When it comes to conferences, especially recurring ones, it can be difficult to find ways to excite your attendees and inspire enthusiasm time and time again. Perhaps you've even fallen into the trap of repeating every element of an event from year to year, simply because it worked the last time. If you're searching for ways to bring your next event up a level, here are nine tactics you can use to punch up your conference!
For starters, you'll want to make sure that the person hosting your event is lively and engaging. Try to choose someone with a natural stage presence who feels comfortable speaking to your audience as a friend or mentor.
Audience participation can mean polling your audience or requesting questions for Q&A's, but it can also mean fun activities like games and raffles! We frequently use UMU for audience participation - it is easy for attendees to interact with on mobile devices, comes with lots of templates for fun interactions, and provides you with a great interface to show onscreen!
One way to get your attendees excited is with dynamic, concert-like lighting & atmospherics! Use it to open your day, or to give emphasis to key moments or entrances. (And as a plus, it'll make your speakers feel like rock stars!)
Pair an LED video wall with some exciting video content, and you've got yourself one impressed audience! Click here to learn more about our video walls, or check out last month's blog post to see some of the other benefits of using an LED wall for your event (Seven Ways to Make the Most of Your Video Wall).
Nothing brings a drifting audience back like an exercise break. Especially effective in the mid-afternoon, exercise breaks can help to alleviate fatigue and get attendees re-engaged, whether it's with a few jumping jacks or a whole five-minute dance party. (Bonus points if you bring in an expert to teach a new exercise technique!)
High production value can make the difference between a "blah" conference and a "so when's the next one?!" conference. Details like discreet wireless microphones, assigning backstage runners to attend to speakers, and having content managers to handle on-screen transitions allows your event to run seamlessly, like a show. Producing your event in this way can provide your attendees with an elevated experience that makes them feel valued and excited for what comes next.
As much as we love the flexibility that digital screens give us, there's no denying the impact of a visually interesting physical set piece. Whether it's simple or detailed, big or small(ish), a physical set can be impactful in a unique way that is hard to replicate with digital media.
Bringing back those concert-like vibes! Image magnification, or IMAG, means having a close-up view of your presenters shown on screen. This increases visibility for attendees who are farther away, and helps them to stay engaged.
Big finishes are often underrated! Use the last moments of your event to make a splash (this may be where that dance party comes in!), and keep attendees talking about your conference even after they've left!
Thinking about using any of these ideas for your next event, but not sure where to start?