Follow our Top Ten Tips when you begin organising your conference and you won’t go far wrong.

Plan well in advance – venues for 200+ delegates are often booked up to a year in advance and some speakers will have very full diaries.

If possible, hire a professional conference organiser for handling things such as liaison with delegates and speakers, accommodation booking and the preparation of conference packs.

Book the venue and key speakers first – without them you have no event.

Include interactive sessions, such as workshops or question and answer panels, when designing the programme. No-one likes to be ‘talked at’ all day.

Plant the first question as delegates are often shy of being the first to put up their hand.

Market the event widely, distributing leaflets and using websites, email lists and professional groups to help spread information about the event. Keep a database to help manage the delegate list!

Keep the branding of the event consistent with established corporate branding.

Ensure lunch offers options for delegates with different dietary requirements.

Include speakers’ biographies, copies of slides, a list of delegates attending the event, an evaluation form and contact information in delegates’ packs. Slides can be omitted if they are made available on your website instead.

Post event - collate feedback from the evaluation forms and disseminate. Put learning materials on the website or produce a post-conference publication to send to delegates.