The document offers 21 creative strategies to enhance audience engagement at events, including networking exercises, unique location choices, and interactive formats like unconferences. It emphasizes fostering connections through activities like idea walls and unexpected surprises, while also suggesting alternatives to traditional Q&A sessions. The piece highlights the importance of preparing follow-up moments and incorporating professional facilitators to maximize the event experience.

1. 21 ways to boost your event
Inspire, engage and wake up your audience
@CyrielKortleven

2. #1 Do the shortest networking exercise ever
This exercise will take 33 seconds and really helps to create an open and
informal atmosphere. Ask your audience to shout their name, email and
phone-number at the count of three. Everybody ready ... 1... 2... 3 and shout.

3. #2 Stimulate networking by using a good name badge
Make sure that people can read the first name easily from a distance and write
the name at the front and back of the name badge (if you use a lanyard). And if
you want to stimulate networking, ask a funny (or theme-related) question and let
participants write their answer to the name badge.

4. #3 Decorate the location with inspiring quotes and pics
It’s quite easy to lookup and print some inspiring quotes and pictures. Hang them at
several (unexpected - toilet?) places in the conference location. Or even better: ask
the participants to bring their favorite quote or picture.

5. #4 Harvest/visualize the insights
There are a lot of good people out there who are able to visualize the most
important insights and learnings from keynotes and discussions. In that way, these
insights aren’t lost and can be used afterwards to refresh the content.
(www.visualharvesting.com)

6. #5 Organize business blind dates
Form random subgroups of 4 participants when they enter the event and ask
them to share insights at 3 pre-determined moments during the conference.

7. #6 Use a wordcloud to introduce speakers
Ask the speakers in advance to send you 21 words that would describe
the speaker (professional an personal information). Use these words to
introduce the speaker instead of reading out a boring CV.

8. #7 Show a funny
youtube movie
Select 3 or 4 youtube movies that
are connected to your theme
and show them as short
distraction in your program.

9. #8 Use innovative Large Scale Interventions
A lot of people think that it’s impossible to work in an interactive way with
large groups. But it is possible! It’s called an unconference (= participant-
driven event). Methods like worldcafe, open space, barcamps, ... are
perfect to let your participants interact and learn from each other.

10. #9 Create an idea or action wall
Create a big wall where participants can contribute their ideas or actions about
a challenge in their domain. Also great to use in your communication afterwards.

11. #10 Organize a book (present) sharing moment
Invite the participants to bring a book or other present to the conference. They
have to attach a personal note to the present. Collect all the presents when
participants arrive and distribute the presents randomly at the end of the event.

12. #11 Hire the ideaDJ
Inspire the audience by supporting the keynotes with tailormade images,
words, twitter-feeds and animations. The ideaDJ uses realtime and spot-
on images and movies to support the content on a second screen.
(www.ideaDJ.com)

13. #12 Organize
your event at
a non-
conventional
place
Avoid the classical
conference rooms
and do your
conference in a
museum, in a park,
in a swimming pool,
in a train station, ...

14. #13 Let participants
mingle with people
they don’t know
On most conferences, people
only talk to their colleagues or
meet 2 or 3 new people. By
stimulating random networking
moments, it’s a lot easier for
participants to connect with
‘strangers’. Eg let them talk with
a person in front or at the back
of them (when sitting in an
auditorium) instead of the
person next to them - chance is
quite big that they already
know each other.

15. #14 Prepare your follow-up moments
The event itself is one of the pillars of a conference but not the only moment to
interact with your audience. There are already a lot of opportunities in advance
but also afterwards. Think about your follow-up moments in advance!

16. #15 Invite some
speakers at the
borders of your
theme
In every business, you
will have the ‘usual’
experts who come and
give their opinion about
the theme. Dare to
invite some speakers
who are not experts in
the theme but can
make a connection
from their expertise to
your topic.

17. #16 Avoid Q&A
Q&A sessions are a lot
of time abused by a few
people who want to
share their opinion with
the rest of the
audience. There are a
lot of better ways to let
participants interact
with a speaker: by
asking questions in
advance or using social
media, you can make a
selection of questions;
integrate some of the
unconference methods
to create interaction.

18. # 17 Let your audience move
The attention spam of the audience is quite short so make sure that you move
people every 90 minutes: changing seats, getting up and move their arms, lt
them do a short walk but let them DO something.

19. # 17 Do something
unexpected
Surprise the participants by doing something
that’s not done at a ‘normal‘ conference.
Work with actors; give everybody a pine-
apple; ask them to walk backwards for 10
meter; ... You will immediately get their full
attention. It’s important to connect the
unexpected element with the theme at a
later stage during the event.

20. #18 Adjust food and drinks to the theme
A lot of money is spent to have some good food and drinks for your event. Make
arrangements with the catering that there’s a connection with the food and
drinks and the theme of the event (Eg special shapes, colors, energy boost, ...).

21. #19 Allow ‘slack‘ moments to reflect
Participants have to be attentive for a long time during a conference. Invite
people to have a 1 minute of ‘slack’ moments between to presentations where
they can reflect/share insights/just wander off for a moment.

22. #20 Close the event
with everybody
End the event with an exercise or
activity where all the participants
can contribute in one way or
another because this action is
going to last the longest. The
‘One Clap’ is an example of an
exercise where everybody has to
stand up and clap exactly at the
same moment - without making
agreements about the moment.

23. # 21 Work with a professional Master of Interaction
You want to go for top-quality so you invest time and money in a good
location, good food and great keynote speakers. So why shouldn’t you invest
in a professional who can inspire, engage and wake up your audience to turn
your ‘good’ event into a ‘great’ event.
(www.masterofinteraction.com)

24. Cyriel Kortleven
International speaker,
Master of Interaction,
21Lobsterstreet,
Knight of NOW, inspirator,
author, human being,
brainstormsessions,
large groups, creativity,
improvisation, interaction,
timespiration, present

25. Stay updated and receive
max 6 times an
inspirational newsletter
from Cyriel + free ‘boost‘
with movies, poster
ideakillers, quotes,
exercises, ...
Subscribe on
www.cyrielkortleven.com