Blog

Our Event Perspectives videos share insights from some of the most forward-thinking minds in the events industry. In the first blog post of this series, we highlighted unique advice recent guests offered. This time, we’re focusing on where they converge. Discover what principles came up again and again, regardless of each guest’s company size, event type, or years of experience.

1. Use AI Effectively

AI came up in almost every conversation. The consensus is that AI should be used intentionally to meet the needs of various event stakeholders (i.e. attendees, speakers, exhibitors, and leaders). Guests warn against unintentionally wasting time trying to experiment with AI. 

“Don’t use AI for AI’s sake,” said Hannah Elston, senior manager, partnerships, marketing, & communications, of Event Leaders Exchange. “Every use case should be relevant and purposeful.” Her advice is to use it as a strategic advisor, asking it what you haven’t considered, where the gaps are, and what could be improved.

Sanya Khera, senior product manager of digital experiences at Intuit, added a critical note, “When feeding event data into AI tools, clean your data first.” If your input is messy or incomplete, the output will be too. Event Perspectives guests agree that when used correctly, AI can create a more valuable event experience for everyone involved. 

2. Break the Mold to Adapt and Innovate

Several guests pushed back on assumptions about how events should be run. “Don’t just think outside the box — crush it,” suggested the chairman of Endless Events, Will Curran. His argument is that starting from a blank page, rather than a familiar template, opens up decisions that never get made when you’re iterating on last year’s format.

Pam Corcoran,VP of global events at CrowdStrike, framed breaking the mold as a way to navigate uncertainty, “In grey areas, keep trying different directions rather than waiting for clarity to arrive.” She explains that event planning rarely unfolds as you would like. The key is to be decisive and adapt as needed. 

Hannah also spoke up against repeating old plans saying, “’We’ve always done it this way’ is the most dangerous sentence in the events industry.” She shared that her team is currently rethinking their content strategy entirely, reframing sessions as live shows led by audience input rather than moderator-driven interviews.

3. Prioritize Health and Energy

This is the most consistent advice given throughout the series. Too often, event professionals don’t give themselves a break — and everyone agrees that’s a problem.

Ghazwan Almoazen, director of global experiential marketing at Docusign, stated, “Take care of yourself especially in the two stressful weeks before an event. You come first.” He reminds listeners they cannot fail. Either they have a great event, or they learn from their experience. Both outcomes are a win. 

Adam Parry, co-founder of Event Tech Live advised, “Prioritize your physical health, mental health, and relationships above the job,” said Adam Parry. On-site, that means carving out time for meals, taking short walks between sessions, and genuinely switching off over the weekend.

Founder of Dahlia+ Agency, Dahlia El-Gazzar echoed it from a different angle, addressing the benefits of letting things happen naturally, rather than trying to plan out every last detail. “Some of the best moments at events are unscripted, and the energy spent trying to control them is energy that could go elsewhere.”

Although our guests come from different corners of the industry, their advice aligns. By using AI more intentionally, rethinking event strategies, and prioritizing self-care, event professionals can manage whatever challenges come their way. Watch the complete episodes on YouTube for more expert advice.

The popular RainFocus Event Perspectives video series, hosted by Rodney Hart, VP of Events, launched last year to offer advice and lively discussion from innovative event leaders. In each episode, you’ll find expert takes on trending topics, stories from professionals, career paths, and learnings from some of the industry’s brightest minds. 

Here are a few of the most interesting findings from some recent episodes: 

Exhibitor Engagement Is About Strategy, Not Spend

Adam Parry is the co-founder and director of Event Industry News, where he focuses on the complexities of event engagement. In his Event Perspectives interview, he explains how event success comes from strategically matching the right exhibitors with the right attendees, rather than simply selling out floor space.

“A lot of people think selling event space is purely about filling as many spots on the floor as possible,” he says. “Our view is different. If our exhibitors don’t match the attendees we’ve got, nobody gets value.”

He adds that proving exhibitor ROI is often a long game, particularly in the technology sector, where sales cycles can take years to mature. Re-signing exhibitors is a top priority to continue building relationships with attendees. 

Watch the full episode here to learn how to increase the value of your showfloor for both attendees and exhibitors.

Managing a Sold-Out Event Brings Its Own Challenges 

Having more registrations than anticipated is a good outcome for an event, right? In her episode, Pam Corcoran, the VP of Global Events at CrowdStrike, explains the pros and cons of having too many attendees and not enough room. Having navigated rapid, massive-scale event growth for several years, Pam shares what to do when your registration exceeds your expectations.

“When you are looking at a sellout situation, you have to find a date that you decide is your cutoff,” she says. “But keep a few passes in your back pocket, because there’s always going to be really important customers that need to come but haven’t registered yet.”

For more useful tips, watch her episode. 

Repurpose Your Session Content for Hyper-Personalized Marketing 

Instant session summaries are beginning to outperform full-length video replays as a demand generation tool, according to Will Curran, chairman of Endless Events. Summaries are easily digestible, which makes them a great tool for engagement and personalization. 

“I think our speakers are probably our best marketing channel that we have available to us as event organizers, because they have audiences, they have the knowledge, and they say really smart stuff,” he says. “You need to capitalize on that and share that.”

Will also discusses how to turn overly programmed events into more engaging experiences, making the case that “thinking outside the box” isn’t enough anymore. Instead, he suggests that planners shouldn’t be afraid to execute wild ideas (i.e., “crush the box”)  if it fits their audience.

Watch this episode to learn more. 

Stop Burning Out Your Attendees

Finally, Dahlia El-Ghazar is the primary idea ignitor at Dahlia Plus Agency, bringing a vibrant energy to the events she works on. In her episode, Dahlia discussed the concept of “decision calories,” warning organizers against exhausting attendees with too many decisions and a schedule that’s too stressful to be engaging. 

“Think about ‘decision calories’ from an attendee perspective,” she recommends during her interview. “When you’re putting together a program, especially for attendees who are already overwhelmed — such as your first-time attendees — don’t offer them the twelve concurrent sessions. That’s too many calories to intake.”

Watch her episode for more advice and unique ideas.

The Event Perspectives series is full of amazing insights. Stay tuned for our next post, which will share more expert advice. In the meantime, watch all episodes on YouTube to discover even more ideas.