Organising a conference, a wedding or a dinner party is ostensibly the same. Get the details wrong and it will be a disaster. Get it right and more often than not the event will flow smoothly. Sure there might be one or two hiccups, but you will manage the bumps well - because you managed the details.

So how do you manage the details?

Well first and foremost you have to ensure you know what the big picture is like. A cliche perhaps, but true.

Take organising a conference for instance. The big picture is the "who is it going to attract" - are you trying to be all things to all people? Or are you running an industry type event? Which industry? Are there other industry events covering the same theme? A similar theme? What dates? Where about in the country? Will you be attracting the same crowd of people? Once you have that "minor" detail worked out, then you can stuck into working out the rest of the "minor details". For instance:

• Who will be speaking?
• What will they be speaking on? (Topics)
• How long? Will it be running week days only? Weekend only? Combination of the two? Will that affect the people who can or cannot make it to the event?
• Where will you be holding it?
• Are the venues free?
• Catering? What, how many people, Sundowners, conference dinners, morning and afternoon tea? Who will be handling it for you?
• Cost? Cost recovery only? Do you want to make a profit? Do you need sponsorship? Who will you approach? What will you be able to offer the sponsors?
• Will you be adding a trade show? Before, during or after the main conference? Who will you approach? How many slots will be available? What pricing structure will you use?
• Registrations? How will you handle registrations? Who will take the bookings? Will you need to use a booking agent? Ticket sales at the door? One price or price per session?
• Conference satchels / goody bags? What will you put in them? How much lead time do you need to get the promotional material together?
• Art work? Who will be designing the flyers, art work, conference theme?
• Marketing and promotion? Who? What? Where? How many weeks before? Full page ads? What is your budget?
• What is your break even?
• Are you giving gifts for the speakers? Or are they being paid? If so, how much? Is this factored into the price of the seminar ticket? If not, why not?
• How will participants get there? Do they need accommodation? Flights? Can you strike a deal with a couple of hotels and airlines?
• Is it worth doing it?

As you can see - each "minor detail" is a a relatively small issue. But can be a logistical nightmare if you get wrong.

So, work out the broad brush strokes first. Answer the main questions first:

• Who?
• Why?
• When?
• Where?

Then you can add the how and of course the why.