Dream Big, Deliver Bigger
Designing Your Ideal Event Experience
I was asked in a recent interview, "What's your dream event?"
Let me ask you the same thing.
What's your dream event?
What kind of event do you want to create that no one else can?
Now that you've thought through some of the practical reasons why you want to host your event, it's time to dream. What's the ideal outcome? Who absolutely must be in the room in order to make it a success? What do you want to learn? What do you want to share? What do you want your audience to say as they're walking out the door?
If you knew you couldn't fail, what kind of experience would you create?
Events Grow Businesses
We've already discussed the different ways that events can help grow your business. A good event gathers your ideal clients, connections or collaborators together and primes them to refer to or invest in your business in a way that feels exciting and aligned.
A successful event offers opportunities well beyond the immediate thrill of sales or funds raised. A successful event cultivates long-lasting relationships between colleagues, associates and sponsors, and it can even be a catalyst for deep and lengthy friendships.
Once you envision and communicate your dream event, it's time to take deliberate action. It's about more than goals—it's about emotion. What do you want your audience to feel as you move them through your agenda?
Imagine the testimonial videos and surveys pouring in during the days that follow your wildly successful event. What are people saying?
Capture the Vision
Take some time to write a description of your dream event. Use these prompts or get out a blank page and start freewriting without self-judgment.
Create a wish list of ideal speakers, guests, vendors and sponsors.
What kind of transformations do you want people to experience during their time with each other and with you?
What moments will your guests still be talking about six months later?
How would you like to see your business or mission change as a result?
How do YOU want to show up?
Thoughts become things. When you write out your thoughts, you give them a greater chance of becoming real.
Now that you've put the dream down on paper, it's time to bring it to life. The best events are coherent and purposeful. Like any good story, they have a beginning, a middle and an end. The idea is to take your guests with you on a transformational journey.
The Event Journey
THE BEGINNING:
How do you welcome your guests?
How do you set expectations and build anticipation?
How do you make each person feel like the VIP that they truly are from the moment they walk in the door?
THE MIDDLE:
How do you facilitate connection?
How do you encourage engagement?
How do you build momentum and maintain energy throughout your event?
What do your guests learn and how will they apply it?
What opportunities for connection between attendees do you provide?
THE END:
How do your guests integrate their learning?
How do you lead your guests to take action?
How do you reinforce your core message and create a memorable finale?
How do you gather feedback?
How do you stay connected and top-of-mind in the days, weeks and months that follow?
I've witnessed event hosts sell out their programs and memberships because they designed their events with thoughtful intention. Each element served the individuals in ways that exceeded all of their expectations so that when they made their final offer or invitation, people could not sign up fast enough!
Room for Magic
The most successful events are the ones that plan well and at the same time do not have too rigid an attachment to the plans. As an emcee, I often experience the most powerful moments when things are not going according to plan. When you're willing to go off script and meet the audience where they are, magic happens.
The balance between structure and spontaneity offers the flexibility to adapt while maintaining the stability and consistency of your event's purpose.
Dreaming big and delivering bigger isn't about excessive planning or huge budgets, it's about being intentional when designing your event and mastering the basics of facilitation, communication and connection.
Before we get there, spend one more moment with your dream event. Visualize it in as much detail as possible. What does the room look like? How is the stage decorated? What do guests hear as they walk in? What's the energy like? How does the energy shift, ebb and flow through the course of the event?
What are people saying to each other in the parking lot as they avoid accepting that their favorite event of all time has come to an end?
The more vividly you can picture it, the more effectively you can bring your dream event to life!
Ready to take your event hosting skills to the next level?
This article features information from my book, Welcome to the Stage: The 360° Approach to Hosting Events Like a Pro. If you enjoyed it, you'll love the comprehensive guidance, practical strategies and insider techniques I share in the full book.
Order your copy today and discover how to make your next event the one everyone remembers!