As event organizers we always want to be one step ahead and always surprise our audience. And on our to do list is not “something to suit everyone” or “been done before”.
Over 260 events organized last year and just as many reasons to want to take the event experience to the next level. Reviewing what we have learned from organizing them and what we liked in others, we leave below some ideas to offer an interactive conference format.
#1 Demo Day
If your company has a wide range of products and services, you can organize a Demo Day event. Give customers and potential customers the experience of your company. For example, if you have a large community that you normally keep engaged through various forms of digital communication, dedicate a day to inviting them “to your home”. Either organize an in-house event where they have the chance to interact with your employees, to test out their favorite products and services. Or, you organize an event in a dedicated location, where you have a conference and expo format.
We organize Universum Inspiration Day. A day where we invite people from HR, Internal Comm or Marketing departments to introduce them to all the latest in events - from information in the form of presentations, speakers of interest, apps and tech events. There are also activations or expo areas with the latest products from our portfolio.
#2 Eventex: Time allocated for Q&A preparation
At most conferences, the Q&A session is the only time dedicated to the interaction between participants and speakers or the content presented.
At the Eventex Conference, the moderator invited participants to write down 3 questions they have for the next speaker. Thus, the participants were attentive if the speaker answered their questions. After the presentation, the speaker suggested those who had not yet received an answer to ask the questions via an event app. Afterwards, the questions with the most votes were answered. Thus, most questions were answered through a 10-minute Q&A session.
#3 IMEX: replacing presentations with polls
I have noticed that it has become a trend for speakers to energize the audience using live polls. Most of the time, these are just a bridge to the presentation. However, there are also speakers who support their presentation with these polls and the experience is really impressive.
For example, last year at IMEX, SoolNua's Padraic Giligan and Patrick Delaney did away with any kind of presentation and delivered their message via live polls. They started with two “lighter” questions to get people comfortable with the app and the format.
#4 Shorter and more dynamic presentations
We were talking in a previous article about speaker presentations. About how you can bring WOW, a faster learning process and a higher engagement of participants. From Poster Sessions, PechaKucha 20×20, Ignite Talks or interactive sessions with multiple speakers.
Event apps can also be used. A panel is organized with 4-5 speakers and a moderator, and participants can ask questions to the speakers via the app. This way, the speakers' discussion is personalized and according to the audience's expectations.
Depending on the objective of the event, the type of audience and the format of the event, you can create a quality experience for the participants. We live in times where quality is within the reach of any event organizer, you just need a minimum of information about your audience.
