Not just for SQLSaturday

I have visited SQLSaturdays, I have spoke at SQLSatrudays and I am starting the planning for my own here in Nashville. I have learned so many things and I have listened to the small complaints, don’t get me wrong they are not huge deals but I have been keeping notes. I am going to break this down into a list hopefully it will help remind me and help you with your next event.

I guess now is a good time to tell you that I have experience as an event planner. Ha! Bet you didn’t know that. When I worked for the School of Technology at Purdue University I was in the development office. I did event planning for the Director of Development and the Director of Alumni Relations (she ran off and had a baby never to return, so I did all events). I planned events far away from West Lafayette in venues I never even saw. I did events for the school and for graduating seniors. We were a smaller school with less money so my budget was tight and that made me very creative. I designed our newsletter and many of our invites. I have planned things to do at home coming events and even the state fair.

Shirts

I know that many events are doing away with shirts because “everyone has one” or “speakers just toss them out”. As a speaker I love love love my shirts and wear them proudly to local user group events and to the office. This is where I see issues:

Shirt sizing

• Women’s Sizing != (Men’s Sizing –1)
  • No really men’s shirts are cut different and generally don’t have room for “the girls”. Men’s shirts are generally longer because they have to tuck them into their underwear.
  • We maybe WIT but we still don’t want to walk around looking like a box or that we are wearing our dad’s shirt.
• Sport gear, according to my good friend Karen many times sport type gear bought for events is way smaller than it should be.
• Not all women’s sizing are the same, ask for a measurement guide. For my event I am going to demand a sample in my size so I can try it on, most people know me and can relate their size to mine.
• Material is different. When I say I wear a ladies M that is true for about 99% of my cotton/knit type clothing, when I receive a M in a silky, shinny material that doesn’t stretch I look like I am about to pop.

Shirts in general

• Not getting shirts? Tell the speakers so they can pack accordingly. Many of my friends travel to 2 or even 3 events back to back. They pack light and may not bring an extra speaking engagement shirt. It’s no big deal just tell them.
• Getting jackets, sweaters, see through jersey or any that a lady might want a shirt to wear under? Let the ladies know they need/might want a tank top etc.
• Color, WHAT COLOR? I am trying to pack lighter these days but now I have to worry do I need black shoes or brown? What color of bra will I need so that it won’t show through?
• Getting the coolest shirt to ever exist? Might let people know because if it’s special they may change their mind on getting a shirt. I mean if you can’t wear a T-shirt to work and say no thanks to a speaker shirt only to find they are button down long sleeve oxfords I’m gonna be sad.

So the moral of the shirt story is just tell us, send us a link to the shirts, get a sizing confirmation and don’t be afraid to ask. You can set a deadline and be like TOO BAD, but at least you asked. I can only guess you are ordering a ladies size polo and I want a M. And one more little bit of advice don’t try to make us feel better when you order different shirts for women than men. It makes us feel less important and that we were not worth a shirt like the men are getting. I mean it really sends a message regardless of your intentions. (example a nice T-shirt picked out by the women on the committee)

FOOD

• VEGETARIANS! OMG it’s what year? If you don’t know that it is rude to forget that some people don’t eat meat or you can’t figure out that 1 veggie side doesn’t make a meal then you need to get help. ASK AROUND! I am sure you know or work with someone who’s vegetarian.   I made a New Year’s resolution a few years ago to cook 12 vegetarian meals a year, it really opened my eyes. Please don’t short change them.
• Sandwiches, for $10 it better be a good one. I mean read the SQLSat page we only charge people for lunch so it’s not pizza.
• Baked beans are rarely vegetarian, I dare you to run out to the grocery and find one can that is meat free.
• Speaker’s dinner, if you are not having a meal it’s okay just say so. Say that it’s appetizers or snacks. Some folks have flown/drove forever and might be hungry and don’t mind running out to eat before coming to a speaker “happy hour”. I have shown up a a speaker event to find that there was not only nothing for vegetarians to eat (ok there was a small bowl of hummus) but there was nothing for me to eat. I don’t do spicy or blue cheese. While it may be your favorite thing in the world not everyone would agree.

Best food for lunch I have seen so far was a taco/nacho type bar. Cheese, beans, salsa, beef & chicken, guacamole, chips and wraps. Awesome, everyone loves it, easy to eat and easy to be vegetarian.

Venue/Event logistics

Of course you will put up your road signs and it’s going to be easy to find our way to your event even though it’s the first time in your city. The internet has made that easy for us! But there are some logistics that you may want to provide your speakers with. We generally get asked a lot of questions because we have a different shirt and stand out in the crowd. Here are a few suggestions of things you might tell them, and it could be as easy as putting it on a sheet of paper for them as a guide.

Locations

• Inform speakers where the lunch will be held. Let them know that there is seating somewhere else if it’s not all located together.
• Speaker ready room.
• Drawings and closing events.

Logistics

• Giving away books in each session? Tell the speaker either how you want it done or tell them it’s up to them, just tell them.
• If your weather forecast has potentially bad weather in it you should advise your speakers what to do in the event of a weather emergency. Your venue will/should provide you with details. Sharing this could save lives. I know you can sit here and think oh that’s never happened so we don’t need to worry about it. But think for 1 minute, 350 folks spread out over 11 rooms + common areas and your committee is 10 people – how do you get them all to safety?
• SQLSaturday events are often held in a school/training center you could leave evacuation/storm shelter info on the podium.

There have been 2 events I attended where the weather got to be questionable. Since my husband and I are trained weather spotters we kept our eyes on the radar, NWS and out the windows. But it was then I realized I am in a different town and a location I have never been where is the nearest safety shelter?

Speaker Evaluations

Some folks don’t bother and I get that. But just communicating what is to be done is key. Please tell the speakers the following things

• Are you doing them?
• Is it up to the speaker to hand them out and collect them?
• When and how will you get them back to the speaker.

Bags/adverts/tickets/etc.

Event Tickets

• For the love of all things use speed pass and make folks responsible for bringing their stuff.
• What to do about those who forget?
  • One event I was at recently bought a printer and gave it away at the end of the day.
  • My thoughts are to try for the following we have NovaCopy locally so I am going to ask them to set up a printer and allow them to bring a person to “help” with this process. Since they can and print things it is a bonus for if we need more schedules or what not.
  • Why not ask Office Depot/Office Max/Staples/local copy shop to come set up a booth near your registration and offer printing of the speed pass?

Lunch Tickets

• Collecting tickets is a pain in the rear! I like the logo printed on the name badge myself.
• If you have 350 registrations, 30 are speakers and you have 315 paid I say don’t worry about it. 5 folks get a free lunch and you don’t have to be a on top of things kicking them out of line.

Bags

• I personally like doing away with bags and using thumb drives but they are expensive. My plan is to ask 2 other folks doing SQLSaturday events in the “near” future and see if we can split out an order. Some places will load them for you and that might be tricky with 3 events having different information to load. But I think this can be worked out. Buying in bulk would save and really having just the SQL SAT logo and no location isn’t a big deal.
• My new favorite thing is the clear envelope. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! You can print a schedule and place it on the outside so it’s visible at all times. The envelope is useful too.
• On the resource page there is a link to order plastic bags, I like these as they are cheap and I don’t feel as bad about them getting tossed.
• On stuffing bags, I really have no desire to stuff bags/envelopes or the like so here are the avenues I will try to farm this out to:
  • Local High School Band – Many of these programs are under financed and if I can get a drum line to stuff all these after school for a little bit of cash I have saved myself the hassle and done some good in the community.
  • Girl Scout/Boy Scout – I am not associated but I have heard that sometimes they can be of service for a merit badge. They make good room proctors so I hear.
  • Other youth groups in the area – Small donations for a little bit of work seems like a fair trade, I mean car washes happen for any donation.

Hotels

It is really a nice gesture to call and get a couple blocks of hotels for the out of town folks. Something to consider is how many of your speakers are non-local and based on your location how many attendees do you think will be from out of town. If you only get a block of 20 rooms you might not want to make that public until you are sure your 20 out of town speakers have booked. Makes sense. I also think it’s important to try and find 2 major chains to help the rewards status! Yes Hilton is always a good choice as is Marriott. Seems like Sheraton is only for Summit. Just get that info to your speakers! With the deadlines. I called to book for my brother’s wedding and the code had expired, never mind he had just given it to me.

Okay I might be crazy, but here are some ideas

Now here are some things that I am toying with for my event. I have not tired them and I have no idea if this is a good idea or a bad one. Just thinking about my friends who will travel from afar to attend my event. I would love your feed back on these items and feel free to steal them and let me know how it goes.

• Asking the speakers if they are arriving late. Why? Well to be honest if I have worked all day and I fly in late I might not feel like going to grab food and crap in the hotel is crap. So if I know someone is coming in late I am considering finding out what hotel they are at and leaving a little gift basket for them. Hopefully I can leave enough snacks to tide them over till morning.
• Asking the speakers if they are bringing children (ages) and/or spouses. Why? Well I might be able to call around and get a couple coupon codes for admission to local attractions. If I leave those speakers with a card that has a list of nearby things and discounts it lets them know I really appreciate their time and care about their family.
• Leaving the speakers with a list of food places in close proximity to their hotel, along with a drug store or etc. Sure everyone has the darn internet but me telling you these food places means I would go there and it is probably safe. The internet won’t tell you that.
• Speaker room upgrades. Speakers are more than likely paying to come here out of pocket, that means they choose to come to an event and speak for free vs. spending that weekend on a beach for vacation. Lots of folks even burn their vacation days. So I am thinking that in the speaker room I can provide some snacks that the general public won’t have, possibly beverages that are not your typical cans of soda and I am seriously looking for a Keurig so they can get fresh coffee all day. I want folks to feel special and appreciated.
• Another item I am considering is some sort of group activity prior to the speaker dinner. I generally arrive early and have the entire afternoon to do something but don’t know what to do. I am thinking that something “LOCAL” is the way to go. So a distillery tour, brew pub tour, local sports thing, or museum might be the way to go. It’s Nashville!
• Calling and trying for a discount on car rental at the airport. Worth a shot. I see coupons all the time. But if I do find one the communication is key.

My final thoughts

Planning an event like SQLSaturday is like planning a wedding with 30 bridezillas. I used to shoot weddings and I have told every bride not to sweat it, shit happens at the end of the day the only thing that matters is that 2 people got to say I DO. Same holds true when planning events, shit happens. Your response and back up plans are what will set you apart from the rest. Many of us have done presentations where the demo goes south or the machine dies, we roll with it. Use your grace and your charm. I believe that the greatest tool is communication. Just tell people. Get your ducks in a row and send out emails. I would rather get 10 emails with good information about an event than 0. The golden rule was always “Treat people how you’d like to be treated”. So stop and put yourself in the shoes of your speakers, your out of town travelers and your attendees and ask yourself;  “What would I want to know about this?”, “What might make this easier for me?” and “If I were this person would I be happy/satisfied with what has been done or what will be done?”