Every year, various professional bodies organise Annual (inter)National conferences. In this piece, Isqil Najim exposes some of the reasons some people stops attending professional gatherings and conferences, or do not come back after first attempt.
What does the above have to do with conferences and workshops? A lot! Conferences and workshops are services rendered to participants who come with high expectations. They invest resources (money and time) to attend and therefore expect good services.
I wrote series of articles on importance of attending professional gathering. I especially focused on conferences, emphasizing to our young professionals that there is much to gain from attending. I wish to use this medium to address those organizing conferences to ensure that they play their part in making conferences not only memorable for participants but also ensuring that participants look forward to attending more of them.”
What are the reasons some people do not return after attending a gathering?
1. Not meeting expectation:If a participant’s expectations at your event aren’t met, they’ll likely stop attending and discourage others. Honest feedback is crucial to improve future events. Don’t rely solely on your organizing committee; the real insights come from attendees. To encourage honest feedback, consider anonymous feedback forms.
I once experienced a workshop where the presenters merely talked without effective communication. Despite giving positive feedback publicly, I privately expressed my honest opinion to the facilitator, who appreciated it. However, some colleagues later labeled me as negative. The organizers, unfortunately, continued with the same format, leading to poor attendance in subsequent workshops
2. Not providing opportunity for networking. What’s the point of attending a conference if you can’t meet new people and build relationships? Traveling for a conference is about gaining new perspectives and connecting with others. Meeting new people is one of the main reasons we attend physical events. Otherwise, we could simply sit behind a Zoom App and listen to lectures or read media reports.
A Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin study found that with as little as ten minutes of contact and conversation with a new person, brain stimulation led to improved mental cognition. You are basically giving your brain a workout and expanding the ability to learn to accept new ideas and change preconceived notions. Another Research shows that, activity like, a physical handshake promotes cooperation and influences negotiation outcomes for the better. An MIT’s Human Dynamics Lab research showed unequivocally that the most valuable communication is done in-person.
3. Not proving enough time for resourceful presenter(s) to deliver their message. Limiting speakers to a mere 5 minutes hinders their ability to convey their message effectively. Many organizers see this as a way to allow everyone they invited to speak. I have attended events where a speaker had to rush through an important presentation just because another speaker was scheduled to speak next. In addition to this, valuable insights from audience members are often cut short. Plenary sessions, in particular, suffer from this problem, where multiple speakers are scheduled within a tight timeframe. This practice disrespects speakers and limits their ability to fully communicate their ideas. To ensure quality presentations, it’s essential to minimize the number of speakers at plenary sessions or allocate adequate time for each speaker to deliver their message.
4. If you are not providing refreshment and offering poor service, please inform the participants in advance so they can eat at home before coming or make arrangements for their meals at the venue. A lot of people left home on empty stomach only to be distracted by their rumbling bowel while proceeding is ongoing. Naturally, their attention is diverted and their participation is compromised.
The second part here has to do with quality of services. Every participant should be treated nicely. Get professional ushers if your staff are incompetent and nonchalant. Making people who travelled far to attend your event struggle to get their conference materials is a punishment that will attract apathy for future event. In addition to this, make them proud of what they paid for. Do not ask them to pay for bags at 30, 000 only to give them decorated paper bag. Perception is everything. Make it memorable for them.
5. Question and Answer session is a big part of an interactive and intellectually stimulating event. As a result of time restrictions, many people’s questions go unanswered, and many contributors cannot fully express their points. For participants who traveled long distances, from other states or even countries, this can be particularly disappointing.
To address this, organizers can encourage more questions for papers. Participants can write down their questions, including their names or anonymously, and pass them to the moderator who will the read them out to the speaker or pass them to him after the session.
6. Provide opportunity for those who came from outside the event location to Speak or simply recognise their presence. For instance, if an event is held in Abuja and attracts a national or international participants, it’s a good practice to encourage at least one person from each location to speak. Alternatively, simply recognizing their presence at the gathering can be significant, even if they’re not seated at the high table. Endorsements and positive reviews from external participants are crucial for building a strong reputation for your future events.
7. Reduce the number of cameramen and restrict journalists to specific angle. This will prevent obstruction of the main stage from seating audience and reduce visual clutter caused by multiple cameras and smartphones users. Organisers can save the day by assigning official cameramen to capture as many pictures as possible of entire event and upload them on cloud storage, such as Dropbox, google drive, and even Facebook, WhatsApp, or telegram etc etc where participants can download their choice. Journalists should be given specific stand where they can have ample view of the events without obscuring the vision of the participants at gathering.
Additionally, live streaming the event via platforms like Zoom or social media can enhance accessibility for remote participants. For on-site attendees, large screens strategically placed within the venue can provide clear views of the stage, especially for those seated further back. By implementing these measures, organizers can create a more enjoyable and inclusive experience for all attendees. All of these arrangements should be planned in advance.
8. Tailor the topic to what is needed: Conferences should be timely and relevant, addressing current needs rather than simply recycling old topics. Organizers must conduct thorough research to select unique and engaging themes that avoid repetition. By offering fresh perspectives and expectations, conferences can maintain audience interest and deliver lasting value
9. Encourage young people to speak. We are in a midst of Idea revolution. The young and old must work together to ease the transition. As Engr Makanjuola once said..
The “bane of our society is that the traditionally older generations continue to deny contributions from younger generations in matters of societal development.. many elders see their advise as cast in concrete and thus reduced the youth “to the proverbial monkey who hears nothing, says nothing, and does nothing.”
At events always encourage contributions from both young and old. Even if just one person that represents the younger generation.
10. Give your events wider publicity. I do not need to add this but I have noticed a lot of Organisers take this for granted in recent times.
11. Not saying Thank you or follow up . Many organizers neglect to thank participants or follow up after the event. Send conference materials to their emails or a link where they can download them. Send them thank you note. You have their contacts at the point of registration. Why did you collect them if you are not going to follow up?
Bonus for young people: Stop nurturing wrong expectations
Unrealistic expectations can lead to disappointment for young attendees. While networking at events offer valuable connections, immediate results are not guaranteed. Building lasting relationships takes time and effort. It’s important to focus on long-term benefits, such as knowledge sharing and career development, rather than solely expecting job offers from senior attendees you met at the event.
In conclusion, I will suggest that we treat conferences and workshops as business (whether it is paid for or free). Every participant is our image maker. When we satisfy them, their positive feedback is big win for us and them. They gain valuable experience, and we earn more referral for future events.
Absolutely, This article is well curated.
The first and last conference I attended physically is TIN City 2020, i and my colleague of whom i encourage to attend were perplexed because of how the students section of the conference went, nothing much we gained due to the organizing committee just rushing the programs for them to have to elect new leadership of the body NIMechE-NSF. At the professional section you can’t hear much from the speaker or paper presenter unless if you are on frontage seats.
Accomodations was a dirty & dusty girls hostel that’s not properly prepared and we didn’t slept well due security threats the city undergone the night.
All my expectations of the event is to see and meet articulated and vibrant young and professionals discussing, debunking and unveiling ideas to network and learn from them.
Thank you very much for the feedback, My Engineer!