Hand-in-hand with Scientific Programme Management, comes the on-site component of running the Speakers’ Room.
Setting up the Speakers’ Room is quite straightforward – I usually place the arrivals/check-in desk very close to the door, to make it obvious that speakers need to report there first. I place two staff members at the desk to scan speakers’ memory sticks, just to ensure that no viruses are coming in on the sticks, as a virus can crash your entire network, which, in the middle of a national conference hosting 10 000 delegates, would be a disaster!
Once sticks have been scanned, speakers are directed to tables that are labelled by Track Number. Each table has two staff members and a computer. Staff then copy and paste the applicable presentation from the memory stick to a specific folder for each session.
Speakers need to report to the Speakers’ Room at least one and a half hours before they are due to present. This allows room to manoeuvre if there are any unexpected delays, although, on occasion, I have had a speaker miss a flight, or get stuck in traffic – and then the show must just go on without them.
Often, the speakers are not sure during which session they will be speaking, so the second staff member at the table will check a copy of the programme for their track, and make sure that it is noted down who has arrived and not arrived. This information is then transferred to a large board at the front of the room, which shows all tracks and all sessions for the day, so it can be monitored by all staff.
Half an hour before a session starts, a staff member from each track must let me know who in their track they are still waiting for, so that we can call and try to find out where they are, and whether they have been delayed.
As sessions run almost back to back, I usually have a staff member ready outside each session room, to ensure that the top presenter tables are tidied up, presenters’ name cards are changed for the new session, and that the venue sends someone to clean up things like plates and coffee cups in the room. Water on the top table must also be refreshed before every session.
Fifteen minutes before the session starts, “runners” take a memory stick, with all the presentations for that session, to the audiovisual technician in the session room. He will download them, cross-check with the programme, and be made aware of who is missing, or has not arrived yet.
The runner also notifies the session chair and co-chair of any speakers who are missing from their session, so that can make apologies and are not left waiting for someone, the session should always start promptly.
The rest of the Speakers’ Room can have a tea and coffee station and a seating area for private relaxation, as well as work desks with power sources for last-minute presentation updates.
I place the management desks at the front of the room, so that I can keep an eye on what is happening in the room. Of course, this is an ideal location from which to monitor the programme board, which needs to be watched constantly.
Staff training is key here, especially if you are working with a team that you have not worked with before. Making sure that they understand the different tracks, and sessions, so that the room and the entire process flows smoothly, is crucial.
