31 conducted surveys and met with participants to understand their expectations, interests, and concerns, which she provided to me. This input was invaluable in tailoring the experience, too. My mission is to help people think more creatively, laugh, and build stronger bonds with others. So, when I present a keynote or plan a party, I think about how I can help others create positive, memorable moments that they will want to talk about long after the event has passed. My first step is to deviate from the norm. For example, I searched for “Fun things to do on a road trip” or “Activities for a party bus,” and I used the results to create a list of things NOT to do. I wanted to surprise and delight the riders, which meant doing different things, starting with the introductions. Standard group intros involve going around in a circle, stating your name, your title, and where you work, and then asking a question meant to break the ice and showcase your personality. The worst ones, in my opinion, are “Tell us something interesting about yourself!” or “Tell us your favorite (candy, movie, book, memory, vacation spot, etc.).” I could probably write a master thesis on why this format is so terrible, but we don’t have enough space in this magazine to do it! When you plan an event, use some empathy and back that up with statistics and studies on human behavior, likes, etc. For instance, many people are anxious about public speaking. Depending on the study and geographic location, the percentage of people anxious or afraid of speaking in front of an audience is as high as 75%–80%! A big chunk of those would rather die than speak to a group of their peers, and there you are, forcing them into a public speaking scenario at the start of your meeting or event. Think about it—if you knew they were deathly afraid of snakes, would you start your meeting by forcing them to sit in a room full of venomous snakes slithering all over their bodies? Then you are adding pressure for them to provide something “interesting” while they are panicking. Plus, when you ask someone to share their “favorite” anything, the most self-conscious people lock up because they either have not narrowed it down to determine their favorite person, place, or movie, or they worry their answer will be judged harshly, so they may blurt out something else. Now, you haven’t learned anything about the real person. They may not even be learning about the other attendees because instead of listening to the introductions, they mentally practice what they will say when it is their turn. For decades, I have
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