Posts Tagged ‘Timing’
Taking the Terror Out of Running Huge Trivia Events
Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
When I first started hosting pub quiz nights 5 years ago, my approach was completely low-tech. With a small crowd of fewer than 25 people, I found that all I needed was a stack of trivia questions, a pen and paper to jot down scores, and piles of answer sheets for the participants. When my sleepy quiz suddenly exploded into the biggest bar trivia night in Manhattan, I upgraded to a laptop to keep score – a tool which I use to this day when running private events or large pub quiz nights of up to 100 people or so, and which allows me to handle the entire event by myself.
However, what happens when suddenly the event calls for entertaining 250 people? That’s exactly what we faced last week, at our special trivia fund raiser in support of VH1 Save The Music Foundation. With a massive audience and the same 2-hour time limit as our other live trivia parties, how could we possibly deliver a trivia event which would run smoothly and efficiently?
The first thing I had to address was manpower. Much as I love running events on my own, with a trivia night of this scale, it would be simply impossible for me to grade and input all of the team names in a timely manner. I arranged for more than enough extra hands to assist, and divided them into two teams: graders, and runners. The graders were seated at a long table near the stage, with one being designated the laptop operator/data entry guy. Runners were deployed at the end of each round, and given the task of collecting answer sheets. A 1-minute hand-in rule was also implemented, which helped keep things moving along swiftly.
Next item: seating. With so many people, what is the optimal way to configure chairs and tables? The solution here came from the clever mind of the venue’s general manager, who understood instinctively the unique challenges of configuring a large trivia event- namely, people need to sit, in groups, and can’t block the aisles or exits. The answer came in the form of long rows facing each other, a-la speed dating; the result was natural order, structure, and ample space for people to get up and hand answer sheets, or visit the bar. Brilliant!
Finally, there was the issue of event flow. Even with an army of graders and runners, it still takes time to grade literally dozens of answer sheets, and we don’t want to interrupt the natural rhythm of the event by having to call extended breaks in between rounds. The solution? Mid-round “mini-games,” whereby we called individuals up by drawing raffle tickets, and letting them answer 1-on-1 trivia questions for prizes. Not only did this add a new dimension of trivia to the event, but it allowed our graders the time they needed to do their job without the crowd growing restless.
I’ve run many large trivia events, but this one in particular required extra love and attention, and I was very pleased with how it turned out. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions as to how we could have made this or other mega-trivia events run event more efficiently? I’d love to hear! Please leave your recommendations below.
5 Ways to Keep a Trivia Audience Engaged
Friday, May 6th, 2011
I’ve been hosting trivia for a while now, and am fortunate enough to have produced over 300 unique events. While hosting may be second nature to me now, I can still vividly recall when I was just starting out, and not sure what to do; there is no certification course to become a “quizmaster,” after all, and very few resources at all for the would-be live trivia host- hence, this blog.
Among the most challenging things I faced when I first started out was how to keep the audience engaged. Sure, they’re there to play trivia, and you’re obviously the guy with the microphone and the questions. However, like any other leadership role, it takes more than just positional authority to get people to pay attention and follow directions- and when the goal is to entertain & challenge a group within a set timeframe like it is with trivia parties, keeping the participants fully engaged is how you get things done.
Here are 5 things every trivia host must do to ensure that an audience stays engaged for the duration of the event:
1) Keep Things Moving – As the host, it’s up to you to ensure that the gig goes efficiently. If a trivia event feels like it’s dragging to you, it’s probably even less fun for the attendees, and you’ll lose their attention.
2) Give Timestamps – Set chronological expectations for the audience by periodically letting them know how much time is left in the game. A good way to do this is to sneak in the number of elapsed rounds, if they are told in advance how many there will be (ie: “Round 3 is…” vs. “The next round is…”). This also works for the number of rounds remaining (“Only 2 more rounds, here we go…”)
3) Use Humor Where Appropriate – You don’t need to be a professional comedian, but good, measured use of humor is the best way for the host to keep an audience happy- and when they’re happy, they want more!
4) Involve The Audience – For new trivia hosts, the inclination is to read the questions, read the answers and move on. Don’t be a lecturer: involve the audience with personal questions, celebrate their funny team names, even let them heckle you a bit. People will be more into the event if they feel that they are contributing to it, even in a small way.
5) Be Enthusiastic – The host is the “face” of the event, and sets the overall tone and tenor for the event. If you’re dynamic, the audience will feel liberated and full of vigor; if you’re lethargic, they will be staring at their watches. Be aware of how you are feeling when you approach the microphone, and make sure you are projecting positive energy.
It’s not easy maintaining the vitality of a room full of people for 2 hours, and great trivia questions alone won’t cut it. What are some other ways to ensure that an audience stays fully engaged at live trivia parties?
The Critical Importance of Timing in Live Trivia Events
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011
There are many factors which contribute to the success – or failure – of a live trivia event. Obviously the questions themselves are critical, as are the host, venue and even the audience. However, whether it’s for a team building exercise, brand awareness event, corporate entertainment or a standard pub quiz, every live trivia event lives or dies by the clock.
As discussed in earlier posts, in order to keep people engaged and happy a trivia event needs to be both fun and swift. Nobody likes to sit through an event that’s dragging- especially one that’s supposed to an entertaining break from the office! Below are the biggest factors to consider as far as timing, to ensure the trivia event is run efficiently & effectively:
Announcing Questions – There shouldn’t be a ridiculously long interlude between trivia questions, but this is the one time where patience is truly important, and speed isn’t the objective. After a trivia question is announced, teams need a moment to discuss & collaborate, before finally deciding on an answer; these are critical goals of a trivia team building event, and shouldn’t be rushed in an effort to get on to the next question.
Submitting Answer Sheets – The event can’t move forward until all of the answer sheets are turned in. If you have every been to a trivia night before, though, you know that there are always – ALWAYS – laggards. Not only are teams who are slow to hand in their answer sheets holding up the entire event, but other teams will instantly suspect them of cheating- or at the very least resent the fact that they were “given more time” to come up with answers. To keep the event both efficient and fair, the host needs to be firm and set clear time limits for submitting answer sheets.
Scoring – Once the answer sheets have been submitted, they must be scored quickly, so that the fun may continue for attendees. A laptop with MS Excel is really useful here, especially for larger groups. At my trivia company in New York City, we really take advantage of this “down time” during the event to encourage socializing- we crank up the music and encourage folks to mingle, grab a drink etc. However, attendees want to play and win trivia, so don’t dilly dally with the scoring.
If the trivia event has “special rounds” of trivia such as a picture round, video round, audio round etc., time limits should also be announced to set expectations for attendees. It’s always a good idea to let the audience know that someone’s got their eye on the clock- especially when many trivia events are held at night, and participants have families to get home to.
What are some other important time consumers to consider at trivia events?
TrivWorks founder David Jacobson blogs daily on a wide range of topics relevant to corporate event entertainment, team building and live trivia. 
