5 E’s of Event Design of Experience | Event Management Philippines

Monday, February 27, 2017



“No experience has been too unimportant, and the smallest event unfolds like a fate, and fate itself is like a wonderful, wide fabric in which every thread is guided by an infinitely tender hand and laid alongside another thread and is held and supported by a hundred others.” – Rainier Maria Rilke

Event Design is the second step in Dr. Joe Goldblatt’s event management process. It is the stage where we discuss the experience we needed to impart to our audience.

Our imagination’s capacity is the only limit in our event design capacity. Of course, the budget also plays an important role in the event design.

But regardless of the budgetary constraints or the high expectations on the event design we are crafting. The event design has five E’s that must be considered in creating the powerful experience that the target audience is excitedly awaiting to be immersed in.

I like Judy Allen’s 5 E’s in Event Designing Objectives in creating an experience. Here they are:

1.    Educational

We attend events to learn something. In fact, some events clearly specify the takeaways that the audience gets after attending the event.

I am a lover of learning and I am always on a lookout for events that will enhance my knowledge.

Therefore, the event must be educational, whether presenting an old idea in a new light or presenting new breakthrough ideas. Events must be educational as much as possible.

2.     Enlightening

“Really, the only thing that makes sense is to strive for greater collective enlightenment.”
-Elon Musk

Sometimes, we attend events to shed light to an issue that we would like to find answers. This is the reason why when we are in the stage of event designing, we must strive hard to enlighten our audience for the reason why the event is created.

People need a spark. The best events are enlightening. When the audience is enlightened then we have provided the best experience they can have in being part of our event.

3.    Engaging

Our age is the Age of Engagement. People are looking for events that will increase their participation. People are looking for events that will allow them to feel ownership.

The only way to achieve increased participation and feeling of ownership is through a carefully crafted event design that puts premium on engagement.

The more our audience is engaged, the more they become our event evangelists spreading the good word about what people can gain from attending our events.

As Benjamin Franklin puts it, “ Tell me, I forget. Teach me, I may remember. Involve me, I will learn.”

4.    Energizing

Positive energy is contagious. We must always strive to design an event that will spark the positive energy from the audience.

We all go to live events to experience the energy of the crowd. This is the reason that events can never be replaced by online platforms.

The energy of live events is so powerful that it is like an addiction that most people wanted to have, sometimes the only reason why they attend events.

Therefore, creating a program or content that is energizing is a must.

In fact, people are paying high participation fees just to listen to speakers that can uplift their energy. It is also the same reason we attend sporting events or championships because the energy is so high, we wanted to bask in it.

5.    Entertaining

“I don't think people are fools, and I think they deserve a good attitude and smart entertainment.” - Tatyana Tolstaya

The challenge of events is to be entertaining. Conferences and Expos are not spared on this objective.

Humans will be humans, they wanted to be entertained.

Life is already hard. Events are created not only to educate or create a business. Most of the times, events are created to entertain. We love entertainment and as an event manager, you must always keep this in mind.

There is a reason why there is edutainment  - a word that comprises education and entertainment. The reason is rooted in our humanity.

In summary, event designing to provide a superb experience is a challenging task that needs hard thinking and deep understanding of the needs of the target audience.

You already have the 5 E’s. It is up to you how to strategically mix this great event design experience objectives.










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