Virtual conferences may be tiresome, exhausting and challenging to participants. In addition to that – virtual fatigue, stemming from a variety of physiological and psychological reasons, makes prolonged presence at these conferences difficult.
One of the significant tools that can engage participants and keep energy flowing is gaming activity that creates enjoyment and interaction between the participants. This can be a small mission that participants are asked to undertake in real time, competition, trivia questions, questions about professional matters and more.
A few examples of activities of this kind:
A Treasure Hunt – each participants is asked to display a household object to the camera at a given time: a red hat, a glass of wine, a pet, a book whose title begins with a specific letter, etc. The first to do so wins.
Trivia Questionnaires, based on general knowledge or professional knowledge – as a competition between individuals or between teams.
A Virtual Bingo Game
Activities led by Artists of Illusion. One outstanding figure in the field is mentalist Lior Suchard
Post a Mission Question / Game: Participants accumulate points by fulfilling missions throughout the conference (for example, take a screen shot of yourself posting a question in the chat box, or of you and another person you met in the NETWORKING area or of you performing various activities -- and post the shot, etc.).
I would like tell you about a game activity that we held recently which turned out to be very successful. The participants, about 200 graduates of the "Future Scientists" program, members of the "Ascola" Network. Many of them were students, entrepreneurs, hi-techies, some of them still serving in the army; all of them were gifted and talented in a variety of areas.
We produce a social – scientific conference for this group every year, and this year, because of the Corona limitations, we had to come up with another solution – one that would interest them, engage them and create a shared experience.
We chose to create a trivia game activity with the participation of all of the attendees, led by Itai Hermann, a popular host of Israeli television trivia game shows like JEAPORDY! – and a trivia expert himself.
The event was broadcast as a live, interactive event from a television studio equipped with the necessary technology.
The first part included challenging questions that the participants presented to Itai – some of which he answered successfully and some less successfully – to the delight of the participants.
The second part included a round of trivia questions that Itai presented to all of the participants at home. Audience members answered using the KAHOOT app that had been installed on their cell phones, and the results appeared on the screen in the studio.
After a series of 15 rounds of quick and challenging questions, five participants reached the Final Round. They were virtually "invited to the studio" to compete with Itai directly. It is important to point out the meaning of this from a technical point of view: the tech staff had to "fish" the 5 winning participants out of all 200 of the participants and show them on the screen, quickly and skillfully.
In this segment, the 5 participants appeared on the big screen in the studio in a way that enabled a dialogue with each of them as well as creating the feeling of a competition. The 5 then competed as a team against Itai in a series of challenging questions.
We succeeded in creating an engaging and energetic event, one that involved everyone and created a fun experience
Interactive activity at a virtual event is a vital component in our toolbox.
I hope that the ideas here give you some inspiration.
If you have any questions, or would like to plan your next virtual event, feel free to contact us. We will be happy to hear from you.