3 Tips on How to Engage your In-person and Virtual Event Attendees

With hybrid events on the rise, we are learning what happens when two different platforms come together needing to captivate two separate audiences. Your presenters know how to inspire participation and help shape meaningful connections in the audience, but what happens when you have both the physical and digital stages?

Not only are there digital tools, but you will also need speakers who have both in-person and digital presentation skills to bridge the gap to create an engaging experience for both audiences. Here are some engagement tips to be successful for hybrid events.

Expect the Unexpected, Let Both Audiences Know What to Expect

When attendees are asking questions, like how to do I log in to the break out session, or what time is lunch, they are shadowing their minds making it more of a challenge to be present in the experience.

Event Tip: Create an FAQ List in advance for your audience members prior to the event, broken down into three sections to accommodate all event attendee experiences. The sections should be general, virtual, and in person. This allows you to steer the relevant information to the right attendee.

Creating a Hybrid Special Experience Team

Coordinating a speaker is just the first step to the engaging experience. When it comes to hybrid events, you will need a team to ensure a smooth and transitional process between both platforms. 

Event Tip: Create a support chat via a mobile app or other application to create a space for ideas, connecting with attendees, and questions about the program. This Is NOT a technical troubleshooting platform. This will allow your speaker to engage with both audiences for your event.

Keep Up the Excitement

The same tricks your presenters use to liven up a disengaged audience will work for virtual AND on-site events. When presenters bring peak energy, it translates to both face-to-face presentations and virtual interactions. It is so important to show investment into both audiences. They need to ask questions, reach out, and speak directly to both audience members. No one audience should feel they are a priority over the other.

Event Tip: It’s important to kick off the presentation with a lot of liveliness. Play upbeat music as both audiences are taking their seats or logging on virtually.

The hybrid event format is certainly taking off, our event planners at Cor-Events are paving the way for future success. This is why you should trust us for your next hybrid event. Learn how we can help you!