Wellness of your attendees is always important to focus on when executing an event. It shows the attendee that you care and could make individuals more productive or willing to learn.

The options to incorporate wellness into your event are infinite, but here are just a few ideas.

Get physical – Including an organized workout program before sessions start for the day is always a great idea, but not everyone is a morning person. Perhaps consider lining the perimeter of your general session with workout bikes or incorporate under desk bikes or stability ball chairs in breakout sessions.

Focus on presence - Meditation pods in lounge areas or facing windows can be helpful, and you may consider adding noise cancelling headphones for silence or provide a playlist of calming sounds/songs to choose from. I have even seen corporations engage local wellness partners and, in addition to workout classes, they will offer a guided meditation workshop 30 minutes prior to opening sessions.

Let’s face it … some people just aren’t into meditating … consider making an attendee feel more present by utilizing attendee generated content, accountability check-ins and experiential learning techniques. Contact Julie Renninger for ideas.

Responsible F&B choices are really where attendees will feel the difference. Serve foods that create energy, and not fake energy in the sense of caffeine, sugar and carbs. Consider a fresh juice bar in conjunction with coffee, and offer low calorie, all natural and local products. Here is a list of best diets in 2017 by US World News.

Getting attendees outside can help reduce stress and allow them to decompress. This can be as simple as having a meal outside or a yoga class … FYI, yoga mats can be a great branding opportunity.

Consider offering walking and/or running tours of your destination, or team building activities like AR scavenger hunts.

Consider creative outlets such as adult coloring or Everblock Systems.

Connect people in some way with each other or your content. Make use of BYOD (bring your own device) polling tools and attendee generated content. Create competitions and display results on an interactive social wall. I’d also recommend displaying any social media or other attendee contributions on this wall too. Now-a-days there’s an app for everything, including one for 1-on-1 meeting matchmaking apps. Most people, especially millennials like feeling connected to community – again, engage your local resources and offer a community service project that allows attendees to feel connected to each other and the local community.

Allow for downtime or R&R opportunities. It makes sense to pack as many sessions as possible for those who wish to take advantage of them, but everyone is different and many organizers want to encourage wellness breaks. There was a recent conference that involved a game, and one of the prizes was a 90-minute session with a holistic body healer.

Be well, everyone.

Article written by Julie Renninger, Director of Sales for IMS Technology Services.

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