Posts Tagged ‘venues’
Taking the Terror Out of Running Huge Trivia Events
Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
When I first started hosting pub quiz nights 5 years ago, my approach was completely low-tech. With a small crowd of fewer than 25 people, I found that all I needed was a stack of trivia questions, a pen and paper to jot down scores, and piles of answer sheets for the participants. When my sleepy quiz suddenly exploded into the biggest bar trivia night in Manhattan, I upgraded to a laptop to keep score – a tool which I use to this day when running private events or large pub quiz nights of up to 100 people or so, and which allows me to handle the entire event by myself.
However, what happens when suddenly the event calls for entertaining 250 people? That’s exactly what we faced last week, at our special trivia fund raiser in support of VH1 Save The Music Foundation. With a massive audience and the same 2-hour time limit as our other live trivia parties, how could we possibly deliver a trivia event which would run smoothly and efficiently?
The first thing I had to address was manpower. Much as I love running events on my own, with a trivia night of this scale, it would be simply impossible for me to grade and input all of the team names in a timely manner. I arranged for more than enough extra hands to assist, and divided them into two teams: graders, and runners. The graders were seated at a long table near the stage, with one being designated the laptop operator/data entry guy. Runners were deployed at the end of each round, and given the task of collecting answer sheets. A 1-minute hand-in rule was also implemented, which helped keep things moving along swiftly.
Next item: seating. With so many people, what is the optimal way to configure chairs and tables? The solution here came from the clever mind of the venue’s general manager, who understood instinctively the unique challenges of configuring a large trivia event- namely, people need to sit, in groups, and can’t block the aisles or exits. The answer came in the form of long rows facing each other, a-la speed dating; the result was natural order, structure, and ample space for people to get up and hand answer sheets, or visit the bar. Brilliant!
Finally, there was the issue of event flow. Even with an army of graders and runners, it still takes time to grade literally dozens of answer sheets, and we don’t want to interrupt the natural rhythm of the event by having to call extended breaks in between rounds. The solution? Mid-round “mini-games,” whereby we called individuals up by drawing raffle tickets, and letting them answer 1-on-1 trivia questions for prizes. Not only did this add a new dimension of trivia to the event, but it allowed our graders the time they needed to do their job without the crowd growing restless.
I’ve run many large trivia events, but this one in particular required extra love and attention, and I was very pleased with how it turned out. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions as to how we could have made this or other mega-trivia events run event more efficiently? I’d love to hear! Please leave your recommendations below.
Expert, Schmexpert: 6 Details Even Professional Event Planners Overlook
Monday, June 13th, 2011
This week, TrivWorks will be producing several large-scale trivia events in Manhattan and Brooklyn, including a fund raiser for VH1 Save The Music Foundation and a brand awareness event for The Economist. As any event planner will tell you, big events are made up of countless small details, and with the many stresses which inevitably creep up as you approach Game Day it’s easy to accidentally let a few slip through the cracks – especially if you’re like me, and not a naturally detail-oriented person (I find the big picture stuff way more fun).
Even though I have planned and produced events professionally for nearly a decade, I’ve unfortunately learned the hard way not to let certain aspects of the event slip off of my radar, especially when the turnout – and expectation – is huge. Below are 6 important event details which I’ve at some point forgotten until the last minute, and why I’ve learned never to do so again – so that hopefully you won’t, either:
1. Signage – Back when I was working as an advance staffer on the 2000 Gore/Lieberman presidential campaign, someone once told me, “If you think you’ve put up enough signs, you haven’t put up enough signs.” That stuck with me, and I encourage you to think the same way when hanging directional signs for your audience, talent and crew in an unfamiliar venue.
2. Comp List – There is always a list of people who are coming as guests. However, with all of the hullabaloo going on, actually putting this list in print and disseminating it to the right people is easily forgotten until the last minute. Get your comp list to the box office or sign-in table early, and you won’t have to worry about it when the crowds start arriving.
3. Cash – Is your event being handled off-site or low-tech, without box office support? Don’t forget to get plenty of cash in order to make change for people buying at the door, or you’ll find yourself in a bad way real quick.
4. Sharpies – I always carry one of these around at events. Perfect for making alterations to run-of-show schedules, on-stage scripts, passes and signage, it’s also the quill of choice for your talent to sign autographs with. Don’t be caught empty handed when something needs to be written down!
5. Cell Phone Charger – Most large-scale events are day-long endeavors, requiring countless calls, texts and intense Smartphone usage. In the heat of the function, the last thing you’ll be thinking about is whether or not your cell battery has enough juice to make it through the party.
6. Tape – So simple, yet you don’t realize how much you desperately need tape until you don’t have any handy. At the very least make sure you have scotch tape for signage & securing tablecloths, masking tape for talent stage direction & positioning, and duct or electrical tape to secure cables from electronic equipment, extension cords, microphone cords etc.
I’ve made more than my share of mistakes at events over the years, but have committed to learning from each and every one so as not to repeat them. Forgetting small details is so simple to do, yet so easily avoided; keep the above details in mind when you’re preparing to produce your next big to-do, and it will hopefully make things run a bit more smoothly for you.
What are some other easily-forgotten details that even the pros sometimes don’t remember?
Conducting Virtual Team Building Events – MTV Case Study
Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
It’s a classic problem for office managers, corporate event planners and human resources professionals in the 21st Century. You have been tasked with creating a team building activity to help boost morale & foster goodwill amongst the disparate groups which make up your office or department. The only problem is, while you and the majority of staff are at the company’s Mother Ship in one city, a critical team works off-site, and interacts primarily via email & conference call. Do you fly the outside team in, for the sake of a group bonding exercise?
If your budget for employee entertainment is like most companies in this economy, I think we both know the answer to that. However, thanks to virtual meeting technology, team building events no longer need to exclude those who don’t work at headquarters. This past fall, one of our clients, MTV Networks, faced this exact problem, which we were able to solve using technology.
In this case, the department wanted to hold a fun live trivia party as a reward for hard-working staff, following a particularly arduous project. However, while the majority of the team was in the New York City office, several crucial team members were stationed down at the Nashville office. What to do?
For starters, we decided to hold the event on-site in MTV’s largest conference room, reconfiguring the space to make it usable for us. Next, we set up the satellite video conference system, and established a live video & audio feed directly to the Nashville conference room, making sure to run our host’s microphone through both the local sound system as well as the video conference channel. With the Nashville team now proudly represented on the huge screen – and the NYC group displayed on theirs – we proceeded with our live trivia, just as we would at any other event.
Teams usually write down their trivia answers on sheets provided at our events, however we had Nashville send theirs in via email. Once all the answers were collected, they were scored, announced and the next round read out, just like normal. An “iPod Round” was easy to do- just played the music through the audio input, and Nashville could hear the tunes in realtime just like the NYC group. When it came time to do our “Picture Round” – a sheet with celebrity faces, which teams must identify for points – we fired off an email attachment. Moments later, we watched on screen as someone came into the Nashville conference room with freshly-printed picture sheets. No time wasted, and very, very cool!
In the end, the entire group had an absolute blast- and would you believe, Nashville actually won! They cheered just as loudly and enthusiastically as an other team would, despite the fact that they were in an office many miles away from the main group. It was a successful event by any measure, and was possible thanks to the virtual technology available in most any modern workplace.
The role of technology in virtual meetings, team building, corporate entertainment and other activities is evolving rapidly, with social media also making a huge impact. Next week is Internet Week here in New York, and the social media/event planning experts at Liz King Events will be teaming up with “virtual venue storefront” Pogby to present Planner Tech, a showcase for tools used to integrate digital & social technology into live events. The event will be held on Thursday, June 9th at 6pm if you can make it – otherwise, be sure to follow the action on Twitter by using the #plantech hashtag.
Event Planner’s Guide to Surviving Cancellations
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011
I hold a rather unique position in the word of event professionals, being both a planner and a supplier. As such, I can attest to two things regarding event cancellations: 1) they are inevitable, and 2) they are no fun. Neither the planner nor the talent enjoys being told that, for one reason or another, the function will not be going on as scheduled. On the planning side, you’ve worked for weeks – probably months – securing dates, venues and content, investing your time, efforts and credibility into something which is no longer happening. As the supplier, you lose the opportunity to perform, present or provide your service (in my case, producing live trivia team building and corporate event entertainment parties in New York City).
Cancellations can be the result of many things, including low registration, schedule conflict, inclement weather & talent visa issues. Regardless of the reason, however, the result is always the same: disappointment & frustration for all parties involved, including the audience. Once a cancellation has occurred, how can things be made right?
Below are some suggestions for how to recoup after an event cancellation, and make sure that all parties walk away on a positive note:
Make Notifications Early – If an event has to be cancelled, the very least a planner can do is notify the stakeholders as early as possible, in order to provide the least amount of inconvenience. A cancellation is a disruption, and it is imperative to notify talent, venue and audience that the event is no longer going on as planned (for a good example of how late cancellation was not handled properly, look no further than the 2011 Oasis Contemporary Jazz Festival & Awards – nearly 50 performers flying in from all over the world, only to be told upon arrival that the entire thing was cancelled due to low registration. Ouch.)
Be Tactful – Choose your medium carefully when making cancellation notifications. Emails are appropriate if written professionally and politely, but phone calls are better. Be honest about the reason for cancellation, apologize sincerely for the inconvenience, and always provide a means to be contacted if the stakeholder has any questions.
Create Backup Systems – Not everyone gets the message about cancellations, and especially with large events of hundreds or thousands of people, there are bound to be those who slip through the cracks and show up to the venue- both registered attendees and walk-ups. Arrangements should be made for staff to be on-site at the venue to explain the situation to these people as a courtesy; at the very least, ample signage should be created with both the cancellation message, as well as contact information of the planner, box office or host.
Reschedule Quickly – If the cancellation was for something completely unexpected and abnormal – talent illness, for example, or as the result of “force majeure” – an unforeseen calamity beyond anyone’s control, such as a fire, power outage, blizzard etc. – offer to reschedule quickly. Not only will this maintain goodwill, but it will allow you to hold on to the existing event registrants, assuming they can make the rescheduled date (if they cannot, issue refunds immediately).
Nobody wins in a cancellation, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a complete disaster. What other ways might you suggest to make a cancellation as easy a pill to swallow for event talent, venue and participants?
7 Helpful Tips for Being an Event Emcee
Wednesday, April 27th, 2011
I’ve been asked to emcee a variety of large-scale events over the years based on my unique experience hosting trivia, and am more than happy to do so. Not only does it provide me with additional exposure and the opportunity to practice public speaking in a new way, but it is also a healthy diversification of my skillset into other related areas. Among my most enjoyable experiences, I have served as the main stage announcer at the 92nd Street Y’s annual fall street festival for 5 years, and recently served as event host/quizmaster for a “Michigan State Fair” event- a 3-hour “state pride” festival at The Bell House, a major performance venue in Brooklyn.
Here are some tips I’ve picked up which I find helpful when serving as the emcee of a large, sustained event:
- Do Your Homework – Learn as much as you can about the event in advance, including the cause, key participants and important facts. You don’t want to wait until someone hands you a microphone to find out what exactly this event is all about.
- Meet Everyone Involved – Before you hit the stage, take some time to walk around and introduce yourself to the event organizers, performers, booth attendants, venue manager, service staff and anyone else who is critically important to the event’s success. It helps to be “friends” with everyone in case you require additional information or assistance, and you also want to know who to give shout-outs to once you’re onstage.
- Keep to the Schedule – Always have a copy of the event schedule in your back pocket, and track your performance vigilantly. Everyone will be looking to you to find out what’s happening next, as well as to keep the event moving efficiently.
- Look Sharp – As the “face” of the event, you are not just representing yourself, but the entire program – organizers, sponsors, partners, venue and all. As such, make sure you look the part, and dress appropriately. You’ll be glad you did.
- Line Up Your Messaging – Jot down and review the key 5-10 message points you want to announce, and keep repeating them. This will likely include thanking sponsors, welcoming key groups/individuals, highlighting event attractions, mentioning special offers and more. You don’t have to say all of the points each time you’re at the mic, but mix it up- just make sure you provide a natural flow, and hit each point multiple times throughout the event.
- Keep Your “On Air” Time Brief – It’s exciting for public speakers to be onstage with mic in-hand, especially when it’s a casual, ad-libed format such as festivals. However, attendees really aren’t there to see you- they’re there to see performances, network, eat and learn. Don’t be a microphone hog; take the stage, get your message across, and step down. Repeat.
- Stay Upbeat – Attitude is important, and as the emcee your actions, words and presence really do set the overall tone of the event. Make a conscious effort to be jovial, positive and enthusiastic when you are making your announcements. And smile- you’ll likely have a photo or two snapped, so make it count.
I hope you find this helpful. What are some other important things to keep in mind when serving as event emcee?
TrivWorks founder David Jacobson blogs daily on a wide range of topics relevant to corporate event entertainment, team building and live trivia. 
