6 WAYS TO BREAK THE MONOTONY OF YOUR BUSINESS EVENTS
… or how has Brad Pitt ended up in this story???
You surely have at least once attended a conference that made you sure you’d be buried by the first coffee break. You felt that not because the conference was so much fun that you were dying of excitement, but rather because it was so awfully boring. We all know that congress meetings and conferences if prepared wrongly can turn into extremely monotonous events that can make even the most proactive of participants slide off their chairs, cause a widespread fall of blood pressure, and make an onset of collective yawning.
So, what is that what pumps blood running through veins and makes sedentary participants massively begin participating in lectures, presentations, and workshops within the event? And more importantly, what is that what will make your colleagues talk about the conference, send a tweet, press an enthusiastic Facebook Like and, BINGO!, get them to return next year?
Here are some ways to make your event more interesting for your attendees.
MODERATOR
The first thing that will kick the monotony away already in the morning, is the right choice of moderator. When the attendees are still waking up after a long way, and trying to get involved in the action and fit among the unknown people, the first solution that will awaken them, encourage them to participate and restore their hope in their job, is an excellent moderator. The right moderator quickly takes care of breaking the ice in the conference’s first moments that are crucial for maintaining an atmosphere and promote networking throughout the following days of the event. Of course, the moderator is not active only at the beginning of the conference. A well-organised conference must have at least one major moderator who can work in multiple roles, in different groups, and in diverse situations to maintain the right degree of pleasant atmosphere, fun, attention and overall sense of connection among the participants. The right moderator can do all of this during breaks, announcements of ceratin program parts, and as a facilitator in others. We suggest that the moderator be involved in the preparation of the programme before your event begins. It is also good to know that the price of a moderator does not necessarily mean his or her quality.
TEAM-BUILDING
At business events, networking is a jumping ground for enriching the industry, be it scientific, entrepreneurial or artistic. Effective networking is not only about prearranged meetings, but more often the personal contact does the trick. The best personal get-together during congresses that kills two birds with one stone, by encouraging networking through friendly contact while also breaking the monotony of the event, is a team-building activity that takes place during breaks. Whether for 5 or 500 people, a team-building activity during a conference, whether taking place in a hall or a lobby or event on outdoor surfaces, awakens the participants and produces a real wave of energy which then echoes for a long time. We have a programme available such as the New York Exchange, where participants trade stocks and we can organize a drum workshop Catch the Rhythm, various Quizzes, or any other of our numerous team building programmes.
SET UP
The energy will be retained among the participants also when the set up of the congress halls, stages, seating areas, passageways, relaxation corners, and similar, will be unpredictable and intriguing enough to stir the imagination. Keep the entrance and the lobby special. When the participants enter the lobby, which at other events fills them with boredom, your lobby should rather greet them with an augmented reality (AR) surprise. Dare to be different, offer them a different layout of the promises than those used in other business events. Offer them rooms that are broken down into small areas where they can hang out, chat, event play table football before being out in a line for a human table football in team building activities … replace the lights, add a beat, impress them with curtains of stars falling from projector lights. Let them first float in surprises, colours, lights, green plants, and only then the registration area should greet them. You’ll see, it will work like magic. They will be overwhelmed by a wave of good feeling which will keep them up and going through the whole day.
APPLICATIONS
Of course, during the event, you want attendees to actively participate in the programme. Applications that enable the attendees to actively participate in it will help you with reaching that goal. Through the applications, the participants can vote, ask questions, log into different parts of the programme, check other participants, etc. We recommend that you use the Moove Application that enables voting, question asking, organize quizzes or other fun games. The Moove app is not only useful for participants but also for you, the organizer, as you can monitor the activities of participants through the application to make the event even more effective for them.
DIVERSE LECTURERS
The fifth thing that breaks the monotony in conferences and thus attracts more participants is the choice of lecturers. Very often the organizers rely on the already tested speakers from the previous events. It is indeed important to bring in experts who have something smart to say and who also know how to present something interestingly. And we do not doubt that many of them are truly unique experts in their field. But even if they have something new to say each year, already for the second time in a row they will no longer have the same effect … well, unless they are Brad Pitt; it would never be too much of Brad Pitt even if he was only standing quietly in the corner … Akhm.. well, let’s go back … So, not only the dynamic but also the credibility of the organization of the conference is reflected in the choice and the range of lecturers who change with each conference. This way you will maintain a high interest in your conference, reduce the predictability of it, and encourage more attendance and even more attention during individual lectures and workshops.
THE SPEAKER STAR
And as the speakers are diverse, some like this other like that, and as one is more interesting than the others, and then again some are more capable of a good public speech and others less, it is always good to have the right ace up your sleeve. More and more conference organizers are strategically using a proven recipe that works – inviting a real Star to their event. Not someone from the same industry. Not such a star. Attendees are used to those starts and will hardly be surprised and motivated by them. But a real star, a popular one, someone from show business or sports … Such a Star will move mountains at your event. Not only will this cause more people to register for your event, but the registered participants will also excitedly look forward to the moment when they can listen to a speech by a star who seems on other occasions a universe away from the audience’s everyday life. For this reason, the conferences have been lately increasing in popularity and are still growing in size. They bring the real rock or movie stars or basketball stars or fashion models or arts or of internet stars who talk about their experiences, their success, their own coping with similar problems that your participants face at work every day. Feeling the personal connection and the challenges similar to those of the stars, touches each participant in a deeper way that will make your conference a real success. Don’t be stingy with money when it comes to such a lecture. For the participants of the conference, you and your company will also become a star for offering this kind of speaker to them. And next year, they will return.
Of course, in addition to our advice and good team-building, choosing the right location is also important. If you would like us to help you organize our event, don’t hesitate to contact us at info@etc-adriatic.com. We will be happy to advise you.