THE speaker drones on monotonously, occasionally fumbling with his notes and apologising for badly sequenced slides.

The audience squirms uncomfortably in some draughty hall as the unpromising odour of cabbage wafts from the canteen.

Corporate events can so easily be remembered for all the wrong reasons if you haven’t planned them properly.

The first step is to work out clearly what you want to achieve. This might sound obvious, but Paul Ashford, director of Apex, a Macclesfield-based event organiser, said: “It is surprising how many companies embark on something like this without having a clear idea of what they want to get out of it. Woolly briefs are our biggest problem.

“Always have a clear understanding of why you are planning an event. Are you trying to give good or bad news to staff? Is it a sales event? Are you trying to generate new ideas or impress new clients?” Once you’ve established the purpose of the event, the other decisions concerning venue, facilities and target audience are easier to make.

One overriding consideration will be the budget. You may fancy incorporating an awesome laser show and a giant plasma-screen display, but if you haven’t got at least six figures to play with, forget it.

Your budget will also dictate whether delegates travel business class or economy class, stay at the Savoy or at an out-of-term university, enjoy a five-course dinner with wine or a plate of sandwiches. Obviously the more bells and whistles you add, the greater the cost.

And you must always plan far ahead. Ashford said: “Good venue space gets booked up very quickly, so we recommend booking at least four to six months in advance if you want to have the widest possible choice.”

Teresa Ward, director of TWC Events, has this advice for companies looking for conference venues: “Don’t fall for the hype. Not all so-called conference venues are adequate.”

She suggests that company representatives check venues in person instead of relying on brochure or website descriptions. “Never accept the first quote a venue gives you — there’s always room for negotiation,” she said. “If you have a calendar of events you should be able to get a better deal. A multiple booking is music to their ears.”

When you have your conference can be just as important as where you have it, said Ashford. “Timing is crucial. Make sure your proposed conference date doesn’t clash with major sporting events. Also, people don’t like travelling on Friday afternoons and Monday mornings. Midweek is better.”

Ward warns that delegates often need an inordinate amount of hand-holding. “They need a lot of looking after,” she said. “Once I had a delegate complaining that he’d missed breakfast because he didn’t know it was happening.”

On top of all this you need to make sure that the conference programme itself is stimulating and useful. “You’ve got to put yourself in the delegate’s shoes,” said Ashford. “What’s going to make them want to come to your conference? If it’s just for staff, you can make attendance compulsory, but you’re not necessarily going to make them pay attention.”