During my recent trip to Confex, the less-often-talked topic of ‘event psychology’ was brought to the forefront in a presentation by Kelly McCormack, discussing ways of applying the science of human behaviour and psychology to event strategy.

I won’t go into too much detail about Kelly’s presentation. Still, she warned of a trap that is all too easy to fall into – focussing too much on trying to change event technology, the format, or reinvent the wheel while not giving enough conscious thought to how our delegates think and feel.

Many factors can contribute to a delegate’s experience at your event – environmental, social, musical, and behavioural psychology all combined and filtered through each individual’s perception and personality. But there’s no reason technology can’t be made even better when considering psychology.

One great example highlighted the careful balancing act when allowing delegates control to co-create the event experience they want. For some, this is a massive source of excitement; for others, having too many choices can be a source of distress and even lead to decision paralysis.

With everyone seeking a different ideal, the only solution is offering an individualised amount of choice available to every delegate to suit their preferences. With the profiling potential of so many event registration platforms, advancements in AI and utilisation of data, a well-thought-out profiling questionnaire at registration could be the answer to delivering a unique and personal delegate experience.

For those who want absolute control, their event app shows them every possible choice when building their event agenda from a blank slate. Some may prefer being prescribed sessions with the option to make changes, while others may prefer to receive a fixed agenda based on their questionnaire results.

There is unlikely to be a ‘one size fits all’ approach, but that’s the whole point, right? If you’re not effectively utilising technology when planning your next event to better cater to psychology. Well, maybe you should think again.