4 Tips to Make People at Your Event Smile in 2026!

I drew at 30 different events last year, and these are 4 small, but important choices that can make the people at your event leave with smiles on their faces or with big grumpy frowns.

1️⃣Good Facilitator / MC

A good facilitator is worth their weight in gold. They keep the room onside, have amazing people skills and can tell speakers to hurry up in a way that doesn’t feel awkward (how do they do it?) For an event to run smoothly, it’s so important that the person at the wheel has those skills. I’ve seen a few events flop because the MC didn’t keep the day on track, the people at the event get fed up and the overall vibe of the room plumits. To avoid this, pick your facilities wisely! Seamus Quinn and John Fitzsimons are both great facilitators I’ve worked with it.

2️⃣Yummy Food

Good food is the quickest way to someone’s heart, especially for longer events. If someone is good enough to spend an entire day at your event, the least you can do is give them a good lunch. Picky bits or platters are better than sit down lunches, fresh fruit, veg and healthy choices energise people and triangle sandwiches are a last resort. It’s kind to include veggie and vegan options, and people are always super impressed when there’s oat milk and the coffee station.

3️⃣ Graphic Recording

Accessibility, engagement and inclusion are becoming more and more important. That, and lots of us have shorter attention spans. Graphic Recording keeps your audience engaged and increases their information retention. It’s an investment into evergreen content that will remain relevant, long after the PowerPoint slides are forgotten. In a world of Ai sl, there’s a certain magic when people see live illustrations drawn by hand.

4️⃣ Good Storytellers

There’s nothing like watching an incredible storyteller captivate an entire room, even if their story seems a little off topic to the event, people will always find meaning in it. Storytelling is powerful tool that connects with our emotions, some of my favourite story tellers from 2025 were Ellie Berry and Sean Ronayne.