you have set up an event, chances are you have a good idea of who your target audience is. Use the following tips to galvanize your plan and deliver a virtual event that gets the job done.
Express Yourself
When a business person plans an event, they cross into many frontiers. But the template might fall on deaf ears if you don’t imbue it with forward-moving energy. And the latter comes from you. This is more true when you are involved in a public event. To achieve this, the best rule of thumb is to express yourself to the fullest.
Yes, bring a fistful of you to the event presentation. Without that, the presentation will suffer for want of energy, and this can result in it not achieving the desired results. The best thing to do here is to find a way to express yourself within the context of the event. Maybe you have a particular meticulous interest in statistics – use your passion to bring the event to life. Likewise, if people skills are your passion, embrace them by engaging with the audience as much as possible.
There are many ways that one can express themselves in this context, and a number of variables – it would be impossible to spell them all out. But the long and short of it is to find the crux of expression and bring it out for public consumption.
Have A Plan But Be Fluid
There are a hundred reasons why you should keep an event planning deck on hand. Whether you memorize it or have it written down, it will keep your virtual event on track, and help you to present yourself. How you plan it out is up to you. In broad strokes, you should know what you want to say, and which points you want to address. If you have an industry professional as a speaker at your event, then you need to make time for them.
Staying on track is one thing, but another reason to have a plan is to make sure that you don’t run overtime or repeat points. Moreover, planning helps you to keep your finger on the pulse and not to lose track of the event.
Detailed plans are even better. Why? Because it is better to over-plan the event than to underestimate how much time you need. That way, you can prioritize the most important elements of your event and address the others as you see fit.
But as much as you can plan your event out, you can never stop it from being fluid. It is simply the nature of events. Especially when they involve multiple speakers. Once again, some events can be more fluid than others. It depends on your goals, and of course, what type of event you are hosting. You might even find that virtual events designed for audiences are less fluid than, say, in-team meetings where there are more voices contributing to the session. But events with attendees can be dynamic too.
If you have an industry professional speaking at your event, their time as the focal point of the event will lead the audience in different directions. If you are holding a Q&A as part of your event, a lot is determined by what questions you get. Not to mention myriad factors such as internet connectivity issues.
Overall, the best way to deal with this aspect of your event is to roll with the punches. That, and to keep a plan for reference. That way, you will never get stuck. If you factor in expressing yourself, you will find that the manner in which the event ebbs and flows works to your advantage. Take the ebbs and swim with the flows. In a word, make them yours.
Where You Host The Event Is Important
One of the important decisions you will need to make when planning your event is where to host it. There are a lot of options here. For instance, Zoom and Team operate well for small in-team events. But if you want to set up an event that catches the eyes of hundreds and thousands, you ought to look at platforms that specialize in mass marketable virtual events. One such example is Everytale, which can connect you with hundreds of thousands of people from the comfort of your home. Likewise, if your business requires a different platform, don’t lay down on the job. Do some research and find the optimal platform to host your corporate event.
If You Have An Industry Professional
If you have an industry professional involved in your event, make sure that you introduce them adequately, hitting the key points of why they are there. In a word, make them relevant to the event. This will encourage your audience to listen to them, and most of all, they will understand why they should do so.
As stated earlier, Q&A sessions create fluidity. But if you have an industry professional, let’s face it, the potential for fluidity shoots up. Nothing is more engaging than giving the audience the chance to ask their burning questions.
How To Present Yourself At Different Types of Events
Now, the meat. There are a number of factors to consider when presenting a virtual corporate event. First off, the potential size of participants is broad. You might have 500 attendees, or you may have upwards of a thousand. There are obvious differences such as being the main speaker versus a private meeting of in-team members. But more importantly, many types of events require different approaches.
1: Team-Building Events
Team building events have to be presented in a manner that encourages teamwork. So you will want to flag team-building as an integral part of the process. Perhaps you could headline this on event slides, or through other images? One way or another, you should build objectives into the slide presentation, and hand a few of those objectives over to your team. And more important than all, present yourself in a manner that encourages team-building.
In-team meetings tend to be more informal and relaxed, and ultimately their tone depends on their context. But they take less presentation design than public events. This leads us nicely onto…
2: Creative/Brainstorm Workshops
The content of a creative workshop depends on your business niche, but should generally be an open environment. Such an environment will encourage free-thinking. Due to this, your event planning will not need to be as thorough. For example, a free-fire idea zone is more productive when it encourages a more relaxed environment. Of course, if deadlines are looming and you need to get things moving, it is okay to crack the whip a little.
3: Recruitment Events
When running a recruitment event, you will want to have any and all information you wish to impart to your attendees ready at hand. Via a PowerPoint, for instance. Along with the use of slide presentations designed within programs like PPT, the best way to present yourself here is to be approachable albeit informative and professional. That way, your attendees will get a good sense of your business while also feeling free to make inquiries.
4: Product Launches
If there was ever a time to imbue your event management with charisma, it is when your business launches a new product. A virtual event is a great way to introduce a product to the market because it allows you to show how it works and give your audience a good sample of it too. People are a lot more inclined to invest in products when they can see it with their naked eyes, and get wowed by your singular innovation.
5: Annual Celebrations
When it comes to celebrations, you should let the good times roll. First off, you deserve it. Second off, it lets your staff know that they deserve it too. Third off, if you allow it to shine, it raises morale, which does wonders for any business. Your staff are much more likely to work harder when morale is high, which can lead to great things over time.
Another important action to take in your event planning presentation is to acknowledge team achievements. That way, staff will feel proud to work for you, and will work harder knowing this.
The Verdict
Event presentation is a great skill, and when executed well, results in a successful event and of course, a positive post event presentation. All it takes is a little bit of audience engagement and some good planning. If you need more help preparing your event proposal presentation, look no further than those who host virtual events. Before you know it, all the benefits and more will be yours.