The trick to boosting delegate morale and engagement

The UK has hosted 1.02million conferences in the last year alone, generating £16.3 billion for the economies of popular conference destinations, according to Conference Leeds. Not only is the conference industry a vital pillar of the UK business landscape, but it also provides valuable opportunities for forward-thinking organisations and delegates to learn, form new connections, and gain perspective from their wider industry. That is, if they’re primed and ready to get the most out of the experience. No employer wants to take employees away from the business for a day – or even days – if it’s not going to be a good use of their time and resource. That’s why, as organisers, ensuring that delegates remain active and engaged is crucial.The research by Conference Leeds also revealed the top factors that encourage delegates to be active attendees: an engaging conference environment (37%); entertainment (25%); networking sessions (21%); and socialising (21%). But how can you effectively incorporate all these vital ingredients within a busy conference programme in a way that complements the agenda and objectives?Boosting engagement with conference contentConference energisers aim to provide something a bit different from the rest of the agenda for the day. They can be a short burst of activity lasting around half an hour or a more in- depth team building exercise over a few hours, but their purpose remains the same – to inject more energy and excitement into the room to encourage delegates to have fun and interact with one another.A huge amount of time, effort and resource goes into sourcing great speakers and presentations that will provide value for delegates, and in turn, organisers. Many speakers rely on audience participation, asking for a show of hands in a particular challenge or scenario has resonated with them or encouraging individual delegates to speak up and share their experiences. There’s nothing more agonising than an expert trying to invite audience participation to be met with an awkward silence from fatigued delegates. It can make the presentation feel flat and as though it’s failed to resonate or hit the mark.These activities are not only effective in instances where there’s a need to integrate delegates from different companies and parts of an industry, but they can also be highly beneficial for a company away days or internal conferences to encourage employees to meet and spend time with colleagues in other departments that they don’t usually work with.This fosters a more positive company culture and sense of belonging for employees while stimulating open-mindedness, boosting morale, and encouraging cross-departmental collaboration.Energisers – as their name might suggest - can help to wake delegates up (especially after a heavy night!) and break up the sitting and listening aspect of the day, whether it be to blow off the cobwebs at the start of the day or to liven up the attendees before the ‘graveyard slot’ after lunch. It helps to start the conference or presentation on a high with more energy in the room, meaning delegates are more likely to engage and interact with the content. While energisers don’t have to be highly physical, simply encouraging delegates to get up and move around stimulates increased blood flow around the body and more oxygen is carried to the brain, which improves focus. Studies also show that taking breaks can help to reset the brain and facilitate recovery, returning mental and psychical functional systems to their baseline. Not only do breaks in the form of energisers enable delegates to take away more from the event, but they can ultimately provide a more dynamic, productive and enjoyable conference or offsite meeting.Getting the tone and activity right for your audienceThere’s a huge range conference energiser ideas and activities out there, but striking the right tone requires an in-depth understanding of the audience. It’s important to consider the business or organiser’s ethos, delegate industry, profile, seniority and objectives for attending the event, as well as the size of the audience and the time available.If it’s a conference that brings people together from all over the world, for example, the activity needs to be enjoyable for a range of different cultures and backgrounds and not overly reliant on delegates being able to communicate in the same language. In instances like these, we find that music or dance workshops are especially effective. Our Haka workshop, for example, where delegates are taught the famous tribal dance by a genuine Maori, has proved a hit with a range of delegates from different demographics and worked at shows from The Powerful Living Experience by David Bayer to Clearwater Fine Foods’ internal conference. It’s always a hit with rugby fans as it’s reminiscent of the pre-match display from the New Zealand rugby team, but its message and purpose go far beyond this and many delegates enjoy learning about the tradition and history behind it.A different example is ‘It’s a Rat Trap’ - a lifesize revival of the board game, ‘Mouse Trap’, which challenges participants to build a series of huge contraptions that work together to perform a mesmerising chain reaction. It takes the same principles of fun and connectivity from the board game and brings teams together to test communication, teamwork and leadership. We find that this activity is especially enjoyed by engineers and those working in the back end of IT, including employees from the likes of Amazon and Sopra Banking, as it allows them to test their problem solving and logic in a fun and engaging format.Encouraging delegate participation and buy-inOften, organisers realise the benefits of conference energisers but questions typically circle back to the original dilemma - “how can we get delegates to engage?” Selecting an activity that complements the audience and its interests is half the battle. Equally, putting conference delegates instantly at ease is important.To some extent, there’s always going to be some audience members that are less likely to engage, and they should never be forced or singled out for this. The whole idea behind conference energisers is to introduce a bit of fun and light-heartedness to the day, and making feelings of awkwardness, embarrassment or discomfort have no place in that.However, more often than not, we find that most people want to engage when they see that everybody around them is doing so - it’s almost harder to not participate. It’s usually these delegates that get stuck into the activity and even surprise themselves!Creating a lasting impactOnce the energy in the room has lifted, the fatigue and lethargy has been quashed, and delegates feel more at ease to communicate, they return to the content of the day feeling renewed and inspired. As a result, they’ll take more away from the experience, including valuable knowledge and insight that they can action within their role and business, justifying the investment of time and funds. This, coupled with their enjoyment and fond memories of the day, make them more likely to want to repeat the experience.

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