Curate the audience, not the speaker; the audience is the experience.

principle — attributed to Xavier Mufraggi

Speakers may be a reason participants come, but they are rarely going to talk to the speaker. The experience depends on who is sitting next to you. The question is whether you are checking your emails during the session or really there, and the answer depends on the quality of the audience. Mufraggi argues for fewer people in the room, more selectively chosen, who are able to connect because they really want to listen. The implication for convening designers is uncomfortable. Spending on a marquee speaker without curating the room is the wrong allocation. Curate first; book second.

For conference programmers, summit producers, and community builders making budget decisions between speakers and curation. The principle is also useful as a defense when boards push for headline speakers as the primary draw.

curation, audience-design, speakers, engagement