Episode 172: Learn how to design engaging experiences, create meaningful connections, and turn every event into an opportunity for impact.
Great events aren’t just about what happens on stage—they’re about how people feel, connect, participate, and remember the experience. In this episode, I sit down with Devon Montgomery-Pasha, certified meeting professional, certified event designer, emcee, and self-described “engagement engineer,” to explore what it really takes to create experiences that connect with people on every level.
Devon shares lessons from her experience at PCMA Convening Leaders, including how speakers like Brené Brown and Scott Galloway used authenticity and emotion to create powerful moments, why Gwen Stefani’s performance became more than just entertainment, and how understanding your audience can turn a good event into a truly memorable one. She also breaks down her SPARK Method and explains why professional emcees and experience designers bring far more value than simply getting on stage and reading a script.
From strategic event design and purposeful connections to storytelling, emotional engagement, and handling unexpected challenges, this conversation is packed with practical ideas for meeting professionals, speakers, and anyone responsible for creating meaningful experiences.
Key Takeaways
- Engagement starts long before the event—understanding your audience and building connections during the planning process creates a stronger experience.
- Authenticity and emotion make experiences more memorable than polished presentations that fail to make people feel something.
- Great event design balances education, networking, entertainment, wellness, and meaningful opportunities for connection.
- Professional emcees are engagement catalysts who connect different parts of an event, create interaction, and handle unexpected challenges.
- Storytelling is one of the most powerful ways to create connection—“the shortest distance between two people is a story.”
Whether you’re planning a conference, speaking to an audience, hosting an event, or looking for better ways to create connection, this episode of Engaging Virtual Meetings offers a powerful reminder: the shortest distance between two people is a story.
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Connect with Sarah Ohanesian:
Website: https://dmpcreative.llc
Connect with John Chen:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceojohnchen/
