Event planning isn’t easy. Whether it is a conference, graduation ceremony or company seminar, you have to be able to keep the audience’s attention. Unfortunately, all too often, many people at such events become bored out of their mind and spend a good portion of that event playing smartphone games as the speakers drone on.
However, if you directly engage the audience through interactivity, it can make a big difference. Below are a few tips on how to do just that.
1. Use Mobile Devices to Facilitate Audience Participation
We all remember reality shows and game shows where the audience is allowed to participate. However, you no longer need specialized equipment to make that feasible. It can be done with software from certain vendors that can be loaded on any smart phone or tablet with a mobile app. This way, the audience can interact with the program by taking opinion polls, voting in makeshift elections, playing quiz games and more. There are limitless possibilities for audience participation.
2. Let the Audience Speak
Panels at any event are much livelier if audience members are allowed to ask direct questions to the panelists. This way, it feels much less like a lecture and more like an actual discussion between the experts and the audience. It allows audience members to feel involved. It can allow conference goers to feel like their thoughts and concerns matter. The discourse that is produced can also be much more interesting and informative than if only the panelists’ thoughts were taken into account.
3. Cut Down on Continuous Talking
Sometimes, an audience needs a break. Sermons should be saved for church, not large corporate events. If your plans for a panel completely consist of one person speaking to an audience for an hour, you have a problem. You at least need to break up the monotony. This can be done by using video, demonstrations or an audience response system. With especially long sessions, actual breaks can certainly help. People do sometimes need to use the restroom of course.
4. Choose the Right Venue
The venue is also vitally important for engaging an audience. If you only have a moderate number of conference goers, you don’t want to choose a stadium sized theater. In that case, the sheer size of the room can naturally make people feel disengaged and alienated. Alternatively, you don’t want to choose a room that is too small either. This can create a cramped sweat box that people will invent excuses to escape from.
5. Build Teams Out of the Audience
Another great choice for a conference panel or a seminar is to divide the audience into teams. While this is obviously more feasible with smaller audiences, it can have great results. The audience members will have to talk to each other and collaborate. The speaker, for example, could ask each team to come up with their own solution to a proposed problem. This can get their creative juices flowing and create great engagement due to the competition aspect.
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