Event Design: Make a Lasting Impression

The concert moved me deeply. Filled with excitement, I approached the lead performer to introduce myself and share my experience.

After I introduced myself, she smiled and said hello, but quickly turned away to greet another enthusiastic fan.

I had been sized up and rejected. She's not "that" famous and I think with better preparation and forethought that encounter could have been very different. But I never got a chance to express why we should talk.

That feeling sucks.

This is happening to you at your event. Your attendees, speakers, and sponsors are making these same kind of assessments about your event. They likely aren't giving you a second chance. They just disengage, grumble (sometimes out loud, but usually internally), and move on.

Just as you can better prepare for your next networking opportunity, there also are principles to help make a better first impression at your next event.

First Things First: Arrival Experiences

Your first conversation often sets the tone. When preparing for state dinners and other meetings with world leaders, presidents usually spend hours reading and prepping with their staff so they know what they should discuss and what topics to avoid. Dennis Yu had the opportunity to meet George H.W. Bush and recalls that Bush knew his name and some things about him.

How do you prepare for your first encounters? Why not study what you know about your attendees and prepare for their arrival? How long will they have been traveling? Are these moms who left kids at home? How many of them are staying in hotels? What is important to them upon arriving at your event? What are their goals?

Think beyond your event space. For many attendees their impressions start at the airport and the hotels. What can you do to prepare your hotel partners to make a positive impression? How can you engage the city or destination? Comicon gets the city of San Diego involved. You don't have to be a large conference to get your local city involved.

Once attendees step foot on your event property, you get your best chance to make an indelible impression. What do you think your attendees are feeling? Introverts and newbies might feel anxious about whether they will fit in or find their tribe. The arrival experience can put attendees at ease, assure them that they are in the right place, and help them make some initial connections.

Inbound wisely hosts a meet-up for first-timers. We learned from this and found nearly 200 first-timers attend a meetup on our first day. We all feel a bit safer if we have a friend or two with whom we can face the fear of a new event.

Image: Mary Green

One of our staff members described her first time attending our conference. Her experience didn't match our desired culture. She waited a longtime to get to the registration desk. Upon arriving, the host greeted her gruffly and generally wasn't helpful. Not a good first impression! Thankfully the future staff member gave us the benefit of the doubt and we were able to overcome the bad first impression.

TIP: Put yourself in the shoes of attendees and think about what they need when they first arrive. You can help them forget the lousy flight, their fatigue, trouble at the office, or the fight they had with their spouse. Attendees won't learn well if they are upset, tired, or disengaged.

Consider recruiting a director of first impressions. This person pays close attention to everything that happens in the first 15 minutes at your event.

Focus on the First Keynote or Session

Another first impression happens during the the first session attendees join--this could be a keynote, workshop or breakout session. Select a strong emcee and help her think through how to set the best tone in this moment. Also strategically schedule some of your best speakers who can immediately make attendees feel like they are getting their money's worth.

Speakers should also be coached on their introductions. I've seen dozens, if not hundreds, of presentations where speakers hem and haw through the introduction. The introduction is much like the elevator pitch. You get 20-30 seconds to draw me in, otherwise, I'm checking my phone and wondering if I should attend a different session or get some work done. Speakers, please practice your introduction as this is where you have the chance to draw me in to trust you and believe you have something to offer. I'll forgive the occasional stutter or verbal garbage, if you start strong,

Make a Splash at the Opening Party

It's nearly impossible to please everyone at a networking party, but you can make it memorable if you focus on facilitating human connections. Create plenty of places where attendees can have quiet conversations. Not everyone enjoys loud music. And, please, make sure your staff and some of your speakers are available to greet attendees as they arrive.

Perhaps consider including a game your audience might enjoy to facilitate low pressure networking. It might be a scavenger hunt, human dominoes, or something else. We created a networking bingo game to help attendees quickly meet 16 people while also gaining a chance to earn prizes.

Intentionally Design the Experience

I'm surprised how many event planners choose colors, music, and sensory experiences based on personal preferences. I guess it shouldn't surprise me, because that's exactly what I've done. I choose music based on what I like, select colors based on how they make me feel, and gravitate toward aromas that I find meaningful. That's our natural tendency.

How do you overcome this propensity? Get data.

It's so much better to figure out what your audience likes. Get to know their likes, dislikes, preferences and study how colors, music and senses might trigger negative responses or create the mood or vibe you want.

Music: DJs are masters at creating experiences with music. Your audio/visual company and theatrical companies can help you translate what you know about your audience and the experience you want them to have into the right design elements.

Personalization: I've even had conversations with video game designers to think about how to create a personal experience within the larger mass experience. Allow attendees to make choices so they feel like it's their event.

Color: Colors create various moods during events, though this can differ between cultures. Tahira Endean wrote a few blogposts based on her research of how colors like yellow, purple, and orange influence events.

Music: People respond differently to music and various styles. For example, I conducted a limited study while in grad school and played 4 different types of music for 3 sample groups. When married couples heard smooth jazz, it conjured romantic thoughts whereas the teenagers made fun of it, and the children became bored.

In addition to polling your audience, I suggest studying playlists on Spotify and the Billboard top 20 lists to understand what your audience will likely enjoy. Don't forget to pick the right kind of music for the vibe you want at different times of day.

Overcoming Bad First Impressions

You may never get a chance to change a bad first impression. I'll never get that chance with the performer I mentioned above. But event attendees will likely give you a second chance. After all, they've spent money to travel and pay for your event. Some ways to correct this:

Focus on a Culture of Service

Of utmost importance is creating a culture of service where staff and volunteers are equipped to resolve customer problems quickly. Try to create a wow moment so they forget bad experiences. It doesn't have to be dramatic or expensive, just personal and authentic. Here are some ideas:

• Bring them a cup of coffee.
• Take them to a clothing store to buy some clothes if their luggage was lost.
• Introduce them to a favorite speaker.

At a recent conference I encountered a disgruntled attendee. Fortunately she told me what was wrong. Every session she attended so far hadn't met her expectations. I asked her some questions about what she was looking for and was able to guide her toward some better choices. She was thrilled. Imagine how she might have ranted online if I I hadn't been given the chance to serve her? Frankly, I don't want to imagine that!

The Golden Rule Still Rules

Fundamentally, if you treat people the way you want to be treated, you will succeed. Find and train staff who do this easily and empower them to do this consistently. The result will be a culture where attendees and staff help each other.

First Impressions Can Lead to Happily Ever Afters

While I never got the chance to meet the performer I mentioned above, there is a different story with a much better ending.

I attended a church retreat nearly 25 years ago. My pastor asked me to help our guest performers unload their bus and carry their gear into the venue. I wasn't too excited and apparently showed that on my face. I was, after all, playing a mean game of basketball and didn't want to leave.

During the concert one of the women performers caught my eye. I approached her after the concert to talk, but I had no idea what to say and when she flashed a huge smile at me, I became speechless and walked away. (I later discovered that she had noticed me

I saw her again while I was playing some music, but we could only exchange eyebrow smiles.

Later I was playing water volleyball in the hot spring pool. Since I'm legally blind, I didn't know this young lady was one of the people I invited to join us. But she could see me. She placed herself next to me, so I introduced myself...and now she's my wife.

You can overcome bad first impressions, but I would encourage you to spend time making great first impressions.

Please share your stories.