Events and conferences are meant to be fun, and even though you have a professional goal in mind, you still want people to have a good time. Alcohol solves this problem to an extent and can your speaker relax, on the other hand, they might get drunk, and the purpose of bringing them to your conference will be lost. So how do you balance alcohol and motivational speakers in Sydney? Here are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind.
The first thing is knowing when to make alcohol available.
A lot of conference speakers in Sydney will tell you that it is not a good idea to serve alcohol while an event is still on, even if it’s during break periods. What this means is try not to open the bar until the event is over, most preferably during the after party only. This will limit the alcohol options, and keep things on track, at the same time, if your speakers ask for a drink before the conference is over, give it to them. As a good counter, you can make other rare and fun non-alcoholic beverages available to guests and speakers; this will take away the emphasis from drinking alcohol.
Another helpful tip is to use an appropriate location for your after party.
A professional conference speaker sees an after party as a chance to socialize, and not for getting drunk. For that reason avoid having yours at a club or venues where the music is too loud, and the drinks are free flowing. To further enhance this, monitor the types of alcoholic beverages that are being served at the bar. Ensure that only light alcoholic drinks like beers and wine are available, other strong liquors including vodka, rum, whiskey, brandy and even punch should be avoided.
Furthermore, employ trained bartenders to serve alcohol at a conference. You might think you are saving on cost by using employees or inexperienced people to man the bar, but in reality, you might be setting yourself up for disaster. A trained bartender is familiar with the alcohol levels of different drinks and knows when to stop pouring, at the same time because they are hired professionals they will follow strict instructions on drinking limits, types of drinks to serve and when to close the bar.
You might also want to put a cap on how much drinks can be served per person, and how long the bar can be open for, as a rule of thumb the bar should be closed for about an hour before the event closes. This will ensure that people don’t get too drunk, and also give them time to sober up. More importantly, make sure that your conference speaker or any guest does not drive drunk.