Organize Your First Event as a Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador
This article covers everything from scratch to managing, organizing, and conducting your first event as a Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador.
I have been a Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador for the past several months and being a part of this community has given me the opportunity to contribute as well as learn something new each day. My first event as the student ambassador was an awesome experience. The motivation for this article is to help new student ambassadors organize and manage their future events in a seamless and convenient way.
Note that due to Covid-19, all the events are currently being held virtually. Therefore, this article focuses on organizing and managing virtual events only. Also, the video version of this article can be located at this youtube URL.
Here, I present 11 steps to conducting your first event as a Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador.
Step 1: Selection of Topic
First thing first, you need to identify the topic which you feel the most comfortable. You also need to be aware of the community at your college or University. As a student ambassador, you are a leader in your local tech community, and understanding your target audience is just one step. If required, roll out survey forms asking the Microsoft technologies people are most interested to learn about. Let them know that you are planning to conduct an event in the future.
Once you decide the topic you think you should conduct the event on, make sure to understand it thoroughly. Microsoft provides a rich set of documentation that can be found easily online. If you want, you can invite a speaker to your event.
If you are not sure, check out the channels on Microsoft Teams with a variety of suggestions.
Step 2: Target Audience
Identify your target audience. Are there some prerequisites to attending your event? Do the attendees need to possess some skill set to understand what you will be presenting? These are some of the ways to identify the target audience. Having this information will be handy when you prepare content that is easy for the attendees to understand.
Step 3: Event Duration
Once the topic is finalized, determine the duration for which you want to conduct your event. The duration is equally critical for both audience and the speaker. If your event duration gets too lengthy, it would be a promising idea to divide the topics into subtopics and cover them individually in two different sessions. This way you are taking care of your audience’s attention span as well.
If for some reason the event has to be conducted for more than one hour, try to accommodate a 5–10 minutes break. It is up to your judgment and the topic which you are presenting.
Step 4: Agenda
Having a crisp and pre-defined agenda not only helps your audience but is also useful when you are preparing the content for the event. Please note that agenda creation can be an iterative process. It means that you update your agenda many times to accommodate necessary information that is both catchy and useful.
Step 5: Presentation
If the event requires you to present something, you should prepare Microsoft PowerPoint slides. One can utilize the template as given on Sharepoint. Ensure that the slides do not include large paragraphs as that can be difficult to grasp. Instead, try to include keywords or one-line statements. Also, involve as many visualizations as possible. Proofread your slides to ensure the content is aligned with the agenda. If not, make the necessary changes.
Your slides should contain the latest and most accurate information. The content will be delivered to hundreds of audiences, and it is important to include correct data.
Another significant thing that I personally take care of all the time is giving references. If you have taken a picture from some online resource, I highly recommend that you mention the URL somewhere in the slide. This ensures your credibility as a presenter and shows that you acknowledge others’ work.
Step 6: Demonstrations (Demo)
A technical presentation without any demo can get a bit tiresome. You should try to keep your audience engaged throughout the event by presenting some hands-on demos. Make sure you do not rush into the demo so that it is easy for everyone to understand. Clarify even the most basic steps. Select a friend or fellow student ambassador who matches the target audience criteria and show your demo to them. This has been a truly valuable practice for me. It allows me to get a viewpoint from the attendee’s perspective and I try to make changes appropriately. You just have to bug your friend many times :)
If you do not have a demo, you can use fun quizzes at Kahoot and other related online resources. I encourage you to come up with something interesting on your own. These are just some examples to help you think. This is really the field to put the creativity hat on.
Step 7: Promote your Event
Once you have finished all the pre-event activities, it is time to promote your event. Make posters or text messages, registration forms (if needed), email templates, etc. You can find the related resources on “Program Information” SharePoint. The event poster or the text message should contain the necessary details like:
- Event Name
- Time and Duration
- Location (virtual or in-person)- Due to Covid-19, all events are currently being held virtually.
- Host/ presenter/ speaker (s)- Only one host gets upgraded to Beta.
- Registration link (if needed)
- Perks of attending the event
If you do not include registration, then you should also include the Teams meeting link in the poster or the text message. This way people can add the event to their calendars. Though, I personally find it easier to ask people to register first. Also, please do not ask for too much information in the registration form as it can annoy the person. More information to promote your event can be found here.
Step 8: Set up a Teams Meeting
If you are conducting an event for the first time, you should create the meeting in Microsoft Teams under “Community”-> “Events”. Select a time that is not too early or too late. It should also not overlap with academic classes as well. In case you encounter an error like this:
If you face such an issue, try to contact your Community Program Manager (CPM) or raise a service request ticket. The CPMs in this community is always ready to help the ambassadors and they can be extremely helpful in resolving such issues. But please note that due to multiple student inquiries, sometimes they may not be able to connect with you soon. So, kindly be patient.
After you have created a meeting, include the link in all communications like reminder emails or registration confirmation emails, etc.
Step 9: One day before the Event
All the resources which you need during the event should be in a single place on your system. You can create your own Teams Channel to rehearse by creating a dummy meeting. This will allow you to understand the Team’s platform and see if the content you will present fits the anticipated duration or not. Keep a buffer of 10 minutes so that you finish on time. Also, if possible, have a backup system in case of some issues that may arise during the event.
Step 10: The Event Day
You can send a reminder email to all your attendees 5–15 minutes before the event starts. This will allow them enough time to join the event without any hustle. Since it will be your first event, DO NOT forget to record your event and inform your attendees that the event is being recorded. You can then present the content and the demo as prepared. Also, encourage the participants to use the Teams chat box to ask questions.
Step 11: After the Event
As the event concludes, take some time to reflect on how it went. This is my favorite part as it helps me to improve. I watch the recorded event to find the gaps and that is what I try to revamp during the next events.
As a courtesy, you may send a thank you email to the attendees along with a feedback form. Audience feedback is an enormously powerful means of improving your future events. Also, you can keep the feedback form anonymous so that the person feels comfortable sharing suggestions.
One last thing to take care of. You are required to submit the event which you conducted as a Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador for approval. Watch this video to understand the entire process.
Summary
This article presents a checklist (figure below) to conduct your first event as a Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador. I am certain that it will be beneficial to anyone who is going to organize an event soon. If you need any further information, feel free to reach out to me. I would be happy to help in any way possible. Remember, as a Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador you empower those around you.
Acknowledgment
I would like to thank Sarah Williams, Community Program Manager, Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors. Her insightful comments and suggestions helped in writing this article.
You can find me on Twitter and LinkedIn as well!
Happy learning!
