How To Create a Buzz By Moving Chairs Around

If we think of designing experiences like theatre shows or films are designed, then it is clear that nothing must be left to chance. But people aren’t actors, so we can’t give them lines, we can’t determine what they do. Can we?

Well we can, within limits, and an easy way to do this is by restricting choice. If we know what we want to achieve, we can restrict choice so that our desired outcome is much more likely. This isn’t horrible or nasty or even obvious. But it is designed.

A simple example of this came across quite strongly in a very practical and simple way at a conference I attended recently.

I enjoyed the conference, there were good speakers and an attentive audience. But sitting there in the audience, I was aware of a large number of empty chairs dotted around, and lots of people were isolated.

So it didn’t look full, and, maybe, this wasn’t so encouraging for audience and speakers. But I knew the event was sold out and if I were the organisers I would want to make a ‘wow, it’s full’ experience for participants to make a great event feel superlative.

make the conference experience feel sold out, full, exclusive, buzzy

So I got to thinking what you might do to make the conference experience feel sold out, full, exclusive, buzzy.When you think about seating arragements, there are three options:

1. Put loads of chairs out and hope everyone sat at the front
2. Put loads of chairs out and when people didn’t sit at the front, ask them if they would
3. Put exactly the right amount of chairs out – one per ticket sold.

To get the ‘sold out’ feel  you’d obviousy do 3. And by simply restricting choice – of seat in this case -  you can make people feel “Wow, what an event, it was packed out, no room to move, and guess what I was sat next to this really interesting guy…”.

Just by taking away a few chairs … so that the experience is properly staged.