It’s Time Event Planners Bridge The Knowledge Gap

By Author: david lee
Total Articles: 533
Comment this article

It’s really absurd how little an average event planner knows about anything i.e. technical. It does not mean that the event planners must know about how to fix the small technical glitches like, how to operate a sound board or install a gear etc.

However, the event planners are the bridge between the speakers or the technicians who pull together the event. And, unfortunately the planners have been found guilty to be the weak link in that chain of events!

• The Double Standard

What is more disappointing is the fact that how the planners don’t even care about their lack of knowledge. In fact, on the contrary, they take great pride in reveling under the glory of every other facet they deal into like venue location, selection of cuisines, transportation, entertainment, décor, logistics, risk management- you name it and it’s on their list.

Somehow, it is considered to be alright to act dumb on matters related to audio visual. They will blindly believe that the microphones, projectors, and lighting instruments are just perfect for the function. And, it doesn’t bother them because ...
... it is not part of what they had learnt and they’re aware most planners will agree on the same lines. On the contrary, they will give the chefs sleepless nights if they get a pale apple pie on the menu instead of a sweet one!

• See where you stand

Brush up your knowledge and see where you stand in the industry. Doing some courses in event management will keep you updated and will give you a professional degree too.

It matters to stay updated

The event planners must try and learn all those things that are learnable. Planners need to be aware of the technical jargon when it comes to technical production-

Don’t screw up your event- There are several reasons why an event can go kaput. It can be because the planner did not ask the right questions or communicate the proper information to the presenters or the vendors.

To prove their mettle to the clients- If all you’re involved in doing is just act as a middleman between the lighting and the production vendor, then its better you get out of the way. On the contrary, you must be a valuable resource for the client and take the control and manage the entire event on your own.

Take a simple example- Any time during an event you look up the screen and can notice the black bars above and below the slide content, that’s a hint of an ill-informed planner. This means that the planner never cared enough to ensure that the aspect ratios of the visual content and the screen must have been in sync.

To see an aspect ratio not in the proper way is a distressing thing, as it can be easily fixed by just instructing the presenters to format their slides in 16:9 or 4:3 ratios or wherever the aspect ratio is of the screen during the event.

• In Conclusion

In the past decade the event management industry has taken leaps ahead in terms of professionalism and enhanced the knowledge standards. Taking into consideration the number of events, the number of speakers, lighting, sound, and projection- its high time that the planners catch up to the latest trends.

IIMCM is a renowned college where you can stay abreast with the latest trends and gain knowledge about event management. You can seek a diploma in advertising and PR courses and stay ahead.