Simple Remedies to Fix Your Conference
The Effect of Group Size
Making better conferences is all about the guest experience. The number one factor affecting guest experience that stands out is cohort size. Say you have a group of ~3000 individuals in a moderately-sized convention center.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls
- Crowding
- Long waits
- Non-Productive use of time
Are there stretches of time where attendees wait in line for access to a room, facilities, food, or information?
Increase participation, reduce frustration, and create a positive guest experience by making groups smaller. Use the maximum number of individuals who can seamlessly manage some, any, or all of a number of expected actions such as:
- get food
- take a seat
- join a group
- participate in a specific activity (interview/panel/etc.)
For example, registration can be:
- pre-registration
- onsite self-registration
- managed by team with access to a database
- broken down alphabetically, geographically, or by industry
- a simple QRCode
Cohort Identities: Rethinking Design
Assign a random or specific classification to each subgroup:
- colors
- trees
- affinity groups
- category tied to your product, brand, or deliverables
Assuming one task is to feed and seat 3,000 attendees in half an hour.
Instead of a rush to the buffet, break it down into more and smaller stations.
Either each station smaller, but with identical dishes, placed in a different area.
Or, vary the contents of the stations, each with a specific offering, for example:
Cuisine grouped by:
- Category: i.e. starch, protein, vegetable
- Diet: pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan, free of common allergens (dairy/gluten/tree nuts)
- Courses: appetizer, salad, main, sides, desert
The most important element for these stations to succeed is simple and prominent signage.
- First, explain the concept being used to attendees
- Second, clarify what the different components (i.e. stations, locations, ingredients).
- Third, simple, easy to see and understand directions to where each area is located.
BE SURE TO LIST ALL INGREDIENTS, HIGHLIGHTING KNOWN ALLERGENS!
BEST PRACTICES: MAKE ALLERGEN INFORMATION ACCESSIBLE
Support Connection
If you can support connection, you will enhance the conference experience tenfold (think backstage pass v. mosh pit). One of the simplest ways to enhance group participation and connection is by reducing group size, which reduces friction.
Accomplish this by using the smallest possible tables, particularly when you have poor acoustics or high volume sound.
This allows interactions with more than the two individuals sitting next to them without raising voices or changing places.
Give attendees a useful task that is easy to accomplish at the beginning of any group transition, or anticipated wait. This achieves what the very best conferences do: they create a sense of belonging, promote organic networking, and, in the best case scenario, attendees will transfer those positive attributes to the conference sponsor.
These could be a card or message.
This is the perfect spot to implement strolling entertainers.
- “Find someone connected to what your business does.”
- “Find a company that services a different region than yours.”
- “Look for experts in sub-specialties, for example: 3D-printed gaskets, staffing firm serving bilingual French-Canadian and Chinese speakers, or a company certifying proximate pyrotechnics.”
Interested in finding out more about using interactive entertainment to drive sales, marketing, promotion, or PR? Reach out.