Can A Live Event Ever Become A True Experience?

We’ve all been to live events which seem to think that their only duty is solely to provide us with information – often reams of it – without a single thought to how that information is communicated, or indeed whether their audience is in fact ‘getting’ what they are trying to say.

At best, live events like this connect with only a small portion of their attendees and when I attend events like this I am driven to ask the same question time and time again, what are the attendees actually taking away from the event?

True, some may take just one or two pieces of key information away that encourage them to engage / change behaviour / sell more etcetera, etcetera; but what about the rest? Live events are rarely inexpensive to put on and are certainly time consuming for all involved. Why then are we still seeing so many live events where it’s all about what the speakers want to say and how they want to say it, with little or no thought given to the audience?

Let’s look at how it could be. Let’s look at one of the biggest live events to have taken place recently when Barack Obama gave his first speech as President-elect in Chicago. There were, it’s claimed, over 250,000 people attending. When I saw the footage those in the middle and behind could barely see the huge repeater screens let alone the man himself on the stage and yet the atmosphere was charged, everyone was listening to what that man had to say and joined him in a huge chant when he said “we can” overcome the obstacles and difficulties that America faces.

This event was no mere live event. It was an experience; a once in a lifetime experience possibly for some, but none-the-less an experience. Barack Obama must have known that when he went onto that stage and spoke to that audience he would have only one opportunity to get it right ... and get it right he did.

Now Barack Obama could have come out and stood there and delivered a speech that told his supporters the information that he wanted to give them. He could have thought that he was the most important person in that huge gathering of people. Perhaps he did, but that certainly didn’t come across; not for one second.

What did come across was a truly inspired leader who engaged with his audience and who took his audience along with him on a journey via his speech. His speech lasted a little less than 18 minutes and during it he did give information to the audience that he needed to impart, for instance the fact that there are no quick fixes and that it might take more than one term to get America back on track. However, even when he was giving out information he never forgot to engage his audience whether that was by asking for their help, their patience, their support or, as he often did, by reminding them that he couldn’t do it on his own and that this audience (those physically there and those watching or reading about it) were part of the solution.

I imagine that there will be those reading this who will say, “yes but we don’t have scriptwriters to writer for us like that”. Here’s the news – you can access them and they don’t cost a fortune. Invest in a scriptwriter and make sure it’s one who understands you, your company, your culture and your messages and knows how to weave some magic through your script.

There will be those amongst you who will say, “our next conference is a million miles away from a political rally ... and so it should be.” I agree, but would urge you to think less about a conference (unless that’s what you really do need to have) and more about an experience; an experience where your audience leave truly revved up and ready to go. An audience who leave inspired, who understand the challenges ahead and, perhaps most importantly of all, their part in the solution, will be of much more value to your organisation than those who have just been talked at.

It’s been time for us to think about how we do live events for a long, long time now. I would argue that with the current economic climate coupled with the necessity to continue communicating to people, it’s now more important than ever. We need to make some changes. We need to ensure that live events become experiences because it is through experience that people become truly engaged, truly change or truly begin to sell more – whatever your message and intent is.

At the end of the day, the most important people attending your next live event / experience are the people in the audience, not those on the stage. The people you are trying to communicate with are the ones who should drive your thinking and that’s why I urge you to give them an experience and not the usual live event.