This post started as an opportunity to beat up an event I attended focused on information sharing from multiple panelists.
While the organizers know better, they failed to address fundamentals to make the event more valuable for both in-person attendees and those trying to report the event via social media channels.
The event’s content was intriguing, and I did some live tweeting, but it was in the absence of four items that would have made it a much stronger (and easier to report) event:
- Create and over-communicate an event hashtag to find and aggregate tweets plus let audience members connect more easily
- Show a title slide for all presenters with their names, organization affiliations, and Twitter handles all correctly spelled
- State upfront, during, and afterward what the organizers intend for the audience to walk away with as a benefit for being at the event
- Provide context (or some model) for how the presenters' activities or points of view fit together relative to the event’s theme
See what I mean?
Four simple steps to dramatically boost an event’s impact for in-person attendees and those participating online.
But what about the intent of this piece changing?
Well, as I was writing this, I recalled the workshop I presented the other day at the Enterprise Center of Johnson County.
While I had my Twitter name and a hashtag on every slide, I never once called attention to it as a way to invite live tweeting. I also neglected to share the host organization's Twitter handle. And none of it was written on the whiteboard where it would have been more visible for attendees.
It's definitely EASY to point out other’s shortcomings, but it's far better to have a checklist you hold up to others AND follow yourself.
Now that there is a four-point checklist, I’ll be trying to follow it for my future events.
How about you? - Mike Brown
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