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SEVEN TIPS FOR
ONLINE SUCCESS
Would you like to organise an unforgettable online symposium or conference? Look no further, here is Hanlie Degenaar’s formula for success:
- Keep track of all the messages and emails from team members, potential attendees and exhibitors.
- The survey we sent out to our contact list and delegates who attended the events from 2016 to 2019 proved extremely valuable to ensure we provided content that people wanted, in a format that suited them.
- Support the presenters in designing online presentations that will captivate the audience.
- Get to know the software so that you will be able to manage real-time technical issues.
- Use a software platform that is user-friendly and conduct practice runs before the event with presenters and an audience.
- Plan, test, adapt and practice beforehand as much as the organising team can manage.
- Remember: teamwork and humour are essential!
AUTISM
AND EMOTIONAL REGULATION
With “Emotional regulation” as the topic, the message that stood out during the symposium is that effective communication skills and positive relationships are key to emotional regulation. One should always assume that every person has immense potential, and therefore build on strong points and focus on what that person is trying to communicate.
“Remember that confrontational behaviour is trying to communicate something. Focus on the message and not on disciplining the behaviour. Also, adult autists’ experience and opinions are essential for the development and management of practical solutions,” says Hanlie.
When the NWU had to host the annual National Autism Symposium during a global lockdown, the organisers had to pioneer an innovative formula for online conferencing. And they succeeded.
eish! asked Hanlie Degenaar about the benefits of an online event, and for tips on how to present a successful conference.
“Arranging the symposium in an online format at short notice was a challenge but we are grateful that it turned out to be a big success,” says Hanlie, who is a senior speech-language therapist at the NWU’s Institute of Psychology and Wellbeing, and head of Care2Kids.
Themed “Emotional regulation”, the NWU hosted the annual Autism Symposium in conjunction with Autism South Africa and the South African Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions from 25 to 27 June.
Benefits abound
Hanlie says the online format had numerous benefits.
“We were able to include exceptional speakers and reached more people to share in the information, as they could easily join the event from anywhere in the world.
“Another benefit was that we could present more practical workshops, because there were an unlimited number of virtual classrooms. Also, networking opportunities increased and were easier to access, according to feedback from the attendees.”
Hanlie says she and her team learned a lot. “The best advice we received was not to duplicate the format of the face-to-face event but rather to use a fresh format and keep it simple.”
For Hanlie’s advice on presenting a successful online symposium or conference, see the text box “Seven tips for online success”.
“With careful planning and the NWU’s exceptional infrastructure, the seemingly impossible can be achieved. Change is difficult but it does provide wonderful opportunities for innovation and growth,” says Hanlie.
Hanlie Degenaar led the team that recently pulled off a hugely successful online symposium on autism.
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