Archive for March 2011
Trivia vs. Scavenger Hunts as a Team Building Activity
Prior to starting TrivWorks, I had the unique pleasure of working for two years as a freelancer for one of New York City’s most reputable – and busy – scavenger hunt companies (yes, there really is such a thing). Companies would hire out the scavenger company to create/host team building, client entertainment, branding and experiential…
Read MoreA Guide to Writing Excellent Trivia Questions
“You asked a Barbra Streisand question! Where the heck did THAT come from?” The funny thing about trivia questions is, everyone thinks they’re so easy to come up with. So did I- when I first started in this business. Then I realized something strange: after a couple of months of churning out a steady stream…
Read MoreAnnouncing a Night of “Old School” 80s/90s Trivia!
This April, we are thrilled to present a special night of “old school” trivia from the late 80s/early 90s at Social Bar & Lounge, held in partnership with Live Nation! In a unique trivia event, come test your retro pop culture knowledge of the movies, music and styles of this beloved bygone era. *JUST ANNOUNCED!…
Read MoreMaintaining a Packed House on Pub Quiz Night
By November 2006, barely 2 months after starting my new gig as the volunteer “quizmaster” at Manhattan’s Gael Pub, the bar had to buy a new laptop so that I could score the 30+ teams each week on Excel, rather than by hand. I was still in shock with the overwhelming response I’d received in…
Read MoreBuilding a New Pub Quiz from Scratch
As described in an earlier post about my start in the trivia events world, by September of 2006 I had only been hosting my new trivia night at The Gael Pub for a month, and had already been rewarded with a loyal turnout of…well, strangers! Over 50 of them, coming out of nowhere. Who WERE…
Read MoreA Note of Caution for Corporate Event Entertainers
NYC Corporate Event Entertainers: Caution If you work in the event entertainment field, you do so because you are passionate about creating experiences which people will enjoy, and talk about for a long time. For those of us who work in corporate event entertainment, including team building facilitators, speakers, musicians, magicians- and yes, trivia hosts…
Read MoreAnatomy of a Great Trivia Question
When was the last time you played Trivial Pursuit? Odds are it was a while ago. Even greater still are the odds that the questions were stale, boring and horribly outdated; nobody remembers the actor who played Uncle Jesse on “The Dukes of Hazard,” or who won the Tony award for best actress in 1977.…
Read MoreThe 3 Biggest Misconceptions About Team Building Activities
Try this out: ask your fellow officemates, senior staff, HR department or summer associates if they want to do a “team building exercise.” Chances are you will be met with blank stares at best, or eye-rolling groans at worst. The phrase “team building” has gotten a bad rap over the years, and not without reason.…
Read More10 Quick Tips for Customizing a Corporate Entertainment Event
The best way to ensure that a corporate entertainment event has a lasting favorable impact – be it for team building, brand awareness, client entertainment or experiential marketing – is to customize it specifically for the audience in attendance. It’s like anything else: the more tailored and personalized touches you can add, the more impactful…
Read MoreHow Trivia Can Be Used for Team Building
Probably the most valid question I am asked when people learn what I do is, “how is live trivia a team building activity?” To understand the answer, let’s look at both items on their own: Team Building According to the source of all knowledge (Wikipedia) team building is defined as “a wide range of activities…designed…
Read MoreBecoming an Established Trivia Host
In the Summer of 2006, I unexpectedly landed a gig as the “quizmaster” at The Gael Pub, a new Irish pub on the UES that had recently begun a weekly trivia night. After committing to this challenge, it took me a couple of weeks to get the hang of the format, as well as to…
Read MoreSo You’re a Quizmaster – Now What?
In the summer of 2006, I found myself in a most unexpected position: working a weekly side gig as a “quizmaster” at a local UES Irish pub, while maintaining a full-time job. This side gig was quirky, not too difficult and didn’t pay anything (other than a couple of free beers) but you know what?…
Read MoreTrivia Events are for Nerds (And Other Misconceptions)
If you live in New York City like me, you may have noticed a sharp spike in the number of trivia nights being offered at bars in your neighborhood- I’m told this trend has been reported in other US major cities as well over the past year or two. This likely has to do with…
Read MoreWelcome!
We are thrilled today to formally announce our new TrivWorks blog! Updated regularly by TrivWorks founder David Jacobson, we hope that you will find our updates insightful & useful; however, more than anything else, we want to hear from you! Let us know what you think of our posts via the “Comments” section. Do you…
Read MoreTrivWorks Launches New Blog
Today, we are excited to announce the launch of our new blog! Written by TrivWorks founder David Jacobson, our blog posts will be updated regularly, and will cover a wide range of topics relevant to the intersection of corporate event entertainment, team building and live trivia. Our blog is designed to be a resource for…
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