A Phuket conference venue offers a lot of opportunity to do things a bit different – to turn ‘just another conference’ into something attendees will remember for years to come, and talk of wistfully next time they’re stuck watching yet another stale PowerPoint presentation. While doing things differently can be a bit of a gamble because a failed experiment can be costly, a successful innovation will create much more of a buzz than a ‘safe’ event. Here are a few ways conference organisers have inserted a bit of excitement into proceedings in the past.

Meeting and a meal

As any Thai will tell you, mealtimes are a very social occasion, and are best enjoyed with many friends and families. They are also an opportunity to make new friends and, potentially, business contacts. TED Conferences handed out picnic baskets with enough food for about five or six people inside and invited delegates to find a group of people to share with. Even done indoors, it was very successful, but a Phuket conference venue offers the option of enjoying the beautiful environment outside, too.

Like with like

It’s often easier to make friends and contacts if you have something in common, and South by Southwest (SXSW) had the innovative idea of putting people together. They created themed meet-ups, putting under-25s together in one room and people enjoying their first time at the iconic event in another. This ensured that everyone in that space had at least one thing in common, which they could use to get the conversation started.

Run a “silent” session

Have you ever heard of a silent disco? Basically, everyone in the club wears headphones, so the music is directly pumped into their ears and the room itself is virtually silent, meaning those who want to chat can do so without having to scream to be heard. Well, the GLOBE Forum applied the same idea to their conference. They had several different presentations going on at once in different parts of the same room. Instead of using the PA system, the presenter’s microphone transmitted to the headphones each attendee was wearing. They could then switch to whichever speaker they wanted to listen to and just needed to turn in their seats to see each one. It’s a very clever idea, though you need to make sure your Phuket conference venue has a big enough room and the technology available to try this one.

A healthy health conference

The organisers behind the Osteopathic Medical Education Conference (OMED) know their audience very well. As anyone who has ever partied with a medical student will tell you, the people who look after their bodies the worst are often the ones telling you to look after yours better. Knowing this, the event organisers incorporated health and wellness practises into the schedule, starting each day with yoga, providing healthy snacks and even giving out flu shots. Given that you’re asking attendees the sit around listening to presentations for a lot of the day, something as simple as incorporating a bit of exercise in your schedule can help keep people alert and attentive.