How can you create a conference that is engaging for all generations?

1 Know your audience

Before you start planning your conference, you need to understand who your target audience is and what they want from your event. You can use surveys, interviews, focus groups, or social media to gather feedback and insights from your potential attendees. You can also research the trends, challenges, and opportunities that affect your industry and your audience's careers. This will help you create a conference theme, agenda, and content that resonate with your audience and address their pain points, goals, and interests.

2 Mix up the formats

One way to keep your conference engaging for all generations is to offer a variety of formats and styles for your sessions. You can include keynote speeches, panel discussions, workshops, breakout sessions, Q&A sessions, networking events, and more. You can also use different media and tools, such as videos, podcasts, slides, interactive polls, quizzes, games, and social media. The key is to balance the amount of information, interaction, and entertainment that your sessions provide, and to allow your attendees to choose the formats that suit their learning styles and preferences.

3 Embrace diversity and inclusion

Another way to create a conference that is engaging for all generations is to embrace diversity and inclusion in your event planning. This means that you should consider the perspectives, needs, and values of different groups of people, such as gender, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and age. You can do this by ensuring that your speakers, panelists, moderators, and sponsors represent a diverse range of backgrounds, experiences, and opinions. You can also create a welcoming and respectful environment for your attendees, by using inclusive language, providing accessibility options, and encouraging dialogue and feedback.

4 Foster connection and collaboration

A conference is not only a learning opportunity, but also a networking opportunity. You want to create a conference that fosters connection and collaboration among your attendees, speakers, and sponsors, regardless of their generation. You can do this by creating opportunities for your attendees to interact with each other and with your speakers and sponsors, both online and offline. You can use platforms such as social media, mobile apps, or online communities to facilitate communication and engagement before, during, and after your event. You can also use icebreakers, games, challenges, or contests to spark conversations and build relationships.