Making sure that your guests are engaged with your event can be a challenging thing to try and keep going. But no fear! Here are several tips that will keep the party going and make any event the talk of the town.
Plan Ahead
Whatever you are doing with your event, plan ahead. Don’t leave the engagement aspect of the party to the last minute because that will leave you in the hole without any time to prepare your interactive elements.
Preparation with links and even handmade products can save you in many different ways. It makes it easier to go into your event with everything ready. From prepared discussion questions for each table to photo ops, it’s something that you can’t leave to the breeze.
Go With the Flow
Something that is important to remember is to start off with a plan. Then, when that plan starts to go all over the place, because events aren’t always linear, you have to learn to go with the flow. Take a few minutes to rearrange your plan, encourage additional interaction by using your emcee, and dive right back into it.
Please note that this is a skill that can take time to develop. You may feel overwhelmed, not ready to go to the next event interaction, or you might find yourself ready to shut down. These feelings are all valid and part of the learning process of going with the flow. If you need to take a minute, take a minute and make sure your team is still being attentive to the needs of the guests.
Now that we have these preparations out of the way, it’s time to dive into some ideas!
Conversation Starters
Perhaps one of the easiest things to prepare for an event is talking points. A cute way to do this is to fold up questions shaken up in a mason jar or a vase with glass stones in the bottom. To keep the conversation going, you can have your emcee start by saying something like “Alright, everyone, it’s time to grab your first question.”
Someone at the table takes a question, and then the conversation begins from there. Sometimes, you can use this as a way to get tables to also share their answers by appointing a table ‘leader’ who either comes up to the mike or you can have the emcee walk around after maybe fifteen minutes of conversation.
Photo Opportunities
These opportunities can sometimes be the most fun at an event. They bring laughs, camaraderie, and a sense of freedom, especially to more upscale events where people need to let loose a little bit. These opportunities also give people a way to remember their fun times at your event.
There’s something to be said for photo ops because they are something that you can dress up, dress down, go wild with, or make it true to a fancy black and white event. There’s nothing that you can’t do with a well-placed photo op and a few props!
Interactive Elements
Here’s where you can let your creativity fly! You can have fun games, from fall-themed apple bobbing to pin the tie on the career person, there are many small things that you can do to add engagement and interaction to the event. For classier events, try making champagne towers at multiple tables.
Competition brings a lot out of people and develops a lot of intrigue and laughter at any event, so make sure you have a few well-planned competitive games and throw in at least one cooperative game so that people can get to know one another better.
Dance Time
No matter the event, sometimes having a great dance playlist and some open space will get people feeling like a conclusion to the night has been well done! Make sure it is at the end of the event with music playing throughout the evening. It makes for a great ending to any event as long as you plan the right music and make sure the emcee gets the crowd up and moving!
A Successful Event
Remember, you have to set what it means for a successful event for you. Adding interactive elements that keep guests moving and talking is a great way to add intrigue and discussion throughout the event. Don’t be afraid to try new things and always look for new interactive elements to try out. Good luck!
