That's Interesting — September '26
The Shape of Attention
We’re gearing up for the third instalment in our Great Experiment series, this time focusing on the main stage. Whilst other areas of events evolve and innovate, main stage sessions often venture little beyond presentations, panels and fireside chats.
We are taking over Polygon in Soho for The Great Attention Experiment, exploring how main-stage engagement can be rethought for today’s experience-rich audiences.
This month’s That’s Interesting focuses more broadly on ideas that are worthy of attention.
What Florence Nightingale Knew About Presenting
(3min read)Florence Nightingale was not only a pioneer of nursing, but a formidable information designer.
As Dave Trott explores, she turned mortality statistics into striking visual diagrams to persuade politicians to act. A useful reminder that the job of a visual is not to display data, but to make its meaning impossible to miss.
Why interesting?
- Information becomes powerful when people can grasp its meaning quickly
- Visual hierarchy tells an audience where to direct its attention
- Presentation design can influence decisions, not simply make slides look better
Marshmallowing Time
(2min watch)The phrase "we’ve got an icebreaker" can cause a collective groan amongst audiences. But, as Russell explains, this one actually works.
Give people spaghetti, tape, string and a marshmallow, then ask them to build the tallest structure they can. There’s science behind how and why it works and which groups of people are best at it.
Why interesting?
- Clear constraints can encourage surprisingly creative behaviour
- You learn by doing
- People connect more naturally when their attention is on something else
Acts of Humanity
(15min read)Scott Schenker has held some of the most prestigious roles in the event industry. He’s written a series of beautiful essays on business events; how they work and why they matter.
You can read them here or buy his book, Acts of Humanity, which collects them together.
Why interesting?
- Business events are best understood in the wider context of the power of human congregation
- Rethinking experiences is easier when you understand why the traditions and rituals of events exist in the first place
- Better language helps us think more precisely about what experiences are for
A Stage That Shatters Its Own Reflection
(3min watch)Every summer, Austria's Bregenzer Festspiele builds an extraordinary stage on Lake Constance. This year's design is a vast shattered mirror, with fragments concealing and revealing the set as the production unfolds.
The stage becomes part of the storytelling itself, shaping what the audience sees and when. There is plenty for corporate stages to borrow from that confidence.
Why interesting?
- A stage can reveal information as well as display it
- Transformation gives audiences a reason to keep looking
- Physical environments can carry meaning before anyone speaks
Questions From the Claw
(3min watch)Kia and Reddit recently turned an AMA into a physical experience. At a WNBA event, Chiney Ogwumike pulled audience questions from a claw machine, answered them, then shot the balls at a hoop to increase a charitable donation.
A familiar Q&A suddenly had suspense, movement and consequence.
Why interesting?
- Sweat the small stuff. Someone has gone the extra mile to rethink a Q&A
- Brand activations can be formats in their own right
- Physical jeopardy creates anticipation around otherwise simple content
Leave Well
(2min watch)Events devote enormous energy to arrivals. Departures tend to involve a queue for the cloakroom.
A recent post from Julius Solaris asks what happens when leaving receives the same design attention as arriving. The final moments can reinforce an idea, create one last interaction and shape what people carry away.
Why interesting?
- The final moments of an event influence how the whole experience is remembered
- Departure is an overlooked opportunity for communication and hospitality
- A strong ending can turn attention into action after people leave
