{"id":6289,"date":"2020-03-03T21:54:44","date_gmt":"2020-03-03T21:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/?p=6289"},"modified":"2020-03-05T20:14:02","modified_gmt":"2020-03-05T20:14:02","slug":"avoid-runaway-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/avoid-runaway-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Avoid Runaway Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"

by JoAnn Peroutka, VP Strategic Services, Level5 Events by The Expo Group<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>A colleague once offere<\/span>d this sage advice: Never underestimate the power of a stage, a spotlight, and walk-on music. So very true!<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all lived through the realities of speakers who hijack a program\u2026with the best of intentions of course. Even if the remarks are well-received, there is typically more at stake than a cold entr\u00e9e. When programs run longer than expected, you don\u2019t just risk losing your audience, but losing money too as crew overtime accrues and venue rental charges increase. With this in mind, we\u2019re happy to share a few of our go-to tips for helping to ensure that your program stays on-point and on time:<\/p>\n

1. Timing\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>Everything:<\/strong>\u00a0Know upfront how long the program should be. In our world, if guests will be standing then the program should not be more than 15 minutes long. If guests will be seated, we aim for a program that is\u00a0cumulatively<\/em>\u00a0no longer than 40 minutes. For example, if it\u2019s a 90-minute seated dinner, guests should not be \u201ctalked at\u201d for more than 30\u201440 minutes max, inclusive of videos and performances. Your audience needs time to enjoy the meal and the company, as well as talk about what they\u2019ve just heard.<\/p>\n

2. Assign Word Counts:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s important \u2013 and only fair \u2013 to let your speakers know how much time they have to deliver their remarks. We find it\u2019s very helpful to provide specific guidelines, such as \u201cYour section of the program is slated to take 2 minutes. This means 250 words spoken at 125 words\/minute \u2013 roughly a half-page of text.\u201d A full page of single-spaced 12 pt type takes about 4 minutes to read. Brutal? Maybe, but effective.<\/p>\n

3. Insist on Rehearsal:<\/strong>\u00a0Speakers must be willing to rehearse, or they shouldn\u2019t be part of the live program. If these are important folks who need to be heard but they are unable to rehearse, consider including them in multi-media pieces such as videos or an image montage with quotes. Creating your rehearsal schedule as early as possible also increases your chances that speakers will be available.<\/p>\n

4. Have a Master Script Book:<\/strong>\u00a0Let speakers know that they will be reading from a master script book waiting for them on stage. We strongly discourage speakers who want to walk up to the mic with their hand-written edits. Last minute changes can happen during rehearsal and the script book updated almost instantaneously. If budget allows, consider using a teleprompter. That will work wonders with keeping to the schedule.<\/p>\n

5. Embrace the Countdown Timer:<\/strong>\u00a0Finally, if you are aware that certain speakers are notoriously wordy or down-right rogue, make sure there is a countdown timer within view. Some speakers profess that the timers are distracting or make them nervous. To which we pleasantly reply: That\u2019s the point. If you\u2019re running on time, there is nothing to worry about.<\/p>\n

Of course, if all else fails, continue to be the consummate professional you are and try to make up the time elsewhere. And take notes on who \u201cmisbehaved\u201d for the next time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Learn more about LEVEL5 EVENTS BY THE EXPO GROUP<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve all lived through the realities of speakers who hijack a program. Read about how you can avoid this common issue and take control of your event<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,40,47],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6289"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6289"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6336,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6289\/revisions\/6336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}