Event horror stories (and how to avoid them)

Tips to stop event hiccups turning into horror stories, using zoombombing as an example

What’s your take on Halloween? Love it or hate it? I grew up in Scotland where Halloween was a big deal way before the big corporations got in on the act. We carved turnips into lanterns that had actual candles in them (ah, the nostalgic smell of burnt turnip 😆). And we went guising, which is a bit like trick-or-treating, but the costumes were usually made out of bin bags or newspaper (see the photo below of me and my little sister). Then you had to do a turn (sing, tell a joke or recite a poem) for, if you were really lucky, a satsuma or 2p. If one house was doling out KitKats it was like hitting the jackpot. Honestly, kids these days don’t know they are born.

When events turn scary

So I do have a fondness for Halloween, but I’ve never been a massive fan of scary stories. Frankly I’ve had to deal with enough real scary situations in real life – and often at work. Over the years I’ve had to evacuate hundreds of children from an event, send a presenter to hospital with chemical burns, called an ambulance for the sickest-looking child I’ve ever seen (turned out it was meningitis), and dealt with fly infestations, blocked toilets, storm-damaged marquees, bomb threats, protesters and fights. Thankfully not all at the same event! 

Stop hiccups turning into horror stories

You know those risk assessments and contingency plans everyone thinks are just unnecessary bureaucracy? Turns out they come in quite handy when the 💩 actually does hit the fan. I’ve previously written about how I think good event managers are massive over-thinkers. But it’s not just about over-thinking – the secret is to find all of the things that could possibly go wrong and come up with a plan for what to do. It’s like making an anti-dream board.

Here are 3 steps to help you think through how to stop hiccups turning into horror stories. 

1. Avoid – If you identify a problem that can potentially be avoided entirely, that is always the best option. Don’t neglect risk assessments, venue visits, tech checks, reconfirming speakers and schedules as all of these are opportunities to catch potential issues before they start.
2. Prepare – Have contingency plans ready to go so that you’re not scrabbling if things do go awry. This might mean having first-aiders or tech support on standby with their numbers saved on your phone. It might mean making sure your event team know what to do if you need to evacuate. Or it might mean having a plan to move online if there is a problem with the venue.
3. Act – If something does happen, put those plans into action quickly and confidently. In unexpected situations people naturally look to the organisers for guidance. And you will be forgiven for not handling it perfectly. People will be less forgiving if you ignore the problem or delay until it gets worse. 

Example – How to deal with Zoombombers

I had thought Zoombombers were a relic of the dark days of COVID, but I recently heard on LinkedIn of a Zoombombing incident that was clearly very upsetting for everyone involved. Here are some ideas for how to apply this framework to a scenario where Zoombombers might be a worry e.g. a controversial topic.

1. Avoid – Make the event registration only and use the waiting room feature to only admit registered participants. Ensure the video platform is set so that only the host can screen share and mute participants by default. In a very high risk situation you may also want to stop people being able to unmute themselves. You can ask people to rename themselves so they show the name they registered with, and it is entirely reasonable to ask people to turn their camera on (even temporarily) if you need to verify their identity. 
2. Prepare – Assign someone (a producer) who is not presenting to monitor the chat and participants. Make sure the producer has the right permissions to control all the call settings. Have some placeholder text ready to cut and paste into the chat if needed (see below). Consider recording the call just in case it is needed for evidence. You may also want to have a comms ‘back-channel’ like a WhatsApp group or just phone numbers so that hosts can communicate privately.
3. Act – As quickly as possible mute and remove the person who has acted out of turn. Depending on what they have done you may wish to remove them entirely or move them to a breakout room where a team member can go to have a private conversation with them. If someone has posted something offensive in the chat you can delete it (screenshot it if you think evidence might be needed) or dump a load of placeholder (e.g. Lorem Ipsum) text there so that it scrolls out of people’s sight. If possible don’t shut down the whole call as the people who are present might need an opportunity to talk through what has happened.

Obviously, I sincerely hope that nothing like this ever happens to you. But I honestly think the act of preparing, even just mentally, for what might happen makes it less likely that anything actually will go wrong. Because just by thinking it through you will have eliminated some of the problems, and having a contingency plan makes it all seem much less scary in the moment. And if you need someone to do the over-thinking for you and help create those contingency plans, that’s exactly what I do. Send me a message and we can schedule a chat. 

This post is adapted from an email sent to my Gathering with Purpose newsletter list. Subscribe below to get more insights like this in your inbox.