Most corporate conferences are planned from the logistics outwards: book the hall, fix the date, find speakers. The more useful starting point is the question every invited guest will ask, which is why they should give up a day to be there.
Start with one clear purpose
Launching a product, bringing partners together and training staff are three different events. Trying to do all three in one day usually means none is done well.
Fewer speeches, more conversation
Guests remember the discussions they took part in far longer than the presentations they sat through. Build time for both into the programme.
Plan the follow-up before the event
Decide what happens the week after: a summary to attendees, meetings with key guests, a report to management. Without it, the energy of the day is quickly lost.
A small, well-planned event almost always does more for an organisation than a large one put together in a hurry.
