Communication is the thread that holds your event together. Too little and participants feel lost. Too much and they tune out. This chapter gives you a practical communication plan — from registration through post-event — with templates for the key touchpoints.

Your confirmation email sets the tone for the entire relationship. Make it warm, useful, and action-oriented.

Include:

Don't include: Every possible detail about the event. Save that for later emails. The confirmation should be short, warm, and get them into the community channel.

This is your logistics email. By now, most details should be finalised.

Include:

The detail email. Everything they need to walk in (or log on) feeling prepared.

Include:

Keep this one short and energising.

Include:

Communication shifts from email to real-time channels. The principles:

Announce everything in both formats. For on-site, say it out loud. For online, post it in Slack. For hybrid, do both. Never assume people heard it just because you said it once.

Scheduled announcements to make:

The golden rule during hacking: don't interrupt. Once teams are working, protect their focus. No surprise speakers, no non-essential announcements, no interruptions disguised as "fun activities." Check in on teams briefly and quietly. Make announcements at natural transition points (meals, breaks). The room's focus is precious — guard it.

Thank-you email to everyone (participants, judges, mentors, volunteers):

Your community channel is the nervous system of the event. Set it up well.

Channels to create:

#announcements — Organiser-only posting. For official updates, schedule changes, deadlines. Don't let this become noisy.

#general — Open conversation. Introductions, discussion, excitement.

#tech-support — Where participants go for help. Monitor this actively. Common questions become FAQ entries.

#team-formation — Where people pitch projects and find teammates. Provide a posting template: "Project idea: [X]. Looking for: [skills]. My skills: [Y]. DM me!"

#random — Off-topic, community building, memes, music sharing. Keeps the other channels focused.

Per-challenge channels — If you have 3–5 challenge tracks, create a channel for each. Helps participants interested in the same track connect.

Private channels — #organisers, #mentors, #judges — for internal coordination.

Welcome message: Configure an auto-welcome that greets new members with: where to find the schedule, how to start team formation, where to get help, and how to browse challenges on BuilderBase.

Throughout all your communication, maintain a consistent tone:

Warm and encouraging. You're a coach, not a corporate announcer. "You've got this!" beats "Please be advised that the submission deadline is approaching."

Clear and direct. Get to the point. People are busy and overwhelmed — especially during the event. Say what you mean in as few words as possible.

Inclusive. Avoid jargon that alienates newcomers. Don't assume everyone knows what "a sprint" or "an MVP" means. When you use technical terms, explain them.

Action-oriented. Every communication should make it clear what the recipient should do. "Join Slack now," "Confirm your attendance," "Submit your project before 5pm."

Respond quickly. During the event, aim for 30-minute response times in Slack. Outside event hours, 24 hours is reasonable.

Answer publicly when possible. If one person has a question, others probably do too. Answer in the public channel so everyone benefits.

Build a FAQ. As questions come in, add them to a pinned FAQ document in #tech-support. This reduces repeat questions and helps people help themselves.

Escalation path. Volunteers handle common questions → mentors handle technical questions → event director handles sensitive issues (Code of Conduct, major technical failures, emergencies).

Key takeaways: