The most important aspect with planning your event is to be absolutely clear about the objectives.  That is, what exactly are you trying to achieve?  As obvious as this may sound it influences all aspects of your planning, implementation, management, running and ultimate success.

By being clear about the objectives for the event will then provide the framework so that you can establish how these objectives will be achieved.  In addition, this framework will also allow you to determine the resources, timelines as well who is the target audience.

To highlight the importance of getting the objectives right you may consider the following comparison in relation to running an event.  For example, a fundraising event such as a trivia night, golf day or an auction where you are specifically trying to raise money would be significantly different compared to running an open day at your kindergarten where parents can meet teachers and check out the facilities.

Furthermore, once the objectives have been set you can then you can establish how the event will be organised.  For example, will just one person act as the event manager and be responsible for all decisions and tasks or will an event committee be created that will overseas all aspects of the event.  Also, if you have a team ensure there is an event manager who oversees that day to day aspects of the event and for other members of the team be clear about their role and responsibilities.  In addition, if the event is large or complex then also consider using an event management organisation who have expertise in planning, managing and running events.  While there may be an additional cost it can save a lot of time and stress and as a result of their experience avoid any last minute surprises.

Once the objectives have been set it makes planning your event much easier. That will be the topic of the next post.