Me, after finally getting back to my hotel around 9pm
Funny Quote of the Day - H. L. Mencken - "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public."
Today's Tip
My Top Seven Secrets for Creating Mind Blowing Events
Just like a celebrity who hails from actor parents, I was raised living and breathing the event business. Whether I chose to focus on it or not, I learned by osmosis what makes a great event, party, conference or social experience and what, clearly, does not. I've carried these secrets with me for years and applied them to my own personal gatherings and my business on a subliminal level, without a true awareness of my "insider's knowledge."
I feel like i can totally relate to this this background here. What a great analogy. I grew up in DC all around politics and look where I ended up.haha
Also i am going to be doing lots of event planning. They have an expression around here........ a new gerund phrase "breaking the elevator". The elevator in this building is very finicky and doesn't respond kindly to being over loaded. It has broken 3 times since Joe has been at this HQ, each time there has been any kind of event!
from: http://www.ladieswholaunch.com/magazine/daily-launchtip-3/10447
ReplyDelete1. Create a Positive Experience: When people walk away from an event thinking it was great, they often cannot explain exactly why. Creating a great experience means focusing on subliminal details that are often hard to describe or put your finger on. They also relate to creating positive energy and emotional resonance. There are many ways to do this. I’ve tried to capture some of them here.
2. Make it a Party: The point is, make it festive. The more entertainment, music, surprise elements, high octane vibes and crowdedness you can have in the room, the better; don’t be afraid to turn up the energy a notch. A great event equals a great party. All other rules below relate back to this one.
3. The Cozier the Space, the Better: All too often, people worry about allowing sufficient room, space, etc., but too much spaciousness actually has a counter-effect, causing people to avoid interacting and talking, both of which are key to walking away with feelings of a positive experience. Therefore, pack the chairs in, keep the tables small, keep the chairs small and cozy. Take into account the size of the room and make the room smaller using fake walls, screens and curtains. In a nutshell, you want to create feelings of connectedness. Feeling connected makes people feel good.
4. Turn up the volume: There is nothing like having the music perfect at the right time and energizing people through music. Also, people worry too much about noise. The bottom line is that a little background noise, or even interference noise, is good. It adds to the energy and excitement and the feeling of “layers” to an event. You want to be able to hear speakers, but you also want to encourage talking, networking, and relationship building. Don’t be afraid of a little noise; only be afraid of a lot.
5. Traffic Flow: Optimizing traffic flow can be more challenging in some spaces than in others, depending on the size and shape of the room. Again, when traffic flow is optimized, people feel connected and grounded. A circular path is best, but the bottom line is, people want to feel like they can move about freely and that they can exit and enter spaces with ease. Make sure there is not too much furniture and that furniture is not blocking peoples’ pathways. You want to encourage movement. Movement creates the subliminal messaging of setting things, ideas, and relationships in motion and adds value to the overall experience. Creating vignettes of activities in individual spaces is also effective. Think of your event like a stage or a play. You’re putting on a production and keeping your audience entertained and energized is important.
6. The Element of Surprise: Surprise elements can greatly enhance an event. This may be surprise entertainment or leading a surprise activity such as chair yoga, breathing exercises, visualization exercises, or any physical exercise that can be done in a small radius (like jumping up and down or stretching). Bringing in dance troupes, singers, musicians and comedians to stir up the fun and shake up the mood is also energizing and refreshing. Every event should have an element of surprise.
7. Keep the pace fast and moving: The perception of time in an event with speakers, panels and moderators is often different from “actual time.” Energy is optimized when you talk fast, move quickly and have smooth and fast-paced transitions. Don’t let people over-talk. Force them to summarize, wrap up and be concise even if you feel like you are being interruptive. Even the most impressive people may not always know how to handle themselves on stage or in an event-environment. It is up to you to “control the room”, which makes people feel safe and comfortable, again, adding to an overall positive experience.