The following is a guest post from James Ellison at Team Tactics.

Internal conferences are an essential tool for any business’s internal marketing efforts, helping coordinate staff, share brand messages and align people around goals. A good company conference communicates important messages to staff about the progress of the company, its ethos, its future direction and their role as part of this. A conference can fulfil several other important roles:

• Celebrating the success of the business – For any individual, recognition for their achievements, even if it is just a simple “Well done,” provides genuine satisfaction and motivation to achieve more. Conferences provide a valuable opportunity to celebrate the collective success of the business, teams and individuals when everyone is present. This not only provides collective motivation, but builds team spirit through shared achievement.
• Communicating Business Messages and Objectives – The engaging power of a conference, supported by keynote speakers and great presentations, can be a powerful way for businesses to communicate their messages to staff.
• Inspiring delegates – A charismatic speaker with a well-presented message can provide genuine motivation to those in attendance, leaving them energised and inspired for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
• An opportunity to network – A conference is an opportunity for key personnel from different areas or branches of the business to meet one another, share ideas and experiences, learn from different parts of the business and build connections that will help strengthen internal communication flow.
• Contribute to the Internal Brand of a Business – Just as a business must be conscious of the brand it projects to its target market, it must be equally conscious of the internal brand which is projected to its own staff through its actions and words. A strong and positive brand will encourage staff to work hard, remain loyal to the business and benefit the firm’s reputation. A conference is a major communication opportunity which can support and strengthen the firm’s internal brand.  

However the effectiveness of a conference can be greatly diminished if all delegates are not kept fully alert, and are not concentrating on the messages being delivered. Incorporating an activity into a conference day can be a highly effective means of combatting this and keeping everyone fully engaged.

The Solution

The use of ice breaker or energiser activities is an ideal option to combat drowsy delegates – and this is not the only benefit. By being involved in an activity, delegates are provided with renewed or heightened energy and attention, leaving them positive, fresh and alert, ready to focus and receive maximum benefit from the conference. These activities are most effective when performed collectively as a whole group or in teams – stimulating maximum interaction between individuals.

What Might This Involve?

Conference energiser and ice breaker activities might take place within the conference room itself, or if available, in a separate ‘Break Out ‘ space. They can involve all manner of activities from rhythmic clapping and drumming to learning dance routines or even a creative activity such as ice carving. These energiser activities needn’t be elaborate or require equipment, they may simply involve the participants themselves – for instance word association games, role plays or small group presentations.

The common denominator between these activities is that they involve teamwork, require focus and are mentally and often physically engaging.

Benefits Get Delegates alert and receptive

Only if delegates are mentally fresh and focused will they (and the business), derive maximum benefit from a conference day. Delegates are more receptive to company messages and more likely to contribute to interactive sessions, and collective morale and enthusiasm is therefore also raised.

Building Connections between delegates

Conferences provide an opportunity for colleagues from different areas of the business to get to know each other more personally, and an engaging team activity is ideal as an informal way to encourage this. Whether the activity involves delegates working closely together in small teams, or is something different which generates a talking point, ice breaker activities are an ideal way for delegates to get to know each other better. Even the relationships of those who work together on a daily basis will be positively impacted, and this can only be a bonus.

Support Company or Conference Objectives

The scope of conference energisers and ice breaker activities means that these can be specifically chosen to support or reflect one or more of the key messages delivered in the conference. A singing or music activity for instance might be perfect if you want to promote giving staff a bigger voice in company issues. Alternatively, if you want to promote closer teamwork, you might choose an activity that involves working closely together in small groups to achieve an objective.

Support Internal Company Branding As a major communication event between a business and its key personnel, a conference is a major internal branding opportunity. An energiser or ice breaker activity supports this by not only supporting the conference event, but by providing a rewarding experience that leaves its own impression on delegates. A well managed activity which gets everyone talking and interacting leaves a positive impression of the business: being fun, fair, imaginative, dynamic, exciting and committed to staff development are just a few impressions of the firm that a well managed activity can help to foster.

Choosing a Conference Ice Breaker or Energiser

When choosing a Conference Ice Breaker or Energiser there a several important factors to consider:

• What are you trying to achieve? Pick an activity that best achieves your aims – if you want to emphasise a teamwork message for instance, then ensure your activity relates to this.
• Timing.  If you feel it is important to ‘break the ice’ at the start of your conference because you’re bringing together an unfamiliar group of employees, then plan an activity early in the day. Alternatively, you may want to schedule this in the middle of the day to provide a refreshing break for your delegates.
• Budget. Naturally, the cost must be considered in the planning of any event. If you have not yet decided your budget then plan your expenditure in proportion to what you are trying to achieve and the scale of your conference.
• Your Delegates Think about the typical delegates that will be attending including their age, gender, seniority and possible interests, then plan your activity accordingly. Whatever your aims, your delegates’ enjoyment and engagement with the activity will be essential for achieving them.

Be imaginative in brainstorming ideas for your conference activities. The possibilities really are unlimited and it is definitely worth searching online for ideas and possibly consulting corporate events providers when generating ideas. Good luck with your event! James Ellison – Team Tactics (@team_tactics)

If you’re interested in writing a guest post for the Eventbrite UK blog, please feel free to add a comment below, tweet us @EventbriteUK or email markw [at] eventbrite [dot] com.