Corporate events like conferences, workshops, and seminars communicate important information, but who says they have to be stuffy and boring? A bit of fun never hurt anyone. In fact, fun experiences can be immensely valuable for corporate events. Corporate breakout sessions break up the monotony of a lengthy meeting schedule. These bursts of fun encourage attendees to recharge, unwind, and connect in a more casual setting. They can even increase creativity and decrease feelings of burnout.
What’s not to love? Breakout sessions are a great go-to option if you’re looking to spice up your next corporate event. Here are 14 actually fun corporate breakout session ideas to energize attendees and make your event a success.
1. Team Cooking Challenge
This is a chance to live out your dreams of being on Chopped. Divide attendees into small groups and challenge them to create a meal using mystery ingredients. Make this breakout session even spicier by limiting their ingredients or requiring a particular type of dish, like breakfast for dinner.
2. Cake Decorating Competition
If your team doesn’t have cooking chops but likes the idea of a food competition, opt for a decorating contest instead. You don’t need to set up a proper kitchen for this or need to worry about potential food poisoning.
This breakout session is all about creativity and fun. You’ll need the following:
- Pre-cooked cake bases
- Aprons and gloves
- Colored frosting
- Sprinkles, edible eyes, and other fun decorations
- Decorating bags and tips
- Toothpicks or other scribing tools
You can offer prizes for the best and worst cake creations. Trust us; this one will get a lot of laughs.
3. Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are a classic team-building activity that never gets old. You can customize the clues and challenges to fit the theme of your event, too. If you’d like to encourage a little friendly competition, offer juicy prizes, like free tickets to your next event.
4. Escape Room Challenge
Escape rooms generate a lot of buzz. In this breakout session, attendees can participate in a themed breakout room where they collaborate to solve a series of puzzles and escape before the time expires.
Traditionally, escape rooms are off-site functions away from your event. With a tight schedule, that can be tough to pull off, so consider bringing escape rooms to your event. All you need to set up a fun escape room challenge is a creative team that can drum up a good mystery to solve. Aim to create escape room challenges that are 30 minutes or shorter.
5. Speed Networking
Speed networking is a corporate spin on speed dating. It enables attendees to network with people that they usually don’t have the opportunity to interact with. Give your attendees name tags, match them with up, and set a timer for two or three minutes. Once the timer ends, attendees will change seats to chat with other folks.\
You don’t want the conversation to die, so provide conversation cards at each table. If you’re using an event management platform, you can ask attendees to swap contact information with just a few taps of a button.
6. Improv Games
Improv games require minimal setup, but they pack a lot of fun. Pick improv games that fit your attendees’ experience level and your event’s theme.
Start with easy games like “Questions Only,” “Alphabet,” and “Sell it to Me.” Then, as your attendees get more comfortable, try working your way up to more complex games. The goal isn’t to do well at these games but to create a supportive environment where everyone feels comfortable taking risks and having fun.
7. “Minute to Win It” Games
Based on the popular TV show, this corporate breakout session involves completing a series of challenges in under a minute. These fast-paced, high-energy challenges will surely get your team pumped up. Participants race to complete challenges first or to see how many times they can complete a task in sixty seconds.
8. Paint and Sip
Whether you opt for mocktails or cocktails, paint-and-sip sessions are all the rage. Set up canvases, paintbrushes, paint, smocks, and easels before your breakout session. You can ask attendees to paint the same thing or give them the creative freedom to paint whatever they want.
9. Karaoke Bash
What’s more fun than singing your heart out? Karaoke bashes are entertaining and offer a way for attendees to release stress after a long day of meetings.
Renting a karaoke machine is the easiest way to do this. But if you’re on a budget, you can also opt for a projector, speakers, microphone, and good ol’ YouTube. Attendees can choose songs on their own or perform as a group.
10. Silent Disco
Dancing is a great way to relieve pent-up stress at the end of a conference. But instead of creating a huge dance floor with a DJ, opt for a silent disco. Silent discos are a great way to start a dance party where everyone can be their own DJ.
You will need to buy special wireless headphones for each attendee. Try creating a few different playlists for attendees to choose from. You’ll also need a reasonably-sized dance floor — complete with decorations and lighting — to complete the experience.
11. Photo Booth
Photo booths give attendees a fun memento to take home from your event. Plus, many photo booths allow you to upload your photos straight to social media, so this is a smart way to get more social media mentions at your event.
Hire a professional photographer or buy an automated photo booth to amp up the excitement. Don’t forget the costumes and props. You can offer a few wacky options but don’t forget to sneak in a bit of event branding. Always add your event hashtag on photo booth signage or stick props.
12. Yoga Session
Most corporate breakout sessions are high-energy and fun. But what if your attendees need a minute to slow down?
Yoga breakout sessions allow attendees to relax and unwind. It doesn’t hurt that they also allow attendees to move and stretch after a long day of sitting.
Hire a professional yoga instructor to lead this session. Try to host this breakout session in a quiet area free from distractions. If the weather’s nice, consider hosting the event outside. Since most attendees won’t have room to lug their yoga mats to the conference, be sure to provide yoga mats.
13. Meditation Series
Like yoga, a meditation breakout session is a more relaxing form of fun. Meditation helps attendees slow down and quiet their minds, which can help them focus better on later sessions.
If you work with a smaller group, hire a meditation coach and provide yoga mats or pillows. If you’re working with a larger group, hold the breakout session in a large room with dim lighting. Your meditation coach can read positive affirmations, recite mantras, or lead attendees through a breathing exercise. Try to keep this session no longer than twenty minutes, so attendees don’t fall asleep!
14. Creative Writing Workshop
Creative writing workshops are a great way to encourage self-expression and creativity. You can hire a creative writing teacher or ask a team member with writing experience to facilitate the workshop.
Dispense pens and paper to your participants. Give attendees a series of fun writing prompts. Set a timer for 15 minutes and play relaxing music. At the end of that time, attendees can share their creations.
Make Corporate Events Feel like a Party
Who says corporate breakout sessions have to be a drag? With some planning, you can plan engaging, creative breakout sessions that make your event feel less like a conference and more like a party.
But we know it takes a lot of work to pull off corporate breakout sessions that your attendees will love. We’re here to help. Endless Events is an end-to-end event management company that makes corporate events fun, effective, and easy. Get in touch now to plan your next big event.
