5 Things We Learned From Clic 2015

Clic+ has quickly become a key conference for event professionals to keep an eye on industry innovation, technology and sustainability. We loved our time at Robinson College, a standout venue for event education and inspiration. Here are five things we learned from this year's event.

1. A great evening event can inspire people to give. A charity dinner was held the evening before, in support of the Muscle Help Foundation. We had the honour of hosting simple team building events for the dinner guests, which helped raise a grand total of £2,562! People are prepared to give to great causes. They just need to be inspired to actually do it.
2. Timekeeping can make or break an event. One part of your event has run over time. It's a common problem; chances are you never knew it could be a killer. You may think attendees don't see lateness as a deal breaker, and simply carry on as if nothing happened. People sense when an event is rushed or when a team is becoming stressed under the pressure of time constraints. No matter how much you try to hide it, they know!
3. Connectivity is essential in 2016. Internet connectivity is important to every event attendee. Research shows people check their phones 150 times a day on average, and 75% of that interaction requires the internet. The vast majority of phones can connect to 4G networks, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't offer free wi-fi at your event. You could ask attendees to enter an email address to access it, and add more records to your marketing database, making it a win-win situation.
4. Networking is the key to success. It's not what you know, it's who you know. You may need to “walk the walk,” as well as “talk the talk.” If you want to prosper in any industry, networking is crucial. Linkedin built an entire social network around the concept, and there's a reason why it has over 100 million active users.
5. You can succeed as an events professional, regardless of whether you have a degree. People say you need a degree to get a good job. Speaking from experience, that is not true at all. A degree is a qualification that proves you have the skills required by certain roles, but you can prove that through so many different ways. From apprenticeships, to working your way up the company ranks, a degree is not the be all and end all of the events industry, even though it can be an advantage at times.