187. Boris Hristov: Successful Online Conferences

Boris Hristov is a speaker and trainer from Bulgaria. He is the Founder of presentation agency 356labs and a PowerPoint MVP. His agency is the company behind the industry-leading presentation skills conference – Present to Succeed. Boris has years of experience as a trainer and his only mission is to help you achieve more with your presentations. Awarded as PowerPoint MVP If you follow this podcast you might have heard that Boris was awarded PowerPoint MVP by Microsoft for the third consecutive year. How to plan a successful online conference In Boris’ opinion something basic you had to do is to create awareness about you and your project or job. This as a basis for developing all the machinery. Very important factors are: Sponsors. No event can happen without sponsors. Beyond sending a typical three sponsorship packages slide, ask your potential sponsor: what can we give you value in exchange for sponsorship? Customers. Your current customers are your prime source of attendees for your event. It’s something you have to use. Get some tips about how to give your customers the best offer they can get for their employees and executives. Finally, the use of feedback is highly important for planning and enhancing any event you may plan. If you collect feedback, from previous experiences, that is something invaluable you must use. Help your speakers shine One of the most important aspects before the event is to check and verify that all presenters have a clear idea about what is expected, not only about the presentation itself but about the technical aspects. Boris gave us precious advice from his own experience with the last year’s Present to Succeed event: technical aspects, sound and microphones, lights, reviewing presentation slides, video recordings that can be used as backups, etc. The event organizer should be prepared for anything. Related: How to Improve your Tech Talks Favorite quotations “One biggest issue is that people take online presentations, as an excuse for lower standards” — David Kerrigan “Once you see a good presentation you cannot unsee it.