By: Richard Fouts

For more information, visit comunicado.us

Here's simple technique that will help you achieve the goals of any event, internal or external.

Sit back, get comfortable, close your eyes and dream a little.

Now imagine this scenario: Your event just ended. People are getting ready to leave. You are postioned near the door, overhearing the conversations of your attendess as they exit.

What Does Success Look Like?
What would you ideally want to hear them say? In fact, what types of reactions would bring music to your ears?

For example:

One senior manager is commenting to her colleague: "That speaker really brought clarity to how I should be spending my time."

The colleague responds, "We need to bring Jack and Marisa to their next event. They could have really benefited from this new insight, given their goals for next year."

Another attendee comments: "This event was so relevant to what I do. I want to get on their mailing list immediately."

And finally, "This event spurred some really good questions. I didn't realize this company had solved problems for companies just like mine. And I liked how interactive the sessions were. Lectures bore me and this was lively and informative. I had fun."

Someone else just said, "Great food."

Anticipation Puts You in Control
What do you need to do to make this outcome a reality? By thinking about the ideal reactions you want your audience to have, you automatically start thinking about what you need to deliver.

For example, if your ideal outcome is having participants request a sales call, you'd better have a compelling call to action. Make sure you've got a mechanism in place to grab those requests and follow up on them immediately.

Or, better yet, why not schedule such requests on the spot? Or, take the requestor to a quiet area, right there in real time, for a private 30-minute consultation?

Don't Be Afraid to Stir Things Up
If you want your audience to be falling over with all the new, controversial insight you just gave them, take another look at your presentations.

Are they communicating anything new? Anything controversial? Is there anything that will make people sit up and start asking good questions?

Have some good questions in your back pocket -- and if the presenter is faced with a shy audience, tell your plant to lob the first one. And, make it a good one.

Right to Left Thinking
Some call this technique "right to left thinking." Most CEOs call it visioning. In fact, did you know that 90 percent of CEOs practice this technique?

Before a board meeting, a press briefing, or interaction with Wall Street Analysts, most CEOs will imagine their preferred outcome. It's a technique that catches an enormous amount of things you may normally overlook.

By anticipating your ideal outcome, you'll improve the quality of your events ten-fold.

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