We have all been to a boring conference. We’ll go with the best intentions, but often come away uninspired and un-enthused.

We’ve spent years perfecting the art of effective conferencing. We’ve done enough now that we can create conferences that we know will last way beyond the event itself.

There are some core principles and components that, if correctly implemented, will make any conference a success. We thought we’d share a few of these with you.

What Makes A Great Conference?

A good company conference will clearly outline the change people want to see in the organisation. It will maximise group involvement and steer clear of one-way, prescriptive lectures. It will also centre its energy around a single common goal. A great conference will challenge the people it involves as well as pulling them together.

3 Ingredients for Success

There are three ways to break down traditional barriers and make your conference more fun and engaging.

1. Get Visual

Graphic Facilitation is a fantastic way of capturing the imagination of the audience.

Why not transform the complex information that you want to get across in the conference into fun and stimulating graphics and images? Graphic facilitation is proven to captivate an audience and help them to process abstract ideas extremely quickly.

According to Nick Morgan from the Harvard Business Review, ‘Conferences and meetings should tell unique stories.’ What better way to tell a story than by illustrating it in a more compelling but digestible way?

A graphically-rich, beautifully drawn mural laying out the ideas of the day is great for getting people’s attention. It also provides a visual record of the conference for everyone to refer back to.

2. Energise!

Are your participants looking a little bit sleepy after lunch? Do they need a little pick up to get through the rest of the days events?

Energisers are a fantastic way to get people moving and to re-inject enthusiasm at regular intervals throughout the day. Keep them short and sharp. As soon as everyone has woken up, move on to the next planned activity with a renewed vigour and energy!

3. ‘Involve’

The best conferences are those where there’s no hierarchy. You want everyone to leave office politics at the door and, as organisers, you need to facilitate this as best you can. If you divide up into groups, make sure you mix it up. You could have the CEO working closely with the intern. The idea is that, whatever the ‘task’ of the conference is, everyone has a part to play. Every voice should be heard equally and the end result should reflect this.

A team conference should be exciting for everyone in your organization. It should be a day everyone looks forward to, rather than something they try to avoid. The fundamental rule is to always have a clear focus and aim for your conference.

View our top tips on how to create the perfect managers conference. Interested in what we could do for you?