[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Those of us in the events and entertainment industry are certainly aware that the 2015 Christmas party season is coming and will be with us very soon. So whilst the Yes Entertainment Elves are busy sourcing acts and entertainment here are 4 ideas that can help make your Christmas party a bit more fun for everyone no matter what their character type.
Ok so before we launch into Christmas party ideas to get everyone into the swing of things we first need to give a brief introduction into four different personality types. Whilst it is terribly wrong to pigeon hole people, as we are all individuals as unique as every snowflake that falls on Santa’s grotto, when you are trying to cater for everyone to have a good time it makes life easier to group people into categories.
So here goes….
Character type 1. Pragmatist/go getter
These characters are very much the people that like to get things done, efficiently, quickly. They will certainly get involved in activities but nothing too frivolous and anything badly organised will be extremely annoying for these guys & girls so beware! They make fast decisions and like to be in control. Your boss may be one.
Character type 2. Extrovert/actor
Very much a classic sales persona. Great at rapport building as they are very charismatic. They will always be the ones up for a party. The first into the dance off etc. This group are a fairly easy crowd to get going.
Character type 3. Amiable/friend
A bit timid but really nice and once they know and trust you they are great fun. They will need support to get involved in activities and partying really hard. But once they are going they may be difficult to stop!
Character type 4. Analyst/thinker
In many ways this group tends to be the least keen on parties as they are quieter in their nature and prefer solving problems and analysing numbers to socialising. So this group works well when there is a challenge of some kind that involves some brain power.
Ok so that may be the briefest description on the planet of the four basic character types that are most commonly used. There are probably several posts on this topic alone but that’s not the point of this one. A word of warning though,  it is dangerous to assume that everyone falls into one of these boxes, because they don’t. But if you plan activities that would appeal to each then you’ve covered the main bases.
So below are four ways you can develop things to appeal to all your character types.
1. Get people to be someone else.
Let’s face it we’re not all extroverts and for some of us (particularly our thinkers and friends above) the prospect of a Christmas party, or any party for that matter, leaves with a feeling of total dread.
One great way to bring people out of themselves a bit more and get into the swing of things is to get them to pretend to be someone else.
For example if you are organising a James Bond themed evening and you know your guests well you could pre-assign them character names and mannerisms so that they can play the part at the start of the evening. Add a couple of low cost props into the mix (hats are good for the more shy people especially when they have a genuine reason to wear one and everyone else is!) for good measure.
You can really get quite creative and design your characters specifically to achieve the desired affect from the different members of your group (PhD in psychology also helps here!).
If you don’t know the group add a few character descriptions and associated to props to each table and let people find their own personas for the evening. In many ways this can work even better.
2. Get them to do something.
Again there is nothing like having a task to achieve to bring people out of their comfort zones a bit and take them to a place that they wouldn’t normally be happy (and ping the light bulb goes off as they realise that extending boundaries is fun and they have a great night!). So design your activities so that you have something for each character type.
For example from a party perspective if you have Karaoke the extroverts will probably love it but the analysts may well prefer to spend the night on the casino tables or some other less visible activity.
3. Have different people working together
Because we are all different but display core character types that puts us broadly into one of the boxes above we are all of us to a greater or lesser extent deficient in some small way. So by putting the different character types together to work on a shared aim you achieve a team that is greater than the sum of its members. This is one reason why murder mystery parties work so well. The extrovert and pragmatist do most of the questioning and presenting, the thinker analyses the situation and comes up with some sensible theories and the amiable friend has an intuitive feeling about the characters which is often spot on.
4. Keep it simple.
OK so this last point applies to all our character types really. Remembering that this is a Christmas party you need just enough to get people involved but not so much that it becomes a chore. A difficult balance to reach but an important one. So whatever characters, themes, games and activities you come up with keep them simple, have an opt out for people who really don’t want to get involved and give guests as much choice as you can.
So these are some of the factors the Yes Entertainment Elves consider when they are planning Christmas events and as always we’re happy to share ideas and very open to suggestions.
Keep saying Yes to live entertainment and have a great day!
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