The Driveway Conversation

Allow me to set the scene: it is 8 PM and a limo pulls  into your neighbor’s driveway. He/she is all smiles as they exit the vehicle. Naturally, you want to know; what has caused your neighbor to become so elated. After a few seconds of small-talk you’ve pin-pointed it. Your neighbor has just spent the last few days at their company’s meeting that completely knocked their socks off!

A client of ours has decided to name this particular circumstance the “driveway conversation”. I’ve adopted this term and use it as our goal to create meetings and events that cause our attendees to go home and brag about what took place.

However, it truly takes some special planning to cause this phenomenon. One of my clients, Big Machines of Deerfield, IL has mastered hosting events that produce the “driveway conversation”. How did they get there?

For the past few years they have invited Second City (above) to perform improv at their event’s welcome reception. Now, when their attendees register for the event, the buzz starts before they enter the hotel. All because they know they’re in for a real comedic treat!

The added bonus is that some of the best one-liners from the Second City performance at the reception is recycled during the general sessions and breakouts. This gives the performance “legs” and creates congruency for everyone who attended the conference.

Have you been to an event that caused a “driveway conversation” with your neighbor? If so, I’d love to hear about it!