Creating unforgettable experiences that change the way people think

Ask someone about the best event they ever attended and watch what happens. They will not recite the agenda, the venue, or the menu. They will tell you about a moment: the second the whole audience gasped together, the colleague who ended up on stage, the thing they still cannot explain. After more than 5,000 appearances, I can tell you that moment is never an accident.

Memory works on emotion. The brain files away what it felt, not what it was told, which is why a beautifully produced conference can evaporate within a week while a single surprising moment stays for years. When I design a performance, I am really designing a feeling and building everything else around it.

The most reliable feeling to design for is participation. An audience that watches is impressed, but an audience that takes part is changed. When a CEO bends a spoon in her own hands, the story belongs to her, and she will tell it far better and far longer than I ever could.

There is a lesson here that goes well beyond entertainment. Whatever you are planning, a product launch, a sales kickoff, a team offsite, ask one question first: what do I want people to feel when they walk out? Answer that honestly and the agenda almost writes itself.

The events that change how people think are the ones that reach them as people first. Give your audience one genuine moment of wonder and they will carry your message home inside it.