10 Ways to Make Your Virtual Event Interesting

a mug beside a laptop having a virtual meeting

Planning a virtual event can be tricky. People are used to being in the same room, so it can be hard to know how to make an online event interesting. If you want your participants engaged, then you need to think outside of the box and come up with some creative ideas that will keep them interested throughout the duration of your event! In this blog post, we will go over 10 tips for making your virtual events more interesting.

Show a video of your event before the live stream starts 

If you’re hosting a virtual event, then your attendees will be unable to see the speaker before the live stream begins. One way that you can get around this is by showing a short video of them beforehand. This could also include an introduction or some footage from their talk at another conference they have spoken at in the past!

It’s easy for people who are used to being face-to-face with each other to forget how much easier it is for us as humans when we can see one another and read nonverbal cues–in-person communication fosters empathy more than any message communicated through text alone ever could (Baumeister et al.). Especially if participants may not know one another well, or might feel uncomfortable speaking

Have an interactive chat with attendees 

Virtual events should not be a one-way street. Speakers and organisers should use the chat feature of most virtual event platforms to have an interactive chat with attendees. It’s a great way to get feedback, find out what people are interested in and even help them with their questions.

The chat should be set up as an open forum for attendees (no one moderator), so they’re free to ask all the questions they want without feeling like it interrupts anyone else or that someone is watching over their shoulder. It also helps if there is some sort of protection from trolls or spamming- you can enable this before the event takes place by reviewing settings on your virtual event platform.

Chatting with others is also an important part of the experience- no matter how much people enjoy themselves at your virtual event if they feel like they haven’t connected with anyone by the end then chances are good

Play games during the event, like charades or trivia 

Never forget to have fun! Just because the event is virtual doesn’t mean it has to be boring.

There are all sorts of games you can play that don’t require participants to travel or spend time away from their families and jobs, like Trivia Games (like “name the country” or “what is this in English?”), Charades, Scavenger Hunts, etc. They’re a great way for event attendees who want it both ways (to have fun and learn) and those who need something more interactive than just sitting there listening to speakers talk about things they already know.

Give prizes away to people who answer questions correctly in a game show-style quiz 

What motivates someone to play a game, more than winning a prize? Knowing what they’ll get if they win.

If you want to make it more interesting for everyone, give prizes away in a game show-style quiz. This works best when there are only one or two people who know the answer and all of their friends sitting at home watching them on Skype (or whatever). You can use QuizUp as an example – this is just like Jeopardy! but done through your computer with Facebook Connect so that anyone around the world can play against each other while competing for real money. The app has over 100 million users from 200 countries, which means lots of potential contestants…and winners!

Share photos and videos from previous events on social media as they happen so that viewers can see how much fun it is to attend one of your events 

Managing expectations is important, and it can actually be used in your favour at the start of your virtual event. ultivate a strong online following

Online followings are harder to build and maintain, but they will likely be more engaged than your offline followers. They can also help create buzz about the event days in advance which increases attendance at live events when people share their excitement with friends who weren’t able to attend.

Create polls for attendees to vote on topics or ask them what they want you to talk about next time you host an event

Polls are an important feature because it lets you interact live with your virtual event attendees.

Create polls for attendees to vote on topics or ask them what they want you to talk about next time you host an event. This will also help add interactivity and engagement with your virtual audience! Polls are a must at this point because it lets you live-interact not just by answering their questions but presenting new ones as well, which creates more of that interactive experience instead of making the whole session seem like one long speech (even if there is some Q&A).

Ask attendees for their opinions about what they would like at future events and make sure those things are available at the next one

Take feedback seriously. It’s important that you ask your attendees what they want to see, in order to make your next virtual event a successful one.

What if you could give them that power in the first place, instead of seeing what they want when it’s too late?

Find out more about how your attendees feel with polls and surveys. This way, you can have a better idea of what to do for future events, as well as experience higher levels of engagement within your virtual audience.

Considering different ways to make an event interactive is very important because this will help create a much easier time moderating conversations among those attending the event.

Encourage audience members to share their thoughts while watching the live stream

Interacting with your audience is the easiest yet most challenging way to make your virtual event interesting.

Encourage your audience members to share their thoughts and make comments about what you’re presenting. This will create a very active online community that is actively participating in the event. Be sure to post information on how they can do this before beginning the live stream so it’s easy for them.

You could also encourage questions from viewers during a Q&A session, which would not only increase engagement but will help keep people interested as well.

Make sure all presenters have microphones

This may sound like a matter-of-fact, but you cannot guess the number of times presenters just decide to present using the built-in microphone on their laptop. Or worse, the presenter forgets to bring a microphone. It’s important that all presenters have microphones so they can be heard and understood clearly by those watching.

If you’re going to use slides on screen for your presentation, it might help if everyone has access to a keyboard and mouse in order to advance through them more easily.

You could also take advantage of visuals or animations beyond just using PowerPoint slides– this will keep people engaged because there is something happening other than just words being read from a slide show. You could make an animation with different forms of media (iMovie/PowerPoint Animations) or even create virtual reality demonstrations like how-to videos or app demos which would allow attendees to watch at home without having.

We hope these 10 tips help you plan a more interesting virtual event! If you need any help or new ideas, take a look at what we have to offer for virtual events Singapore!