Creative Ideas for Online Gatherings

SURPRISE GUESTS

OK! It’s great to have a big-name guest to promote ahead of the event. After all, it could help get RSVPs flooding in. And if Brad Pitt agrees to speak at your event, then absolutely advertise that! But sometimes a surprise is a novelty in itself. 

Adding an unexpected speaker adds a sprinkle of spontaneity to a format that can sometimes be too formulaic. And isn’t spontaneity exactly the thing so many of us are yearning for these days?

GET INVOLVED

If you’ve ever attended an online event, you’ll know it can sometimes be hard to stay focused for hours at a time. Why not take a break that engages your attendees? 

We recommend trying out a picture dictation. The presenter describes an illustration or photo they’re holding in their hands. One key detail: attendees can’t see it. At the end of the description, all attendees must hold up their images to the camera. 

Usually the results are pretty different from the original picture, which gets people laughing!

SPEED MATE-ING, BUT VIRTUAL

Let’s face it: the social side of virtual hangouts can occasionally be a bit intimidating. After all, it’s much harder to engage with others via camera. 

Put your attendees at ease with a quick intro round. Split attendees into small groups in breakout rooms and make randomized changes to those in each room every two minutes to keep things fast-paced and fun.

MORE ENGAGEMENT? JUST ADD VIDEO

Sometimes when scrolling through acres of text, a video can be like an oasis in the desert. It can absolutely inform your guests of everything they’d learn from a text, but in a way that incorporates striking visual effects. 

In the run up to an event, we’d suggest adding video where possible. It even has the added bonus of being deeply shareable on social media 😉

SET CHALLENGES

One great way of engaging your participants is getting them to team up on challenges. Try ending each round by dividing the guests into breakout rooms and giving them anagrams related to your topic to crack in less than 5 minutes. Otherwise, set them a “pub quiz” on the topics you’ve covered. This ensures they’ll build a bond with each other while enjoying your digital gathering.

SOCIAL 

Boost your audience’s mood by offering them an alternative to scrolling through Instagram on their break. Encourage your participants to join in with laughing yoga (laughter exercises which help unleash your laughter). If that’s not for you, try easy tai chi moves. 

Too complicated? Then crank up some pop hits and get your audience to mirror the dance moves of your “dance leader.”

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