The agenda tells guests what will happen. The run sheet tells the crew how it will happen. The first is a neat page with ten items. The second is a working document that can run to twenty pages, covering every move from the loading bay opening at dawn to the last truck leaving after midnight.
On event day, the run sheet is the reference that settles every question: when the speaker walks on, when the lights go down, who gives the signal to roll the video. Without a clear one, the event director becomes a walking run sheet that everyone queries, and small mistakes start to pile up.
What goes into a run sheet
The most common format is a six-column table, read from top to bottom in time order:
- Time: the start time to the minute, ideally with a duration. “10:05, 8 min” is easier to update than “10:05 to 10:13”.
- Activity: exactly what happens, in a few words: “CEO address”, not “Item 3”.
- Owner: a person’s name, not a department. “The AV team” does not answer when you ask who is running late.
- Location: stage, backstage, VIP room or registration.
- Cue: what triggers the line: the end of a video, a phrase the host says, or a call from the stage manager.
- Notes: details such as mic number, file name, walk-on music and interpretation needs.
At the top of the document, show the version number with its date and time, the key contacts, and who makes decisions in an emergency, as set out in your event contingency plan. Choose a format that is easy to update and print, such as a shared spreadsheet, with the header row repeated on every printed page.
Master and department versions
The master version contains everything and belongs to one person, usually the production manager or the event director. Nobody else edits it, and every change gets a new version number and goes to everyone. In our experience, many event-day mistakes come from two teams working from different versions.
From the master you produce shorter department versions: a technical one for sound, lighting and screens with every cue and file; a catering one with coffee and lunch times and meal numbers; one for registration and hosting; and a host version with the script, speaker names and how to pronounce them. Each version drops what the department does not need, but it never changes the times.
Forty-eight hours before the event, freeze the run sheet. From then on, any change goes through the master owner only, and is announced at the morning briefing as well as sent in writing.
If you build the night before, give the build its own schedule: when the venue hands over the hall, loading bay slots, and the order suppliers work in. Many hotels restrict noisy work at certain hours, so ask first.
From agenda to run sheet
Start from the approved agenda, then expand it in three directions:
- Backwards: from doors open, step back through registration, final rehearsal, technical checks, build and supplier arrival. This shows whether the build time you have is really enough.
- Inwards: every agenda item becomes several lines. “CEO address” means a host announcement, walk-on music, a lighting change, the first slide, the speech, applause and walk-off music.
- Forwards: everything after the last item: guests leaving, gift handout, breakdown, suppliers departing and handing the venue back.
Build in buffers between items, because a changeover between two speakers never takes zero seconds. A packed agenda with no gaps always runs late, and our guide to designing a conference agenda explains how to pace it.
An example excerpt
This excerpt is from the morning of a hypothetical conference in an Abu Dhabi hotel ballroom. Notice that every line has a name and a cue.
| Time | Activity | Owner | Location | Cue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07:00 | Final sound and screen check | Samer (production) | Main hall | Tech crew arrival | Play every video once in full |
| 08:00 | Registration opens | Noura (registration) | Foyer | Devices confirmed ready | Separate VIP lane |
| 08:45 | Announcement: session starts in 15 minutes | Laila (stage manager) | Hall and foyer | Stage manager’s call | Arabic first, then English |
| 09:00 | Hall doors open, walk-in music | Khaled (hosting) | Hall doors | Stage manager’s call | Lighting at walk-in level |
| 09:10 | House lights down, opening video (2 min) | Samer (production) | Stage and screens | “Standby… go” from stage manager | Volume as set in rehearsal |
| 09:12 | Host welcome (4 min) | Host | Stage | End of video | Radio mic 1 |
| 09:16 | CEO address (10 min) | Laila (stage manager) | Stage | Host line: “Please welcome…” | File CEO_v4, mic 2 |
| 09:26 | Host returns, introduces first session | Host | Stage | End of applause | Panel backstage from 09:15 |
Rehearsals and cue calling
A run sheet is not tested on paper. For mid-sized events we usually run two rehearsals. The first is technical: the crew runs every cue without speakers to check files, lighting and sound. The second is a full run with the host and whichever speakers are available, in real order and real time. Put both rehearsals in the run sheet itself, with times and attendees, or they will be the first thing cut when the build runs late.
Any speaker who misses rehearsal gets a short stage walk before their session: where to stand, where the confidence monitor is and how the clicker works.
On the day, the stage manager or production manager calls the cues over the crew headsets. The usual method has two steps: “standby” for the next cue, so everyone involved gets ready, then “go” at the exact moment. Nobody fires a cue on their own, even if the timing looks right, because the person calling cues can see what others cannot, such as a speaker who has not reached backstage yet. To understand the equipment on the receiving end of these cues, see our primer on sound, lighting and screens.
Field tip: print the run sheet in a large font, even if everyone has it on their phone. Batteries die, networks get congested, and the paper on the stage manager’s desk does not crash.
When the schedule slips
Something will run late on the day. Mark in the notes column which items can shrink, such as audience questions or a long coffee break, and which are fixed, such as a live-stream slot, dinner service or prayer time. The stage manager then knows where to find five minutes without calling anyone.
When a cut is agreed, tell the host, technical crew and catering at the same time: moving lunch by ten minutes means one thing to the stage and another to the kitchen.
Quick checklist before event day
- One master version, one owner, a visible version number.
- Every line has a time, duration, named owner and cue.
- Department versions come from the master and match its times.
- Buffers between items.
- The run sheet frozen 48 hours before the event.
- A technical rehearsal and a full rehearsal, both scheduled in the run sheet itself.
- Printed copies backstage, at the control desk and at registration.
If you would like our team to prepare the run sheet and manage the day for you, request a quote.
