

Pat's Guide to Running Events - paulannesley
http://freelancing-gods.com/posts/pats_guide_to_running_events

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paulannesley
Doing events at a cafe with a good barista and a coffee tab instead of a bar
tab sounds awesome. As does the eradication of mediocre (or worse) food &
drink, and useless bags of landfill.

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adrianhoward
There are a couple of things on that list I'd niggle with.

* Single vs multi-track. Personally I like both kind of events depending on the what and why. You get a lot of energy by everybody being in the same place. Equally sometimes there's a lot to be gained by splitting things up so people can explore different ideas then come back together again. You can use multiple tracks to get folk to think about different things - then come back together to cross pollinate ideas. It can be very energising if done right.

* 30m or less is just wrong as far as I'm concerned. You can certainly have an excellent event that just has 30m or less talks - but that's going to exclude some topics and some methods of presentation. So you need to be aware of that. Instead I'd phrase it as make sure to get the right length for the content. Push presenters hard on how they're going to use that time. Sometimes you'll find that 90m workshop is better as a 10m lightning talk. Sometimes you'll find that 30m talk is better as a 90m workshop.

Other random tips that I'd add in:

* Think about accessibility issues for those with wheelchairs, crutches, etc. and stick something in the publicity about it.

* Provide space for socialising during the event. Not everybody will have the energy or the interest to go to every session. Have somewhere for them to hang out and talk.

* For tech events especially - have caffeine available mid-morning, lunchtime, and mid-afternoon. People need their coffee/soda fix. If they can't find it onsite they'll wander off to get it. Keep people at the venue.

* Plan for smokers. Some people smoke. Make sure you know where they should go, and how to let them know when the next sessions are kicking off.

* Give some space for people to decompress, talk and socialise between sessions. Schedule in more than change-over time between sessions. Allow space for people to get up, stretch, and talk. They come back with more energy and enthusiasm.

* It's impossible to please everybody. Whatever you do some people will like some things and hate others about how you structure an event.

* Follow up with attendees after the event. Try and figure out what worked and what didn't for next time.

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mehdim
Don't forget to put vegetarians options for food, and clearly mention that is
is vegetarian.

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patallan
That's a great point - I guess part of me is blind to that because my diet is
mainstream, but also, I'm surprised that there's still events that don't
provide solid vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free options. Thoughtlessness at best,
really.

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zacharycohn
As an event organizer of events at many different levels, I will always make
sure to have a vegetarian option, but I usually stop there. It becomes
increasing more difficult, expensive, and complex to try to guess how much of
and many different diets may be represented.

That being said, I do usually push for healthier-than-average food. I also
started a "War on Pizza" in Seattle to get other event organizers to stop
serving Pizza at events...

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patallan
What do you replace pizza with, and how does it compare cost-wise?

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simonw
I started a thread about this exact topic on Quora, which has 26 answers now:
[http://qr.ae/pcIQa](http://qr.ae/pcIQa)

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keithpeter
Poster sessions in a large space?

Might help with 'socializing' and even the 'event party' aspect. Non-
extroverts could use QR codes to find the authors of interesting posters &c
and have a chat.

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mathattack
Very good advice. And the large noisy bar scene for parties is a pet peeve of
mine too. But that could be a side effect of not being 21 any more. :-)

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tlarkworthy
Pen and paper in a bag please

