Cash Cart

I was talking with Kelly Harvey at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD when I was there last February and she told me one of the best programs I’ve ever heard of. Super creative, practical, and can get the whole campus involved! They did their version of the popular TV show Cash Cab, instead of a cab they used a golf cart! This is how it works. Someone is driving around campus in a golf cart picking up students in the “Cash Cart”. They offer to give them a lift to their next class, en route to the class they get to try and answer trivia questions for cash, gift cards, or free shwag. 

I love this idea. It happens during the day, no one has to show up on time and people get free stuff. For bonus points have another board member in the front of the golf cart live streaming the whole thing to your Facebook page! Also you can use this opportunity to promote your other events. Put a rigid poster of another event you want to advertise for on the side or top of the golf cart. Promoting an event with an event, welcome to expert level.

Human Chess

If you know me then you know I love alliteration. Weekends at WIT is Wentworth Institute of Technology's programming group for the weekends. I was performing there a couple years ago and I asked what their most creative event was. They said human chess. I thought oh cool, then they described how it worked and I thought genius! This is not your everyday human chess, this is how it works. You have a huge human sized chess board. There are a few ways to make a huge chess board: outside using sidewalk chalk, spray paint on grass, or poster board squares laid out on the floor inside a large room. You gather enough people for both sides (32 people). Then you have 2 additional players that will be calling the moves. Each player moves according to the rules of what piece they represent (you can even make chess piece hats so everyone knows what piece they are, or just buy this huge chess game from Amazon). 

Here’s the twist, instead of pieces being able to knock each other off according to the hierarchy of the piece, when one piece attacks another they leave the board to battle it out in a game of joust! Whoever wins the match stays on the board. You can rent those big inflatable joust games from novelty companies (my favorite company to work with is Fun Enterprises http://funent.com).

Up, Up, and Away!

Last time I was at University of Georgia Athens I asked them what their most creative event was. It’s definitely creative, might be on the expensive side, but I’m sure it made a huge impact! They were showing the movie “Up” in an outdoor inflatable movie theater on a field and wanted a creative way to promote the movie. So they rented a hot air balloon for the day of the movie and gave rides all day in the balloon to promote the movie. They got a huge turnout for the balloon rides AND for the movie that night! Don't forget the popcorn!

Spooky Moods

I was at Texas Woman’s University this past October performing my show Summoning Spirits and they killed it! First they had the show in their Hubbard Hall that’s haunted and called it Summoning Spirits in Haunted Hubbard (remember how I like alliteration?). Then as people came into the building they would escort small groups of people with a lantern through dark hallways to the show. The hallways were set up with haunted house like displays around every corner. Flashing lights, creepy mannequins etc… they got really creative! It set the mood perfectly for the show, they had a blast creating these displays, and everyone that attended had a night they would never forget! Booooo!

You’re in Luck (Urine Luck)

When Jackie Warnick-Piatt from Penn State emailed me this event they do every year I laughed for a solid minute. Then I realized how creative and important this event is! The event is all about your pee. They do about 20-25 health promotions a year and this is one of them. They set up s table and serve lemon jello in urine sample cups! While serving yummy jello they tell students the importance of urine in your life. Things like drug testing for new jobs, the color and how it can determine if you are dehydrated or even diabetic. Students love how funny it is and they deliver important information in a funny way will make them remember this stuff forever! Make you you have all your pee facts correct and get them from a reliable source. Here’s where Jackie get’s them from: https://www.webmd.com/urinary-incontinence-oab/truth-about-urine#1

Puppy Yoga

I got this one from University of New England just down the road from where I live in Maine. They team up with the local animal shelter and put on puppy yoga. What’s more fun than yoga? Doing yoga with a bunch of cute puppies running around you! That’s really all there is to it. Find someone who can teach a yoga class. Team up with the local animal shelter and ask them to borrow some puppies. You will also return the favor and help them promote their cause. Make sure you promote this event with the cutest puppy picture you can find and it fill up so fast! Who knows the animal shelter might get the puppies adopted before the end of the yoga session. One last thing… don’t forget the pee pads for the pups!

My Take Aways:

• Promoting an event with another event is a great idea, think of the Cash Cart and Up, Up and Away as examples.

• A movie or performer can be great on their own but can you make it better by making the experience leading up to the show part of the event. Think of all the time you wait in line at Disney World, they always have a story about the ride playing on Tvs, and things to look at while you are in line. All this creates anticipation and a mood for the main attraction.

• Just get silly and break the rules! Jousting in a human chess game breaks one rule of chess and replaces it with an exciting jousting match that will gather a crowd of onlookers who become the players for the next game!

I'll be adding more creative event ideas to this list as time goes on. If you have an event you think needs to be in this list email me at info@peterboie.com I would love to include it!

-Peter

Make a List

As simple as it seems, making a list of what needs to be done can make a big difference. This is simply because it gives you a visual representation of the tasks at hand. With all your tasks listed, you have the opportunity to tick off what you complete. It gives you the opportunity to have a good look at what you have been accomplishing. Apart from this, a list of tasks can allow you to figure out the timeline you need to plan for the event. You will get to know exactly what you have to do in readiness for the big day. (I use Wunderlist for my lists)

Make a Schedule

If you are the only one working on the event, ensure you make a schedule of the tasks that need to be achieved within particular timelines. However, you have the latitude to decide what you want to do whenever you want to do it. If you find yourself planning for an event as part of a team, you should split up the schedule to incorporate everyone. Don’t allow for any member of the team to be left out. Get everyone involved and you will free yourself of the burden of having to plan for the entire event. (Wunderlist can also help you schedule each task)

Avoid Spreading Yourself Thin

It might seem that you have to contact everyone involved in planning for that event in one day. You don’t have to do that! Stretching yourself thin on time can only leave you tired and stressed. So ensure you schedule one or two things at most in one day. This will ensure you are not crunched for time and that you get the task fully completed instead of doing it halfway simply because you are rushing to the next appointment. It can be very stressful if your event is to happen in a large city where traffic is a big problem, especially if you have to use public transport.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

It’s the small details that often get many event planners down, which usually is from micro managing. Hire the right people for for the jobs and trust in their expertise. Having the bigger matters under control is all that should matter. Focussing on the big picture instead of focussing on every small thing will save you lots of time.

Use Technology

Event planning technology can save you both money and time. When planning for a large-scale corporate or school event, you can lose a lot of time if there isn’t clear communication. You can also lose time trying to arrange for meetings and notify key players of any changes. Trying to accomplish these tasks manually can take you a lot of time, money, and energy. However, if you set your team up with the right communication you can use your time more efficiently. 

Some people might say that’s the cost of a cut throat business. I’m all for competition, and fierce competition. When you step across the ping pong table from me, you are now my enemy. I will play as hard as I can to beat you, and do anything to achieve that. Anything except being unethical and breaking the rules of the game (trash talking is still ok right?). That’s also how I live life, I play hard, and I play to win. Winning by breaking the rules would never satisfy me. I would always know I cheated. In 4th grade I remember cheating on a math test. It was multiplication tables, they were hard! I also didn’t know them. So I cheated. I got a good grade and my teacher was proud of me. I immediately broke down crying and confessed. I couldn’t take it. I didn’t want the accolades if they weren’t real. I want to know I went toe to toe with whatever problem or opponent I’m up against and won fair and square. If I don’t win, then I don’t deserve it because I’m not good enough… yet.

There seems to be a common thread with a lot of tv shows and movies lately (maybe it’s always been there but I’m noticing it more now). What are you willing to do to get what you want? Are you willing to break the law to catch a criminal? Are you willing to lie if it get’s you ahead in business? Are you willing to kill if it means you get to live? These questions are all very interesting to me, and apparently to a lot of people since it’s such a popular thread in entertainment.

The thing I love about movies, books and stories is that I get to put myself in the characters shoes. I get to experiment with their feelings, and their decisions. I get to ask myself if I were in their shoes would I make the same decisions? I put myself in Ray Kroc’s shoes and a lot of it was very familiar. Being self employed you need a lot of the traits Ray had: perseverance, vision, work ethic, drive, and thick skin so that when the world seems like it’s against you, you can stay focused and move forward. He also had (to me)some undesirable traits which were his willingness to lie and brake a contract to gain control over the company. The stakes were huge, billions of dollars. What would I do if I were in his situation? I hope I wouldn’t make the same decision, if I did it would haunt me for the rest of my life. I truly believe you don’t need to be dishonest to be successful. I think Ray still would have been a huge success if he treated the McDonald brothers with honesty and integrity. I guess we’ll never know. So now let me ask you, what would you do?

Later driving to my hotel this interaction got me to thinking about a larger question: are people really that different from one another? I think most people think so, but I have to disagree. I have the privilege of seeing every corner of the country in every kind of town and city. I get to interact with, talk to, and perform for every kind of person. Every age group, every skin color, every sexual orientation, every religion, every accent, and every political affiliation. In my experience people are people. Some of the details change, but at the core people are all the same with very few exceptions. We all require the same basic things to live and be happy. We all like to laugh, we all like to love and feel loved, we all want to belong, we all want to be happy, we want to wake up everyday and look forward to something. 

Maybe I have a skewed perspective because I get to see most of these people when I perform magic for them. Magic has a way of leveling the playing field with its universal appeal. The only real problem magic runs into is getting over someone’s ego. (Some people feel magic tricks are beneath them, this is a very small percentage though.) Magic has its universal appeal because it’s aimed at one of your most basic emotions, wonder. Even if my perspective is skewed, it still helps prove my point that people are people. We are all the same at a basic level, it’s just the details that change. When I show something amazing to someone they are going feel wonder, shock, awe, excitement, they'll laugh and/or smile, or some version of that. I get to see people at one of the most basic levels of being human, and see people without any pretense.

I have always had the basic opinion my entire life that as long as you don’t interfere with how I want to live my life I don’t care how you live your life. I don’t know what’s best for your life and you don’t know what’s best for mine. I think it’s wonderful there are so many ways to live, and like to see and learn about them. It’s easy to sometimes judge others if they live or think differently than you, I do it sometimes and catch myself in the act. Then I remind myself that people are people, we are all the same. That’s the place I find love and empathy for everyone no matter what our differences are.

Do you have any apps you can’t live without? Let me know about them in the comments section below!

Scanner Pro
According to my tax guy I am still required to keep receipts for all my purchases just incase the IRS comes calling. I really hate the shoebox method (keep all your receipts in a shoebox). That means I would have 7 years of shoeboxes that I have to keep, and I did that for awhile in the beginning. That just won’t cut it today. Years ago I started using a small scanner to scan all my receipts and keep digital copies and throw out the originals. Now I just use the camera on my iPhone with Scanner Pro and it scans the receipt quickly and automatically uploads it to Dropbox. Now what to do with all this extra space on my shelves? $3.99
iPhone https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scanner-pro-scan-any-document/id333710667?mt=8

Wunderlist
Everyone is busy, but busy with what? This is the app that will let you know what you’re so busy with. It’s my favorite to do list. I have many lists, ones for business, marketing, personal, show improvements etc. You can put due dates on each to do and set up email reminders, and it’s so satisfying to check the box when you finish a task:) It syncs between my mac and iPhone. They also have an Android version. I’ve never paid for the pro version because the free version does everything I need. Now you have no excuse when you feel like you don’t know what to do next. FREE
Mac https://itunes.apple.com/app/wunderlist-to-do-list-tasks/id410628904
iPhone https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wunderlist-to-do-list-tasks/id406644151?mt=8

Downcast
Hi I’m Peter and I like to listen to podcasts. The addiction is real. I love podcasts. I have a few I stick to but occasionally branch out when I get a good recommendation. Let me know what podcasts you like in the comments bellow I need some new ones! Downcast is the app I use to listen to them. I’ve tried a few others and found myself always going back to this. Lots of options and easy to navigate. $2.99
iPhone https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/downcast/id393858566?mt=8

Flipboard
The best news app in my opinion. Tell Flipboard what you’re interested in and it will give you back interesting articles on everything you are into. Just flip through stories until you come to one you want to read. Quick and easy to browse and read. FREE
iPhone https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flipboard-your-social-news/id358801284?mt=8

Gate Guru
I’m in a lot of airports, flying to colleges and corporate events. I have to say that I have been using this app less because I have become so familiar with some airports I know where everything is. But I still pull this app out when I’m in unfamiliar territory. Gate Guru will tell you where everything is in the airport you are in. Looking for Jamba Juice at BWI? It’ll tell you exactly where it is. Or where to get a great salad at MDW? Done. Or how about the closest Starbucks? Yep, it knows where it is. FREE
iPhone https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gateguru-airport-info-flight/id326862399?mt=8

Paprika
Over the last couple years I have started to cook more and more when I’m home. When I have the time it’s something that I really enjoy. I crack open a beer or bottle of cabernet, and then I crack open my iPad. It is an AMAZING recipe app. A couple key features are that you can use their web browser or paste a link of a recipe you found on the web and it will import it into the app without you having to type anything. You can rate each recipe, you can make categories and subcategories to organize. Another of my favorite features is the shopping list. You are able to add all the ingredients from a recipe into your shopping list with a press of the button. I will often go to the grocery store without a plan, but I only realize this when I get there. So I open Paprika on my iPhone, decide on a couple meals I want that week, add ingredients to the shopping list and shop. If you cook and are making a personal collection of recipes you love, get this app! $4.99
iPhone/iPad https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/paprika-recipe-manager-get/id392408028?mt=8

IF
This is the app that controls the super powerful “If This Then That” platform. This is automation for the common person. You sign up for an account which is free then you are able to use what they call “recipes”. These recipes can do almost anything, by communicating between different platforms. For example I use a recipe to automatically keep my Facebook and Twitter profile pictures in sync, post any picture I post to Instagram to Facebook, and anytime I post an Instagram picture it posts it to twitter as a native picture and not as a link. I also have one to download any picture I’m tagged in on Facebook to a dropbox folder. I think you get the idea with those examples. There are so many more, I can get lost looking through pages of all the recipes! FREE
iPhone https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/if-by-ifttt/id660944635?mt=8

One Password
Passwords suck. I hate them, but I know I need them. One Password makes them suck less. This app lets you store your passwords in the cloud, encrypted, and make them available on all your iOS devices and your Mac. It will generate insanely complicated passwords that no one will ever guess them. When you need a password you simply log into One Password with the one password you have to remember (hence the name) and it will automatically fill in your username and password for the site you are on. It will also hold banking information, credit cards, and has a secure notes section. This might be my MOST used app.
iPhone FREE https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/1password-password-manager/id568903335?mt=8
Mac $64.99 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/1password-password-manager/id443987910?mt=12

1. Buy yourself Bose in ear noise canceling headphones for plane travel. They have changed my life.
2. Sign up for the express programs from rental car companies it will save you tons of time. My favorite rental car companies are Budget, National and Dollar. Sign up on their websites before you rent. Now you can skip the rental car counter line and go straight to your car. Saves tons of time!
3. Never buy rental car insurance or prepay your gas! These are expensive up sells. If you have insurance on your personal car then that covers the rental car. Sometimes the credit card you use to book the car has their own $0 deductible insurance for rental cars, call your credit card company to check. Prepaying gas? I have no clue how to drive the correct amount of miles to make sure I bring the car back with the right amount of gas to make me come out ahead, even with slightly discounted gas. The rental car companies count on our miscalculations to make lots of money off of this convenience.
4. If you fly even semi often stick with one airline, get the credit card that goes with that airline and watch your points build up. I am a Southwest guy. They have the best frequent flyer program benefits: the companion pass, free wifi, express line access, and free drink coupons. Everyone enjoys no change fees, 2 free checked bags, and the best customer service. The two big ones for me are no change fees and the companion pass. I’m never penalized for changing my flights or canceling. With the companion pass you can delegate 1 person to fly with you for free for a year. That’s right, every ticket you buy with money or points you can add your companion on for FREE! 
5. If you don’t absolutely need to stay in a particular hotel then you should be using Hotwire and Priceline Express Deals. I usually book my hotels the night before with one of these sites. They offer deeply discounted hotel rooms. The catch is that you don’t know what hotel you’re getting.  But they do give you lots of information like the star level, reviews, what amenities are offered, and a general area of where it’s located. Hotels use these services to book rooms that would otherwise be empty. I can usually find the best deals the night before because hotels get desperate to fill rooms. Like right now, I’m staying in a Double Tree by Hilton a 3.5 star hotel for $65 a night, retail price is $110 a night! 
6. Be nice! You don’t get anything by being mean or entitled. No one wants to go the extra mile for someone like that. Being nice doesn’t mean being fake, people can smell that coming from a mile away. Really try and be sincere with people. Smile and chat. Pick something besides the weather to talk about. You’ll usually snap this person out of their routine and you’ll make a connection. Even if you don’t need something at that moment, it’s always better to have a friend if you do. If nothing else you probably brightened up someones day, and most likely yours too. When you’re on the road as much as I am, traveling gets very boring and tedious. Connecting with another human being for a minute or two is a breath of fresh air:)
7. Use a hanger to sleep longer. Do you know that annoying stream of light that sneaks though the curtains in the morning? It always seems to be directed right into your eyes and wakes you up too early. This is an old trick but worth repeating. Go to the closet and get a hanger with pants clips on them. Fold over the curtain and clip it using one of the pant clips. Problem solved. Don’t forget to set your alarm.
8. Need to wake up at 3 am to catch your flight and you’re going to bed at midnight? Don’t take any chances that you’ll hit the snooze. Turn up the volume on your cell phone and plug it in across the room so you have no choice but to get out of bed to turn it off. I learned this one the hard way by turning off alarms in my sleep and missing flights.
9. Don’t have time to stop to eat? I’ve found the easiest food to eat while driving is Subway. If you are super hungry and need a footlong sub just ask them to wrap each half separately. Now you don’t have to balance one half of your sandwich on your lap while eating the other half, while trying not to crash. Safety first!
10. Never buy toothpaste again! Every time you check into a hotel, tell them you forgot your toothpaste. They have free samples behind the desk for you! I just saved you like $8.79 a year. You’re welcome.
11. Always pack a deck of cards in your bag. You never know when you will be required to do a card trick.
12. Learn a cool card trick, watch video below.

Getting people to your event is probably one of the hardest parts of putting on an event.  Without people your event can shrivel and die a horrible death. I do a lot of magic shows for colleges and I’ve picked up a few great ways to help get the word out about the show. Here are 6 ideas for you to use to get people to your next event.

Show tonight at 8:03 pm!

Why the heck is the show at 8:03 pm tonight?  That’s exactly the point. People take a second look and remember the time because it’s a weird time. So use a weird start time and start exactly at that time. Don’t over use this one, people will get used to your clever gimmick. Or use it every time and make it “a thing” and start exactly at a different weird time for every event.

Dinner DJ

Students tell me all the time the hardest genre to get people to is music. People are less likely to go see a musician they know nothing about than say a magician. So next time you have a musician you need to think of clever ways for people to hear their music multiple times so they can decide if they like them or not, before the show. The week of your concert play their music in the dining hall or other place students hang out and have a recording play after the song telling them about the show. Or set up a sound system and have someone from the activities board play DJ for a couple hours everyday in a high traffic or hang out area, after you play a song from your upcoming artist say something like “Like that song?  That’s (insert artist here), they are performing live on campus Friday night at 8:03pm and it’s free!”

Teasers

I try to do a teaser (close up magic table to table) in the dining hall for every show, it really helps attendance. Some genres or performers can’t do that or don’t offer that option. It doesn’t mean you can’t go out and do a teaser in the dining hall the night of the show. Take a few board members to the dining hall armed with fliers, iPads and headphones or a bluetooth speaker with youtube videos queued up of the performer coming that night. Get over being shy and have fun telling everyone about the event you’re excited for!

Theme Food

Ok you probably already know about free food or currently offer free food or snacks to people that come to your event. Have you tried theming the food to the event? How about music note shaped cookies for a concert? Or chocolate covered pretzel rod magic wands for a magician? It’s more work but people will feel like you really care and they will get excited to come back to events to see what you are going to do next. Or theme a mocktail bar to the event! Have fun putting the menu together coming up with creative names for drinks.

Social Media

This is obvious but I’m always surprised how little activity boards use social media effectively. First you need to have accounts  on twitter/facebook/instagram/snapchat. Any place people are you need to be too. Make sure to tag and include your artist in your posts about their event, use pictures and their youtube videos so people can get a taste of what’s to come. If your event isn’t a performer (you can do this for a performer too)then you and a fellow board member should make a 15 second commercial for your event, or a series of commercials you can post every day for a week to get people interested in coming. This is the fun part, get creative! Promote your event everyday for a week leading up to it. In marketing there is a rule of 7, a buyer needs to see your brand a minimum of 7 times before they feel comfortable enough to buy from you. Same here, when people think of Friday night, your event needs to be at the top of their head.

Loyalty Club

I’ve seen a bunch of schools do this and it seems to work great! Have a punch card, or a way of swiping student IDs, or other electronic way of keeping track of who comes to events. Then for every 3-5 events they come to they get something free, like a t shirt, or snacks.  Also reserve the front row for these VIPs. Give away the rewards right before the show in front of the audience so everyone knows about the VIP club, and people that aren’t getting rewarded will be jealous they didn’t get free stuff, and motivate them to come to more events. These are the most important people, they come to lots of events and help advertise for events by talking to their friends and reposting your social posts. So treat them like royalty! Remember getting a new customer is always more expensive/work than keeping a customer you already have. If someone has come to an event before they are more likely to come to another one over someone who has never been to a single event.

Those are just 6 ways I’ve used and have seen used to promote events, there are countless more and I would love to hear what you use! Post your ideas in the comments below.

Good luck promoting!
-Peter

Be Prepared

I have a recurring nightmare, I’m backstage ready to perform to a packed theater and just as they are introducing me I realize that none of my props are set up. I’m forced to go onstage and do 1 hour of magic with no magic. This is the fear of not being prepared. You NEED to be prepared. That means you’ve done your homework, know the material inside and out, practiced and rehearsed until the words and movement become second nature. Lets say you are giving a 5 minute speech on your favorite fruit, oranges. You should know everything about oranges, not just 5 minutes worth of information. Prepare by writing down your speech and rehearse it into a mirror and then camera, making changes to it as you rehearse so the speech sounds more spontaneous rather than like you are reading a prepared speech word for word. Watch the video after every rehearsal, and make changes as you notice bad parts. Do this until you stop cringing at yourself and can honestly say, “Huh that looks/sounds pretty good.” Then do it a few more times.

Make Eye Contact & Smile

This one is huge for me. People are afraid of speaking to an audience, what is an audience made of? Individual people. Would you be so afraid if you were in a room with one other person and you had to talk to them for 5 minutes about oranges? Probably not. So right away when you get on stage make eye contact with someone in the first couple of rows and smile at them, it will relax you. Don’t hold that eye contact for too long, then move to another person on the other side and make eye contact, then to the next. You are never really speaking to a group of people! You are just speaking to one person at a time, do that for the entire time you have to speak for. You will also get compliments for having good stage presence because the audience will feel you are talking to them and not at them.

Talk to Yourself

This next one is more psychological. Your thoughts will race when you are nervous: “what if they don’t like me? Am I prepared? What if I mess up? It will be so much easier if I just run away right now and go live in the woods!”  These are all thoughts I’ve had:) You need to control your mind with self talk. If you are rehearsed and prepared then keep telling yourself “I’ve put in the time, I’m happy with my rehearsals, if I do it as good as in rehearsals I won’t suck”. Have confidence in your preparation.  

Concentrate on the things you are going to do, NOT on the things that could go wrong. I mountain biked for years and the best tip I got when navigating narrow planks of wood on two wheels is, “don’t look where you don’t want to go”. You will go where you put most of your concentration on.  If you think you are going to mess up or do a bad job, then you are more likely to do that. If you are concentrating on the good performance you are going to give, with everything going right, you are more likely to go down that path. 

Hold Your Breath

“My heart is beating out of my chest, I have cotton mouth and I’m shaking uncontrollably!  I can’t do this!”. Yes you can! I learned a neat trick from a competitive shooter, a tried and true method to control your heart beats and hand shaking. It’s all in the breath. When you are nervous take a normal breath in, and hold it for 5 seconds. Release the breath normally and hold that for 5 seconds, and repeat. This method will physically cause your heart to slow down thus reducing the physical symptoms of being nervous. Controlling your breath is an important part of controlling your body and thoughts. If you do any sort of meditation you already know these techniques.

I hope you found something in here that will help you next time you have to talk to a group of people. Do you have to speak in front of a group regularly? If so let me know any tips you have in the comments below, I would love to hear them!

Oh and please don’t die of stage fright, just breathe!

See you on stage!
Peter

Sound System Parts

There are 2 basic parts to a sound system, the speaker and the mixer. Sometimes the mixer is built into the speaker.  Obviously the sound comes out of the speaker. On a side note, you NEED speaker stands (I recommend these: On Stage Stands) to get the speakers above the heads of your audience.  Resting the speakers on the ground or edge of the stage will not cut it, that can make a good system sound muffled or not loud enough. All the mics (including wireless receivers for wireless mics), instruments, and mp3 players are plugged into the mixer. The mixer controls the volume, gain, lows, mids, and highs.  Lows, mids, and highs are the frequency levels of the sound.  

Adjusting the Mixer

You will be plugging all mics in to the mixer with XLR cables, they are the standard microphone cable.  

• Adjust the master volume control the zeroed out position (this is not all the way down, it is usually 3/4 of the way turned up), then don’t touch this control again!  You will adjust the volume of the individual channels to get the volumes just right for each channel.

• While someone is on stage talking in to the mic, adjust the volume. Volume is the basic loudness of the mic.  

• Then you will adjust the gain, gain is the sensitivity of the mic. The higher the gain the farther away from the mic you can be and have it pick up your voice (and other sounds). Too far and you will pick up sounds you don’t want it to and get feedback (feedback is when sound goes through the mic, then through the speakers, then back through the mic, and creates an endless loop of high pitched awfulness). These are the two most important controls on a mixer.  Find the right balance of volume and gain, loud enough and sensitive enough so everyone in the room can hear clearly without the risk of feedback. Go back and forth adjusting them until it's just right.

• Then you can adjust the lows, mids, and highs for that mic.  I like to start with each level zeroed out (adjust the nobs to the middle position).  Listen to the voice going through the mic. Does it sound too high? If so adjust the highs down just a bit until it sounds more normal. Also maybe try bringing up the lows and mids a little bit. Does your voice sound too muffled with bass? If so adjust the low level down a bit. Maybe try bringing up the highs and/or mids. The goal here is to get a well balanced sounding voice and be able to hear the words coming through the system clearly. A small adjustment goes a long way!  If you are adjusting a musical instrument, it’s the same basic idea but the artist might have a particular way they want it to sound so let them guide you on the adjustments.

Plugs & Cords

.mp3 Players

When plugging a music player into your mixer you have options.  You can use a 1/8 inch to RCA cord. A direct box, With a direct box you usually will need an 1/8 inch to 1/4inch cord and an XLR cable. Or, I use (and prefer because it’s simpler) the RapcoHorizon LTIBLOX all the time and highly recommend it.  All you need is this box, an XLR cord, and a music player with a headphone jack (1/8 inch plug) and you can plug into ANY sound system.  It is a vital piece of equipment and should be in every gear bag.

Wireless Microphones

A receiver is what you plug into the mixer with an XLR cord.  This piece of equipment receives the wireless signal from the transmitter and gives it to the sound system. The transmitter is a belt pack that connects either to a lavaliere mic or headset mic that takes the sound from the mic and transmits it to the receiver. For wireless handheld mics the transmitter is built into the handle of the mic.  I travel with my own wireless mic because I want to sound great every time and the mic makes all the difference. I use the Countryman E6 for my main mic on stage.  These are expensive and might be overkill for your needs. But you should at least have a good quality lavaliere mic (mic that clips onto the front of your shirt or jacket).  You should also have a good wireless handheld mic and mic stand.  I recommend the brand Sennheiser. They have amazing sound quality and amazing build quality.  They truly hold up to extensive travel and usage, I can attest to that.  Here are the ones I recommend:

• I use the Sennheiser EW wireless transmitter and receiver, and it comes with a lavaliere mic. The advantage to this one is that it’s super small and compact. Be aware that both the receiver and transmitter require batteries and the range isn’t as good at the option I’ve listed next, but I’ve never had a problem with range in any room I’ve ever performed in.  

• Also consider the Sennheiser EW rack mountable receiver.  The advantage to this one is that the receiver doesn’t require batteries but does take up more room, and has more range.  This also comes with a lavaliere mic.

• Here is a great wireless hand held mic: Sennheiser SKM.

Also when you are shopping be aware of the different frequency bands that wireless equipment comes in.  There are three: A, B and G bands. For example, if I buy a wireless receiver and transmitter that is in the A band, I can buy a wireless mic later and it will work with my receiver if the mic is in the A band as well. Side note, every wireless mic needs it’s own receiver, you cannot operate two mics off of one receiver. Also if you have two wireless mics operating at the same time make sure each is on a different frequency. 

Portable Systems

Every activities board should have their own portable sound system.  If you are a company that has events or gatherings often I really think you should invest in a portable sound system too. With a portable sound system, a couple speaker stands, a mic, and some pipe and drape, you can make any space look like a great performance space.  Here are a couple suggestions when shopping for your sound system:

• Make sure your system has at least 3 inputs.  If you plan on using it for musicians, you should have at least 8 inputs.

• If you can’t decide between two different sized systems, go with the louder one.  Better to have too much power than not enough.

• Get speaker stands.

• Make sure your system has at least these 3 adjustments: Volume, low (bass), high (treble).  

• Don’t skimp on lower quality brand sound system.  Sound and build quality are everything.  A cheaper one will not sound as good and won’t last you as long. 

• You should have at least a 500 watt system.  That should be good for up to about 500 people for a talking performance or about 200 people for a music performance.  For concerts and bands this won’t cut it, you will probably just have to higher out the audio production.

Here are a couple portable systems I recommend for their quality, portability, and ease of use:

• Fender Audio Passport Venue

• Yamaha Stage Pass 600i

• QSC 12” Powered Speakers

That is all!  Not too complicated right? Sound engineers go to school for years to learn the science of sound.  But you don’t need all of that. With this info you have enough knowledge to get your sound system dialed in and sounding great. You’ll also impress your guest performers and board members/co workers with your expertise!

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments section or email me. Also if you have any tips, suggestions or essential gear you use I would love to hear about it in the comments below.

Happy sound checking!
-Peter

Sleep

You aren’t going to get much of it but when you do get it you need it to be QUALITY sleep. You are probably sharing a room with others (school or boss man needs to save some cash) which means you might get stuck with a snorer which means ear plugs.  Even if you don’t get stuck with a snorer, you have the middle of night bathroom breaks, and insomniacs that will play their headphones too loud.  Go to a pharmacy and pick up the small squishy ear plugs, they are cheap, and they will help you sleep.  Also pick up a cheap sleep mask for those potential light switch malfunctions.

Breakfast in Bed

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you need a good one to get you through the long convention days.  Unfortunately there usually isn’t time, or you want to use every last second in the morning for sleep.  Buy a couple boxes of instant oatmeal and use the coffee maker (EVERY hotel in the world has one in the room, not every room has a microwave) to heat up water to mix with it.  Bam!  A pretty nutritious, quick, cheap breakfast.  PS don't forget the plasticware.

Travel Boredom

Most likely you will be flying or driving a long way to get to your trade show and that can get boring, I have a solution: podcasts.  I am a podcast maniac!  One of my favorite podcasts is Freakonomics Radio.  You’ve probably heard of or read the book Freakonomics but now they have a podast, no reading required!  I always learn something new from listening to this.  But even more important, it makes travel time fly by:)

I hope something in here will help you next time you travel. Do you have any travel tips?  Do you like these tips?  Comment below I'd love to hear what you think!

-Peter

Make a List, Check it Twice

I know Santa season is long gone but he is a very smart planner. He had a list.  You need a list too.  Write down what needs to get done, who needs to do it and by what date.  I like to work backwards from the event date to make sure I leave plenty of time to get my first choice in venues and venders/performers.  Also leave yourself a bit of extra time for the little details you couldn't plan for. Then follow your game plan.

No More Post It Notes!

If you are still using post it notes for your lists and to dos... for the love of all things digital please stop! You need a great electronic way of staying organized.  I use a great free version of the app called Wunderlist wunderlist.com.  You can organize with different lists, set due dates, share between people and devices.  It is the perfect list app to stay organized for your next event!  Download it, use it, love it.

How do you stay organized and help plan your events?  Is there another cool app I need to know about?  Comment below and let me know your thoughts!

Peter