Unidimensional, monologue-oriented conferences are not something you can usually entice guests with.
Sure, they have their role if the audience is comprised of specialists in a particular niche or field topic, but generally speaking, event planners are more and more interested in adding an extra level of interactivity when assembling a company event checklist.
That ‘extra level’ can either be an entertainment act, an ingenious coffee break, networking sessions, the venue itself or anything which could break the monotony.
This article is about how you can bring a livelier side to your conference by betting on the interactive factor.
#1 Ice Breakers
Give your guests reasons to get involved.
If you start the meeting by helping them know each other, they will have an extra motivation to get involved because this is the way they will be motivated to exchange information.
Breaking the ice can usually be done using a short activity which requires each participant to reveal bits of information about themselves.
#2 Help Your Guests Keep Their Focus Intact
Focus is a highly valuable skill nowadays. Moreover, in the case of a conference, it can be a decisive factor in the value people take away from it.
Sometimes, not even the most engaging and skillfully presented talk can overcome the human limitation to paying attention for extended spans of time.
So, a company event checklist should strive to help the audience out.
How?
Ideally, by creating what Jeff Bullas called a ‘two-way stream of information.’ This means you need to find a formula for interspersing focus-demanding talks with other types of content like:
- Demonstrations
- Panel Discussions
- Entertainment acts
- Discussion tables which trigger efficient networking
- Opinion keynotes (TED-style talks which should be related to the main topic of the conference, but also feature a personal insight or industry forecast)
- Announcements.
#3 Put More Emphasis on the Q&A Session and Interactive Tools
The cohesiveness of almost any event is often the result of booking a good emcee – they know presenting a conference is more than introducing this act or that performer.
Apart from creating a flow throughout the whole event, a skilled moderator will enhance the interactivity at your event by running an engaging Q&A session – which should be a prominent part of your event checklist.
A smart way to help out your event emcee is to provide them with moderating apps and tools (like Engagenow). These usually work on the premise of attendees submitting:
- questions which will be answered during the Q&A
- answers to quizzes
- votes in polls.
#4 Ensure Social Media Networking Throughout the Event
A good company event checklist cannot miss on maximizing the potential social media has.
In the case of a conference, social media is not just about promoting the event and your brand before the meeting; it is also about providing a platform for interaction during the conference.
Of course, you will not plan a Twitter event if your company has not developed a strong Twitter following. So, the idea here is to:
- identify your company social media channel which is most engaged
- plan out a way of involving the audience into using their social media profiles
- offer them an incentive for doing so (free eBook, coupons, free access to other company events).
Does YOUR Company Event Checklist Include the Interactive Factor?
If it does not, we would suggest you start considering it and hope we provided enough ideas in this article to get you started.
If it does, we have just the right entertainers list to round up a highly engaging conference.
“But how does he do that?” could your guests be wondering while witnessing Steven Brundage’s Rubik’s cube act.
America’s Got Talent season 12 finalist presents a kind of performance which keeps people on the edge of their seats, even though it does not imply any spectacular props, outrageous costumes or arresting visuals.
It is just an extraordinarily gifted individual doing what he is best at: a close-up performance defying the laws of coordination and speed.
Oz Pearlman is the kind of mentalist who’s worked with the likes of politicians, professional athletes, Fortune 500 companies or top-tier celebrities.
Why do these people keep coming to his shows? Firstly, because he was among the first mentalists who revolutionized the notion of ‘magic shows.’ Secondly, because of a bunch of reasons like:
- flawless execution
- elevated performance quality
- constant innovation
- complexity and widespread appeal
- great attention to interactivity
If you are planning a high-class fundraiser or awards ceremony, you pretty much can’t do better than having Oz Pearlman there.
Taylor Mason, grand prize winner of “Star Search”, brings together comedy, ventriloquism, and music for an act that defies all that try to define it. Mason’s act finds laughs amongst even the widest audiences and is ready to be tailored to fit any and all sorts of events from corporate functions to children’s events.
Max Winfrey: Having performed at many top Fortune 500 Companies events and toured the entire U.S. and Canada, Max Winfrey has both the experience and knowledge to entertain with a perfectly tailored performance for your next event’s audience. His crazy show has been seen on national television in some performances and was a semi-finalist on NBC’s America’s Got Talent.
Winfrey’s interactive show is perfect for either incorporating your CEO or salesperson into his stage show. His interactive show’s design is customized to adapt to the theme, style and allotted time of your next event.
