Good conferences are not portable. Organisers tailor their programmes to their chosen venue and use its facilities so well that the venue itself becomes an integral part of a conference’s success. The rooms themselves, their access, size, the equipment each can contain, number of power points, etc, and even the lighting, make a difference to the arrangement of the programme.

Variety is the key to a successful programme, not only in contrasting types and sizes of sessions, but also in the styles of presentation. Some things will be integral to the programme – a keynote speech, the unveiling of a new product, etc – but you can be flexible about where and when you include them.

Plan important sessions for mid-morning as it’s the peak time for concentration, and avoid scheduling major items for the beginning or end of the day; delegates may have to leave early or arrive late and in any case may be flagging after a long day of concentration in unfamiliar surroundings. Once the most important items are slotted in, fill in the rest of your programme around them.

Keep things moving

Avoid putting two very similar sessions consecutively. Interspersing lectures with workshops, demonstrations with seminars allows delegates to move around, stretch their legs and discuss what’s been said. One of the most important parts of any conference, and the one many delegates appreciate the most, is being able to meet colleagues who are normally only a voice on the phone or a name on an email. Any conference programme which concentrates on discussion seminars and workshops will be more successful than one which consists mainly of formal presentations.

Informal discussion groups can last an hour and workshops can last up to two hours, providing they have a break for tea or coffee in the middle to refresh participants. Many delegates will continue animated debate during these breaks and so draw others, who are not part of that session, into discussion.

Formal sessions should be shorter. 35 minutes is the maximum time the brain can concentrate productively without a break and presenters should be encouraged to speak for no longer than that. Allowing 15 minutes for questions makes a total of 50 minutes. The final 10 minutes in the hour allows your delegates to find the correct room for their next session, use the cloakroom, swap contacts, or debate what they have just heard without being rushed. Don’t be too ambitious about how much you can pack into the time and the sessions which follow should stay within the timetable.

Spotlight on speakers

If a speaker insists that his/her subject requires longer than 35 minutes then suggest that they break for questions half-way through as well as at the end, to allow delegates some respite from listening to a single voice. Many speakers use equipment such as OHPs, slide projectors, or bring a PowerPoint presentation on a laptop to illustrate their presentation. Make sure that you know about all equipment requirements in advance and check to make sure that the room has adequate sockets, screens, etc.

If the leaders of simultaneous sessions need the same equipment make sure that you have enough. Better still, arrange for them to use it successively. Equipment must always be tested after it’s been moved, which is a nuisance (although less of a nuisance than trying to rectify problems under the eye of 200 delegates plus an impatient and nervous speaker!) so try to allocate it to a particular room and keep it there. If you do have to move equipment to a new location, leave a long enough break between sessions to allow it to be dismantled, moved, set up and tested. If necessary try the transfer beforehand, and time it.

Sessions running concurrently on different topics provide delegates with a degree of choice and maximise the use of time. Send delegates details in advance about the sessions available and ask them to let you know their first and second choices so that you can arrange for rooms of the correct size to be available for the numbers expected. Very popular sessions can be repeated if necessary.

Professional pointer

Try to get to know the speakers, presenters and leaders of workshops before you organise your programme. If necessary contact other colleagues who have attended a session led by them and see if you can learn something about their style, whether they tend to over- or under-run, and how entertaining they are. Also find out whether they have any personal preferences or alternative engagements which might interfere with your planning. The more you know about the idiosyncrasies of your speakers, the more you can make allowances for them in the planning of your programme.

If the conference is to have a formal dinner then arranging a seating plan is often a good idea as some delegates are reluctant to mix. A formal plan, if carefully thought out, can help delegates to get to know each other. Try to match like-minded people, or people likely to have similar jobs. An entertaining after-dinner speaker is often a good idea and agencies can provide you with contact details for a range of professional speakers.

Organising a conference programme needn’t be too much of a headache if you remember to include three things: varied sessions and presentation styles, informal yet expert speakers and at least one social item. A programme encompassing all three is likely to be enjoyable and instructive for your delegates and a satisfying success for you.