You might know that spring is what we affectionately call in our office, “the silly season”—so many client events and conferences and lots of travel!
The Value of Curiosity
One question I ask every leader in our pre-call before they hire me for their conference, or plan their client event or team offsite is: what do you want your people to think, feel, or do when my session is over?
Many don’t always have an answer, and that’s OK. But with curiosity and clarity you can create an experience that allows your audience to feel something, something human.
We need more of that in our current digital, AI world.
Right now, the human connection is more important than ever—getting people together will always be an exceptional way to elevate experiences.
When you are face to face, when you hear that laugh on the other side of the room, when you get that long overdue hug from a colleague you only see on Zoom calls, when it feels like a family reunion—I am here for all of it!
I learned the power of this question from spending time inside one of the most sophisticated event ecosystems in the world led by Jennifer at Virtuoso. They are the leading global network of luxury travel advisors, and her global team invests in events as a strategic asset, not a line item. Their annual gathering in Las Vegas is invitation-only, draws thousands of advisors and preferred partners from around the globe, and sets the standard for what it looks like when an organization genuinely invests in human connection. I have had the privilege of working with this team for many, many years, and what I admire is that they continue to evolve. They stay curious and keep raising the standard.
Matthew Upchurch, CEO of Virtuoso Travel, captures the philosophy beautifully. In my book Exceptional Experiences, he shares that Virtuoso’s advisors ask their clients, “How do you want to feel on this trip? How do you want to feel when it is over?”
It is an intentional design principle, and I realized every leader can use this, regardless of the industry you are in. How do you want your clients/members/guests/patients/students to feel?
The Elevated Event
Whenever you design an event with intention based on Experience Elevation Model™ you’re effectively inviting people to belong to your team and brand and getting them excited about what you can do together, and that in turn captures attention and creates mindshare.
When you do this consistently and beautifully, you delight them by anticipating things they didn’t even know they needed. And you know what the result is? You ignite amazing advocates who want to tell others about you and that ultimately drives marketshare. An event doesn’t have to be ballroom sized—your events might include an all hands town hall meeting, a virtual catch up with top-tier clients, or even a team appreciation event for your top performers.
No matter what the event, here are the five questions you can ask before your next event begins.
Entice: Why should someone give up their time to be in this room? Think about what makes this experience impossible to replicate anywhere else. Time is a luxury.
Invite: What does your very first touchpoint communicate about the quality of everything that follows? Be intentional in your design so people look forward to your event. Attention is a luxury.
Excite: What are you doing in the weeks before the event to build genuine anticipation? Consider multiple touchpoints and a combination of digital and analogue communication methods (I have a huge table of ideas on how to do this inside my book, Exceptional Experiences).
Delight: What need can you anticipate that no one thought to ask you to address? This will help elevate the experience and make your attendees or audience feel even more valued.
Ignite: What is the one story you want every attendee telling their colleagues on Monday morning about your event? Think about how to create a shareworthy experience that makes others want to refer you, and share their experience of being with you.
Leading with these five questions means you stop planning events and start designing experiences.
That is a shift that separates the organizations people are genuinely loyal to and proud to share with others from the ones they simply show up for because they have to.
Which of these five is the hardest question for your team right now? Love to hear from you—email me.