Creating Engagement during Conferences
Often I will collaborate with organizers and master of ceremony to create simple, but effective, engagement actions throughout their events. From crafting great questions to ask participants, to creating templates and collaborative boards.
WHY DOES ENGAGEMENT MATTER?
There is a growing desire in events organizers to engage conference-goers.
Coffee breaks and lunch breaks are getting longer and longer, and plenaries are shrinking.
Why is that?
I am sure you know the answer. The people on stage are not the only ones with experience or knowledge. This means that in the rest of the audience, including yourself, lies a massive potential of intelligence, knowledge and creativity.
Normally - during breaks - people are left to choose their own “adventure”, which mostly means having a quick meal with their colleagues, or someone they already know, check their emails, and go to the restroom, before it’s time for next workshop or plenary.
Even the introduction of breakouts often doesn’t help in maximizing interaction.
So, how can we create spaces - all around your conference - in and out of sessions - that can facilitate interactions, great conversations, new encounters, and produce new ideas, new collaborations and and relationships?
How to do it? The sky is the limit, you just need to be open to co-creation and have a good amount of courage to do things differently.
Do you want to plan for more engagement in a conference?
Here are some examples of things that can be done:
At the end of the day, or in the morning of the second day I am often invited - by the client - to reflect back in plenary and using my recordings - on what I have been hearing. Doing a sort of meta-harvest, taking advantage of me being an “external ear and eye”. It’s a fantastic starting point to get participants to also start reflecting on the meta-learnings, and the patterns that are emerging during a gathering.
I co-create spaces with my client - in and outside the plenaries - where people can contribute with their knowledge. In practice: creating templates with specific and relevant questions made to awaken certain knowledge in the crowd. The result will be then hung in the common spaces/coffee area, for everyone to see. The purpose is always: reflecting together.
Another way is to place a collaborative panel at the center of the coffee room, making sure everyone has access and time to get close and participate. Here we can ask a larger question that inspires creativity and innovation, or awakens memories and people can contribute, leaving post-its or telling me stories - directly. By the end of the event, those stories will be visualized. Very successful!
Would you like more engagement at your event?
Get in touch - tell me about your event and what you’d like to see. I’d love to collaborate!
Hi, I’m Carlotta!
Based in Barcelona, and active everywhere, I enrich your workshops and conferences with live graphic recording, in English, Spanish, Italian and Catalan.
Established in 2012, I have a wide network of talented colleagues both visual and group facilitators. So even if I am not personally available, I will help you match with the best international talent for your event.
My background varies from Sustainability, System Thinking and Strategy to collaborative leadership facilitation. Happy to work on any topic, and to be part of any team.
Check out all of my other services.