Scripting – Blueprint for Success

You may have a great idea and a description, but now you have to map out the entire sequence of what will happen in a timetable with some “wiggle room” for the unexpected. More often than not, you will have to make course corrections during the event to handle the inevitable issues that arise, but once you have completed your scripting and have a script, you have a clear plan that your team / staff (volunteers or paid) can follow so they know the flow of the event as well as your intentions. Then, you don’t have to tell them when to play which music, when handouts need to ready, etc.

They will also be clear as to what you want to happen and when you want it to happen. This is really important in moving participants to take whatever action will be of benefit to you and them. What were mainly talking about here are things such as purchasing your book or recordings or enrolling in your next event.

The outline of the event that you give your team should not be as detailed as the script that you are creating in the full scripting process. Many people call the document used at events a Logistics Master because it provides all the elements of the event’s logistics including when breaks are scheduled and when the doors are to be opened for participants. By creating this Logistics Master, you are able to turn the timing responsibilities over to someone else who can then provide you (or your presenter) with cues as to when a particular element needs to occur. This is especially important when considering breaks and meals because going beyond your participants’ physical comfort level can be disastrous.

I have watched people get up and leave during very experienced and highly successful presenters’ critical exercises or explanations because the presenter would not stop and they had to use the restroom or get something to eat. I have also watched seasoned presenters go beyond the promised completion time and have many people leave before he or she could make their “sales / enrollment pitch.” Such mistakes can be extremely disrupting to your event, especially if you have to repeat the instructions or information with one or two people. They’re even more devastating if you don’t get to share your next step message and leave plenty of time for participants to buy whatever you’re selling. Those are only some of the reasons why timing is so important, and putting it in the hands of someone other than the presenter makes his or her job much easier.

For simplicity, I suggest dividing any event more than three hours long into half or full days. A half-day usually contains three hours of content with one break of twenty minutes midway through. Including wiggle room, that means your event will run 3 1/2 hours, a bit too much for an evening (which should be kept to 2 1/2 hours, usually something on the order of 7 – 9:30).

A full day is simply two half-days with a meal break of at least one-hour. I like giving people as long as possible for meal breaks, so if you can make a lunch break two hours, do it. That may extend your day a bit longer than you feel comfortable with, but it will provide a more relaxed context (environment) for your participants. Because of that relaxed context, they will find your presentation more enjoyable as well as easier to understand.

The lunch break should also be used as part of your event. Give them “homework” such as going to lunch in small groups and discussing some topic or question that you have covered or plan to cover. Nothing heavy, but something to break the ice with strangers. Also send them off to lunch in small groups because large groups tend to get served slowly thereby creating people straggling back late.

The timing for a two-day or longer event should follow this same pattern with more “homework” for the evening. Again, make it simple and easy to complete. Something to keep your participants engaged but not bogged down with work.

Also consider providing an optional social event on one or more of the evenings between your presentation days. This gives participants another opportunity to network and mingle without time constraints or the need to work on your event topic.

The next scripting issue is filling out all those 2 1/2 hour blocks of time with wonderful engaging content. The two easiest blocks are the beginning and the ending. They are also the most important. Always begin with them – your participants. Get them involved. You can ask questions or have them share something about themselves in dyads or small groups or use a myriad of other techniques to do this.

Next give them a BRIEF overview of what they can expect to get from participating fully in the event. This is the time to get their agreement to “play full out.” In other words, you want them to agree to participate fully, even if something seems silly or unrelated to the topic. Do this in a way that has them take some physical action be it speak or move. I prefer having everyone who agrees to play full out stand up. That way you can see who is still sitting and work with one of those people to see what’s in the way of their full participation.

In most cases, processing one person in that way handles anyone else who is not willing to make that agreement as well as handling people who agreed but were really just going along to remain anonymous. Having one person who says he or she is unwilling to play full out is a good thing that can add to the positive energy of your event.

Working to process someone who says that they are unwilling to play full out also provides you with another opportunity to weed out people who might cause problems later in the event if they were to stay. During the dialogue between you and the person unwilling to agree, one or two people might decide that your seminar is not what they were looking for. Better to refund their tuition and send them home right then and there than to deal with them later when they will not cooperate and cause disruptions for everyone else.

The conclusion of your event is the second easy portion to complete during your scripting process. As you begin winding things up there are some crucial issues to address. First, you want to make sure that your “sales / enrollment pitch” has landed and that your participants have taken the next steps you want or are seriously considering doing so. Second, you want them to feel that you care about them. Third, you want honest feedback. And forth, you want them to leave inspired. All these can easily be accomplished in less than fifteen minutes if you are effective and efficient. That’s why the script is so important.

If you have structured your event well, you will already have offered and sold whatever it is that you have to sell (your next event, consulting, books, recordings, etc.) in the back of the room. So all you need to do is remind them one last time that the bookstore and / or registrations with special at-event discounts will be closing when the event is over. This is a great time to reiterate what a great deal you are giving them because they showed up and because you want them to get the most out of all that you have to offer. Remind them that what you have is an ongoing process (if it is, and most offerings are just that) and that this is a great time to make the long-term commitment to themselves and their learning.

Showing that you care about them and getting honest feedback can be scripted into one element – the evaluation form. This needs to happen DURING the event not passed out at the very last minute as so many presenters do. You need to give them five or ten minutes toward the end of the event to fill out the form without pressure. If people want more time, allow them to do that after the close.

The feedback of an evaluation form filled out in a calm setting is invaluable, and filling out a form also provides participants with a sense that you care about them. You are asking about their experience, and you are providing them with the opportunity to anonymously tell you anything. Your form should also ask for their name (optional) and if you can use their positive comments in your future promotional material. If, however, you try to get them to fill out the evaluation form when the event is over, you won’t get genuine feedback or many positive comments because people will fill them out quickly so that they can leave.

And, finally, you can forget about people who tell you that they will fill the form out and send it to you. In all the years I have been doing this work, I have only seen a handful of people follow through with such a promise. It’s just too much for most people, and that’s why you need to include it as part of your event.

The final element of your event completion is the inspirational ending. This is something you need to work on and personalize. Often it involves each person sharing what her or his next step will be. You also need to make sure that the music used during this portion and at the very end is upbeat and inspirational. This is where you might consider music that means something special to you and extend your inspirational feeling out to your participants. That way, they walk out the door feeling motivated and slightly sad that your event is over. If those are their feelings, the chances are good that they will return for more of your events as well as recommend your events to others.

These are the basic elements of your event script. I could go on for pages describing different ways to format them using the scripting process. What’s important is that your format works for you and your team. It can be detailed or simple, but you need to have a script and follow it – except when you don’t, which almost always happens at some time during an event. And in doing the scripting process and creating your script, you are actually taking your event to a deeper level of creation, which will make it even more successful (as you have defined success).