An event, whether it’s a webinar, a virtual event, or a live event, is a great way for organizations to tell their stories and generate awareness and leads.
When well-executed, events can be a win-win-win for attendees, organizations, and presenters. Event planners go to great lengths to ensure that events run smoothly and that the audience feels their time, and often money was well spent.
One major aspect of an event’s best practice is the event dry run. Even the most well-organized event can fail if dry runs are not prioritized.
What exactly is an event dry run?
Those people who are familiar with the world of theatre will be familiar with the term “dress rehearsal.” It is the scene in which the casts go through the entire play as if the audience were present. There are no breaks, comments, or changes.
Although dry runs may seem inconvenient, they eventually reduce the stress of planning on the main event day because everyone is familiar with their different roles.
Let’s take a look at how to run a pre-event dry run.
How to Conduct a Pre-Event Dry Run
Cover every aspect of your event to ensure that you and your team’s response is exactly how you want it on the day of the event.
Dry runs for events reveal chinks in the armour that were not apparent during the planning process. They frequently do not appear until you begin the actual execution.
To understand how to do a successful event run-through, you must first understand the various types of event dry runs and which events they are best suited for.
The type of event dry run you will carry out will be heavily influenced by the type of event you’re planning. However, let’s focus on two kinds of event dry runs.
Technical Dry Run
You must test all of the technical equipment that you intend to use during the main event. This type of dry run includes sound, lighting, special effects, and automation.
In the theatre, for example, designers will perform a dry run to see how light affects the colour of the props and costumes so that they can make the necessary changes.
The tech crew will also be able to become acquainted with the event’s flow and correct any issues such as framing, light brightness levels, position, and angles.
Logistical Dry Run
A logistical event dry run is an opportunity for your team to practice going through all of the event’s motions.
This includes putting together the menu, setting up the table arrangements and décor, putting up signs, and going over all of the event details.
This type of dry run should be performed as close to the actual event as possible so that no one forgets what they should do before it is required.
Events Types and Dry Run Benefits
A dry run is beneficial for all types of events, though some are clearly more likely to require more practice than others. Let’s go over three types of events that will benefit the most from a dry run.
3 types of events that need a dry run
a) On-the-Spot Demonstrations
For example, a live product demonstration by a company should leave the audience buzzing with anticipation and excitement about the new product or service.
Nothing is more embarrassing than attempting to showcase a new product only to have it fail in front of the target audience.
b) Theatre Productions
As previously stated, theatres excel at dry runs and dress rehearsals. This is because if it goes wrong, it will break the audience’s suspension of disbelief.
c) Presentations
During a presentation, many things can go wrong. Especially if your presentation is about a serious topic that you want people to believe in. The dry run is essential whether you are presenting live or a pre-recorded document to ensure a smooth presentation.
For presentations, some speakers may feel reluctant to participate in the dry run; one way to persuade them to attend the dry run is to share recordings of their presentations. Sharing recordings reminds speakers that this is a real event, and it is fast approaching. They are most likely to attend because they want to do an excellent job.
Benefits of a Pre-Event Dry Run
Webinars, events, workshops, trainings, and conferences are excellent ways to increase your company’s brand awareness and lead generation. Making sure all speakers practice their presentations contributes to the success of your event and getting your story heard.
Scheduling more than one dry run ensures better presentations. And it increases the chances that they will be able to attend at least one of them.
Also, don’t leave anything to chance. Some event organizers may choose to skip an event dry run before the main event due to a lack of funds, time, or even both.
That can quickly turn into a costly situation. You risk receiving negative social media feedback, demoralizing your team, and alienating sponsors and donors. It goes without saying that as a proactive event organizer, you should make room in your budget for a dry-run event. It could end up saving you money in the long run.
After the successful exercise of your dry runs, arrive at your event venue early with confidence knowing that any issues identified in the event dry run have been corrected and your guest will leave your event pleased.
4 things to do on the day of your event
These are list of things you can do on the day of your event when you arrive early;
- Turn on the lights and check that they are pointing in the right direction as practised
- Test out the microphones
- Set up the tables and chairs and make sure everyone can see what’s going on from wherever they are.
- All documents, slides, and files should be in their right folders.
Finally, every event necessitates the presence of people with the necessary skills to ensure that everything runs smoothly throughout the duration of their main event.
We don’t just have the right space for your events at The Zone; we also have trained and skilled support staff who can assist you with the overall setup during your dry runs and the main event.
This will free you from the hassle of running around for your audience and allow you to concentrate on more important deliverables.
Take a virtual tour of our facility here and book a space for your event
