Essential Strategies for Successful Event Planning and Execution
Written on
Planning the Big Day
Today marked a significant occasion. We had been organizing the annual Sexual Assault Awareness Month luncheon for several months. This virtual event featured registered participants, a panel discussion, a live aerialist performance, and an awards ceremony. The responsibility of overseeing this event rested on my shoulders, which surprisingly felt reassuring.
My journey into live collaborative video performance began in the late 1990s while studying in the Inter-Arts Technology program at the University of Wisconsin. The technology back then was quite rudimentary; each time I watch a dance TikTok, I can't help but think, "You're welcome, youngsters," as I reflect on the challenges I faced with dropped frames and green artifacts, paving the way for today's smoother experiences.
This background has equipped me with strong planning skills. I diligently prepared bandwidth checks, registration emails, and equipment lists to ensure everything was in order. However, the most complex aspect of the broadcast was the live performance. Although I had experience with similar video shoots, this one involved numerous moving parts. I eventually decided it would be easiest to relocate my control center (my laptop) from my office to the Madison Circus Space.
Last week, I conducted a bandwidth test; the video quality was excellent, and the audio was clear and well-synced, thanks to reliable 5G Wi-Fi! I also shared the login details with all registered participants the day before and again on the event day, including comprehensive instructions about the Zoom waiting room and alternative login methods. Additionally, I communicated with the panelists through multiple platforms to ensure no crucial information was overlooked.
Two days prior to the event, I created an equipment checklist using Craft. Here's a glimpse of what it included:
I felt prepared, which is a sentiment that can be quite perilous before managing an online event. It’s easy to fall into the Dunning-Kruger effect, where overconfidence blinds you to potential pitfalls.
This morning, as I was getting ready to take my partner to work, I was ahead of schedule and thought about heading to a coffee shop with my equipment before the event. Naturally, I pulled out my checklist to ensure I had everything—just kidding! Feeling overly confident, I thought I could skip that step. After all, I’ve packed for countless shoots and know my essentials.
My penchant for organization turned packing the electronics, folding table, and more into a seamless experience—until I set my backpack down by the door and realized I had five minutes to spare. I considered checking my Medium comments but decided to take a moment to confirm everything was in order just for the satisfaction of checking off boxes.
That’s when reality hit me: I had completely forgotten my laptop's power adapter.
The list that saved my day.
For context, running multiple video streams from a laptop and broadcasting via Wi-Fi is entirely feasible with a MacBook Pro, but it requires significant power. Had I overlooked that crucial component, I would have been left scrambling after only half an hour of use.
To illustrate: I planned to set up my equipment by 11 AM, with the event starting at 12 PM. If I had realized I forgot the power adapter around 12:10 PM, I would have rushed to my car, driven home to retrieve it, which would have taken at least 30 minutes, and returned just in time to finish setting up before the panelists logged in at 11:45 AM for the sound check.
The stress, chaos, and potential for further complications that this simple checklist saved me from were immense. It likely made the difference between the event being a success (which it was) and a stressful failure.
Let me reiterate, not because you need to hear it, but because I need the reminder: if you're capable of creating a checklist, be wise enough to actually use it.