5 top tips to avoid an Oscar's style event mistake.

We all know that events can take a lot of time to organise. The fiddly details all combine together to create the event itself, with some details having a larger impact on the outcome of the event than others. Our clients come to us to take the stress off their shoulders, so they have more time to network, present or relax if need be. Usually, these fiddly little tasks are delegated to different members of the team, this helps us to individually focus on the task at hand, and not get overwhelmed by the 101 tasks on the overall list! But what happens when a task is overlooked? Who takes the fall for an incorrectly completed task which had input from multiple people?
 
In the case of the Oscars this week (if you didn’t catch it, here is the full story on the BBC), blame was reportedly bouncing from one person to the next. Of course, the inside operations team will have narrowed down the reason for the mishap, but with such a large audience witnessing it, what is the next step? How could you avoid the problem in the first place?
 
1.Stare the problem directly in the face
The accident/mistake has happened, weather that is an envelope mix up, someone slipping up the stage or a misspoken word, what’s done is done and the best course of action is to move quickly! If the incident can be smoothed over on the spot, brilliant, if not, quickly call an emergency team meeting and start things moving!
 
2.Rehearse rehearse rehearse!
 
There really is nothing as calming as an event rehearsal. If you have a section of the event that is causing you to panic, it will help both you and your team members to go through the details in full. This will help avoid any crossed wires (or misplaced envelopes!)
 
 
3.Plan ahead
Envision the worst-case scenario for the event at hand, and plan ahead for it! This could be something as unlikely to happen as the moon turning orange, but being prepared is better than being scared! Having a back up plan could save you valuable time.
 
 
4.Work with people you trust
In the office, Peter always tells us to work with people we ‘Know, Like and Trust’. This can save you time, effort and money in the long run! Delegating tasks to team members can be a tiresome struggle if you do not trust them to complete the job in hand correctly. Start small, if you don’t believe they can take on a task; give them a smaller, less important role in the team.
 
5.Peer checking is key
We all know what it is like, you can check something a hundred times and see no errors, but the second another pair of eyes looks through the work, they pick up on mistakes. How frustrating! If you are double checking something yourself, things can go unnoticed fairly easily (especially if you have created the document yourself or have other tasks weighing on your mind).  To help cut down on errors, it is worth having any work which will be shown to attendees/the public peer checked by different members of the team at least twice. This may sound time consuming, but trust me, you will thank yourself later!