Event Technology

Most technology contributes to the efficiency of events, but what do you do when technology fails?

The most important thing to remember is to stay calm!  Panicking will only increase everyone’s stress and will keep you from resolving the matter quickly and quietly.  Here are my top 3 ways to prevent equipment failures:

1.  Test all of the equipment prior to the event.  Ideally, once when the equipment arrives, then again before the start of the event.
2.  Have one person in charge of the equipment - setting it up, reading the user manual (or creating one!), testing it, and training others on how to use/troubleshoot problems.  This way, everyone will use the equipment in the same way and you decrease the chances of user errors.
3.  List the phone number of the technician to contact or the company the equipment was rented from near the equipment for easy access if you need extra help.

Now here are some tips on keeping your cool in the face of a technological meltdown:

• If possible, move guests to a terminal/equipment that is still working (if your event calls for more than one set of equipment, i.e. multiple computer stations, cameras, etc.)
• Let the guests waiting know what is going on.  They will be more understanding if they know you are in the process of repairing something.  Use your extra staff to speak with guests waiting.
•  Ask for help as soon as you need it.  Whether you need to bring in the person in charge or call a tech, do not try to fix the problem yourself if you are unsure – that just might make matters worse.
• The most important tip happens to also be the first one mentioned in this post:
  STAY CALM!  That will keep everyone else calm and organized.

When you take a breath and focus, you will find that many problems can be fixed before the guest even notices something was wrong!

~ Angela