5 Ways a Run of Show Can Enhance Your Next Virtual Event

Benjamin Franklin famously said, “if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail,” and we all know he was talking about virtual events 😉. 

Let’s be honest; Zoom fatigue is a real thing. Not only are you competing with random background noises and distractions within each viewer’s personal space, but each viewer also has the internet at their fingertips, and so any hint of disorganization or boredom, and you risk losing your audience. That’s why planning is critical. 

As you know, pulling off a virtual event requires a lot of planning and hard work, and it’s frustrating when people disengage, especially when the content is for their benefit. With that said, we’ve been connecting with producers that have been thrust into the virtual event space to learn what they are doing to keep their audiences engaged. Not surprisingly, the planning process has become even more crucial to a successful virtual event, and using rundown software like Shoflo from the very beginning of the preproduction process simplifies communication and elevates preparedness.

While not exhaustive, here are 5 ways a run of show can enhance your next virtual event. 

1. Key stakeholders can visualize the entire event.

One significant benefit of using a rundown when planning and executing an online event is it gives you a birds-eye view of the show. From the order of content and presenters to detailed notes regarding every transition, you can easily see everything and rearrange accordingly to meet any need or request. 

Pro tip: Start the whole planning process in Shoflo, so you don’t allow room for errors that typically come with transferring data, times, and assets from a spreadsheet or word document.

2. Real-time collaboration provides peace of mind knowing your crew has the right info to make your show a success. 

Though some of us in the production world are accustomed to working with a distributed team, working and collaborating remotely has become the status quo due to recent global events. Shoflo enables you and your team to view and make updates in real-time to elements, assets, notes, and more, which is extremely handy when you’re live and are forced to make changes on the fly.  

Pro tip: Leverage roles, permissions, and Guest Pass early to ensure everyone involved has the information they need.

3. Showcaller Tracking keeps the show moving and everyone together on the same page.

With a remote team, keeping everyone in sync has never been so important, and it’s so easy with showcaller tracking. If you’ve used Shoflo before, you know show caller tracking allows you and your crew to follow a specific show caller as they advance from cue to cue. In addition to your show progressing smoothly, which helps to keep your audience engaged, showcaller tracking allows anyone who has access to the rundown to be prepared for the part they play in delivering a successful show.

Pro tip: We recommend the first time your show caller, or anyone for that matter, runs through the show not be when you’re live. Dry runs are your best friend and allow you, along with your presenters and tech team, to work out the kinks utilizing the aforementioned real-time collaboration capabilities to refine your performance.

4. Over/under time calculations track each row of your show and let you know if you’re early, on time, or running behind.

We’ve all been there – when one element runs long and creates a domino effect pushing the rest of the show way over, and all you can do is hope another presenter finishes early enough to put things back on track. While over/under time won’t help your presenter end on time (we have another tool for that), it will let you know exactly how ahead or behind schedule, your show is so you can do your best to adjust accordingly or cut elements out altogether to meet your audience’s expectation of finishing at a certain time. 

Pro tip: Try to be as specific as possible regarding each element’s timing to have the most accurate representation of your show’s timeline. 

5. Displaying scripts and notes via a built-in teleprompter means your presenters can deliver precise and thoughtful content… this also will help you stay on time!

While some presenters prefer to “wing it,” our users have seen tremendous success by utilizing scripts and a teleprompter for their presenters. Leveraging this feature is a surefire way to keep the content flowing, maintain your audience’s attention, and to stay on time overall. Additionally, it allows media operators to know when to display images or videos without cutting off the communicator. 

Pro tip: Click to learn about our new REMOTE PROMPTER tool. This will allow your remote communicators to have the added benefit of presenting with a teleprompter, but not have to manage it, which enables them to stay focused on delivering an unforgettable presentation. 

To summarize, “success is the residue of planning.” – Ben Franklin

If you have not picked up on it yet, we are huge advocates of the preproduction process for an event because we’ve seen firsthand the difference between carefully planned shows and those that are ad hoc. Considering our audiences for the foreseeable future are going to be virtual, we must work even harder to deliver our messages because there is so much more room for error and distraction. 

If you’ve not yet had a chance to experience the difference rundown software has over a Google Sheet or Excel document, we want to invite you to try Shoflo for free for the next 14 days. Not only will you see the power of the features discussed above, but we will also load your account with some of our favorite run of show templates we think would help your next event.