Campusalam

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A week before

Contact essential people to confirm arrangements and make sure they are on track. This may include:

- Speakers and other panel members. Make sure you exchange emergency phone numbers (mobiles); confirm all their requirements for handouts and audio-visual equipment; and any personal needs. Confirm arrangements for taking questions or managing discussions, and make sure you are in agreement on how these are to be handled.
- Key facilitators, volunteers, participants. Make sure they’re still coming and know what to do.
- Those providing entertainment
- Venue. Confirm access arrangements to set up and clear up afterwards.
- Transport arrangements
- Accommodation
- Caterers
- ‘Stakeholders’ – people you saw earlier and promised to keep informed
- PR or external relations contacts
- Photographer, press officer, media representative, person making recordings
- Community contacts

An effective way to practise: Do a final run of imagining what might go wrong and how you can either prevent it in advance, or cope with it when it happens.

The day before

Have a team meeting if appropriate to talk through arrangements and responsibilities, assigning any tasks not yet covered. Do a practise run in your imagination together to see what you’ve forgotten or to have last-minute good ideas. Make any transport arrangements – like who takes what and takes it away again. Book taxis if needed.

Do the physical set-up of the space as soon as the venue allows it.

Get the money for the cash box, paying speakers, or signed cheques and all other financial details sorted.

Update and printout copies of the master plan or checklist.

Print out the list of guests or attendees, make up any name badges needed.

Use the plan or checklist to make up the packs or kits required for each domain: registration table, programme material or delegate packs, steward or facilitator packs with handouts and other materials, refreshments, and so on.

Charge your mobile and make sure you have all your vital contact numbers on it!

On the day

Consult your master plan or checklist regularly and frequently.

Get there early and make sure that your essential support people do the same.

Consult with your team. Everyone clear on their responsibilities? Who is greeting the speakers or performers? Who is welcoming attendees, checking off names, taking money? Who is chairing, speaking, facilitating, acting as stewards? Who is checking the venue, AV equipment? Who is overseeing refreshments or catering? Liaising with press, photographers, sponsors, techies? Make sure they are there and doing their job.

Check the physical arrangement of the venue:

Auditorium or programme area: are seating arrangements and tables appropriate? Are the sight lines all right for stage or platform? Temperature and ventilation all right?

Platform area: table and right number of chairs, microphones, water for the speakers, paper and pen for their notes, laptop for PowerPoint?

Audio and visual equipment: microphones working, PowerPoint working, cameras well-positioned?

Registration desk: does it have the right supplies, like guest list, cash box with float for change, name badges, paper, pens, stapler, paper clips, scissors, information on programme, your organisation or sponsors, local restaurants, maps?

Catering or refreshments: everything you need for your requirements?

If possible, have one person dedicated to the speaker(s). They may have last minute needs or questions. They may want a bit of company to feel at home. They may be a little nervous! Offer them refreshments if you can and let them know where the toilets are. Show them the platform arrangements and let them check any AV. Talk them through the event as appropriate and give them any further information or new updates. If appropriate, introduce them to team members or members of the audience that you know or trust to make small talk. Bear in mind that they may want a few minutes of quiet or privacy to collect their thoughts. Introduce speakers to one another.