How to Combat Virtual Event Fatigue?
Virtual meetings have become an everyday occurrence in venuesworld.com HQ since the middle of March. Everything from weekly report meetings, brainstorms, and even watercooler chats have to happen via online conferences. That is a lot of time to spend looking at a screen, dealing with connectivity troubles, and communicating virtually.
Have a look at your last week’s schedule. What proportion of your working week is taken up with online meetings? How do you feel when you’ve exited your last meeting of the day? My guess is that you feel tired, distracted, unable to focus and not looking forward to your next online meeting.
This feeling is also true for your virtual event delegates. They are probably attending the same number of internal or client-facing virtual meetings and experiencing the same fatigue you are. So, what can you do to make your virtual event more enticing and less energy-draining than your average Zoom meeting?
Schedule More Breaks
According to research conducted in 2017, our average attention span is 14 minutes. So bear that in mind when scheduling speakers, breaks, workshops, and other activities. An ideal hourly schedule would look like this
a. Host: 5 mins
b. Speaker 1: 15 minutes
c. Speaker interaction/Q&A 5 minutes
d.Host: 3 minutes
e. Speaker 2: 15 minutes
f. Speaker interaction/Q&A 5 minutes
g. Break: 12 minutes
During the break, encourage delegates to stretch their legs or grab a coffee.
Include Engagement Activities
Throughout your event, you should be including some interactive features such as polls, Q&A’s, or quizzes. This not only keeps your delegates awake and engaged but also provides valuable feedback for the speakers.
If your virtual event is longer than a couple of hours, it is advisable to include some sort of engagement activity. This could be a teambuilding activity, more specific workshop, or a breakout room for a 20-minute yoga/guided meditation session. You need to include something that is going to give delegates a break from watching a screen and a reason to engage with your event.
After a brief engagement activity, they will be ready and able to focus on what your next speakers have to say.
Tell Delegates What To Expect
Sending out an email in advance of your event with details on all the engagement activities you are hosting during your event will help to get delegates excited about what is to come. Acknowledge that this is not your average virtual event. Tell them that you are purposely scheduling shorter speaking slots and including more breaks and activities to help make it a fantastic and enjoyable experience.
Interested in learning more about our Virtual Meetings and Events Solution?
