Tips for creating content that changes lives
Jessie States, CMP, CMM, is consulting vice president for Meeting Professionals International, where she leads the integration and execution of client services, including live event design, focus groups, research and bespoke training. She is an EIC 2018 Pacesetter Award winner and the IACC 2023 Award of Excellence winner. She knows a few things about booking keynotes that make an impact. We asked her how she does it.
What is your philosophy of assembling the elements that make for great content at an event?
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It’s all about balance. I start by understanding the challenges people are facing. Then I find experts who can help to facilitate that conversation. We generally schedule a mix of industry-focused education and life and business skills with mental health opportunities so attendees can have it all at WEC.
A great keynote is someone who is not just inspirational, but gives a call to action, creates a movement that leads to action after the event.”
Then we balance the formats that we use, because some people want quick hits of education and some want to dive deeply into something. Other people want to be part of a conversation, and some want to just sit back and listen to an expert. We present options so people can choose what they want to do at any given time. We can’t just have 15-minute sessions and we can’t just have two-hour sessions, but we should have some mix of those so that everybody gets what they’re looking for.
How to do ensure the education resonates with people from different generations and different career stages?
We use data from webinars, certificate programs and membership surveys to ensure that we are at the forefront of what our community needs. Facilitating conversations is more important than ever as people can get education in the digital environment at home. We have to be purposeful about capitalizing on the brain trust of 2,000 professionals we brought to MPI WEC in St. Louis so they can learn from one another.
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Technology is always going to be top of list of topics—and not just artificial intelligence. Data analysis, reporting and AV experiential advances are part of that bucket. We’re continuing to focus on creating inclusive environments for everyone. That means having conversations about diversity and inclusion, neuro-inclusion and allyship for underrepresented communities. Then there are the ones that never go away. We are never going to stop talking about contracts and negotiations.
At WEC this year, we really drew on the strengths of the community to play off the sense-of-place in St. Louis.
What makes a fabulous keynote?
It is someone who is not just inspirational, but gives a call to action, creates a movement that leads to action after the event. How many times have we been to events where the person has stage presence, and we are convinced sitting there will change our world, but six months later, nothing has changed? However, someone who may not have been dynamic, but convinced us to shift in a way that has an impact on a life is what makes for the best keynote.
What advice do you have for people like me, who suffer from FOMO and want to go to all of it?
Even if it’s on the plane, I try to set intentions for what I want to accomplish at an event. That gives me a lens I can use when I’m looking at the agenda to make decisions around what I want to attend, what I want to do, who I want to meet and how I want to participate.
