Itinerary
Events must be well organised to ensure proper operations and an on-time start and end. The scheduling of each aspect must be done well, taking into consideration the risk of possible delays or advances. Cramming everything too closely together can lead to a snowball effect — one late start will affect the next one, impacting the timeliness of the event.
Let's try an example. You are running an event from 1-5PM, and need to schedule to following parts:
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Lunch (1 hour)
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Guest Speaker (1 hour)
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Networking (2 hours)​​
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Task
Optimal Schedule
1) The first event should be lunch, as it gives people a buffer to arrive slightly late and not have to interupt the guest speaker. Furthermore, it ensures that everyone has enough energy for the rest of the day. It serves as a good introductory task.
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2) The guest speaker appears to be the main event here, making a middle placement important. People are more likely to be attentive after some initial conversation and some food. The loose schedule of lunch should also accomodate for some delays — if the speaker arrives late, people can continue eating.
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3) Finally, the networking session has a flexible timeframe. If the event is running late, it acts as a buffer, as you can simply cut out a bit of time. It is typically good to end with a flexible task, especially if the event end time is very strict.