Interactive touchscreens are gaining traction in the event world, and for good reason. They are versatile, functional, and just plain fun. You can use them to enhance your event and inspire audience engagement, to provide a more sensory, immersive experience. How? That depends on the type and size of your event.

Here are some examples of ways to use interactive touchscreens at your next event.

Kick-Start Your Event with Kiosks

Attendees would much rather check in, scan their ticket, print their name badge, etc. using a touchscreen than wait in line. They’re anxious to get inside and get going! Touchscreens make that easy, as part of free-standing kiosks or mounted tablets, and they save paper, too. Good for you for thinking about sustainability! You can even take it up a notch with facial recognition.

Station kiosks within your event continue the self-service theme, with touchscreens that assist attendees with wayfinding, schedule planning, even downloading and/or printing handouts. Each person can get the information they need, when they want it, instead of receiving the same one-size-doesn’t-fit-all conference packet.

Kiosks also enable you to capture attendee information for leads if your event doesn’t have a formal registration process. If you offer an incentive in return for contact information, you’ll get even more leads. One important note: Make sure to have an actual human available at the check-in to assist those who are visually impaired and cannot see the screens. And, make sure that person knows how to properly offer assistance to those with visual impairments.

Tablets are an Event Planner’s Best Friend

Hauling around a heavy binder or a tacky-looking folder with papers is no way to manage an event efficiently these days. A tablet keeps everything you need at your fingertips, literally, and it shows you’re up-to-date with technology. No wonder your event is so cool. Savvy event planners are now offering free or rental tablets to attendees, as well — pre-loaded with event information and opportunities to interact with the activities throughout the event.

Gamify to Enhance Educational Activities or Entertainment

Everyone loves a good interactive game. Enhance your event by using touchscreens in event games. For example, the iPad Jeopardy Wall (the game squares are all iPads) lets you rebrand the popular program for your event. Make it an amusing trivia game with or without prizes, or pose Q&A relevant to your company, cause, or the event itself.

Interactive games are also a great alternative to traditional (dare we say, ho-hum) team-building exercises, icebreakers, etc. They can be short, which are fun during breaks, or last the entire duration of your event. Use mats or motion sensors to literally keep the game moving. A leaderboard updated with individual or team scores will keep even non-players involved.

Another type of interactive game? Virtual reality headsets. VR can temporarily transform your event into an entirely different world and put headset users smack in the middle of the space or action.

Pep Up Presentations

PowerPoint slideshows are so yesterday. No risk of putting the audience to sleep when speakers can use large touchscreen monitors or even video walls to show pertinent visuals, zooming in or enlarging key points as they talk. Audience members can join in using the tablets you provided to ask questions, take a survey, or take notes during the presentation.

You, your vendors, or exhibitors can use larger interactive screens to demonstrate a new product, website, app, etc. to multiple people at once.

There’s Nothing Flat About Interactive Tabletops

Everyone has seen them on TV. Why not put them into play at your next event? Interactive tabletops are essentially a large screen that’s horizontal instead of vertical, so you can use them for almost anything. They can (and should) have multiple touchpoints, for maximum action. Where huge screens accommodate lots of people, even from a distance, tabletops offer intimacy and a more immersive experience because attendees have to gather around to see and use the device.

Interactive is Best When it’s Fully Integrated

Heroic partners with several vendors that specialize in providing large, interactive touchscreens. We’d love to talk to you about what you plan to use and how, so we can incorporate that into a seamless overall event experience. If your budget is flinching at something you’d like to include, let’s talk about that, too. We may be able to suggest a budget-friendly alternative that still achieves your goal and impresses your attendees.