From the US to Australia, singles are moving away from dating apps and letting their friends pitch them through PowerPoint presentations.
 

PowerPoint has spent years as shorthand for dull meetings and corporate over-explaining, but Date my Mate proves that with a good enough format, no deck has to be dull. The fun comes from the setup: a friend pitching someone they know, a room full of people ready to react, and a structure to make the awkwardness part of the entertainment.
 

The useful bit for B2B events is how clearly the format tells people what to do. A strong setup gives everyone a role to play, whether they are presenting, reacting, voting, questioning or joining in from the safety of the crowd.
 

Why interesting

- Structured play can reduce social friction

- A strong format can make even familiar tools feel fresh

- The best interaction formats give people a clear role to play

This searchable directory of AI tools for events is a useful resource for anyone looking to understand how quickly the event technology landscape is expanding.

What makes it interesting in the context of this month’s theme is that the best tools are not necessarily the ones that put more technology into the room. They are the ones that make the experience work better for the people in it: smoother planning, smarter content, more personalised journeys and better ways to understand what audiences actually need.

AI can support a lot of the work that sits around the live moment. It can help shape the journey before people arrive, make content feel more relevant once they are there, and give organisers better insight afterwards.

Why interesting

- AI can support better experience design behind the scenes

- The most useful technology often helps the human parts work harder

- Event tools should create more space for connection

This piece on Dutch children taking part in a four-night walking festival is a lovely example of how simple communal rituals can shape wellbeing.

Once a year, children, parents and teachers head out together to walk through their neighbourhoods. They get some exercise, spend time with each other and move through familiar streets in a slightly different way. There is nothing especially elaborate about the format, which is probably why it feels so strong.

It is why we often suggest wonder walks, movement and moments that get people out of their seats and activated at events. Giving people something to do side by side can make conversation feel much more natural than putting two strangers in a room and asking them to network.

Why interesting

- Simple repeated formats can create strong emotional connection

- Movement can make social interaction feel more natural

- Events can use movement and rhythm to make networking feel easier

One simple tip we liked was to end a speaker introduction by saying the speaker’s name last. It sounds tiny, but it gives the audience a clear cue for when to clap.

Live experiences are full of small thresholds: the moment people arrive, the first time they are asked to speak, the shift from listening to doing, the moment applause begins. A good host helps people understand how to behave without making the mechanics feel obvious.

Why interesting

- Small cues can shape the energy of the room

- Hosts help audiences understand how to participate

- Good briefing can make live moments feel smoother and more collectiveKinetic Screens

DB Pixelhouse has launched a Kinetic LED Wall, which caught our attention because it treats LED less like a screen and more like part of the environment.

The panels move in and out from the wall, using colour, light and motion to create a surface that feels alive. It is not there to carry content in the traditional sense. Its value is much more atmospheric: changing the energy of a space, creating depth, and giving people a moment of surprise as they move through or gather in a room.

Production does not always need to be about adding more messaging. Sometimes it is about designing the atmosphere around the message, so the experience feels more alive.

Why interesting

- LED can be used as atmosphere

- Movement and light can change how a space feels

- Arrival and transition moments deserve more design attention

Conor recently went along to Pints of Knowledge, a format that is basically TED Talks in a pub, which already feels like a brilliant ritual in itself.

The session he attended, Why We Rave: The Science of the Dancefloor and Music, explored how rhythm, repetition and progressive beats help create a harmonious and safe space for people. The idea that humans are fundamentally rhythmic beings feels especially relevant to events. We respond to heartbeats, sleep cycles, breathing patterns, seasons and tempo, often without consciously noticing.

One point that stood out was about walk-in music. If our resting rhythm is around 60 BPM, starting an event with a 200 BPM track can be overstimulating. Instead, music can gradually build in tempo, helping people transition into the energy of the experience.

It raises an interesting question for live events: could we be more intentional about how audiences arrive? Walk-in tracks and pre-event playlists are often treated as background atmosphere, but they can be part of the ritual. A way to prepare people emotionally and socially for what they are about to enter.

Why interesting?

- Music can help audiences transition into the right state

- Rhythm shapes how people feel in a room

- Walk-ins and pre-event playlists should be curated