EVENTS WITH ENERGY
Came, sang, performed, thrilled. Have you ever talked in a style of stage energy and on this stage it was incredible and contagious? ‘Sound is energy that propagates through the space as a wave’, is the textbook definition. It spreads like a fuzzy noise, or with its height, colour, strength and duration like a superior tone.
At an event or congress we have to deal with these challenges. We want to transform this fuzzy noise into a steady tone of suitable height, colour and dynamics. Pianissimo presentations and fortissimo parties are connected by a special congress energy and the participants feel the sincere warmth and passion of the event. Using cheap tricks won’t work; a guitar is required to play live and to the max and to sing with full lungs. Congress power is similar to the power of music; to reach nirvana, jazz improvisation or top rock pleasures, we have to practice a lot and know the right scales. So, in addition to talent, experience is also invaluable.
Put it into context: think about how you feel when you enter the reception area of a conference and can immediately feel the energy. Despite the fact that it is a place full of unfamiliar people, you still know that you are in exactly the right place and with the right people. It’s the same with hotel lobbies – old cats can identify good energy intuitively. I would dare to say that most of the communication at an event takes place at the energy level, and only a small part at the verbal level. It is therefore surprising that often congress receptions are still so closed and formal, but from a world-class hotel with an excellent reception one can learn what it takes for communication to flow smoothly and more directly. At the opposite end of the spectrum are halls of classic fixed formats, something that can kill the flow of energy. Perhaps it is for precisely this reason that over and over again in halls such as these I feel myself falling into a state of hibernation…
All of which means that giving advice on the energy of events is actually very simple. Despite the negative connotation of the word, we congress organisers are MANIPULATORS OF THE ENERGY.
Successful manipulators can organise an event with a lot of love and keep any sense of bad vibe out of it, keep it simple and creative, and keep it ethical and moral. It is necessary to provide for the flow of energy between the organisers and participants, the speakers and the audience, between the sponsors and participants. It is necessary to arrange congress spaces in such a way that the energy flows, just as at rock festivals, even inspired by some modern-day festivals, which are the elementary school of energy flow between the audience and the band. This year, alongside the legendary Exit in Novi Sad, a whole lot of rock and electronic events flashed up on the Adriatic, offering fertile ground for learning for all event organisers.
In light of all of the above, if we manage three basic elements of events we get good energy. The first is the element of “surprise”. Some call it a “first impression”. If we can establish a genuine relationship that is spontaneous and natural, we have solved the first part of the energy puzzle. If we are creative, we are usually full of surprises that the participants are looking forward to.
The second part, and one that is very important today, is “communication”. Before, during and after the event it creates energy and transmits it all the way through heights of modern hybrid social communication.
Third is the effective “dramaturgy”, which has already been discussed, and that includes the scenery ambiance, room design, light and, for rockers, also the true congress rock riffs.
The uniqueness of your event is based on its energy. An event can be easily evaluated as successful if it was simply executed well and in line with the objectives, but only a few events are effective, which are those in which an atomic congress energy flows and where participants become part of this energy. Such events raise customer loyalty, reputation and the loyalty of buyers, and create a professional fan club similar to Rock Bands.