The Virtual Christmas party season is coming…
Clearly we would all rather be organising physical Christmas parties for our colleagues and friends this year. But it is abundantly clear that whatever happens over the next few weeks there will not be a sufficient relaxing of social distancing rules so that we can go back to business as usual.Â
So the choices are:
- 1. Organise a tiny Christmas party (or several tiny Christmas parties) for six or less and hope the rules don’t change,
- 2. Go virtual!Â
But virtual Christmas party planning is harder than you might think. We’ve set out below three things we believe you need to consider while organising your virtual Christmas party. We’ll be adding more each week so keep checking back for updates.Â
1. Plan your virtual Christmas party precisely
In the physical Christmas party world your guests can talk to each other easily. They can go where they want to go (within reason). They can choose which of the activities you have presented them to undertake next. Whilst this sometimes presents some challenges in terms of crowd control (we’ve all had to be that extra loud voice of God on occasion!) it does also cut you a bit of slack as an event manager. A natural lull in an evening of entertainment is normally naturally filled by chat and self made fun.Â
Not so in virtual events. If nothing is happening in a structured and well communicated way you are presented with a gallery view of bored, confused expressions.Â
So good virtual Christmas party planning is all about making sure you have a tight and exciting schedule planned and stick to it. The good news is with the power of the mute button at your disposal your VOG doesn’t need to be nearly as loud!
2. Make your virtual Christmas party interactive
Your online party is not a TV channel or streaming service. It is (or at least should be) a live, interactive event in which everybody has the opportunity to get involved. So think about what activities and entertainment you can include that will ensure that everyone has an opportunity to engage with the event.
Professional entertainers are used to working the crowd at live events and drawing them in to their performances by getting them directly involved. Many of our performers have now crossed over into the virtual world and our recommendation for particularly good interactive virtual entertainment would include online Magicians, dance workshops and juggling workshops.Â
3. Allow space and time during your virtual event for “normal” conversations
To make your virtual Christmas party seem more natural allow some time in the schedule for your guests to have normal conversations with each other. But as discussed in point 1, you will have to plan this in to the schedule and even announce it e.g. “wow what a great “blar blar” – we’ve got our next “exciting thingy” in 10 minutes time so just relax and chat amongst yourselves for now and we’ll be back soon.”Â
But a little bit of chat goes a long way in virtual events and you need to be aware that it is difficult for everyone to get involved, particularly in large groups.Â
So this is where the use of breakout rooms are perfect, particularly when you have a reason to split people up. Our online murder mysteries and online quizzes are great for this as they lend themselves to splitting people into smaller groups from time to time during the event.Â
Hopefully these ideas have given you something to think about. We are offering virtual Christmas party packages including entertainment and event hosts. So if you would like to be able to just relax and enjoy the party yourself have a look at the options or contact us for more details. https://www.yesentertainment.co.uk/virtual-christmas-parties-2020/
