When you’re organising an event then there’s a lot to think about – which is why it’s helpful to have some inspiration for brilliant, interactive event ideas.
You’re in the right place, as here’s an inspiring list of 85 event activities and conference workshop ideas that will make organising them that much easier.
With your attendees wowed, now all you have to do is get them to turn up.
To help you navigate through our bumper list of event ideas, we’ve organized them into categories:
- CONFERENCE OPENING IDEAS
- ICEBREAKER EVENT IDEAS
- INTERACTIVE SESSION FORMATS
- Q&A FORMATS
- EVENT TECH IDEAS
- NETWORKING EVENT IDEAS
- CONFERENCE CLOSING IDEAS
- POST-EVENT ENGAGEMENT IDEAS
Copy them, try them, and get inspired.
1. CONFERENCE OPENING IDEAS
To grab your attendees’ attention, you need to start strong. These ideas will help you pull people in and set the right tone.
Speaker introduction quiz
Instead of reading boring speaker bios, introduce presenters with an interactive quiz. Like in the game, Two truths, one lie, create a poll for each presenter that lists two facts and one lie about them. The audience has to guess the lie. When you reveal the correct answer, ask the speaker to share their story. It will make them feel more relaxed and get the audience interested.
E.g. “Which of these statements about Sarah is a lie?”
- I started my first company at the age of 19
- A bear chased me twice
- In the past, I used to be a math teacher
One big clap for the sponsors
Thanking your sponsors at the start is important for you, but not so much fun for the attendees. So, why not turn it into a dynamic game? Ask the audience to clap once for each sponsor you name. Shout out the names and give a physical cue for when people should clap.
2. ICEBREAKER EVENT IDEAS
Once you’ve kicked off, it’s important that you get the energy in the room up, before diving into serious topics. To do that, icebreaker questions are your trump card. Here are some of our favorites.
Storytelling
Sharing stories is the most natural icebreaker. But attendees need a bit of a nudge. Split the audience into groups of five and hand out pens and paper. Give people 10 minutes to think about an experience and note down key points. It can be the most innovative event or overcoming a problem at work. Then, attendees share their stories in turns.
Post it
To ensure the content is fine-tuned to your attendees’ needs, find out they want to discuss. Ask them: What do you expect to get out of this session? Using one word, what themes do you want to hear about? But instead of wasting paper, collect these with a poll or use a brainstorming tool. Then ask the moderator to read out the submissions to kick off discussions.
Prepare the questions
This icebreaker will help you in two ways. First, it gets people talking. Second, it will also power your Q&A. Invite each attendee to talk to a neighbor and come up with an insightful question. Collect these questions and then address them during question time.
Icebreaking polls
One of the easiest ways to break the ice and capture people’s attention is through live polls. Especially when you want to engage a large crowd at once. After your opening remarks, use polls to loosen up the atmosphere and uncover people’s learning objectives. We have dedicated a whole section to live polls, with example polls you can copy – check them out now.
Snowball fight
Imagine you could have a snowball fight inside the conference room. Well, now you can, thanks to this energy booster borrowed from Eric de Groot. Hand out sheets of paper and invite everyone to stand up. Ask each person to crumple up their piece of paper into a ball. On a count of three, turn on some upbeat music while the attendees throw the balls at a target. People will love it.
Flying challenges
This is an extension of the snowball fight idea. Before crumpling up the paper, ask everyone to write down a challenge they face. After the balls are thrown, ask each person to grab the nearest one and read the anonymous challenges. Seeing the hurdles people face gives you clear guidance on what to focus on during the sessions.
Question ball
The most effective energizers get people physically moving. This one works best with a group of up to 50 people. Take a beach ball and write questions all over it, e.g. What’s your job role? What is your biggest achievement? Which superpower would you like to have? Then, throw the ball into the audience. Each time someone catches it, ask the person to answer the question on which their right index finger has landed, and pass it on.
Guess my job
Like Question ball, this icebreaker game is ideal for smaller groups of up to 50 people. Each person writes down the most interesting job they’ve had on a piece of paper and throws it into a box. Then, one by one, ask 5-10 people to pick one out at random. Get them to guess the job owner by asking questions, e.g. Show of hands; who has worked on a farm? Repeat it a few times until people feel more relaxed.
Penny
In a roundtable set up, place a handful of pennies (or cents) on each table. Ask each person to pick one and introduce themselves. Each person should state their name, role, company and the year embossed on the coin. Then they have to share a short personal story or memory related to that year, e.g. In that year, I published my first book. These fun facts will serve as great conversation starters.
Human barometer (Body voting or Pick a side)
This activity gets the attendees moving while expressing their opinion. Introduce a polarizing statement, e.g. The business impact of global warming will soar by 2030. Then invite people to take a stand –literally. People form a line where the far left and right sides represent opposing views. Compare answers from those furthest and nearest to the center and let them elaborate. In the end, you can repeat the voting to see if views have changed.
Related story: 15 Icebreakers to Kick Off Your Conference
3. INTERACTIVE SESSION FORMATS
Once you’ve got the energy in the room up, make sure you keep it high during the sessions, too. Your key to achieving this? Interactive session formats. Whether you plan keynotes or workshops, these ideas will get your attendees excited.
a) Keynotes
Fireside chat
To take the pressure off the presenter, turn your keynote into an informal expert interview, or fireside chat. Create an informal set up, invite an expert on the topic and let your moderator interview the guest. Collect the attendees’ questions with your Q&A tool and weave these into the interview. It will help you create an all-round conversation, not only for but with the audience.
Oxford-style debate
Make your keynote dynamic, and hold an expert debate. Invite two experts who present opposing arguments on a polarizing topic and a facilitator. During the debate, collect audience questions. Instruct the facilitator to weave them into the Q&A. You can also measure how the audience opinion shifts. To do that, run the same poll before and after the debate, e.g. Does remote work actually work? (Yes, No). Or, let the attendees choose a winner in a multiple-choice poll. It will keep your audience on the edge of their seats.
Game show format
Keynote panel discussions usually leave the listener passive by default. Why not turn it into an interactive game show? You can borrow a familiar concept, such as The Newlywed Game. A moderator poses questions to two pairs of speakers. Each of the pairs represents different sides of the spectrum. For example, VCs and CEOs, doctors and patients, or teachers and students. To make it interactive, poll the audience with the same questions. It will help you to capture a broader set of views on the topic.
b) Learning session formats
World Café
This format stimulates group discussions on multiple topics in a short time. Prepare questions and topics in advance. Split the audience into groups of 5-8 and give each group a different topic with 10 minutes to discuss. Once the time is up, every participant moves to a different table. At the end, bring people together and invite them to share key points.
Lightning talks
These sessions, also called “data blitz”, are short-form presentations lasting only a few minutes each. Delivered by different speakers in a single session, they give attendees a quick overview of a topic, product or issue. They usually appear in two popular formats:
- Pecha Kucha: A presenter shows 20 slides with 20 seconds to comment on each slide (6 minutes and 40 seconds total), followed by a Q&A.
- Ignite talks: Each speaker gets 5 minutes to talk on a subject, accompanied by 20 slides (15 seconds for each), followed by a Q&A.
Show and tell
Remember the times at school when you brought in a toy and explained what it was? Borrowing this concept, you can spice up your learning sessions with a few tweaks. Replace the toy with a speaker’s job or project. Ask each presenter to explain what they do, how, and why. Each session takes 30 minutes and divides into two parts: presentation and Q&A (either 20/10 or 15/15). It’s a fun way to introduce new projects or ideas.
Expert clinics
Giving people tailored solutions to their problems will add value to your conference. This event idea gives attendees a chance to book a one-to-one time slot with an expert. Each person can consult with them for 10-15 minutes. Space these slots throughout the event to give more people an opportunity to take part.
Solution room
This dynamic format inspired by Ruud Janssen and Mike van der Vijver offers the attendees peer advice on their challenges in 90 minutes. Create groups of 8 (round table set up) and let each attendee write down their problem on a piece of paper. Then, the whole table stands up and moves one seat to the left. Each person gets 7 minutes to write down solutions to the problem that is in front of them. Repeat until everyone is back in his or her own seat. It will leave the attendees with actionable solutions.
Think, pair, share
For a deep-dive into the topic, use this interactive teaching method popularized by Harvard Professor, Eric Mazur. Use a thought-provoking poll question, e.g., How would people play basketball on the Moon? Give people 2 minutes to think and vote. Invite everyone to pair up with someone who has a different view. Each person then tries to convince their partner of their opinion. After 5 minutes, everyone votes again and people who have changed their minds, say why they did so. Watch how it looks in practice.
Scenario-solving exercise
Present a few short scenarios along with new information on a topic. It can be anything from intercultural business meetings to daily workplace situations. Let people discuss in pairs about how each scenario will end. After 5 minutes, ask them to vote in a multiple-choice poll, e.g. How did the manager resolve this problem? with different ending options. Then, reveal the correct answer. Using their newly acquired learnings will help your audience understand and remember the content.
For more inspiration, read how we use a Scenario Cards activity during our masterclasses.
Roleplay (Case Studies and Simulations)
This half-scripted, half-improvized activity helps people examine a problem from a new perspective. For example, how customer support can deal with an angry customer. First, the moderator sets the context. Then, a few attendees come on stage and read descriptions of their roles. Afterward, the moderator starts a discussion, and actors express how their roles felt.
Related story: 5 Interactive Presentation Ideas That Will Help Your Audience Learn
c) Product-focused session formats
Product demo session
This event idea, inspired by Adobe Summit, makes product launches fun for attendees. First, a speaker introduces their product. The attendees then send their feedback via a short survey made of 3 polls: Name, Feature, Your comments. In the end, attendees pick the best feature in a multiple-choice poll, e.g. Which feature are you most excited about?
Hackathon
To produce creative solutions to industry challenges, organize a hackathon as part of your conference. Invite developers to form teams of 4-5 and come up with ideas. Hold an update at the end of each day on how it’s going. Then reveal the final products in a grand finale. Bring in a jury of industry experts to choose a winner. As an incentive, prepare a prize for the winner.
d) Storytelling formats
Founder stories
This is a popular concept at tech conferences. The idea is that a startup owner shares the story of how they built up their business. They set out what challenges they faced, and how they addressed them. Include a facilitated Q&A so that attendees can hear tailored answers to their questions. It will make the session more relevant to your attendees and keep everyone engaged.
Campfire session
Flipping the previous format around, campfire sessions focus on the attendees’ stories. Ideal for groups under 25 people, these sessions usually last 20-30 minutes. The attendees sit in a circle to create an intimate campfire atmosphere. The facilitator sets out a topic and asks discussion-prompting questions, such as, When was the last t event made an impact on you? Attendees answer verbally or through polls. The result will be valuable peer learning.
e) Participant-driven formats
Unconference
Or how about giving the steering wheel to the attendees? In this participant-driven session, attendees are the ones who set the agenda. At the start, crowdsource the discussion topics, let people vote on them, and give time slots to the top-voted ones. The sessions can be led by the suggester or run as open discussions of the session topic. Read more tips for running unconferences.
Birds of a feather
Like unconference, this informal session gets people to discuss topics that interest them. Again, there is no pre-planned agenda. Set 45 minutes per session and appoint a facilitator who leads the discussion. Ask the facilitator to crowdsource topics people want to focus on at the start. Then let people vote on them. Take the top 3 let people discuss their challenges and best practices.
Fishbowl
Fishbowl is a great event idea that helps you capture more voices during a discussion. Seat the attendees in a large circle and put 5 seats in a smaller circle inside (the fishbowl). Three guests and a moderator sit in the fishbowl and discuss a topic. Meanwhile, everyone else observes, leaving the fourth seat empty. If an attendee wants to join, he or she can approach the fishbowl and the moderator invites them to take a seat. At the same time, one of the other speakers stands up and leaves an empty seat for other participants who will want to join later.
f) Competitions
Interactive quiz
To add some competition to your conference, engage the attendees in a quiz session. The presenter can run quiz polls before sharing information. Or, they can use quiz polls to check if people are listening. Then, the presenter can reveal the correct answer and explain it. Turning it into a contest will make the presented information stick.
Pitch
This is a popular event idea at startup conferences. A pitch session is where entrepreneurs try to convince investors about their business ideas. After each pitching round, expert judges select the winner, who goes to the finals. To make it engaging for the attendees, let them have a say, too. Run a survey after each round to collect their feedback. At the end, list all finalists in a poll and let the audience select the winner. It’s a great way to collect valuable feedback for presenters.
To collect audience feedback, use these example survey questions:
- How did you like this pitch? (rating poll)
- What’s your feedback for the company? (open text poll)
- Leave your details if you want to be contacted by the company. (open text poll)
Reverse pitch
Turning around the previous idea, reverse pitch brings the focus on investors. VCs pitch the reasons why startups should want to receive funding from them. VCs also set out problems they see as important and show how their cooperation with startups would help to solve these issues. To add more fun, let the attendees choose a winner, e.g. Which of the VCs was most convincing?
4. Q&A FORMATS
Q&As are often the most valuable part of the event. If planned well, it can become the attendees’ highlight. Get inspired by these formats that we’ve seen at conferences.
Q&A throughout the session
Letting people ask questions throughout the session will make your attendees feel part of the conversation. You can use a Q&A tool and let people upvote the most relevant questions. Weaving them into the discussion will enrich the debate with new perspectives. It also means that the questions will be asked in context before the conversation moves on.
Q&A at the end
In case you’re not able to hold a Q&A throughout, dedicate the last third of the session to audience questions. Collect the questions throughout the session so people don’t forget what they wanted to ask. Then let people choose the most burning ones by voting.
Separate Q&A stage
Sometimes, your packed agenda doesn’t allow any time for questions during sessions. To address this, set up a separate stage for Q&A. After their talk, ask speakers to move to this stage to take questions. Have a dedicated moderator at the Q&A stage to drive the discussion. If you use Slido, display the questions on a screen and let the moderator address them, starting with the top-voted ones.
Ask Me Anything (AMA) session
If you’re bringing in a well-known speaker that people are dying to hear from, consider an AMA session driven by audience questions. Get a moderator to prepare some questions for the speaker. Collect audience questions and let the moderator weave them into the flow. Hearing tailored tips and advice will be invaluable for your attendees.
5. EVENT TECH IDEAS
Event technology can not only make your life as a conference organizer easier, but it’s also fun for the attendees. Here’s our digest of the top eight tools we’ve experienced:
Live Q&A
Traditional conference Q&As faces many problems. A lack of time, people hogging the mic, and irrelevant or no questions asked. Slido can help you collect the most relevant questions and remove the attendees’ fear of asking. Attendees can submit and upvote questions with their own devices, anonymously or with a name. You can display the top question on a screen. Speakers can even integrate Slido into Google Slides.
Gamified microphone
Have you ever seen people throwing a colorful cube at a conference? It was probably Catchbox. Using this soft throwable microphone is a great way to turn the Q&A into a game. It’s ideal for smaller audiences and you can customize it with your event branding. It will take the pressure off the attendees and bring in the element of fun.
Interactive polls
Polls can help you collect valuable insights, set the tone, and actively engage the attendees. Here are 9 ways you can use live polls, each for a different context and purpose:
- Background-focused: What’s your current role? (open text)
- Learning-focused: Using one word, what themes do you want to hear about? (word cloud)
- Seasonal: Which is your favorite classic Christmas song? (multiple choice: All I Want for Christmas is You, Driving Home for Christmas, Jingle Bell Rock, Last Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer)
- Funny: If age is only a state of mind, which category best describes your state of mind right now? (Cheeky child, Tormented teenager, Mad mid-lifer, Groovy grandparent)
- Creative: If you could travel in time, would you want to see… (multiple choice: The past, The future)
- Industry-related: Using one word, what’s the biggest challenge the industry is facing? (word cloud)
- Debate-prompting: In 2030, who will people trust more with their babies? (multiple choice: Robots, Human baby-sitters)
- Networking: What does the person sitting on your right do for a living? (word cloud)
- Conference call: Have you ever joined a remote meeting… (multiple choice: In your PJs, While having breakfast, From the bathroom, From your bed)
Brainstorming tools
If you want to capture the best ideas from your participants and run more effective brainstorming sessions, try Ideas. Capture people’s thoughts on a given topic, curate the most popular ones by voting and display them on a screen. People can submit ideas anonymously or put their names down. Plus, you can download and share the collected data instantly.
Livestreaming tools
Are you considering broadcasting your event live? Streaming tools like Livestream/Vimeo will help you bring your conference content to a wider audience. As a result, you can connect with your attendees wherever they are. You can monetize the stream through pay-per-view and capture leads from virtual attendees.
Portable headphones
Whether you host more sessions at the same time, or you want to deliver your conference in different languages, here’s your solution. Try portable wireless headphone technology like Silent Conference or Silent Sounds. It will help you save time and money on venue hire and tackle the noise on a busy tradeshow floor.
Networking software
Help your attendees meet the people they choose with networking software such as Brella. This event matchmaking tool lets the participants note down their skills and what they’re looking for. Based on that, they get relevant matches. It’s a great way to measure pre-engagement and learn what your attendees want. It can also provide trackable meetings and provable ROI data for your sponsors.
Event management software
Make the organization of your virtual event easier. A smart event management app such as Digitevent can help you deal with time-consuming tasks like managing attendees, online registration, email campaigns, or reminders in minutes.
For virtual events, Digitevent added a B2B Meeting feature that lets you book a virtual appointment with an attendee, sign-up for workshops, or schedule your own agenda. Plus, you can integrate Slido into Digitevent so you can manage all audience interaction like polls and Q&A right through the app.
Interactive photobooth
Let your attendees capture their experience at your event. An interactive photo booth, such as Say Fromage, offers photos, GIFs or videos. It’s quick to set up, doesn’t take up much space and creates some amazing content. You can customize the photo background and all outputs with your event branding. The outcome can be instantly shared on social media, bringing your conference maximum exposure.
6. NETWORKING EVENT IDEAS
Most people attend conferences for two reasons: learning and networking. But most people aren’t comfortable to strike up a conversation with a stranger. To give them a little nudge, here are our favorite networking event ideas to spark new connections.
Customized delegate list (Targeted connections)
This cost-effective event idea leaves networking up to the attendees, giving each person a bespoke list of people to talk to. They can decide when, where and how they want to connect. To pull it off, run a survey before your conference and ask for the attendee’s specific interests, e.g. Which topics are you interested in discussing? What can you offer other delegates? Use the answers to create a tailor-made list for each attendee.
Brain dates
Invented by the company e180, Braindates take the customized delegate list up a notch. Each participant can book a 30-minute one-to-one conversation with another attendee or speaker via an app. In a dedicated space, facilitators introduce delegates to their ‘matches’. It’s a great way to offer the participants quality knowledge exchange and meaningful conversations. Here’s a story of how braindates work in practice.
Introduction interviews
Instead of a traditional introductions round that’s more awkward than fun, pair up the attendees and let them interview one another. 5 minutes later, ask each person to introduce the other, e.g. This is Jack; he’s a journalist. Jack published his first story at 15. Now he works at the New York Times. He loves cycling. Talking about someone else takes the pressure off, and it’s more fun.
Badge it
Make the most of the tools you already have. When designing delegate badges, leave some empty space for writing on them. Title it, “Talk to me about…” or “I’d like to learn about…” and let each attendee fill it in at the start. It’s a great conversation starter.
Find the right person
Here is another idea for using badges for networking, although this works better with small audiences. Instead of handing out the right name tags, give each person someone else’s. Ask them to walk around, find the right person, and learn three facts about them. Then, have each delegate introduce the person whose name tag they had.
The Three Questions
This event idea from Adrian Segar helps people connect in a structured way. Split people into groups of five. Give them three questions that each attendee has one minute to answer: How did I get here? What do I expect? What useful experience or expertise do I have? Let people answer in turns. The attendees can use the information as a jumping board to strike up conversations.
Speed networking
This idea will help your attendees meet many people and exchange information in a short time. In a set number of rounds, with 3-5 minutes per round, each attendee gets a chance to talk to a new person. Split the audience into two groups. Seat the first group on one side of a long table or at single tables (‘stations’). With each round, attendees from the second group sit opposite the stationed participants and talk. When the time’s up, the facilitator rings a bell and every non-stationed person moves on to another. To help you pull it off, read this step-by-step guide to speed networking.
Superbrainstorm
This speed networking talk show is a simple way to get people talking with their neighbors. Ask the uneven rows to turn around and face the people sitting behind them, to form pairs. Each pair exchanges thoughts on a given problem or topic, e.g. How can we make our events more interactive? or How can we improve our customer service? At the end, the moderator invites a few participants to share their ideas or collect them on Slido.
Design your experience
Help your attendees clarify their objectives and expectations from your event. Divide them into groups of 2-3 and ask them to describe what experience they would like to have. For example, I want my experience to be like a roller-coaster ride in the amusement park. The attendees then work together to identify three must-see sessions that would help them create this experience.
Networking roundtables
This networking idea suitable for roundtable setup gets people to collaborate and discuss the topics in small groups of 5-8. Assign each table a discussion topic and let people share their thoughts for 10 minutes. When the time’s up, attendees can choose another table with a different topic. To make the discussions more relevant, crowdsource topics at the start. Then let the attendees upvote the best ones, and allocate one topic per table. Learn more about how to run networking roundtables.
Coffee break assignments
To help your attendees to make the most of networking during their breaks, give them coffee break assignments. Before leaving the room for a break, instruct people to meet three new people and ask them, What’s your story? or How did you get to do what you’re doing? After each break, invite people to share the stories they heard. You can do it verbally or collect them anonymously via Slido.
Food for thought lunch debates
Invite the attendees to continue the discussions during lunch break. This idea, inspired by OECD, requires a roundtable set up with 10 people per table. Place a menu with a list of “biting issues” (conversation topics) on each table and let the attendees pick one. Get a facilitator for each table to steer the discussion. At the end of lunch, every table shares the most insightful takeaways with the rest.
Seat Swap
Here’s another event idea for a seated conference meal. Between courses, ask the participants to switch seats with someone at another table. It works best in a buffet-style setup, where you can have more than one seat swap, e.g. ask those whose surname begins with the letters A-N to stand up and swap seats. Or you can ask the people on one side to swap seats with someone at another table. The only condition: don’t sit next to someone you already know.
Lunch clubbing
Do you want to surprise your attendees and do something out of the ordinary? Get inspired by the organizer of Lunch Beat Stockholm and organize a dance rave. If it sounds scary, just keep reading. This one-hour event is all about getting in as much dancing as possible. No alcohol is involved, but everyone gets a sandwich. Once attendees are done eating, they have to dance. Participation is key, as it provides a great bonding experience for the attendees.
Human bingo
This gamified networking idea is a fun way to connect people. Prepare 5×5 bingo matrices filled with personal or business-related questions, e.g. Have you visited more than 15 countries? Do you have a pet? Hand them out to the attendees and instruct them to interview each other and tick off the boxes that apply. The person who completes the card first wins.
Ongoing Top 10 quiz
To take the pressure off the attendees and enliven your event, turn networking into an entertaining contest. Split the audience into pairs and ask each group to write their Top 10 on a set topic in a 3-minute round after the break. It could be the Lonely Planet’s 10 most visited sites or the 10 best-selling cars in history. Give 2 points per correct answer and keep the scores visible, e.g. on a flip-chart. To motivate people, prepare a prize for the winners. Read more tips about how to pull it off.
Business cards master
This is a simple game. The person who collects as many business cards as possible by the end of the event wins a prize. This format works well in both dedicated networking slots and as an all-day competition that runs in the background.
Meetup (or Tweetup)
To bring like-minded attendees together and help them get to know each other, organize a meetup at your conference. The idea is similar to a tweetup; a face-to-face meeting of Twitter users with a set objective. Attendees usually don’t know each other in person or have interacted only online. To pull it off, set a topic and a dedicated space, create a hashtag for social media and promote it widely.
Walking tour
Here’s another event idea that brings together likeminded people. To help people get to know their peers during an informal activity, organize a walking tour around the city. Hire a guide who knows the history, architecture or curious stories of the city. Getting some fresh air and moving physically will also improve attendees’ concentration.
7. CONFERENCE CLOSING IDEAS
A strong closing of your event is your chance to go out on a high note. Use it to remind people of the value you brought them, and consolidate their learning.
Summarize the key themes
After hours of discussions, there is a sea of ideas, concepts, and learnings in people’s minds. To bring it all together, close your event with an overview of the main themes that were presented. It’s a simple but effective way to reinstate the messages that you want everyone to take away.
Award the attendees for participation
We’ve seen some conferences use awards to incentivize attendees to participate actively. For example, if you use a Q&A tool, you can award the person who asked most questions by giving out books or other prizes. It’s a simple way to prompt people to submit questions with their names, making the discussions more personal.
Give credit where it is due
Instead of putting the attendees to sleep with a long list of thank-yous, turn it into an energizing game. Using the same event idea as One clap, shout out the names of people, teams or sponsors you want to thank. Then ask the attendees to clap once after each name. It will bring the energy in the room up and get people to listen.
Remind people of your upcoming events
Before people go back to their day jobs, make sure to remind them of your upcoming events or deadlines for registration. As an incentive, offer your attendees a discount for the next year’s event. It will give them a specific call-to-action before they set off.
8. POST-EVENT ENGAGEMENT IDEAS
Even though your conference is over, the conversation doesn’t have to stop there. In fact, it shouldn’t. Use these ideas to continue with attendee engagement after your conference.
Post-event feedback survey
In the week after the conference, send your attendees a feedback survey in a thank you email. Invite their views on what they liked and what they would change. It’s a priceless opportunity to find out how you can make the next event even better. You can create a simple survey and send out a direct link to each participant, asking four simple poll questions:
- How would you rate your experience at this event? (rating poll, 1=excellent, 10=poor)
- What did you like? (open text poll)
- What do you think we can improve? (open text poll)
- Any other suggestions? (open text poll)
To motivate people to fill in the survey, offer them a special discount for next year’s registration in exchange.
Share answers to questions after the conference
If you have any unanswered questions left at the end, ask the presenters if they are willing to answer them afterward. Then share the questions and answers with all the attendees. It’s a great way to add extra value and continue the conversation after your event. For more inspiration, here are more ideas to handle unanswered questions.
Send yourself your learnings
At the end of a conference session, let each attendee write one key learning or a message they want to take away on a plain card. Or, to save paper, collect these in a live poll along with the participant’s name and email address. Then, send each person a dedicated email a few weeks after the conference to remind them of their learnings. It’s a meaningful way to add extra value to the attendees.
Share highlights in a blog post
Conferences are brimming with stories. Why not make the most of it, and share them with those who were not able to attend? It’s not only a good way to keep people engaged after the event; it can help you collect valuable leads. Use the blog post to demonstrate what they missed out on and why your conference is worth attending.
Photo and video reel
Participants love to look at photos and videos from the events they’ve attended. So, why not bring all the highlights together in a video reel? You can include crowd-sourced photos from social media posts that used the conference hashtag. Share the reel on your channels and in your thank-you email. Or, you can start a post-event contest for the funniest conference memories, asking participants to post their photos.
Continue the conversation on social media
Engage with the most active participants on social media after the conference. Reply to them, repost their messages. If you have any outputs from your event, be it a report, photos or a highlights reel, share them online.
And that’s a wrap. Do you have any other event ideas that you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you. Hit us up on Twitter @slidoapp to let us know.
Slido can help you pull off these ideas at your conference
