A run of show is the event’s shared control document. It lists what the audience sees, what the presenter says or does, what the producer controls, and what happens if something fails. Build it early enough to reveal missing assets and unrealistic timing. The goal is not robotic delivery; it is coordinated freedom.
What you will learn
- Create a usable run of show
- Assign clear live roles
- Add recovery plans for likely incidents
Core concepts
Audience track: Record what attendees see and do: holding screen, welcome, poll, teaching, demonstration, offer, Q&A, and close.
Backstage track: Record slide cues, links, spotlight changes, recordings, chat posts, time signals, and escalation owners.
Decision cue: Define how the producer communicates time, technical issues, skipped sections, or a move to backup without interrupting the room.
The practical method
Set realistic durations for arrival, opening, sections, interaction, offer, Q&A, and close.
Name host, presenter, producer, moderator, support, sales handoff, and backup.
Link the final deck, videos, polls, URLs, music rights, lower thirds, and follow-up resources.
Write exact moments for recording, captions, chat links, screen share, timer warnings, and handoffs.
Document the response to missing speaker, broken demo, lost connection, bad link, abusive chat, and platform outage.
- 01
1. Block the show Set realistic durations for arrival, opening, sections, interaction, offer, Q&A, and close.
- 02
2. Assign owners Name host, presenter, producer, moderator, support, sales handoff, and backup.
- 03
3. Attach assets Link the final deck, videos, polls, URLs, music rights, lower thirds, and follow-up resources.
- 04
4. Add cues Write exact moments for recording, captions, chat links, screen share, timer warnings, and handoffs.
- 05
5. Add incident branches Document the response to missing speaker, broken demo, lost connection, bad link, abusive chat, and platform outage.
Worked example
A founder runs slides, chat, polls, recording, and the pitch alone. A demo failure consumes eight minutes. The revised show gives a producer all controls, a moderator the questions, and the presenter one job. A prerecorded demo is ready if the live environment fails.
Build the template
Create this working artifact before moving to the next lesson:
- Time and segment
- Audience experience
- Presenter cue
- Producer action
- Backup action
Quality checklist
- Every segment has an owner
- The deck and links are final
- Time cues are agreed
- Common failures have responses
- The team can find one current document
Put the lesson into practice.
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