TALKING POINT
Elanor Huntington speaking
at TEDxSydney 2017.
Exit stage right
When it comes to live events and conferences delegates are asking for greater engagement, and that often
falls on the speakers to deliver. But do organisers focus enough on curating their content, asks Sheridan Randall.
‘All the world's a stage, and all the men and
women merely players’. That well-worn
quote from As You Like It applies to the
events world as well, as everyone who gets
up on that stage, whether they are a keynote
speaker, MC or simply there to welcome the
delegates, is part of the show.
“With a conference it’s one take, we don’t get
another shot at it,” says Barry McLeod, event
director at CMA Events. As an MC, host and
event facilitator with more than 20 years’
experience, McLeod knows both sides of the
coin better than anyone, and that a live event
or conference is “a form of theatre”.
“When you have a good conference organiser
that has liaised with the speakers and themed
it properly then it is gold,” he says. “The thing
is it doesn’t ‘just happen’. You can’t say ‘this
is the theme just do it’. You’ve got to discuss
it with them to get the right outcome.”
Getting that outcome can be a challenge for
organisers who are time poor and have to
liaise with the multiple touch points who are
behind the event.
18 Convention & Incentive Marketing, Issue 4, 2017 www.cimmagazine.com
“Sometimes with the amount of people
involved in conference committees it can get
quite muddled on who to bring in,” he says.
“For an organiser to drive that through, it is
quite a skill set.
“There is no point having a list of speakers
all talking about the same thing. A good
organiser, along with a conference
committee, will make sure it follows a
chronological order that keeps it interesting
and flowing. Know the key points you want
delegates to take away from the conference