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Did you know that storytelling enhances memory and recall? It’s true. People will only retain five to 10 percent of a presentation if you just deliver the statistics. But if you tell a story, they’ll remember up to 70 percent of the information you share.
Stories activate our imagination, firing up different brain parts to create a richer, more connected experience.
Sound is an especially potent storytelling tool. A storyteller’s tone, pitch and rhythm draws us into the action and evokes a wide range of emotions.
Music and sound effects create even deeper personal connections between what we hear and experience. When combined with visual and interactive elements, audio storytelling creates immersive and memorable experiences.
According to our most recent Planner Pulse, immersive experiences are a top event trend. So, knowing how to use your go-to audio solutions in ways that transform typical event formats into these sensory-enticing experiences can help you meet attendee demand for more memorable moments.
Here are five creative ways to surprise and delight your audience with audio equipment you likely already use, such as speakers, microphones, music playlists and headphones.
1. Make your message resonate with soundscapes
Music choices influence audience behavior, so it pays to be intentional.
How do you want your guests to feel before your opening general session? Is that how you want them to feel before a breakout session? How about during the networking break?
Different sessions and activities call for different ambiances, so try these creative playlist ideas:
- Welcome and arrival: Play lively, welcoming music to create excitement as attendees arrive.
- Opening session: Choose powerful, inspiring music to set a positive and engaging tone.
- Educational segments: Use neutral, subtle background music to reduce distractions and maintain focus.
- Networking breaks and social activities: Play fun, high-energy music during breaks to refresh and re-energize participants.
- Theme enhancement: Select music that culturally or metaphorically reinforces the event’s theme.
- Guide transitions: Employ different sounds or jingles to signal when it’s time to move between sessions, breaks and activities to keep attendees on track.
The sounds you choose will enhance the mood you’re trying to create.
2. Strengthen engagement with sound baths
Imagine you’re in a general session. You hear a train whistle in the distance. The sound grows louder and closer to your seat, until a train ‘appears’ on the stage’s LED screens. When it departs, you feel as if it really is leaving, and you catch yourself turning your head to look as it rolls off-screen.
You’ve just experienced a sound bath.
With a sound bath, overhead speakers ‘move’ sound from one side of the room to another, creating an exciting, immersive audio environment.
This dynamic audio technique bathes the audience in sound, creating a sense of movement, presence and depth that enhances the storytelling experience.
These moments can also strengthen the way you create emotional connections.
Event scenario: Elevating a gala
Let’s say, for instance, you’re planning a fundraising gala for a children’s education charity. Here are some ways you could use a sound bath to enhance the way participants emotionally connect to the cause:
Create a calming atmosphere: Begin the event with a sound bath to help guests relax and open their minds to the cause. The soothing sounds can reduce stress and create a sense of peace, making attendees more receptive to stories about the children benefiting from the charity’s programs.
Storytelling with sound: Share inspiring stories of children whose lives have been uplifted through education, as soothing, hopeful music gradually crescendos. For example, narrate the journey of a child who embraced new opportunities, flourished in school and is now thriving — evoking feelings of joy and celebration for the bright futures ahead
Interactive experience: Encourage participants to close their eyes and immerse themselves in what they hear. This can create a personal and introspective experience, allowing them to reflect on the importance of education and how their donations can provide opportunities for children in need.
Highlighting impact: Integrate sounds that symbolize the positive outcomes of donations. For instance, you could use uplifting and joyful sounds to represent the excitement of children receiving scholarships or new school supplies, reinforcing the importance of their support.
Mindfulness and reflection: Incorporate moments of silence within the sound bath for mindfulness and reflection. This can give attendees the space to think about their own educational experiences and how they can help provide similar opportunities for underprivileged children.
These strategies can help create a memorable and emotionally engaging experience, encouraging attendees to connect with and support the children’s education charity.
3. Incorporate personalization with ‘silent discos’
Another key event trend is personalization. Creating personal audio experiences among large crowds is easier than you think. The key is employing headsets.
A headset can be connected to multiple audio channels. By programming each channel to different audio content, you empower participants to choose their own adventure.
Here are three cases where this approach could elevate the experience:
Personalized audio: When guests arrive, hand them a headset and let them choose which content channel they’d like to tune into. For example, one channel could provide industry trends for marketers, while another delivers technical insights for developers or leadership strategies for executives.
Multi-stage environments or simultaneous keynotes: Each speaker can be broadcast on a different channel. If the stages are in the same space, guests can move from stage to stage as interest and time allow. If the presentations are on one multilevel stage, participants can tune into the content they find most interesting.
Simultaneous translations: Provide access to the same content in various languages to accommodate the needs of international and/or bilingual participants.
By providing a variety of content options, you increase the ways participants can engage with your conference content.
Giving them the option to choose valuable information relevant to their role increases guest satisfaction. And by providing content in their native language, you create a more inclusive and welcoming event experience.
4. Bond participants through audio-based gameplay
Break out of the drink box and do something fun with networking breaks. Here’s a simple idea:
- Use audio clips to create a trivia game.
- Participants can team up or individually compete.
- Challenge them to identify snippets of songs, famous speeches, sound effects or other audio stingers that connect thematically to your event.
These kinds of easy, fun icebreakers fit in well after a long day of sessions. They engage introverts as well as extroverts with a sense of playful camaraderie and invigorate people, activating their creative and social muscles.
They also provide a nice transition to evening activities, where you want to set the stage for more meaningful discussions and strengthened connections.
5. Enhance emotional connections with storytelling stations
Personal stories are powerful. Especially when you create opportunities for participants to interact directly with them.
Here’s an engaging way to create an emotional touchpoint at your next event:
- Capture stories, interviews, narratives, or moving accounts connected to your event, organization or cause.
- Create an interactive storytelling station at your event to play these audio stories.
- Invite guests to interact with these storytelling stations throughout the event.
- Create a way for guests to contribute their own stories for archival or future event use.
Think of NPR’s Storycore or interactive museum installations as inspirations. By inviting attendees to contribute their voices to your story, you help extend the life of your event by creating future content.
The benefits of using audio to create immersive event experiences
Using audio to create immersive event experiences offers numerous benefits:
- Deep emotional connections
- Enhanced learning and memory
- Entertaining and engaging experiences, to name a few!
Best of all, you don’t need fancy tools to create immersive audio experiences. All you need is a little creativity.
Let’s discuss how you can apply some of these tips to create an unforgettable experience at your next event.
- 5 creative audio ideas for your next immersive experience - October 2, 2024
- Designing for impact: 5 Ways to maximize event value - August 23, 2024
- Set the mood for your program with properly-licensed Encore Music - August 16, 2024
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