10 Compelling Questions for Creating Compelling Live Events

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When I was at Canadian Special Events  I met great speakers that inspired me, and one very special eventprof is Chad Kaydo. Those that have been in the industry, know that Chad was instrumental in the success of Bizbash when heading their editorial team, and look at it now.

When I think of Chad, I can’t stop thinking of the scene in Charlie’s Angels with Drew Barrymore and Tom Green that went a little like this:

Chad: Where are you going? Starfish are you going swimming? Where are you going? Where are you going again Starfish? Was it the Chad?
Dylan: No the Chad was great.
Chad: The Chad was great.

A great segue way to my takeaway from Chad’s great presentation on how to create compelling events.

Ask yourself these 10 questions before creating your next event:

1. Is this more interesting than what’s on your phone?
To get someone’s attention, you’re not just fighting distractions within the room. You’re competing with breaking news alerts, college friend selfies, and Candy Crush. Is your event content up to the challenge?

2. Is this Tweet-worthy?
Are you delivering information that’s interesting enough for guests to share with their friends? (Or delivering an experience they’ll want to brag about?)

3. Is this worth Instagramming?
Are you designing dynamic visuals that people want to record and share? Do they communicate your message, too?

4. Can you get wi-fi or mobile service to share this easily?
Wouldn’t it be a shame if you created something that people wanted to pass along, but they couldn’t get online to do it?

5. Can you compel guests to become active brand ambassadors?
How can you motivate a passive observer to take action?

6. Can guests actively participate in the creation of the event?
Do they get to do something, or just watch and listen to others?

7. Can guests share information with each other?
Often the main reason we go to events is to be among other likeminded individuals. Are you helping guests meet the people around them?

8. Are you actively soliciting their feedback?
Digital tools make this easier than ever…

9. Are you actually listening to their feedback? (And responding?)
…but this is still the hard part. Don’t ask if you’re not going to pay attention to the answers. (And make it clear that you’re paying attention.)

10. Can you embrace the chaos that comes with all of this?
Engaging guests this actively invites unexpected challenges, as well as new types of success. Are you ready to go for it?

– See the full post at: http://thexletter.com/2014/03/28/10-questions-for-people-who-want-to-create-compelling-live-events/

About Chad Kaydo

Chad has been writing about how brands create events and use experiences as marketing tools for more than 13 years. As the first editor in chief of BizBash, he helped launch and build the leading magazine and website covering the event industry.

While overseeing BizBash’s print, digital, and social media content, Chad developed a strong understanding of how companies use experiences to communicate with their audiences.

Chad is a frequent speaker about event trends and strategy, and he has interviewed the most innovative event marketers, producers, designers, and vendors working today.