We’ve all been to an event before where it seems like we are just one of a million fish in the sea, unable to feel any personal connection to the attendees or speakers. These events are hardly memorable and can deter people from attending.
With the tips below, you will be able to ensure a memorable event your attendees will look forward to year after year.
Ditch Formalities
Just because you are hosting a corporate event doesn’t mean everything has to be formal. By breaking down the fourth wall to create open conversation and communication between fellow attendees and the speakers, your guests will feel more included. If your event includes guest speakers, encourage them to ditch the podium and powerpoint and opt for an open conversation or speech. Other ways to encourage a personalized feel at your corporate event is to offer buffet style meals, an informal dress code, or by hosting it at a fun, relaxed event center.
Engage All Five Senses
One of the easiest ways to turn a large event into a personal experience is by engaging the five sense of your attendees. This requires special attention to detail to ensure all sense are addressed. Are your attendees having coffee hour without any music? Are you serving food? If so, is it high-quality food? Did you decorate the space? These are all questions to ask yourself as you are planning and setting up for the event. If all 5 of your senses aren’t engaged, neither will your attendees.
Breakout Sessions
If you are holding a conference or large corporate event, breakout sessions provide the perfect opportunity to ensure your guests feel included. With breakout sessions, your sum of attendees break off into smaller, more targeted sessions chose by the attendees. Not only will your guests get to pick what they want to learn, but they will also be in a more intimate setting. If you are going to hold your event at a corporate conference center, ensure they have multiple rooms available for the sessions.
Use an Event Venue
If you are hosting a corporate retreat, company party, or executive meeting, chances are your attendees will be more engaged if they are removed from their normal, everyday environment. The best way to do this is by having your event at a corporate retreat center or event venue. It’s hard to concentrate on anything other than business when you are in your own office. It’s important to choose a conference center that is relatively close to the location of your office. So if you are a company located in Cleveland, OH, finding a corporate event venue near Cleveland will help ensure maximized attendance. If you are unable to host your corporate event at a different venue, be sure to utilize decorations to create an atmosphere that contrasts to the normal business ambiance.
Attendee Feedback
If you have hosted a corporate event or retreat in the past, you likely have feedback from past attendees. This is the perfect way to personalize your event to the kind of people that attend. If your attendees didn’t like the menu options last year and provided you with a suggestion, implementing the suggestions is an easy way to make your guests feel like the event was designed with them in mind. If you haven’t held a similar event in the past, you can send out a pre-event survey asking attendees to weigh in on what they’d like to see whether it is hosting the event at an outside conference center, or hiring a new DJ, you’ll be able to plan around the wants and needs of those attending.
When planning your next corporate event or retreat, be sure to use these tips to ensure your guests have a personal experience. If you would like to learn more about hosting an event at a state of the art conference center in Ohio, contact our event specialists who can help you customize your next event.