Disturbance, Distraction, and Disorder. That is what we have had for the last year.
However, we already live in a disruptive world before COVID-19. A text comes in, you answer it. During a dinner conversation, you take an Instagram of your food. If a Zoom meeting is boring, you mute yourself and open up another tab to start planning your summer vacation.
What if you could take all that potential negative energy and turn it upside down? Here are six ways to embrace the triple Ds and rotate a ho-hum hybrid event into something special.
Breakout Sessions (Zoom and In-Room)
- Do Activities.
Consider having instructors lead the following activities (socially distanced if physically present):
- Belly dancing
- Zumba
- Yoga
- Meditation
A 15-, 30- or 45-minute activity may be what your meeting needs in the mid-afternoon or early-morning to get participants’ creative juices flowing.
- Create Shorter Sessions.
Rather than holding 60- or 90-minute breakouts, how about 6- or 18-minute ones? While you may think this task difficult, the Pecha Kucha and TED structure have proven otherwise. Research shows the average person can only pay attention to a given task for 20 minutes without self-interruption.
Logistics
- Think Differently About Meeting Spaces.
Hold one of your breakout sessions outside. During another, have everyone sit on the floor in the hallway. Put the chairs on the riser and have the speaker in the audience. Hold a standing meeting. Change it up every session, so attendees can look forward to what’s next.
- Create a Questions Chatspace That’s Open During the Entire Conference.
This is a place where attendees can ask any attendee a question during the entire length of the program. Keep the thread visible, showing multiple points of view on a question. Make sure all the questions are answered by the end of the conference.
If questions are waning, ask things like: “What brought you to our conference? Why is this event important to you?”
- Have Your Executive Team Check-in with Attendees.
Whether they are physically at your event or virtual, your C-Suite can greet attendees and thank them for being there.
Technology
- Maximize Use of Laptops and Social Channels.
If attendees don’t own a camera-enabled laptop, be sure fully configured, thoroughly sanitized laptop rentals are available for them at the event or sent to their home if they are participating virtually. Establish an event hashtag and encourage individuals to share their selfies and thoughts about the meeting on social.
Mulligan Management Group Can Help with Your Disruptive Digital Strategy
For more information about how we can assist your organization, contact us at info@mulliganmanagementgroup.com or schedule a free 15-minute consultation with De-de Mulligan via Calendly.
