Mice Talk – July 2019

12 MiCEtalk April-June 2019

tips & tricks

Coffee breaks at events often spill over into long chats that find no end, resulting in

the main event being sidelined. Here are some tips that can help cut them short

One of the main reasons why

you go to a conference is to

learn together with a group of

people and make connections.

You can improve engagement

by involving delegates

throughout the conference

with a little planning and

using the right techniques.

These may include a small

engagement activity pre and

post the break that is fun and

light, and makes people want

to come back. A short riddle

that they need to answer or a

fun pop-up quiz related to the

topic are also helpful.

It is necessary that the time

and duration of the break be

communicated to participants.

A small bell or announcement

five minutes before the end

time of the break also helps

in making participants aware

of the time and gives them

enough of it to end their

current conversation and

come back for the second

session. Hosting a networking

gala dinner post the

conference so that participants

can have a conversation and

network with other delegates

will help cut short the

conversations at coffee breaks.

It is also very important that

the conference begin on

time and all sessions run on

time; the value of time can

be expressed in this form as

well. Having the best session/

talk/speaker post the break

will encourage participants to

return on time.

Trishal Rao

Chief Executive Officer

SKIL Travel

A brake on the

coffee bre k

Kanchan Nath