Virtual Activities To Keep Attendees Engaged

Written by Staff at encaptiv & Yaymaker

At first, virtual happy hours seemed to be the solution to team building and networking from a distance. They were simple to implement, didn’t require much organization, and appealed to the familiar.

However, most companies and event organizers quickly found that interactions during these happy hours weren’t necessarily fun and meaningful. Without structure or an activity, the group struggled to understand how to interact and who should lead. Most people were not engaged, and in many instances, these happy hours were discontinued.

At encaptiv, we’re all about driving engagement, and fun is a part of the engagement equation! That’s why we’ve teamed up with our friends over at Yaymaker to share a few unique and entertaining ways to help facilitate meaningful interaction that leads to bonding and fosters real-life connections.

Virtual Cooking Class

A virtual cooking class allows you to bond with your colleagues and make something delicious in the process. Arguably the best part of the class is when the dish is finished, and everyone tries their gastronomical concoctions together. Not much else brings people together like food and drink.

Don’t know where to start? No need to sweat over the details! Yaymaker provides more than 20 different menu options and the chef to host the event. Attendees also have the option to pick up their own ingredients or have everything shipped.

Winning Opinions

Winning Opinions is Yaymaker’s bonding game — they like to describe it as Family Feud…but with your peers! As their charismatic game show host, Dan Jessup, likes to remind participants, it’s a contest based purely on opinions. Knowing obscure trivia won’t help you as you ponder, “Who’s the best superhero to date your sister?” You really get to know your fellow participants after questions like that and others such as “Who are the top five worst Disney Villains?”

Paint Nite

If you and your team would rather flex the right side of your brains, you might enjoy the opportunity to create a painting to display in your home or office. “Guests at virtual Paint Nites paint all sorts of things from dream-inspired dragons to Parisian bridges.” Each painting session is paired up with a talented artist who walks the group through the creative process. Paint Nite is made even more convenient by the fact that materials are shipped to participants. Everyone wins, and the real masterpiece is the time your team spends together!

This is How We Do It

A moderated discussion is a great way to initiate those organic conversations we all need. Discussions like these are not only enjoyable, they’re educational and get your team to think about an important topic from a fresh perspective.

Yaymaker is proud to partner with musician and artist Montell Jordan to offer a moderated discussion. Attendees will talk about turning passive sympathy into active empathy, celebrating diversity in the workplace, and focusing on inclusion. They will also have the chance to sit down with Montell and a Yaymaker moderator to offer their input while experiencing growth and understanding as a team.

The Future of Virtual

Even with vaccine rollouts accelerating, some form of virtual will continue to exist. Whether it’s fully virtual or hybrid, the key is identifying activities that bring ALL participants together and build meaningful bonds.

Activities where participants can learn something — from cooking a new dish to discovering a fellow attendee’s hidden talent — will pay off in the long run.

If you’re planning a virtual event and would like to bounce some ideas off someone, we here at encaptiv would be happy to have one of our event experts talk with you. Or if you’d like some more ideas on organizing a fun virtual activity, we think it’s pretty clear that the folks over at Yaymaker are more than up to the task.