"We have time for one more question..." might be the death knell for your event.

 

"We have time for one more question..."

...can be every event's worst nightmare.

You're about to leave the event on a high, and then "one more question" turns into a barely-controlled gripe session--sucking the energy out of the room and leaving everyone feeling uneasy.

It's a wah-wah instead of a woo-hoo.

A lot of the times, these last minute questions aren't focused, aren't relevant to the whole audience, or may have nothing to do with the event itself.

You don't have to paper over complaints or issues, but there are ways to handle audience questions in a more focused way that is better for the overall event:

1. Have people available to answer questions/issues throughout the event. One of our clients recently replaced a deadly end-of-event q&a session with a commitment to have their executives visible throughout the event to take questions.

This allowed people to get questions answered that were more personally-relevant to them (and maybe didn't apply to the whole audience) and to direct them to the most appropriate person.

The executives were then able to do a summary statement at the end of the event based on what they'd been hearing--and what was most relevant to the audience.

2. Have a question box. Encourage the audience to write down their questions throughout the event and submit them to a dedicated question box. Commit to answering all questions--even if it's in post-event communication.

This allows you to sort questions for maximum relevance for the whole audience and for the event. You can have short daily q&a sessions based on the questions--or have a final q&a at the beginning of the last day--instead of the event landing with a fizzle at the very end.

3. Start the event with questions. If the idea of allowing for questions is to demonstrate responsiveness and listening, then the event shouldn't wait until the end to catch questions that may have been festering from the start of the event.

If you're willing to be flexible and shape your event around the dynamic needs of the audience as it's happening, this can be a powerful event springboard.

4. Send out pre-event questionnaires. Collecting questions, reservations, feelings, etc., of the audience before the event can, like the last point, help you shape the event to address the needs of the audience. This also gives you control over what you directly address at the event, and what you may choose to address in other communication or programs.


Of course, questions can always come up during an event--hence why the route we typically take is aforementioned question box that allows for an iterative response process. Addressing questions, concerns, and (yes, even) grievances in a thoughtful, PLANNED, way goes a long way to maintaining and focusing the energy & tone of the event, and ensuring its overall success.

For more event expertise, visit www.live-spark.com.