Known as "The Other Michael Jackson" across the event industry, Michael Jackson has established himself as a sought-after speaker and emcee with an exceptional presentation style and a reputation for delivering engaging and interactive content.

Before Jackson brings his fresh perspective to MPI’s European Meetings & Events Conference (EMEC) audience in Luxembourg (March 3-5), we spoke with him about overcoming delegate fatigue, keeping conversations going after an event and a more strategic approach to ROI.

As the meeting industry has recovered from the pandemic, has audience engagement/attention changed? 

When conferencing began in the mid-1850s, it seemingly modelled events on the principle of religious gatherings: piling people into darkened rooms and having someone on a raised stage, in a darkened room, preach from “the good book,” which in modern terms has become “death by PowerPoint.” Delegate fatigue has been a problem for years, and it is only now that modern event planners are starting to look at the old formula and change it.

What are speakers or event planners doing wrong that is leading to more delegate fatigue? 

Delegates need events planned around them, including them, and their needs considered. We live in a world of “peak attention” and short attention spans. Producing events which use archaic agenda formatting with keynotes which are way too long, breaks that are way too short and talk to, not with, an audience are bound to fail.

Can you share a tip for keeping conversations going after the conference has concluded? 

Events should be thought of as brands, not just occasions. Brands should create and tell stories before, during and after events and live on in the mind. I also believe in producing short learning videos (captured at an event) and circulating them afterwards. I’m also a big fan of creating engaging infographic summaries for delegates. 

What steps can a planner take to start measuring ROI more accurately? 

Strategise your event correctly. What is the event for? What do we want to achieve? Who is attending? What does the audience think and feel before the event? What do we want the audience to think and feel as they leave? After the event, research and measure.

Why are you passionate about the meeting industry? 

People love engaging, networking and learning. The meeting industry can offer precisely this when events are correctly developed, executed and managed.

As a new year begins, what trend should meeting planners be keeping an eye on?  

Delegate engagement in all phases of conferencing.