5 tips for running a video conferencing event as designers

We just ran our first remote event. Here’s how we did it.

We’re all experiencing isolation. It’s so important that we bring people and communities together wherever we can.

At Idean UK, we run events for our community of curious minds amongst fellow designers and developers: Pi People. We wanted to bring the community together despite being apart – but none of us had ever run a public remote event before.

We chose the topic of ‘Fast Change’. It’s happening all around us, but no one is talking about how it affects us as designers. What does it mean to rapidly create new features in this unknown world?

Here’s what we learnt from running a remote event and the magic that went on behind the scenes. We hope it’ll inspire and help you to run your own (it’s easier than it looks!).

Choosing the right video conferencing tool

Choosing the right video conferencing tool wasn’t easy. We had a few options in mind and tested each out with colleagues to check performance and see what issues we might face at capacity. Here’s how we weighed up the tools we considered:

We ultimately decided to use Google Meets and stream it live on YouTube. Google Meets acted as the meeting room for our speakers so they could chat with each other, without getting distracted by the chat notifications from our guests. The YouTube stream allowed an unlimited number of people to view at once and we used the chat stream for questions, for our host to put to our speakers.

5 tips for running a remote event

1. Keep the talks short
As more of us are working from home, we’re spending even more time in front of a screen. We didn’t want to add to people’s cognitive load, so we reduced our normal talk time (20 mins) to one 10-minute talk and two 5-minute lightning talks.

2. Do a run-through beforehand
With a remote event, there is added uncertainty and pressure to make the experience as smooth as possible. Make sure you schedule a run through to see how long it really takes and to practise the transitions between tools. We recommend creating a setup document to outline the links, exact steps needed to share screens, and timings for our speakers.

An important note – do keep speakers informed of updates in the lead up to the event. Nothing makes speakers more nervous and unprepared than zero communication.

3. Add in interim slides and music
The difficulty with online talks is that the changeover from one presenter to the next can seem clunky and risks high drop-off rates. Try making the transition as smooth as possible by displaying some holding slides in the interim that explain the content of the next talk. We even added some fun calm beats in the background.

4. Introduce an interactive element
To switch up the energy in between talks, we ran a creative exercise in Figma. Those who wanted to participate could join the fun, whilst others could opt out and observe the unfolding chaos on the YouTube live. If you choose to run this kind of exercise in Figma, make sure you keep it simple. Run through a quick onboarding process so your participants know exactly what to do.

Top tip: watch out for limitations on participant numbers. We had a lot of people join, which meant some lagging issues within the file. Try setting up multiple files to avoid reaching the limit – and let us know how you get on! We’d love to try this next time.

5. Digital giveaways
What makes our Pi People events special is you — our guests. We like to say thank you for coming by giving away something to remember us by, like a tote bag or stickers. How can you set up a remote event to have a similar experience for your guests? A few of our team designed some super cool digital wallpapers to share after the event. We’re already thinking about what we can do next time…

Our first remote Pi People event was a success and it felt great to bring together the community — especially when we’re all apart. As one of our speakers said at the end of his presentation:

We run Pi People for our community of designers and builders every few months. Our next event is on 8th July 2020, about how to take climate action through design, tech and business. Sign up to our Pi People mailer to hear about the next one and we’ll see you there!