September Event Keys

School is back in and meetings and conferences are gearing up. Here are some tips you can use to make your events more successful.

Nothing looks worse than empty tables in front of your stage on banquet night, especially when you have a guest speaker. When I want to make sure the tables in front of my stage are full, I put reserved signs on the last two rows of tables in the ballroom which forces people to look at tables closer to the stage. Once those front tables are filled I pull the reserved signs and fill the tables in the back of the room too. This also works well in a meeting set up theatre style. Rarely will people move to the front of the room which makes it more difficult for your speaker. Rope off the back rows until the front rows are full.

This tip has a double benefit – better health and a cost savings. For an all day meeting with lunch and an afternoon break, I hold back the dessert from the luncheon and serve it during the afternoon break. Your attendees aren’t tempted with two sweets in a short time frame and you save money by not ordering a separate item for the break. You can include something non-sweet also, like fruit, nuts or popcorn.

Have you noticed people dozing off at a meeting? (Not yours of course, but I’m sure you’ve noticed it at meetings you’ve attended). Incorporate exercise (which brings oxygen to the brain and muscles) by scheduling a walk around Fraternity Mall, Prexys Pasture or even the building hosting your meeting into your health breaks. For those attendees that actually take the walk…reward them by handing out tickets at the far end of the building. Prior to the next health break draw a ticket for a prize and you will see the number of walkers increase dramatically during each subsequent break. Net effect, people come back from their breaks ready to listen, look and learn!

It’s helpful to put the meeting schedule on the back of the name badge in small print. The meeting attendees just flip their name badge over and know where and when they need to be somewhere.

When creating name tags – make the first name in EXTRA LARGE and bold font so that as people approach one another they can read it from a distance to avoid awkward moments for your participants that have difficulty remembering people’s names. Everyone will thank you!

When folks come to registration, in their bags or packets, include 2 double sided name placards. Using heavy stock, the attendees can fold it into two and easily prop up one of their names placards at their place so they are easily identified. We give out two because attendees always leave them someplace and need another.

Denise Marquiss
Coordinator of Conferences & Marketing
Center for Conferences & Continuing Education
Outreach School
University of Wyoming
(307) 766-3362
marquiss@uwyo.edu
http://outreach.uwyo.edu/eventsplanning



	September Tips for Planning Your Events If your time is tight or you need help with ideas and organization, please call Denise Marquiss in the Events Planning Office at 307-766-3362. We’d love to help! If you can't see the images in this email go to http://outreach.uwyo.edu/conferences/designkeys
	School is back in and meetings and conferences are gearing up. Here are some tips you can use to make your events more successful. Nothing looks worse than empty tables in front of your stage on banquet night, especially when you have a guest speaker. When I want to make sure the tables in front of my stage are full, I put reserved signs on the last two rows of tables in the ballroom which forces people to look at tables closer to the stage. Once those front tables are filled I pull the reserved signs and fill the tables in the back of the room too. This also works well in a meeting set up theatre style. Rarely will people move to the front of the room which makes it more difficult for your speaker. Rope off the back rows until the front rows are full. This tip has a double benefit – better health and a cost savings. For an all day meeting with lunch and an afternoon break, I hold back the dessert from the luncheon and serve it during the afternoon break. Your attendees aren’t tempted with two sweets in a short time frame and you save money by not ordering a separate item for the break. You can include something non-sweet also, like fruit, nuts or popcorn. Have you noticed people dozing off at a meeting? (Not yours of course, but I’m sure you’ve noticed it at meetings you’ve attended). Incorporate exercise (which brings oxygen to the brain and muscles) by scheduling a walk around Fraternity Mall, Prexys Pasture or even the building hosting your meeting into your health breaks. For those attendees that actually take the walk…reward them by handing out tickets at the far end of the building. Prior to the next health break draw a ticket for a prize and you will see the number of walkers increase dramatically during each subsequent break. Net effect, people come back from their breaks ready to listen, look and learn! It’s helpful to put the meeting schedule on the back of the name badge in small print. The meeting attendees just flip their name badge over and know where and when they need to be somewhere. When creating name tags – make the first name in EXTRA LARGE and bold font so that as people approach one another they can read it from a distance to avoid awkward moments for your participants that have difficulty remembering people’s names. Everyone will thank you! When folks come to registration, in their bags or packets, include 2 double sided name placards. Using heavy stock, the attendees can fold it into two and easily prop up one of their names placards at their place so they are easily identified. We give out two because attendees always leave them someplace and need another. Denise Marquiss Coordinator of Conferences & Marketing Center for Conferences & Continuing Education Outreach School University of Wyoming (307) 766-3362 marquiss@uwyo.edu http://outreach.uwyo.edu/eventsplanning