Seven tips for the ultimate conference

I have just had the great honour and pleasure of running two intense days of conference coaching for Hiab AB at the Tylosand Spa and hotel. When we were done, it struck me just how remarkable this annual conference has become. If I had to grade it, we would land on an eight, which is sky-high compared with the national average, usually sitting around a three, even for conferences where five to ten million has been poured into the preparation. Next year we will fine-tune the last details and reach for a ten.

So here is a recipe for success, for every conference planner out there.

1. Coach the presenters

Everyone who was going to present gathered the day before and received one or two personal coaching sessions. They ran through their presentations and got live feedback in the real conference room itself, in the actual setting they would be standing in.

2. Review every PowerPoint

Ahead of the conference, all the presenters sent us their slide decks, and we went through every single slide and gave specific feedback on how to make the content land even harder. Every presentation ended up with a clear through-line and one shared message.

3. Dynamic tools and static tools side by side

The room was fitted with two flip charts and mega-pens, so that everyone could see what was being written and drawn. Flip charts are dynamic. The audience can shape what appears on them, and that adds a lovely spice to a presentation. On both sides of the stage there were screens for the PowerPoint slides, the static half of the pairing.

4. A presenter view on stage

Nine out of ten conferences do not offer this as standard, so you simply have to insist on it. A TV on the stage shows the current slide, the slides coming up, and how long you have been presenting. You can display your notes there too, though I would not recommend it.

5. A "nursery" for the mobile phones

At the entrance, everyone who wanted to could hand in their phone. The phones were placed in plastic bags, sorted into alphabetical order and locked away in a room where they could get up to mischief a la Toy Story. Every manager was required to hand theirs in, and that alone created an immediate and positive cultural effect.

6. No printed programmes

There were no printed programmes on the seats, only notepads and pens. The absence of a programme felt genuinely refreshing. It created flexibility for whatever mattered most in the moment, and the conference became dynamic rather than static.

7. A properly good sound system

Last but not least, you need really good sound. As each speaker came up, matching music was played, and during the breaks and reflection exercises we played music that is proven to produce dopamine, the wellbeing and motivation hormone that adds to positive feelings and puts smiles on faces.