Networking game

The opportunities are endless. Scavenger hunts are a great way to get people moving. There are a number of organizations and corporations that plan event-wide and city-wide scavenger hunts, designed specially to bring your attendees together in a way that promotes teamwork. With challenges like visiting sponsor booths, posting photos with a conference hashtag, answering questions about keynote speakers, and finding attendees who share the same interests, scavenger hunts can be an extremely effective tool in increasing attendee and exhibitor engagement.

With scavenger hunt technology, event planners can work with experts to create a program that uses QR codes and photos to increase interaction between attendees. Whether your goal is to increase brand awareness, engage your attendees in a unique way, or to simply offer a fun activity for your event-goers, scavenger hunts are a unique networking game for your conference, annual convention, or large-scale corporate event. How does something like a conference scavenger hunt work?

Your participants will download a scavenger hunt app via a link you send out. They can then see an entire list of different challenges relating to the event. For each challenge that they complete, they earn points, which eventually add up towards a prize.

Challenges could include things like:. In addition to these types of challenges, you can also incorporate vendors and presenters so everyone feels more involved and engaged.

Share the photos people uploaded to a TV screen in real-time and take advantage of the leaderboards most scavenger hunt apps offer so that your participants can see where they stand which encourages competitiveness and how far they are from winning a prize.

This type of networking game is especially great for people who tend to hate traditional networking events. It gives them an excuse to meet fellow event-goers and feels more like fun than it does like networking. And by offering a prize or prizes at the finish, participants are encouraged and motivated to work together to overcome each challenge. City-wide events can also be especially fun, and an unconventional way to see a city.

Wherever you are, your attendees will appreciate getting to do some sight-seeing instead of sitting in a convention center for four straight days. CIty-wide scavenger hunts can add in even more fun. Eat a meal at this famous restaurant. Take a photo in front of this tourist attraction. It can really help people find a balance between learning and experiencing. If you are dead-set on a more mix and mingle networking format, making the session into a contest can go a long way in increasing the likelihood that your attendees will meet more people and the right people.

Instead of a free-for-all networking session format, make it a contest to see who can meet the most people and in turn collect the most business cards. Sometimes attendees, especially more introverted attendees, need a little extra push. This way, your attendees can further connect with the people they met more briefly in the business card collection contest. Another networking game you can try at your next conference or event is human bingo. Fill the boxes with things that are relevant to your unique industry and audience.

You can also add in less industry focused statements if you want to make it a little more laid-back. Here are some ideas for those types of statements:. Sometimes, these types of conversation starters can help your attendees feel more at ease and relaxed. And that positive, authentic energy is more likely to carry over to other sessions.

This is a quick, easy to set up a networking game. Simply have your attendees find a partner anyone in the room and give them 1 minute to fire off questions. To make it easier, consider displaying sample questions on a screen in the area in case they run out of ideas. This type of networking is also fast-paced, without any of the pressure to force a conversation or to keep it going longer than necessary. We often hear from participants that one of their biggest complaints about mix and mingle events is getting stuck talking to the wrong person.

Questions could include things like: What is your job title? What company do you work for? How would you describe it in one sentence? Is this your first time attending? What types of people do you want to network with? What is your number one networking goal? This is a great way to group attendees together who have similar backgrounds and shared interests. To start, have your attendees stand in a big group together. Split participants into an even number of groups, then tell them that they must build the tallest freestanding structure from the provided items within the time allotted.

This fun icebreaker encourages participants to work together as a team, using their creative problem-solving skills. Set up arts and crafts stations where attendees can mix, mingle, and make.

This one is only for virtual — or possibly hybrid — events: Encourage attendees of your online meeting to give quick virtual tours of their home office or work desk.

Get your attendees talking by taking these ideas and starting your next networking event today. Ideas and examples of icebreaker activities for events Icebreaker activities for events 1: Snap Give each attendee a card this could be anything, such as a playing card or postcard — get creative! Icebreaker activities for events 4: Nostalgic games Set up some nostalgic group activities from childhood such as Giant Jenga, Connect 4, Ring Toss, and Bocce. Icebreaker activities for events 5: Pictionary Break participants into groups and ask them to draw something about themselves for the group to guess.

Icebreaker activities for events 6: Shared storytelling Storytelling is a popular event activity, thanks to the success of organisations like The Moth. Icebreaker activities for events 7: Speed networking Pair participants up for just two to three minutes at a time. Icebreaker activities for events 8: Human spectrogram This format essentially involves voting with your feet at an in-person event.

Icebreaker activities for events Scavenger hunt Have attendees find and photograph objects from a list. Icebreaker activities for events Two truths and a lie A classic icebreaker is to have participants tell the group three things about themselves. Icebreaker activities for events Tallest tower Provide a variety of items to build with for instance toothpicks, newspapers, uncooked pasta, or wooden blocks. Icebreaker activities for events Arts and crafts stations Set up arts and crafts stations where attendees can mix, mingle, and make.

So why do we play the game? Why do we torture ourselves incessantly over fake questions and fake connections? The simple answer is that, for the highly motivated, this is a more guaranteed method to landing a job interview.

Online job applications are a roll of unfairly weighted dice; the more surefire process is to go through the employee reference application portal. The truth is, the networking process can be really valuable in its own right. You learn how to cold call, cold email and connect with someone new.

You learn how to present yourself, construct your thoughts clearly and ask for what you want. These are skills that extend far beyond the confines of LinkedIn. You may find a new mentor, advisor or even a future colleague just by reaching out with a short note on an online platform. Sometimes, ironically, you might get clarity on the job itself and reevaluate your interest in that field altogether.

Yes, the networking process is a game. If the game must be played, why not gain something valuable out of it? Ask the questions you genuinely want answers to.