Give Your Attendees an Extra Perk at Your Next Virtual Event: Encourage and Facilitate Virtual Networking – Tips From The Pros
December 21, 2020
We have all been through so many Zoom calls and Microsoft Teams meetings that sitting down in front of our webcams is becoming, simply put, a normal day.
Don’t let normal and comfortable morph into complacent and uninspiring at your next virtual meeting or event.
Instead, encourage and facilitate networking and person-to-person interaction.
From our Vice President of Sales, Cheryl Twiss:
“We are in the hospitality industry. Our careers and personalities thrive and crave personal interaction. Virtual experiences are not much different than in-person events, so create ways to connect attendees based on common interests and shared goals. What we miss is the informal chat in line for coffee, or shared elevator ride, as well as the opportunity to reconnect with old friends and be introduced to new friends. Many platforms have created engaging networking “rooms” just for this reason!”
That’s right, these tools are built-in to these platforms now. Instead of trying to entertain 30 attendees, split into six groups of five and deliver that same planned message in a more personal way. Do you have 250 people tuning in to your guest speaker? Split them up and encourage Q&A with a moderator.
Cheryl Twiss again:
“Raise your hand if you would rather be in a small-group setting versus hundreds of people in the same room together? By offering breakouts in small groups, with the right facilitators, the conversation will flow, the attendee engagement will increase and, perhaps, you will see someone you know who you didn’t realize was attending! If you are connecting on a personal level in a virtual setting, it’s all good!”
Again, it does not have to be an extravagant collection of bells and whistles – just small touches here and there to breathe life into these daily meetings and virtual gatherings.
For more ways to increase engagement at your next event, read Cheryl Twiss’s Top 10 Ways to Engage Attendees at Virtual Meetings & Events.