Do you think of eating as a game?
Most of us probably don’t think about “leveling up” or “gaining points” for eating. But every mother knows that gamification is the easiest way to get a baby to eat.
Do they know something the rest of us didn’t? Yes—and that’s why gamification for virtual conferences works!
The corporate world is finally learning what mothers have known forever—that making something pleasant makes it more engaging. Yes, there’s a clear reward system in place, but it’s more about the journey than the destination.
Since 2010, telecommuting has grown 115%, and that trend won’t slow down after COVID-19. We need a new way to hold attention and improve creativity during our virtual meetings and events.
This is where gamification comes in. In this post, we’ll cover the “3 Es” of gamifying your virtual events—engaging, educational, and effective.
1. Engaging
Are your meetings currently engaging—or are they a snoozefest?
Trying to predict who will sneak a bite of a hidden sandwich or put a fake video of themselves listening to the meeting doesn’t count.
You don’t have to just be a better speaker (although that helps) during a virtual event. You also have to allow time for meaningful interaction or you’ll lose your audience to hidden phones and background apps.
2. Educational
Educational opportunities are where video conferences shine. You can have breakout rooms in various apps and you can join with nearly any device, even if you don’t install the app.
Yes, you can call into a virtual meeting and still play along too—although there are limitations to the interactivity of that participant.
Tools like these help students or workmates collaborate in a team effort and come back with their solution to the problem. As they say, many hands (and many groups) will make the work light.
3. Effective
The point of all this gamification is to be effective at your work, right? Have you ever been ineffective at something you love to do?
If you’re a musician, your enjoyment of learning to play “Stairway to Heaven” overcame the barriers of time and frustration. You stuck with a challenging task and probably even enjoyed it. In the end, you’re getting the Led out and having a great time doing it.
The same is true for work tasks. If you’re enjoying your task through game-like elements that keep you engaged, you can be more productive for a longer time during the virtual event.
Gamification of Virtual Conferences: Signing Off
Gamification doesn’t mean that the meeting will be like playing Mario-Kart (although that’s fun too).
However, if you can effectively use gamification for virtual conferences, things like networking and problem-solving come right out. Gamification incentivizes things like education, effectiveness, and engagement. When we are engaged and effective, we collaborate. And when we collaborate, we learn.
We’re social creatures, and we like to enjoy our time with others. You probably won’t be buzzing a virtual airplane into your coworker’s mouth anytime soon, but it might make a fun exercise for your next team building session.
Are you interested in adding gamification to one of your upcoming virtual conferences? Contact us with your event details and let’s discuss it!