You found our list of creative conference event ideas.
Conference event ideas are new creative strategies that engage conference attendees. Examples include trivia competitions, sports simulations, and talent shows. The purpose of conference event ideas is to create a platform for industry professionals to come together and collaborate on the latest trends and advancements in a particular field.
You can work with corporate swag vendors to give attendees conference swag.
This list includes:
- conference workshop ideas
- interactive conference session ideas
- conference social event ideas
- fun activities for conferences
- conference entertainment ideas
Here we go!
List of conference event ideas
Conference event ideas provide opportunities to gain new insights, establish business connections, and gain hands-on experience. However, attendees are becoming wary of boring and costly conferences. You should incorporate fun and engaging activities into your next conference event to capture interests while offering value. Here are some ideas to inspire you.
1. Solution Rooms
If you plan a conference with hundreds of attendees and want to make a session interactive, then consider including solution rooms in the schedule. Solution rooms give peer support to individuals or sectors to solve more serious business challenges.
Sessions typically last between 90 and 120 minutes. During this time, each group member gets the opportunity to present a problem and receive feedback from the others while the group brainstorms potential solutions. The best use cases for solution rooms are conferences attempting to consolidate research or identify answers to widespread industrial problems.
2. Brain Dates
In most cases, keynote speakers get little time to share their knowledge in a single presentation, even with a Q&A session. Therefore, brain dates enable participants to schedule a 30-minute one-on-one interaction with speakers using an app like Calendly. The idea is more feasible in smaller conferences. However, if you have many participants, then divide them into smaller groups.
3. Fishbowl
A modified version of this activity is called a discussion circle. Like a fishbowl, the audience sits around the speaker in a circle. One major distinction is that outsiders can join the inner circle. However, if a participant wants to enter the circle, then they step in and stand in the center. Each participant should speak briefly, so set a time limit. The beauty of a discussion circle is that participants can hear several points of view.
4. Mindful Breaks
Refreshing the mind with some meditation is a great idea for conference sessions. During this timeout, mindful activities such as guided meditation, yoga, or stretching should be available. The conference may benefit from two or three 15-minute periods of conscious reflection.
A health expert or a team member who cares about well-being can host each break. The host facilitates the activity for the group. Conference-goers will benefit from taking momentary relaxation and mindfulness breaks, especially after each conference session.
5. Costume Contest
Your conference could use a touch of performing artistry with a live statue contest. First, select costumes by picking a theme, such as historical periods, creative movements, and great works of art. Next, you should collect costume components relating to your concept. Alternatively, rent consumes. The last step is to compile all of the cosmetics and accessories that complement your idea.
On the day of your contest, participants must belong to a team. The members of each group may nominate one participant to act as the “performer.” Then, each participant must dress the performer in the costume before a set time. The first team to complete a costume wins the game. Alternatively, you can select a panel of judges to choose the winner.
6. Painting
A good way to engage your conference audience is by giving them room for creative expression. Conference social event ideas like this activity help participants take some time off the screen or lecture. Some fun creative activities include adult coloring and painting.
For some added decor, you can have conference-goers customize a mural for your occasion. In addition, you may adjust the painting prompts to your company’s services. For instance, if the subject is “marketing,” then attendees could try painting the company logo.
7. Pickleball
Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing conference workshop ideas, and for a good reason. This game is fun and has simple rules. The game is a cross between badminton, ping-pong, and tennis. A standard pickleball court is like a doubles badminton court. Two or four players on a team use giant paddles to send a whiffle ball over a net. If the serving player fails to hit the ball over the goal, then the opposing team gets the point. The first team to reach 11 points wins the game.
A pickleball court might be the perfect setting for your next conference. You may hire a host for the event or locate courts in the area. Overall, you are providing engagement alongside the business.
8. Balloon-Popping Scavenger Hunt
Balloon-popping scavenger hunts are a fun way to spice up the standard scavenger search. For each tier of hints, use different colors. The first hint could use red balloons, then blue balloons for the second, and green for the third. Next, place your hints inside the balloons, and position each balloon side by side. Players have to pop the balloons and piece the clues in them together. For instance, once a player locates all the red balloons, they will have all the information to get the first clue. The winner is the player who discovers the last “clue balloon” first.
9. Cooking Courses
A meal is a great way to bring teams together. Therefore, group cooking lessons are a wonderful way to entertain conference attendees. Whether attendance is physical or virtual, the choices are extensive. As a first step in conference planning, determine the number of attendees. Keep classes with more participants basic, and give the smaller group a more comprehensive course. For your cooking lessons, you can have an educational charcuterie board or host an online culinary class by a famous chef.
10. Mixology Competitions
Mixology competitions are great conference entertainment ideas. Mixology-offs are a fun way to show appreciation for the artisan cocktail movement.
The first step in organizing this event is collecting all the materials. Your ingredients may contain wines, beers, liquors, and other alcoholic beverages. Also, provide additives such as carbonated water, club soda, heavy cream, and juices like pineapple, tomato, and cranberry. Let competitors prepare a cocktail within a specific time period. Finally, you can have judges not attending the same conference choose the winner.
11. Panel Discussions
Panel discussions are an excellent way to keep attendees engaged in a conference. This idea alleviates the monotony of boring lecture-style presentations. You should have attendees submit questions in advance. Through the panel, your participants will learn from a vast selection of experts. By selecting a diverse panel, you can bring different ideas to the forum and ensure a lively discussion.
12. Real-Time Polls
Conference polling is a terrific concept that benefits both the host and the attendees. Usually, presenters poll listeners and see the results in real-time. Since the activity emphasizes learning goals, evaluates widespread attitudes, and contrasts opinions, polling attendees is a treasure trove of information for conference organizers.
13. Sports Simulation
A sports simulation is a go-to option if you are looking for interactive conference session ideas that also double as fun activities. A sports simulator is a fantastic way for attendees to take a break. You may rent a simulator, acquire simulator software with projectors, or book a corporate package. Some common sports concepts include golf, car racing, dodgeball, and soccer. To encourage friendly competition, award the best athletes in each category.
14. Reverse Pitching
When planning business-related conference events, one of the more recent trends is catering to investors. Industry-specific trends are the focus of such conferences. In reverse pitching, delegates with a financial perspective on the sector evaluate and present solutions to solve problems. This idea fosters openness and an integrative approach to work. You can make the session more exciting by allowing audience members to vote on their favorite presentation.
15. Trivia Competition
Your next conference event can use some healthy rivalry to energize your audience. A trivia contest is one of the most entertaining activities at a conference. The trivia competition allows attendees to have fun and make new connections.
A well-organized trivia contest can last about 10 to 15 minutes in a hybrid, online, or physical conference. You may consider having players use their mobile devices to answer questions. This method provides immediate feedback and ultimately decides the winner. Moreover, you may adjust the value of each question and modify the rules to ensure the game fulfills your intention.
16. Campfire Sessions
Campfire sessions begin like traditional presentations, with a speaker presenting an idea to a group of participants. However, after about 15 or 20 minutes, the focus shifts from the presenter to the audience.
The presenter assumes the role of facilitator for the remainder of the session, inviting comments, insights, and questions. Attendees can drive their learning and share their experiences with others during a campfire session, which also helps with networking.
17. Human Spectrogram
The human spectrogram can work as an icebreaker at the beginning of a conference. The idea is a fancy way to vote. A speaker poses a few essential questions to the audience, who move to a side of the room to register their answers. The idea is largely visual, rapidly and amusingly examining various relevant data about a group.
18. Silent Disco
With this approach, presenters can all speak simultaneously in the same space while participants choose who they listen to. Attendees can tune in to different speakers using wireless headphones. Attendees can take in information in manageable chunks by listening to their interests. Speakers should also wear sound-blocking devices to curtail distractions.
19. Round Table
A typical roundtable discussion encourages speaking out by offering attendees a fair chance to share their thoughts and opinions. Roundtable discussions may often center on themes that will help participants. This idea is virtual and hybrid friendly. For more engagement, have attendees discuss the schedule and logistics. Afterward, conduct a roundtable conversation in which attendees contribute ideas individually.
Furthermore, including a participant roundtable in a virtual conference is a terrific idea. In addition to fostering attentive listening and participation, such activities give your event an air of genuineness.
20. Breakout Lounge
An online networking lounge is a great way to engage your audience in a virtual conference. Participants at a meeting take a break to mingle with other delegates online. Breakout rooms can be interactive conference session ideas or conference social event ideas.
Attendees should be free to enter and leave the breakout space. After the conference, participants may continue to network with one another via online platforms. Virtual meetings would benefit greatly from these spaces since they propose ideas and relationships that outlive the conference.
21. Idea Bounce
A talent show is excellent for highlighting projects, technology, or pitches. Participants typically have three to five minutes to highlight their ideas through a visual presentation. After five to seven presentations, the audience picks a winner. Alternatively, a panel may decide on the outcome.
22. Photo Booth
You can have fun in a photo booth for fantastic keepsakes when the conference ends. Photo booths can have standard features, slow-mo, and 3D instant printers. The Snapbar Headshot Booth is a typical example where conference participants can instantly edit professional portraits.
Learn more about Snapbar.
23. Badges and Tags
Although no one-size-fits-all approach to conference event ideas exists, you can incorporate several ideas. Badges and tags make tailoring personal experiences to each participant possible.
You can embed passive wearable tags with near-field communication or radio frequency identification technology. Hence, the tags can serve as admission tickets to events, payment, and coupons for food and amenities. Simply tapping or scanning will do the trick and save time. You may acquire vital event analytics and attendance data for future events by enhancing your attendees’ badges.
24. Ask Me Anything
An “ask me anything” session is a great idea if you want to include a question-and-answer section in your conference program. During an AMA, the host responds to audience questions. Unlike traditional Q&A sessions where the audience submits questions in real time, hosts of AMAs get the questions on sheets of paper before the session. The questions can be about the host’s personal or professional experiences.
25. Virtual Reality
If your budget cannot accommodate a seaside location, then you can still take your guests to the beach. Whether you are hosting a party or a business presentation, virtual reality can warp your audience into a new dimension. Virtual reality games, including interactive 360-degree videos, are creative additions.
26. Bingo Networking
Bingo networking is a great way to encourage conference-goers to chat. To participate in the game, attendees must pick a Bingo card during registration. In this game, players get a card with a grid of different questions that reveal specific information about another participant. Attendees seek out others and initiate a conversation by asking some of the questions on their cards. The goal is to find out if the individual fits the description on their card.
For instance, the Bingo card may have grids like:
- owns a garden
- aspires to work in multiple nations
- speaks up to three languages
- manages a small business
Once participants find the individual matching that description, they will ask them to sign their cards. The first player to fill out a row on their Bingo cards wins.
Conclusion
The success of your conference hinges on the quality of interactive conference session ideas. Making necessary plans for small, daily meetings or major annual conferences facilitates a satisfying event. Participants are more likely to pay attention and interact with one another if the meeting is interesting. Furthermore, matching good fun with the right audience is crucial when deciding on interactivity.
In the same vein, fun conference activities should reflect your business’s values and mission. For example, if you want to advertise a certain product during your conference, then you could paint a mural depicting that product.
Next, check out our lists of budget swag, custom printing companies, and swag bag ideas.
Angela Robinson