Navigating Last-Minute Changes in Event Agenda With Niels Bartels

Organizing events, whether in-person or virtual, involves meticulous planning and coordination.  However, despite careful planning, last-minute changes or additions to the agenda are inevitable. Whether it’s a sudden urgent matter, an unexpected participant, or new information that arises, knowing how to adapt and handle these changes effectively is key to maintaining productivity and achieving goals.

In this event industry expert series, Niels Bartels – Independent Multilingual Moderator | International Event Host for Virtual Events & International Trade Fairs | TV Presenter/Reporter & Interviewer For Sports Events & Film Shows shared valuable insights and actionable tips for navigating and managing last-minute changes or additions to the event agenda.

1) When facing the need to make adjustments, how do you prioritize or restructure event sessions to ensure that the most crucial or impactful elements are preserved?

Firstly, it is of course very important to inform participants about changes as early as possible. There can always be changes at an event – that is normal and not a problem. However, it is important that the participants feel respected and well informed.

It is also important to communicate with the team and make decisions together.

You have to look: Which element of the event is most important to the participants? What can’t I leave out under any circumstances (perhaps participants have travelled from far away to see a certain part of the event) and what can I leave out without it being noticeable? How can I preserve the overall experience of the event and what is most important to the guests?

In a presentation, it is said that you have to be strong at the beginning and at the end, but you can “hang short a little bit” in the middle.

It’s similar to an event. The main attraction (for example the keynote speaker) at the beginning and at the end must of course remain. You just have to try to make a few small changes “in the middle of the programme”.

You also need to think about this: What is the budget for the event? Can I possibly add something at short notice?

2) In your experience, what are some best practices for communicating last-minute changes or additions to attendees to minimize confusion and disruption?

I think it’s important to be as open and honest as possible. Of course, you always have to look:

What is the reason for the changes? Why were there last-minute changes? In some cases, guests may be disappointed or annoyed.

But if you don’t communicate the changes quickly, it doesn’t make it better, it makes it worse.

However, it can also happen that you cannot / are not allowed to communicate the real reason for the changes. Then teamwork is required again: then you have to agree with the team exactly who communicates what and when. There is nothing worse than when team members communicate changes for different reasons.

You also have to look at how far in advance the changes were made. Did the changes occur before the event started?

Then you can use channels such as email, telephone and social media to keep participants informed.

You can also invest in an event software that provides real-time updates and notifications.

The German automobile manufacturer “Porsche” in Stuttgart, for example, creates a separate website for each of its “Introduction to Porsche” events. It is also one of my tasks to regularly communicate that the participants of those events should always look at the website, because we inform them about changes to the programme on the website.

3) What are some unique challenges you have encountered when hosting international virtual events and how do you overcome them?

It depends on how international the event is. If the participants come from different continents, they have different cultures and come from different time zones.

It can then make sense to divide the participants into different groups. Then you have to organise the respective group sessions at times that match the time zone the participants come from.

On the cultural differences:

As with so many other topics, it is important to talk to the team about this in advance. You have to be clear: What are the biggest cultural differences and how can you avoid sensitive topics?

If the participants at an international virtual event come from different countries, they will also have different native languages. If necessary, you will have to work with translators.

Last but not least, the topic of engagement:

At virtual events (whether they are international or not), it is always more difficult to interact with the participants than at on-site events.

That’s why I think it’s very important to have regular polls and, if possible, breakout sessions with smaller groups at virtual events.

If the virtual event has speakers from different countries, I must of course communicate with them in advance to avoid misunderstandings.

4) How do you ensure high levels of engagement and participation from attendees during virtual events and trade fairs, especially considering potential distractions and competing demands in a virtual environment?

Of course, this is not easy with virtual events because you are not directly in front of the participants.

But you can also make a virtual event as interactive as possible. This means using surveys and polls or Q&A sessions. You can divide the participants into smaller groups and organise breakout sessions.

It is important to know exactly who my audience is, where they come from and why they are at the virtual event.

Furthermore, I think it’s very important to know the expectations of the audience.

You can play a short video from time to time between presentations.

Depending on the type of event and the target group (if it is a very conservative event, this may not be possible), you could also organise a small competition.

For example, the audience can win small prizes if they answer certain questions about the presentation correctly. This can liven up the presentation and make the audience more motivated to listen. You can mention this in advance (“it’s worth listening – if you can answer questions about the presentation, there are prizes to be won”)

5) Can you share any insights into the evolving trends and preferences among international attendees in terms of virtual event formats, content delivery, and interactive features?

During the last years, I presented at many smaller, niche and macro events. Those events were in my opinion better tailored to the specific interest of the attendees.

Furthermore, interactive content is of course very important nowadays. That can be something like live streaming or polls during presentations or interactive dialogue platforms.

Last but not least Virtual Reality is becoming more popular in order to create an amazing experience for event attendees. One example are the virtual reality glasses which one company I presented for used for a virtual product launch.

For more in the Events Industry Experts series, check out our interview with Jonathan Pritchard, Shawn Cheng, Olivia Preston-Lee, Patric Weiler, Shameka Jennings, Janice Cardinale, Courtney Stanley, Helen Moon, Danica Tormohlen, Ashley Brown, Jason Allan Scott, Brandt Krueger, Corbin Ball, Will Curran, and Stephan Murtagh today!

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