Presentations - Keeping the Punters Interested

Cast your mind back to your school days and the general advice was that you should take a ten minute break from study every hour or so. Now asking around the Company Occasions team it seems that those breaks seemed to stretch a little longer so maybe we're not the best to preach. Though the rule was generally accepted - your mind can only take in so much without what you are reading or hearing entering your brain as some sort of garbled facts. And yet people still stretch the conference time, remove guest speakers, cut back on coffee and lunch breaks - all to get more information across. But it defeats the purpose. There's only so much that anyone can take in, that's a fact not a Company Occasions invention.

So if you don't listen to us and go for one of the many options to make your conference interactive with energisers or team games then why not consider some even simpler ideas?
Get people to swap seats. Even looking at a speaker from a different location or sitting beside different people can make a big difference.
Spring something on them- an unplanned breakout, a guest speaker not on the agenda, a walk in the sun. Just something they're not expecting.
Involve them - Yes Q&A can add to the overall length but a simple show of hands or keypad vote keeps everyone on their toes.
Have Fun- It's not a bad word and has a place in even the most serious conference. Have a vote for who is choosing the music for during dinner that night (and play some) - what DVD will play on a coach transfer, Put up menus or restaurants and start a culinary argument on where to eat.

Try it - you'll be pleasantly surprised.