Making sure everything runs on time

Time is of the essence

Nobody likes going to an event that’s supposed to take an hour and a half only to realize two hours later that they’re still trapped in the room. No matter how interested people might be in your workshop, everyone is busy. Some scientists in the audience might even have experiments running during the workshop! Here are some things you can do to keep your event running on time and thereby keep your attendees happy.

• Be explicit about your timing expectations with workshop presenters and attendees. After potential presenters express interest in participating in your event, provide them with expected time constraints in your first follow up email. This will help them create materials or slides of the appropriate length and complexity from the get go. If there’s going to be a change in timing, make sure you let the presenters know as soon as possible - nobody wants to have to change their slides the day before an event. You should also make sure event timing is clearly posted on the event website (see example here) and on any handouts. This way attendees won’t be blindsided if a particular session is too short or too long. It may also allow attendees to pick and choose which parts of the workshop they attend (if you’d like to give them the ability to do so).

• Include some leeway in your posted event times. If you expect a session to take 40 minutes, allot 45 minutes. Nonetheless, make sure your presenters know they only have 40 minutes for their session. Presenters tend to run at least a little overtime and attendees often come a little late no matter how explicit you are.

• Practice with a timer and respect the timer. When you run through the presentations or practice a workshop activity, set a timer with the appropriate time allotted (without the added leeway) and adjust the activity if you go overtime. Don’t simply expect yourself to have better pacing at the event.

• Notify presenters when they’re coming close to the end of their sessions and don’t be afraid to cut in as necessary. Different people alert presenters to time constraints in different ways (some more subtle than others). It can be useful to have a timer set up in full view of the presenter and the audience as a constant reminder that explicitly sets expectations for the session for everyone in the room. If you’d prefer to be a little more subtle, you can always choose one of the event organizers to be the “timer.” This person could, for instance, put up a colored piece of paper showing the time remaining at various time points (e.g. 10 min, 5 min, and 1 min remaining).

• Whatever technique you use, don’t be afraid to cut off a session to keep things moving. You should, as much as possible, try to do this at a point that makes sense (i.e. after a question is answered) but sometimes you’ll have to jump in.