Conferences are an important part of growing your professional skill set as well as your business. They offer the opportunity to make connections, learn from industry thought leaders, meet with decision-makers, and spend time with like-minded people. However, they don’t come cheap. 

The average industry or academic conference costs about $1,000 and that usually doesn’t include associated costs like flights or food. Therefore, attendees (and potentially their employers) have high expectations. It’s essential that conference planners and organizers do all they can to not only engage attendees, but to provide an experience that they’ll be glad they paid for - and want to return to next year! Here are 30 of our favorite ideas for making your conference more engaging. 

Engaging in-person conference activities

1. Table teams

This is a simple concept that can be carried throughout an event and add that little something extra. It’s great for one-day conferences where people sit at the same table for most of the activities. Have people at the table introduce themselves and come up with a team persona. They can think up a name, a mascot - anything that would set them apart from the other tables. Have each table pick a representative who can share the group’s opinions or ideas during exercises. This is an easy way to develop some natural cohesion among people at your event, and help them to develop some new friendships along the way. You can even spend a few minutes on teambuilding activities so that everyone enjoys a stronger relationship. 

2. Scavenger hunts

A scavenger hunt is almost always a great addition to an event. You can have people explore their surroundings, learn about a new office or city, and get to know each other. If you want to keep things really simple, you can do a version of a digital scavenger hunt, for example a photo scavenger hunt where people just use their phones and don’t need to physically move around. 

3. Team bulletin board

For this activity, you’ll need to supply each table with a white board or cork bulletin board. Attendees can use this space to share comments, lessons learned, business contact info, or messages. This increases the amount that table participants can network and connect with each other, as well as remember important points shared throughout the day. 

4. Trivia games

Everyone loves trivia, so why not add it to your conference event? It’s a good way to promote some friendly competition as well as to help people absorb new information. Most conference leaders find that trivia is a powerful way to increase engagement. Trivia topics can range from subjects that are relevant to the conference, to movies, sports, pop culture - whatever you think would interest your attendees! 

5. Panel discussions

A panel is a great way to increase interaction and engagement while still teaching and delivering relevant information. Rather than having a lecture-style session where people essentially get talked at, you can invite a few experts or thought leaders to sit at the front of the room having a guided discussion. You should choose a few topics in advance and give them an agenda, but let the conversation flow naturally. Make sure to allow plenty of time for Q & A, since the dialogue is likely to spark some thoughts and inquiries from conference attendees. 

6. AMA (Ask me Anything)

A fun but productive activity at a conference is an “Ask me anything” session. For this idea, you’ll need to have an expert who is knowledgeable and personable, and comfortable in front of a crowd. Then, attendees should be able to ask anything (within reason). The topics can cover not only conference subject matter but also personal life, sports, hobbies, anything (as the name implies). 

7. Human heat map

You can create a human spectrogram by having all attendees stand up.  Then, you'll ask questions, and participants should respond by walking to the area of the room that indicates their answer. This will create natural groupings so that attendees can get a visual of similarities and also the diversity of the people present. You can base questions on things like geography, hobbies, job role, or even their desired outcomes from the conference.

8. Icebreakers

These simple questions are always a great idea; many would consider them a must for any conference or event. You can use these in the beginning of the general conference, or in each breakout session. This is an easy way to begin various sessions, and they only take a  few minutes and no preparation. Of course, icebreakers offer a great way for attendees to meet and interact with each other too, which is an important feature of a successful conference. Make sure to follow our blog for hundreds of unique icebreaker and team warm-up games (and large group energizers, too). 

9. “Musical tables”

This is a play on the childhood game musical chairs. Remember the activity where music would play, and players move to a different chair before time runs out? For this game, have everyone get into small groups at a table. Ideally, there would be no more than 10-12 people per table. Start each session by asking a specific question, and giving the table 10 or 15 minutes to discuss. Then, each group member should get up and move to a different table. This should go on until each person has had a turn at several tables and gotten to discuss multiple topics. One unique spin on this idea is to get the discussion questions in advance. You can send an email prior to the conference asking attendees to submit their most pressing questions, and choose from those - that way you can be sure that what’s being discussed will offer actual value to those present. 

10. Discussion circle

This interactive activity allows people to participate to the degree that they prefer to. Set up several areas throughout the event venue, with specific topics for each area. Participants will stand in a circle, and then everyone from the circle is invited to step into the circle and share their thoughts. Of course, no one should monopolize the conversation, and some people may prefer not to step forward at all. But for those who do, this is a good way to let people share their thoughts and opinions in an interactive manner. 

11. “Braindates”

This activity requires some work prior to the conference, but it’ll be worth it for the experience it offers your attendees. Begin a few weeks before the event, and email all attendees to get specific questions or to share which topics they are particularly proficient in. Then, you can compare answers in order to match people in small groups once they get to the event. Once you match participants based on their responses, attendees can connect with their “matches” and schedule time to meet in person. This is a great way for people to gain new knowledge while meeting like-minded individuals. It also ensures they’ll get value from the conference since they’ll be sure to have discussions based on their specific interests. 

12. Mid-conference check-in

It’s important to check in with your attendees to see how things are going. Then you can discover if you need to do something else to hold everyone’s interest. You can do so in person partway through the day by having a facilitator talk in front of the group, or you can create a digital version by polling people on their cell phones. Then you can also tailor questions to your audience. This will be valuable feedback for not only the immediate conference but any that you plan in the future. 

13. Travel trivia

Does your conference bring in an international crowd? Or even a crowd from throughout the country? If so, learning more about where attendees come from can be fun and educational. Create trivia questions based on what you know about attendees’ hometowns. You can make a cool visual-based game by showing pictures of famous landmarks and having people guess. Or, you can ask various geographical  questions and see who seems to know the most. Bonus points if you offer a prize to the winner. 

14. Sponsor acknowledgement

Most conferences aren’t possible without generous sponsors. Make sure they feel the love by thanking them publicly during the conference. While the acknowledgement is critical, it’s often a boring part of the event for attendees. So, it’s a good idea to do so quickly and efficiently. We encourage having everyone hold their applause until the end and then doing one big clap for sponsors. Make sure to have plenty of visuals, including a large sign or slide with each sponsor logo as you share their name with the crowd. 

15. Keynote fireside chats

Have you ever seen an expert speak and felt almost as though they were a celebrity? If you know how impressive a keynote session can be, then imagine how much your attendees will appreciate getting to sit down with the speaker and talk to them more directly. You can create a more informal set up where the speaker converses with a moderator who asks questions, and then attendees have the opportunity to submit questions as well. If you use an interactive conference tool, you can collect questions via the platform and then use those in the discussion as well. In this way, you can create an all-around conversation, where the attendees are part of the experience and not just privy to it. 

16. End-of-conference game show

Another way of preventing your attendees from feeling too passive is to quiz them on what they’ve learned at the conference so far. Pick out a common game show format, like the Newlywed Game, and have a moderator run the activity. You can also poll the audience to get more question ideas. This is a fun way to wrap up the conference and recap the major takeaways. 

17. World cafe

For this activity, everyone will break into smaller groups and sit at a table. It’s a similar concept to the musical table game, only for each session only one person moves from the table. When they get to a new table, they should become the “host” and moderate a new discussion. In this way attendees are sure to experience a wide variety of topic discussions as well as the ability to meet new people. 

18. Expert clinic

Many times, people attend conferences to get solutions tailored to current challenges or problems. To add more value for your attendees, give everyone the opportunity to book one:one time with an industry expert. Every person can consult with them for about 10-15 minutes. Spread these slots throughout the event to give more people an opportunity to take part. In this way they can receive personalized, helpful advice that they’ll take away with them. 

19. Solution room

Similar to the above idea - but with a bit more time invested - this activity offers another opportunity to get customized advice. For this idea, set up several tables of about 8 people and let each attendee write down their unique problem. Then, the whole table should stand up and move one seat to the left. Each person gets 7 minutes to write down solutions to the problem that is in front of them. Repeat until everyone is back in his or her own seat. This can be a really memorable way to leave the attendees with actionable solutions.

20. Think, pair, and share

If you want attendees to experience a deep dive into a particular topic, this activity will prove helpful. Start with a thought-provoking poll question, and then give people 2 minutes to think and vote. Next, pair individuals who have an opposite vote with each other (so two people with opposing votes). Then each person should spend time discussing and trying to convince their partner of their own opinion. The activity ends with another vote where you can see how many people have changed their opinion. 

21. Pitch session

This event idea is popular with startup conferences. In these sessions, budding entrepreneurs try their hand at pitching an idea to a group. Give people plenty of time to prepare their business and marketing ideas, and then promote them to a panel that will judge the presentations. If you want to make it more engaging for all attendees, you can give them a say too. Simply create a survey that asks for their favorite once everything is concluded, or you can even offer polls after each session for more specific feedback (which can be really helpful to the presenters). 

Virtual conference ideas

22. Use poll questions

Any time you can make attendees feel engaged and part of the happenings, that’s a great thing. Poll questions are the perfect way to begin or end your conference, and offer a welcome break and conversation starter in the middle. Polls are a great way to interact and you can also make them fun. You can also use polls as an icebreaker to kick things off. 

23. Virtual event gift bags

Virtual conferences have become more popular since the pandemic. If you want to kick things off in a memorable way, send gift bags to each guests’ house. Make sure the bags have a welcome gift along with the materials they need for all of their sessions. You can also include cards for discussion questions or statements that they can use to jumpstart conversations with other attendees. 

24. Social media contests

This is a good way to add a little fun to remote events, though they can be used for in-person conferences too. Start by creating a simple hashtag for your event. Then, ask your attendees a question. For example, ask them to submit a photo from the session they just came from, or with a new person that they met at the event. Then you can use the posts as entries into a raffle of sorts (with cool prizes to encourage participation). 

25. Virtual beer tasting

This creates a unique opportunity for attendees to connect. You can set up a session and send all of the necessary materials to attendees so they can participate at the agreed upon time. You’ll also need someone who is an expert on beer and can guide the tasting from a virtual platform. You can also include fun discussion points like history lessons or beer-making tips. This activity definitely has higher costs associated than many activities, but if you have some budget to play with, it’s quite memorable and enjoyable for event attendees. 

26. Presenter radio stations

Help attendees to access several experts in one event. To do so, you’ll need to equip everyone with wireless headphones that have different channels. Each expert will have their own channel, and all participants can choose which channel they want to tune into. This way you can ensure that guests get to learn about what really matters to them. 

27. 20 seconds for 20 slides

This activity is a form of data blitz where attendees can learn a bit about a lot of different topics. Have multiple speakers prepare short presentations that include 20 slides, using 20 seconds to go over each slide. This gives speakers roughly 7 minutes to get through their presentation and each should include a brief deep dive into an idea, product, or issue. 

28. Specific situation solving

To provide more value to conference attendees, equip them with real solutions and in-depth discussions. Come up with a few different scenarios that are relevant to your field, and then have tables discuss. You can pick from daily workplace challenges or more serious, specific hurdles. Then give everyone a half hour to come up with their best solutions and share with the group. Make sure each table has an opportunity to share so that everyone present can benefit from different perspectives. 

29. Live Streaming tools

Traditional conference Q & A can pose a lot of problems. You can make things easier by collecting the most relevant questions and also eliminating stage fright that people might have when asking. Using specific tech platforms, attendees can submit questions and then upvote the ones they most want to see answered. People can do so anonymously or with a name, and the moderator can put the question on the presentation screen for everyone to see as they address it. 

30. Networking software

Help your attendees to meet specific people by implementing a networking software prior to the event and promoting it to your attendees. Think of it as a sort of matchmaking tool for business, where participants can note their skills, role, and what they’re looking for. Based on that, the software will set them up with relevant matches. Your event attendees will appreciate you creating this chance for them to network and meet with others, since so much of the ROI of a conference comes down to who you meet there. 

Get help planning a worthwhile conference

There are different types of conferences for different audiences. You can find a conference for everything from education to B2C, B2B, team building, networking, etc. Some large companies put together their own “all hands” conference (often called company summit) where they bring people together from across the country or even the globe. These are essentially robust team-building events for large groups where your staff can enjoy connecting and learning with other people from within your company.

Obviously, that sort of event is quite an undertaking. Get some professional help with the logistics in order to pull off an event that attendees will be excited about. Surf Office can help you navigate the planning, organizing, and executing so that you can put together an engaging team-building event that includes networking, learning - and plenty of fun.