As adults, it’s important to designate a time for work and a time for play. Events such as music festivals, sporting events, and improv shows are great examples of events specifically geared to allow adults to let out their inner children. But why aren’t other events, such as conferences and trade shows, given the same attention? It’s not that they don’t have the opportunity to become an exciting and anticipated event–with the help of a talented event managementcompany, every event can be designed to enchant attendees of all ages. You just have to know how to awaken a corporate worker’s inner child.
Generally speaking, the main purpose of corporate events is education, training, and networking. Step away from these ideas and instead, focus on your attendees and exciting their imagination. Open the gates to your adult playground and watch what comes out of it.
- Give them something to laugh about. Use music, games, humor, and entertainment for networking. Most people will tell you that the most influential and creative conversations and connections happen before, during, or after business–i.e. downtime.
- Calm their nerves and alleviate their stress. Corporate events are demanding on attendees. They’re expected to travel to the site, network, and learn weeks worth of information in a few days’ time. For someone who’s shy or introverted, this is a stressful situation. Presenting a relaxed, informal, and playful environment for attendees will ease everyone’s nerves, allowing them to feel stress-free and more open to participating.
- Make failure less oppressive. Failure in life is an overbearing fear for everyone; however, failing or losing a game is commonplace and much less nerve-wracking. Fear of failure inhibits a variety of mental processes, such as creativity, inspiration, and innovation. Fear of failure deters many from trying new things and accomplishing life-long goals. It limits our problem solving skills and constrains our fighting spirit. It’s important to remember: everyone fails. The greatest innovators in the world have all failed at one point or another, they just didn’t let it stop them. Playing allows adults to shake their fear of failure. It provides them with an experimental environment that is safe and free from judgment and criticism.
- Excite imagination and enhance creative expression. As humans, we learn best when our minds are relaxed and in a playful mood. Our imagination is enhanced and creativity is nourished. Let your event management team present a corporate event to attendees that lets them step out of their routine lives and into a world of new opportunities and ideas.
- Present them with the opportunity to build engaging relationships. While playing on the playground as kids, we learned a lot about teamwork and co-operation, trust, personal limits, and compassion for our peers. Since networking is one of the keystones to corporate events, give your attendees a social playground to interact with other attendees. They’ll form lasting bonds that will last long after they walk out of the trade show’s doors.
The next time you’re planning a corporate event, consider making it less formal and more like an adult playground. By simply pulling the purpose of your conference away from business and focusing more on interactions and fun, your attendees will give you their trust, engagement, and appreciation. If you’re looking for an event management team to get you started, look no further than Fun Planners. We’re the event experts who’ll make your event a memorable and engaging success.
How would you transform your event into an adult playground? Share your innovative ideas with us!
