March 2020. We were three months away from the Synergy DevPartner Conference, an in-person learning event we hold for our customers every 18 months. Then the pandemic hit and upended everything. We had no idea that within a year, we’d have to completely reconceptualize and adapt our entire conference blueprint for a virtual audience while providing the same educational value and keeping the communal spirit of our in-person gatherings.
In the end, we were able to present 16 content-packed virtual sessions to a record number of attendees that, thanks to a boatload of planning and persistence, went off with barely a hitch. (You can watch most of the conference sessions here.)
Here’s how we did it.
Planning
Planning any large event is a significant logistical undertaking, requiring coordination and cooperation between multiple departments. The more you plan ahead, the less you have to panic at conference time. We won’t bore you with every detail of our particular planning process, but here are some foundational steps we took to make sure all our bases were covered.
What we did:
Additional Takeaway: Hold a pre-mortem. A pre-mortem is a thought experiment that encourages people to think about what could go wrong. A few members of the conference planning committee got together in April and did some brainstorming about specific issues that could arise during the conference. For example, we determined who would step in as moderator if either of our two main MCs called in sick. Or, if the Q&A portion of a session went on for longer than expected, we came up with a solution: unanswered questions would be collected and answered during the wrap-up session. Thankfully, no one wound up getting sick, but it was comforting to know we had a plan in case that did happen.
Execution
While planning is nine-tenths of the game, you still have to execute. The following are some things to keep in mind so everything goes smoothly when the time comes.
What we did:
Additional Takeaway: Talking to a camera instead of an audience is…weird. Pre-recording most of the sessions was helpful for a handful of reasons: it allowed presenters to take a substantial breather between slides (grab a cup of coffee, get the demo ready without rushing), and we had the opportunity to add some creative flourishes in post-production. Still, most presenters found the camera to be a poor substitute for a live audience. In the future, we’ll consider inviting additional staff to recordings to act as a stand-in audience.
Flexibility
Ultimately, you have to be nimble, ready to adapt to changing circumstances, and take on any challenges that pop up. Luckily, you can prepare for flexibility too.
What we did:
Additional Takeaway: You don’t need to use a one-size-fits-all formula for conference sessions. We had to work around several factors when recording the 16 sessions, including each presenter’s geographic location and level of comfort in a live vs. pre-recorded context. Rather than make everyone do everything the same way, we gave presenters flexibility in terms of how they wanted to structure and lead their sessions, and we wound up with a nice variety because of it.
We look forward to seeing you at the 2022 conference!
Check out the conference sessions and learn how to do the following: