What are the different ways of organizing a conference?
- Setting up a workshop
- Holding a convention
- Organizing seminars
- Assembling private company meetings
- Establishing a virtual conference
Organizing a conference is a difficult task, especially if you don’t know where to begin. Aside from the location, the size of the venue, and the scope of attendees, you would also have to come up with plans to determine the nature of the conference.
It’s important for you to determine which specific factors can define the nature of this kind of arrangement. You would want your keynote speakers, guests, and attendees to make the most out of the event. For this reason, you’re faced with the challenge of maximizing the available resources and ensuring nothing is put to waste.
There is no single step that can meet all your event’s needs – you need to adapt depending on your goal. Continue reading to learn more about the many different ways to organize a conference.
Setting Up a Workshop
A common concern that people have with conferences is the lack of interaction involved. The usual setting comprises a group of experts and professionals talking about a particular subject matter on stage while the audience listens. This leaves little to no time for people to network or interact with other people from the industry.
To incorporate more interaction into your conference, consider transforming it into a workshop. This type of conference breaks the monotony of such events. Workshops are typically informal and are set up for the purpose of educating a group of individuals in a more hands-on manner.
This type of event usually lasts for a certain time period and progresses, so that each participant would have gained new learnings and skills in the next session.
Holding a Convention
Another way for you to shake-up the regular conference is by holding conventions. Conventions are meticulously organized conferences. These events are usually held annually and are attended by a dedicated group of niche customers or attendees.
Niche audiences brought together by a commonality are a distinct feature of conventions. To better illustrate this example, one can think of a toy convention. These types of conventions would most likely be attended by hobbyists and pop culture enthusiasts.
In organizing conventions, ease of navigation around the venue is key. You should also ensure groups of people would easily be able to locate kiosks, stalls, or booths which they would most likely find interesting.
Organizing Seminars
Seminars can be thought of as events that are closer to conferences. A major difference with seminars is that they’re structured in a way simultaneous learning and productive engagement takes the fore.
For example, if you’ve ever been in a leadership seminar, you would understand that a large part is dedicated to the speakers providing informative leadership tips to their audience. After some time, the speakers would organize leadership-building activities to engage the attendees.
As with any other type of conference, it’s important that seminars follow a well-planned agenda. You should ensure that any potential technical issue is accounted for, and that all peripherals used in the activity properly serve their purpose. Poorly-organized seminars will only cause further disgruntlement among the participants.
Assembling Private Company Meetings
If you’ve ever worked for a large company with offices spread across the globe, you would have an idea of how much of a challenge it is to gather everyone in one room. However, at times, this endeavor is necessary, especially if the company wants to hold a meeting in celebration of a positive development or to begin a new initiative.
Unlike a typical convention, private company meetings are not broadcast to the public. Only the company’s employees are allowed to be privy to the developments. These days getting a big group of key people together has been largely made possible through various online avenues and platforms.
Companies and businesses are now able to hold live video calls or video conferences to interact with their constituents.
Establishing a Virtual Conference
Similar to private company meetings, virtual conferences are important for businesses who need to gather professionals together to talk about a particular subject matter.
While this practice is most common among businesses, it is not limited to those. Larger-scale virtual conferences can be held in convention centers in combination with an already-existing conference which might be taking place on the same day. Virtual conferences usually include an expert in a particular field who can talk about a topic at length.
With regards to establishing virtual conferences, it’s important for you to properly coordinate with the guests of the event. They may live in different countries and subsequently, different time zones. Make sure to hold the conference on a schedule which is the most convenient for the attendees.
Key Takeaway
When organizing a conference, an important consideration for you to keep in mind is that there is no single way to meet an event’s needs. Conferences can either be workshops, seminars, lectures, or the like. Managing your limited resources and accommodating guests and attendees is paramount to a successful conference.
