“No experience has been too unimportant, and the smallest
event unfolds like a fate, and fate itself is like a wonderful, wide fabric in
which every thread is guided by an infinitely tender hand and laid alongside
another thread and is held and supported by a hundred others.” – Rainier Maria Rilke
Event Design is the second step in Dr. Joe
Goldblatt’s event management process. It is the stage where we discuss the
experience we needed to impart to our audience.
Our imagination’s capacity is the only limit in
our event design capacity. Of course, the budget also plays an important role
in the event design.
But regardless of the budgetary constraints or
the high expectations on the event design we are crafting. The event design has
five E’s that must be considered in creating the powerful experience that the
target audience is excitedly awaiting to be immersed in.
I like Judy Allen’s 5 E’s in Event Designing
Objectives in creating an experience. Here they are:
1.
Educational
We attend events to learn something. In fact,
some events clearly specify the takeaways that the audience gets after
attending the event.
I am a lover of learning and I am always on a
lookout for events that will enhance my knowledge.
Therefore, the event must be educational educational
2.
Enlightening
“Really, the only thing that makes sense is to strive for
greater collective enlightenment.”
-Elon Musk
Sometimes, we attend events to shed light to
People need a spark. The best events are enlightening. When the audience
is enlightened then we have provided the best experience they can have in being
part of our event.
3.
Engaging
Our age is the Age of Engagement. People are
looking for events that will increase their participation. People are looking
for events that will allow them to feel ownership.
The only way to achieve increased participation
and feeling of ownership is through a carefully crafted event design that puts
premium on engagement.
The more our audience is engaged, the more
they become our event evangelists spreading the good word about what people can
gain from attending our events.
As Benjamin Franklin puts it, “ Tell me, I forget. Teach me, I may
remember. Involve me, I will learn.”
4.
Energizing
Positive energy is contagious. We must always
strive to design an event that will spark the positive energy from the audience.
We all go to live events to experience the
energy of the crowd. This is the reason that events can never be replaced by
online platforms.
The energy of live events is so powerful that
it is like an addiction that most people wanted to have, sometimes the only
reason why they attend events.
Therefore, creating a program or content that
is energizing is a must.
In fact, people are paying high participation fees just to listen to speakers that can uplift their energy. It is also the same reason we attend
sporting events or championships because the energy is so high, we wanted to
bask in it.
5.
Entertaining
“I don't think people are fools, and I think they deserve a
good attitude and smart entertainment.” -
Tatyana Tolstaya
The challenge of events is to be entertaining.
Conferences and Expos are not spared on this objective.
Humans will be humans, they wanted to be
entertained.
Life is already hard. Events are created not
only to educate or create a business. Most of the times, events are created to
entertain. We love entertainment and as an event manager, you must always keep
this in mind.
There is a reason why there is edutainment - a word that comprises education and
entertainment. The reason is rooted in our humanity.
In summary, event designing to provide a superb
experience is a challenging task that needs hard thinking and deep
understanding of the needs of the target audience.
You already have the 5 E’s. It is up to you how
to strategically mix this great event design experience objectives.
- Monday, February 27, 2017
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