Did your opening scene get their attention and draw them in? Did your event attendees feel they had major roles in the "story" of "our" gathering? From humor, camaraderie, inspiration and new awareness, how many positive emotions did you evoke? Was there a build-up to a climactic point in which they played a part that mattered to them? Are they showing their friends their souvenir from the meeting? Have you made every moment count at "our" event?
From the first sight of your meeting location to the last moment when attendees step back out into the regular world you can make more moment matter by using the method called storyboarding. If it works for movie directors and political advance teams it can work for you, regardless of your budget or event planning experience. In an increasingly transient world, face-to-face gatherings where people are inspired to draw closer, instinctively help each other and celebrate together are precious. It means stepping into the shoes of the people who will walk through your experience, step by imaginary step. That's my message when I speak to meeting planners, hotel and convention facility managers and the vendors who support their success. MEET is hosted by the innovative firm, EMCVenues.
Simply put, storyboarding is a handy tool for those who plan meetings or conferences and want to maximize the impact, moment-by-moment – as audiences experience it. Those in the media use it to organize their story.
From a store to a hospital, storyboarding any physical place enables you to make the experience more positive memorable for the people you serve. Those who want you to buy something dub this approach with loftier labels such as creating "moments of engagement" or "touch points" (no, not this kind). Often they call it experiential marketing.
It's not "just" the new technology we employ to make successful meetings but the fresh ways we enable people to get acquainted, learn from each other, collaborate and create a closer-knit community. I recognize that I'm just seeing the tip of the iceberg for this opportunity. Wouldn't it be fascinating for speakers and meeting planners to have a meeting where they could learn from other "experience-building" experts such as those who work in collective intelligence, lighting, improv, staging and, well - what experts would you like to meet to create palpably memorable experiences for your line of work or your special interest?
