I’ve seen it too many times:  the delegates file into the hotel ballroom, set up with a stage at one end.  After a suitable period for coffee, chit-chat and getting comfortable, the lights go down.  An expectant hush silences the crowd.  Cue to:  music.  And finally, in a burst of applause, the speaker moves to the podium with a brisk, energetic step.

She begins to speak.   And the audience begins to nod off. 

Why?  Because all of the cues that audience has just been given indicate that nothing personal will happen.  It’s a show — maybe even a good one — but the speaker remains isolated from the audience.  The darkened room, the distant stage, the giant TV screens — all of it suggests a show, and passivity on the part of the audience.   

Now, imagine a different scenario.  The house lights stay up.  The speaker works her way from the back of the hall to the front, chatting with audience members, connecting, building excitement.  By the time she gets to the front of the room, the whole audience is ready to get involved.  Instead of hiding behind the podium, the speaker works the crowd, staying interactive, bringing them in, getting them on their feet from time to time, and getting their responses to questions, and activities, throughout the speech. 

By the end, everyone in that room has something to take away, something to do once they’re back at the office, and something to remember.

But you won’t see that second scenario very often.  Why not?  Event planners will resist the speaker’s efforts to keep the house lights up, move around the room, make the podium irrelevant.  Why?  Because they’ve paid a ton of money for the cameras at the back of the room to broadcast the speech on those 2 giant screens at either end of the stage.  And because they’ve always done it that way.

If you want to go to a movie, go to a movie.  Be passive.  Eat your popcorn.  But a conference should involve conferring — the audience should get involved.  Everyone will get much more out of the experience, and it will be worth those fabulous sums of money spent on bagels, coffee, hotel ballrooms, TV teams, travel, and so on. 

Event planners should get to know speakers, and what they really need.  And both should get to know their audiences.