Networking is one of the main reasons people attend events, which is why meeting planners need to do everything they can to create an invaluable event networking experience. Here are three ways to boost interaction at your next event:
- Incorporate games. At Renaissance Hotels, meeting planners can request for a board room to be set up with interactive elements such as a puzzle or Rubik’s Cube to help spawn creativity. That same concept can be incorporated on a larger scale at events. Life-size Jenga or Connect Four scattered across a trade-show floor or even a casual trivia game can help spark interactions and excitement throughout the event.
- Make educational sessions collaborative. While speakers should definitely take precedent during educational sessions, encourage them to build a quick networking component into their sessions. Whether its simply asking attendees to answer a question together or come up with an idea that they can take back to the office, these elements help attendees interact and get to know one another better.
- Encourage movement throughout the conference. The more attendees move, the more they will meet and interact with different people. Create a variety of environment types with everything from small tables to lounge-style seating areas to encourage different types of networking. Also, place stations for food, drinks or even information throughout different parts of the space, forcing attendees to move and change their environment every time they want to experience something new.
