If you think about the whole point of having a conference, then you’ll see that the main goal is to transfer as much information as possible to a group of individuals. That might seem very simple to some, but at the same time you also need to recall how important it actually is to stay central to the main theme. That is exactly why when you start to consider all of the things that people will focus on in the grand scheme of things, the most important one that they need to consider is whether or not they are actually adding value to their operation. Keep the following items in mind to verify your conference isn’t off to a bad start before you even begin.
What Is The Point?
One of the worst and most prominent problems with presentations these days is that people and presenters alike rely far too much on the technology and special effects instead of having an actual point to their presentation. You can dress anything up, but it doesn’t make it meaningful or impactful. That is exactly why when you start to think about a major business operation you also have to consider the meat and potatoes of what you are doing. If it is just a bunch of bells and whistles then you aren’t actually adding any sort of value to anyone’s operation, and you are just passing the time with little benefit.
According to The Visual Communication Guy, there are a tremendous number of mistakes that are made each and every single day when it comes to using Power Point. However, when you consider all of the people in the world who still consider Power Point to be the gold standard, then it just goes to show it is about the actual idea of the presentation and not just about the equipment and the technology.
Who Is Really Going?
Consider the people who are involved at most conferences and you will find one of the largest problems right off of the bat. While it does make sense to see some people who are higher level attending conferences, you also have to think that some of the highest decisions makers and some of the most prominent and influential leaders within your company would rather be dealing with their business and not going away and wasting time. That is exactly why what you will want to do is find a way to open up your attendance list and get as many people as possible into your meetings and presentations.
As long as you can tap into the power of some of the top technologies like video conferences using BlueJeans, then you are truly able to see just how many people are truly interested in your product but that just can’t make a physical trip and sit in a room all day. Getting presenters and topics to help others is just the first part of the process when it comes to presenting. However, when you start to consider the number of people who can log in from anywhere and from any time zone in order to be able to watch your presentations live, then you can absolutely maximize your crowd and audience without needed to deal with the physical-only aspect of things.
They Cost Too Much
Even though the heyday of conferences meant that people could have tremendous amounts of fun without worrying about the consequences and that a specific consequence meant that people could have fun for a weekend or a full week at a time, those days are gone. According to places such as Fast Company, there are more than enough organizations who have made significant cutbacks since those days happened.
The world is starting to analyze profit and loss statements a lot more stringently these days, and that means conferences, business trips, and any of the lavish perks that used to come along with being in management have all started to be rolled back. However, the need for education and increasing the ability to offer continuing education as well has only continued to become more important all of the time. That is exactly why when you are thinking about a conference, instead of renting out massive blocks of hotel rooms, getting conference halls that are far too big, and having gargantuan expenses just to attract people to what you are doing, it makes far more sense to be able to minimize things and keep them all in perspective with the power of video conferencing.
While the business world will continue to grow and change in all new ways as time moves on, the truth of the matter is there are far more opportunities to get ahead today with tools such as video conferencing than there has ever been before. Make sure your company is continuing to increase education and bring in others for conferences. However, just make sure you are doing it right instead of wasting your time.