10 Icebreakers and Activities to Keep Your Conference Engaging
How to Be the Best Host Ever
Are you planning a conference and worried about how to keep attendees engaged and entertained? You’ve come to the right place!
In this blog, we have put together 10 icebreakers and activities to keep your conference engaging and fun. Don’t worry, we promise our ideas are better than your Uncle Jim’s knock-knock jokes.
1. Put a Name Tag on the Person in Front of You
Break the ice and warm the hearts with this awesome activity!
Hand out name tags and pens and then get all attendees put a name tag on the person in front of them. The front row will have to place tags on people in the back row.
What makes this unique is that the name tag has to be an affirmation starting with the first letter of their name. A positive label based on first impressions. So, if their name is Marisa, the card could say “magical” or “mighty”.
Be sure to encourage everyone to use this as an opportunity to make a new friend.
2. Social Media Content
Using social media is a great way to engage attendees and generate excitement around your conference.
Create a unique hashtag and encourage attendees to upload funny or creative pictures and videos. Just imagine the hilarious outcomes from hashtags like #TheWonderfulWackys, #PrettyParkour, or #SilentConferenceDisco.
The person with the most fun or creative video or photo can even win a prize, which will motivate more attendees to participate.
3. Graffiti Boards
Another great option in activities to keep your conference engaging is putting up a graffiti board in the place where you have breaks.
Provide a space where attendees can share comments, lessons learned, business cards, or messages on a corkboard or large whiteboard. This activity is a great opportunity for attendees to connect, network, and learn from one another.
Be sure to start the board yourself and set a great tone! We suggest adding some jokes about your industry to get the laughs and creativity flowing.
4. Conference Bingo
Have we got another awesome icebreaker idea for you? BINGO!
This game is a great laugh generator and is guaranteed to be a favourite in the activities to keep your conference engaging. Print a bingo card for each person and have them mark the spaces when they hear the speaker mention a word or story that appears on the board. The first person to get five game pieces in a row wins the game and a prize.
Make sure that you create your own card that it includes fun inside jokes that are specific to your industry or company. You can even include sayings that you know some speakers are known to say.
5. A Twisted Trivia Game
This quick game is something great to do between long or serious sessions. It will keep the energy up and get your attendees laughing.
Set up a quick five-question quiz prepared and project it on a screen or print it and hand it out. The object of the game is to have attendees answer with a funny incorrect answer. An example of a question could be “who is South Africa’s current president and what is their most famous quote?”
Once everyone is done writing out their answers, they should swap their sheet with someone they don’t know or have spent the least time with.
6. Speed Meeting
This game is like speed dating, except less awkward and there is a larger chance that long and good relationships will be formed. This icebreaker also works well to support even the shyest attendee in large group environments.
Set up the room so people sit in pairs facing each other. Delegates have two minutes to introduce themselves to one another and chat. You can even prompt what questions they can ask each other.
Every two minutes half the room should move on to the next person until most of the room has interacted with each other. Use a bell or buzzer to keep things moving.
Playing this before your first break will thaw the usual icy meet-and-greet conversation. Everyone will have the time of their lives and no baby will get left alone in a corner.
7. Provide Fun Things to Do In Between Speakers and Meetings
Provide unique conference kits that generate a laugh and a chat between speakers. This could include cups with jokes or funny sayings, pea shooters, funky bibs, sleep masks, and more. These kits can add a fun and unique touch to your conference.
If you want to provide this without making the effort yourself, chat with Focus Rooms. We supply out-of-the-box conference kits as a happy value-add.
8. Massage Stations
Stressed attendees are knot what you want. Good vibes are what you knead and are only one massage away.
At Focus Rooms we can organise 5-minute neck and hand massage stations as a complimentary option. The only person that will be getting touchy is our incredible masseuse, and we promise, that it’s a great thing!
9. Supply Brain Juice
Don’t you sometimes wish there was some form of super drink that guests can drink to help them feel great and focused?
Oh, wait a minute, there is! We actually make them all the time, and can we just say; yummy is an understatement.
Just let us know if you’re interested and we will provide a wide variety of delicious power smoothies. Go on, treat your guests to a yummy and energizing refresher drink.
10. Entice The Tummies
A great tactic to keep your attendees engaged is by providing delicious and interesting food and drinks throughout the day.
Imagine the smell of movie theatre-style popcorn wafting into your session to add to the exciting ambience of a motivating talk.
Snacks will help keep the brains engaged and your attendees happy. Be sure to make it memorable too. Think doughnut walls, canapes in shot glasses and more.
Jump Out of the Box Like the Joker We Were All Born to Be
When picking activities to keep your conference engaging, focus on creativity and thinking outside the box. Even the most serious events can benefit from a little bit of humour and light-hearted fun.
It will ignite passion and inspiration while driving loyalty. At Focus Rooms, we are the masters of silly, perhaps that’s why we love our jobs and brand so very much!
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