0:06

tired of the same old same old at

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business

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events well this is not the same as last

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year the podcast where we blow up the

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boring and lead the charge into the

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attendee first era of business events

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I'm CLA Forester a business event MC

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obsessed with transforming audiences

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from passive observers into Dynamic

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participants at events each week we'll

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challenge the conventions share

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actionable tips and hear from fellow

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event Rebels who are mastering the

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engagement game imagine your attendees

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begging for more after your next event

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that's the magic of prioritizing their

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experience ready to ditch the dull and

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create corporate events your audiences

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will Rave about then you found your

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tribe join the movement welcome to not

0:58

the same as last year

1:01

hello and welcome to not the same as

1:04

last year I'm your podcast host care

1:07

foresty and I'm also an event host and

1:10

MC for business events this podcast is

1:13

all about the attendee first experience

1:15

at events where we prioritize the needs

1:18

and desires of the attendees above all

1:21

else it is a philosophy that shifts the

1:24

focus from Simply putting on an event to

1:27

creating a valuable and engaging

1:29

experience for the the people who attend

1:31

ultimately leading to higher attendees

1:33

satisfaction loyalty and event success

1:37

in my last session we talked to Liz lean

1:40

from the community Factory about how

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building a community around your event

1:45

can create an amazing experience to your

1:47

attendees she shared how important it is

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to increase attendee interaction through

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rtable discussions UNC sessions and

1:56

attende Le sessions among many other

1:59

things so if you missed it do check it

2:01

out and actually it leads me nicely on

2:04

today in what we're going to be talking

2:06

about I want to ask you how much of a

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say do you give your attendees at events

2:13

I mean you know most event organizers

2:16

let's face it you guys like to be in

2:18

control and as your MC I am in awe of

2:23

how efficiently you have programmed

2:25

every second nothing is left to Chance

2:28

in your events but it can mean that the

2:31

only choice that exists for your

2:33

attendees is a number of sessions

2:36

running currently that they can select

2:38

to attend so here's an idea why not

2:42

relinquish more control why not let your

2:45

attendees generate their own experience

2:48

think of it like modern working we no

2:51

longer need to be workes under the

2:53

watchful eyes of a line manager at all

2:56

times we can actually work from home now

2:58

and get done done because we are

3:01

grown-ups as are your

3:04

attendees so let's talk today about

3:06

letting your attendee breathe and choose

3:10

and feel in control at your event this

3:13

philosophy which I'm calling let your

3:16

attendee take the wheel is now

3:18

acknowledging that people attending our

3:20

events crave autonomy and a sense of

3:23

control over our experience feeling like

3:26

they're being talked out instead of

3:27

being part of a conversation can leave

3:30

them feeling disengaged and frustrated

3:33

so let's explore some ways to really let

3:36

you relinquish some control Empower your

3:39

attendees and ultimately lead to

3:41

actually a better more memorable

3:43

fulfilling time for

3:45

everyone so why should you give your

3:47

audience control well think about it

3:49

we've all been there right stuck in a

3:51

conference room bombarded with

3:53

information in a one-way lectured format

3:56

maybe you end up struggling to stay

3:58

awake perhaps you are teing to ask a

4:00

question but you feel a bit awkward if

4:02

you interrupted because you know that is

4:05

the way it feels being passive like that

4:07

can actually be really disengaging and

4:09

frustrating and there's actually a lot

4:11

of research around now that suggests

4:13

that when the need for autonomy is

4:15

satisfied people in general will feel

4:18

more engaged and happy so in events that

4:20

is going to translate as people want to

4:22

feel their presence and participation

4:25

matters if you give up some of the

4:27

control and you allow the attendees to

4:30

design their own experience you're going

4:32

to create just a better time for

4:35

everyone so how do we do this how do we

4:38

go about empowering our attendees so it

4:41

could mean you know making sure you

4:43

really just get feedback and advice from

4:45

attendees and you actually act it to

4:47

approve your next event but it could

4:49

mean really engaging the attendee before

4:52

the event to get involved and pick the

4:55

kind of things that they will want to do

4:57

so pre event generic surveys go beyond

5:01

the how satisfied were you with your

5:04

coffee kind of

5:06

questions really get to crafting some

5:09

interactive service and going to sort of

5:11

go a little bit deeper into what your

5:13

attendees like ask them about things

5:15

like even the networking style are you

5:18

an introvert you small group discussions

5:20

or are you an extrovert you feel

5:22

comfortable jumping into large

5:24

Gatherings do you find it easy to make

5:25

friends could we help you with a buddy

5:27

system all those kind of questions and

5:30

of course obviously also ask them about

5:32

the kind of things they want to be

5:33

talking about the kind of formats they

5:35

like now you can really consider this

5:38

idea of content

5:40

co-creation which is you stop dictating

5:43

the agenda from your event planning

5:45

Ivory Tower you really let the attendee

5:48

get involved in shaping what's going to

5:51

happen at the event it could mean

5:53

allowing them to submit session ideas or

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votes on um a variety of pre-selected

5:59

topics so you pick the best one you know

6:01

really imagine how excited they could be

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if they arrived at your event going I

6:05

picked this session I helped shap this

6:08

things I've said are going to make this

6:10

event the way it is you could also make

6:13

some unconference sessions which I think

6:15

we talked about in the last um episode

6:17

with Liz which is smaller focused

6:20

discussions created on site by the

6:23

partipants themselves and they then

6:25

pitch and host the sessions and you then

6:27

really get an idea for the kind of

6:29

subjects they're going to pitch and run

6:31

during the event when that actually

6:33

happens Embrace things being flexible I

6:36

know that's hard to do ditch that kind

6:38

of rigid single track agenda this was

6:41

happen at this time this this this and

6:42

this instead offer Choose Your Own

6:45

Adventure blocks with multiple short

6:48

concurrent sessions on different themes

6:50

giving attendees freedom to tailor their

6:52

experience based on their interests and

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their needs and as well why not trying

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to be brave enough to schedule a session

7:00

where you are going to Workshop popular

7:02

issues which attendees will voted on yes

7:05

you're going to need a good moderator to

7:06

facilitate it because it might all be

7:08

happening on the day but it is a

7:10

brilliant way to allow your attendees to

7:12

pick their big

7:14

issue and now for real time engagement

7:18

yes technology can absolutely be your

7:20

friend here I I know sometimes I sound

7:23

negative about it it's only when it's

7:24

used as the only opportunity for

7:27

engagement life polling Q&A tools allow

7:30

you to keep interacting and

7:32

participating all the way through the

7:34

event and if you do it in a way that is

7:36

encouraging people they will feel that

7:38

they can mark up something after yeah I

7:40

like that I didn't like that I'd like a

7:42

bit more of this on day two and if you

7:43

then are actually actively responding to

7:45

that so day two is reflecting what they

7:48

told you on day one they will get a

7:50

message to start doing it in because

7:52

they know that they're being

7:53

heard open space discussions are really

7:57

vital too so again it's dedicating time

8:00

for attendee driven conversation so as

8:03

I'm saying they can propose discussion

8:05

topics they feel interested in even in

8:07

small groups and it just this whole

8:09

thing is letting the attendees feel they

8:11

have ownership of the event they are

8:14

active contributor not it's just a

8:17

spectator now when you move into after

8:19

the event post event don't let the

8:22

conversation end after the closing

8:24

remarks you'll know about using surveys

8:26

and polls to understand attendee feed

8:29

about ask them what resonated with them

8:31

what could be improved but it's also

8:33

think about how and when you ask for it

8:36

because I know not everybody returns

8:38

those three platforms um the wonderful

8:40

Victoria matey who's an event

8:42

psychologist that I'm going to be

8:43

talking to later on in my podcast

8:46

episodes she always suggests that you

8:48

ask for advice rather than feedback on

8:51

your attendees which is a brilliant idea

8:53

because advice sort of focuses more on

8:56

Solutions and you know people love

8:57

giving advice don't they it feels like a

8:59

compliment sometimes to be asked to give

9:01

it I don't think feedback forms elicit

9:04

the same excitement I get when someone

9:06

says we love your advice car where you

9:08

want to hear from you it just makes you

9:09

feel more valuable and your opinions

9:12

matter if somebody else are your

9:13

advice so of course I appreciate you're

9:16

going to have concerns about the idea of

9:18

relinquishing control you have spent

9:20

months meticulously planning every

9:22

detail of your event and the idea of

9:25

handing things over to a random attendee

9:28

can probably be very known rocking but

9:30

here's the thing I'm not telling you to

9:32

throw everything out of the window it is

9:34

about striking and balance it's about

9:37

thinking of it as a collaboration so you

9:39

are curating the overall experience but

9:41

you are giving your attendees a real say

9:45

in how they participate because if you

9:48

think about it the attendees are the

9:50

real stars of your

9:52

event if you can give them a space where

9:55

you are allowing them to feel heard and

9:57

valued and you give them enough power to

9:59

choose their own experience a it it's

10:01

just going to be win-win for everyone so

10:04

I really suggest that you experiment

10:06

with these ideas and of course share

10:08

your views about it put it on LinkedIn

10:11

tag me or use the hashtag not the same

10:14

as last year and let's get this

10:15

conversation going remember your

10:18

audience are not just there to sit down

10:20

and be bums on seats they are the stars

10:22

of the show and of course join me next

10:25

time for my next episode I think we're

10:27

on to episode seven now from vomo to

10:30

Freedom is hybrid the attending bu

10:34

[Music]

10:39

solution and there you have it I hope

10:42

you're inspired to revolutionize the

10:44

attendee experience at your next event

10:47

ready to dive deeper download your free

10:50

guide five ways to elevate your attendee

10:53

experience without breaking the bank the

10:55

link is in the show notes subscribe to

10:58

not the same as last year podcast

11:00

connect with me CLA Forest here on

11:02

LinkedIn or visit my YouTube channel for

11:05

even more tips and insights to make your

11:07

events a hit with your attendees don't

11:10

forget to leave a review wherever you

11:11

get your podcasts your feedback is going

11:13

to fuel my mission stay tuned next week

11:16

for another episode packed with

11:18

inspiring ideas and practical strategies

11:21

to put your attendee first

11:23

[Music]