Ever considered staging a world record-breaking attempt at your show? That's exactly what the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. did last year at Washington, DC's Walter E. Washington Convention Center, when it hosted the world's largest sit-down dinner of 16,206 members as part of its Centennial Convention. The attempt succeeded in officially breaking the previous record set in 2001 when 11,483 people dined at a dinner party sponsored by Vodaphone Group PLC at Earls Court in London.

Whether they succeed or not, world-record PR stunts - official or otherwise - can help shows draw some extra attention. Three steps to writing your event into the record books:

Step 1. Registration. Submit the plan to London-based Guinness World Records at guinnessworldrecords.com, which offers downloadable info on what evidence is required to certify the mark as official. Claims generally are processed within four to six weeks.

If you can't wait weeks for your application to go through, you can pay Guinness about $645 to fast-track the process and review your record within three working days.

Step 2. Regulations. Guinness looks for records that are quantifiable, measurable and breakable. So records that are in play are usually based on number of participants, an action being completed in a certain period of time or the height and weight of an object. (Guinness also requires video footage and statements from two witnesses to verify all records.)

Step 3. Verification. Once you forward documentation, it can take Guinness a few weeks to a month to process and verify the attempt. To have a record verified on site, Guinness will send a judge to the event for a fee that depends on the location, number of record attempts and days involved. Organizers must also cover the judge's travel and accommodation costs. If the record is broken, the judge will issue a certificate on the spot.

Although securing a judge will increase your costs, it can also significantly boost your PR power, as Guinness' internal press office will review your press release, post it to the Guinness Web site and help distribute it to a wide range of media outlets. The Guinness judge will also be available for interviews and press conferences and can deliver speeches, if requested.

The unofficial approach. Some shows opt out of contacting Guinness and instead stage unofficial world-record events. If determining the criteria for an event to be recognized seems like more trouble than it's worth, consider doing it just for fun. You might still get some press out of it.