Think about the last time you went to see live music. Who’d you go with? Did you meet new people? Did you share pictures and stories with friends or on social media? When you think about those experiences, what stands out most: Who you went with or the music you heard?
Recent research explores how sharing an emotionally rich collective experience — in this case, music festivals — can create shared memories that influence future behaviors. This got us thinking about brain-friendly ways to design and deliver other collective events to form lasting memories and spur future behavior change. The research suggests it’s not just about what happens during an event but also after.
How collective experiences shape memory
To explore how group experiences create shared memories, researchers collected detailed narratives from U.K. and Finland musical festival attendees. The participants were asked to write about their most vivid memories, what made them memorable, the feelings associated with the memories, and how they shared their experiences from the festival.
Researchers found the critical components of these lasting memories were the social experience and whether the social experience was shared after the event. At NLI, we love social experiences — specifically, social learning — because the value lies not only in the bonding but also in the interaction. This interaction creates an emotional experience and embeds learning more deeply, increasing longer-term retention and making the information easier to recall. Being able to recall the emotional experience and learnings after an event influences future behavior, such as returning to an event.
Although this research was about in-person experiences, social-emotional experiences can also be shared without physical proximity. Here are some ideas for how to design virtual experiences, like this year’s annual NeuroLeadership Summit, to have a long-lasting impact.
Think past, present, and future
If you want people to spread the word about, remember, and come back to an event, design it so people can interact and share the experience before, during, and after.
Leading up to an event
Social media is a key element for sharing information and experiences during all points of an event. Before an event, social media can bring people together to connect around a common interest and create a sense of community. In this community, people can share what they’re most excited about and help build anticipation around an event. Offering free merchandise (a.k.a, “merch”) can also provide a valuable incentive for sharing.
For example, prompt conference registrants to share what sessions they’re planning to attend and why they’re excited. To amplify participation in the community, create some friendly competition and offer incentives for getting the most likes or furthest reach. Maybe the incentive is some cool swag, such as an insulated travel mug with your company’s logo or free participation in a signature program.
During an event
During an event, make sure to create opportunities for people to interact. Processing and thinking together facilitates the generation of insights, not to mention prompts feelings of belonging and sets a positive emotional tone.
And, just as incentives can be used to build excitement for an event, they can help promote engagement during it, as well. For example, some companies may send multiple people to attend a conference, especially if it’s virtual. In these cases, try motivating people to post group pictures of their conference participation, along with how they’re applying what they learned. Maybe the group that shows the highest participation and enthusiasm walks away with a conference souvenir (like water bottles or tote bags).
Not only will these incentives prompt social learning — in which people share ongoing reflections and learning in the flow of the event — but they may also act as an environmental cue. Such a cue leads people to remember their conference experience, recall what they learned, and experience positive memories — all things that influence future behavior.
After an event
Once the event comes to an end, don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s over. Bringing people together after an event prompts people to share memories and think about the behavioral intentions they set for themselves.
Therefore, before your event even starts, plan ways to share afterward. This can be through event recaps — at NLI, we do Summit recaps on the Your Brain at Work Live podcast — or maybe even some more incentivized sharing. Consider an after-party that focuses on the actionable insights generated during the event. You can also help people stay accountable for their intentions by adding some light social pressure, for example, asking participants to share their plans via social media. (You might even save these plans for next year’s event as a way to reengage attendees and drum up interest.)
Not only will the post-event actions help link the behavioral intention to a goal, making the behavior more likely to occur, but it will also help spread the news about the value of your event.
Ultimately, this research demonstrates that the collective nature of an experience outweighs the benefits people experience individually. For festivalgoers, the festival isn’t all about enjoying the music — and for conference attendees, the conference isn’t all about learning new content. The point of the event is largely about experiencing something as a group. And that collective experience has a big impact on what we recall and how we behave long after the event is over.
If you’re interested in more information on brain-friendly ways to design and deliver collective events, check out our upcoming workshops in New York and London.
