Welcome back to Event Pulse. This issue is about two kinds of conversations that matter right now: the ones you should be seeking out, and the ones you need to filter out.

First, we're diving into why the best event professionals are feedback fanatics, not because they love criticism, but because they understand that real growth happens when you stop defending your decisions and start listening to the people who actually experienced your event. If you've been treating post-event surveys as a formality, this piece will change how you think about gathering insights.

Then, we're addressing something many of you have messaged me about privately: the surge of strange, low-effort outreach hitting LinkedIn inboxes, especially for those navigating career transitions. If you've recently updated your profile after a layoff or role change and noticed an uptick in vague "opportunities," you're not imagining it. We'll break down what's happening and how to protect your time and energy during an already demanding period.

Both pieces come back to the same principle: discernment. Knowing which voices to lean into and which noise to tune out.

Let's get into it.

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How Post-Event Focus Groups and Delegate Conversations Transform Your Events

Years ago, I worked on an artist-in-residence project that sent hip hop dancers into schools with at-risk students. On paper, it was straightforward: teach some dance moves, expose kids to the performing arts, check the box. But I had no idea if we were actually making an impact.

Then we held a debrief focus group. We brought the students together, turned on a camera, and asked open-ended questions about their experience. What happened next changed how I think about feedback forever.

These kids, many of whom rarely engaged in school and often with failing grades, opened up completely. They talked about how the stories resonated with them: the birth of hip hop in marginalized communities, dancers using movement to express frustration about dead-end jobs and limited opportunities. They saw their own lives in that narrative. We watched them demonstrate the choreography they'd developed to tell their own stories, movements that expressed things they couldn't put into words.

Had we relied on a standard evaluation form, we would have missed everything that mattered. The attendance numbers and basic surveys would have told us the project was "fine." But that focus group revealed we'd created something transformative. We'd given these students a vehicle for self-expression and a connection to a cultural movement that validated their experiences.

That's when I became a feedback fanatic. Not the perfunctory post-event survey that gets a 12% response rate, but real, meaningful conversations with participants that reveal what actually worked and what fell flat.

After years in the event industry, I've learned that the difference between good event planners and great ones isn't their ability to execute flawlessly. It's their willingness to hear uncomfortable truths from the people who matter most: their attendees.

Why Feedback Feels Risky (But Isn't)

Let's acknowledge the elephant in the room. Seeking honest feedback after pouring your heart into an event can feel vulnerable. You've spent months perfecting every detail, coordinating dozens of moving parts, and now you're asking people to tell you what didn't work?

But here's what I've discovered: delegates who care enough to give you critical feedback are your most valuable asset. They're invested in your event's success. The real risk isn't hearing that your breakout sessions ran long or that the networking format felt forced. The real risk is repeating the same mistakes because no one told you the truth.

When you actively seek feedback, especially through focus groups and informal conversations, you're not just gathering data. You're building relationships. You're showing attendees that their experience matters beyond the registration fee. And you're gaining insights that no amount of planning meetings can replicate.

The Power of the Post-Event Conversation

The most valuable feedback I've ever received didn't come from surveys. It came from lingering conversations at the venue bar, from casual chats during event breakdown, and from structured focus groups where delegates felt safe being candid.

These conversations have revealed game-changing insights: the networking session everyone loved but I thought was filler, the keynote that missed the mark despite the speaker's impressive credentials, the logistical detail that created unexpected friction. You can't discover these nuances from a five-point rating scale.

Before each focus group or feedback conversation, I remind myself why I'm asking. My goal isn't validation. It's improvement. I want to create events that genuinely serve my attendees and have them come back time and time again, and the only way to do that is to understand their actual experience, not my idealized version of it. And yes, at times it will get uncomfortable.

Three Novel Focus Group Formats That Actually Work

Traditional focus groups can feel stiff and formal, which often yields polite, surface-level feedback. Here are three approaches I've used that generate honest, actionable insights:

1. The "Roses, Buds, and Thorns" Debrief

Host a casual 45-minute session over coffee the morning after your event concludes. Use the "Roses, Buds, and Thorns" framework borrowed from design thinking:

• Roses: What fully bloomed? What exceeded expectations?

• Buds: What showed promise but didn't quite deliver? What could grow with refinement?

• Thorns: What caused friction, frustration, or disappointment?

The metaphor makes criticism feel less personal and encourages delegates to be specific. Instead of "the conference was fine," you get "the afternoon workshops were thorns because they ran over, but the morning keynote was a rose that really resonated."

Offer a small incentive like a gift card or exclusive content, but keep the group intimate: six to eight people maximum. Mix different attendee types: first-timers, veterans, different industries or roles.

2. The "If I Ran This Event" Workshop

This flips the script entirely. Invite 8-10 engaged attendees to a 90-minute session where you present them with your event's objectives, budget constraints, and audience demographics. Then ask them to design the ideal version of your event.

Give them sticky notes, flip charts, and creative freedom. Break them into small teams and have them pitch their concepts. The insights that emerge are extraordinary because delegates naturally incorporate solutions to problems they experienced.

You'll hear things like, "We'd cut the exhibition hall time in half and add roundtable discussions where people can dive deep into specific challenges." That tells you far more than any survey question about networking opportunities.

Compensate participants generously for their time. This is consulting work. Consider offering free registration to your next event or a meaningful honorarium.

3. The "Voice Note Walk and Talk"

Not everyone can attend a focus group, and some people share more freely in one-on-one settings. In the week following your event, invite selected attendees to participate in a "walk and talk" where they record voice notes while reflecting on their experience.

Send them a simple prompt: "Take a 15-minute walk and talk through your event experience as if you're telling a friend about it. What story would you tell? What moments stood out? What would you change?"

The format is brilliant because people are moving, they're alone, and they're speaking conversationally rather than writing formal feedback. You'll capture emotional reactions, specific moments, and honest opinions that structured formats miss or that people may be shy about saying out loud in front of their peers.

Provide a simple private voice note service or encourage them to email you recordings. Thank participants with a personalized gift that shows you value their time.

From Feedback to Action

Gathering feedback is only valuable if you act on it. After each focus group or conversation, I ask myself: "What's the one thing I can implement immediately for the next event?" Not five things, not a complete overhaul. One meaningful change that addresses what I heard.

Being coachable as an event professional means accepting that your attendees often understand their needs better than you do. It means setting aside your ego when someone criticizes an element you fought hard to include. And it means recognizing that every piece of critical feedback is a gift: someone cared enough to help you improve.

The events that truly resonate don't come from planners who execute their vision perfectly. They come from planners who listen, adapt, and evolve based on what their audience actually needs.

So yes, I'm obsessed with feedback. Because in an industry where success is measured by attendee experience, the people experiencing your event are the only experts that matter.

If you’ve recently been laid off from an in-house events role, you may have noticed something odd happening alongside the job search. There is an increase in strange, unsolicited messages on LinkedIn.

• Vague “opportunities.”

• Unexpected voice notes.

• People wanting to “partner” without being clear on what that actually means.

If this is happening to you, you’re not imagining it, and you’re not alone.

Over the past few months, many event professionals navigating layoffs or transitions into freelance or consulting work have reported a similar pattern. As profiles get updated and visibility increases, inboxes start filling up with messages that feel off, irrelevant, or poorly thought through.

Why event professionals are being targeted

Event people are highly visible, relationship-driven, and often hold titles that signal influence, budgets, or decision-making power. When someone updates their profile, especially after a redundancy, LinkedIn’s algorithm does what it’s designed to do. It surfaces that profile more widely.

At the same time, career transitions can make even very experienced professionals more open to conversations they might previously have ignored. That combination creates a perfect storm for low-effort outreach.

This isn’t a reflection of your judgment, your experience, or your career choices. It’s simply the current reality of the platform.

Messages worth being cautious about

Not every cold message is a problem, but some common patterns should give you pause:

• The sender doesn’t reference anything specific about your background or experience

• The message jumps straight to “collaboration” or “partnership”

• You receive a call or voice note without any context

• The opportunity is framed in flattering but vague language

• There’s pressure to respond quickly or move the conversation off LinkedIn

Individually, these may seem harmless. Taken together, they usually indicate that the sender hasn’t done their homework, or that you’re part of a mass outreach list.

What legitimate outreach usually looks like

When someone genuinely wants to connect professionally, there’s usually clarity and respect for your time. Legitimate messages tend to:

• Reference something specific you’ve worked on

• Explain why they’re reaching out now

• Accept a “no” without pushing

• Avoid urgency or emotional pressure

Trust your instincts here. As event professionals, reading a room has always been part of the job, and that skill still applies.

How to protect your time and energy

Right now, your attention is valuable. You are not obliged to:

• respond to every message

• explain your situation

• educate strangers about your career

A simple, one-line response, or no response at all, is enough. Ignoring irrelevant outreach is not rude. It’s professional boundary-setting.

Most importantly, receiving these messages does not mean you’re missing out on real opportunities. It means there’s more noise in the system, and discernment matters more than ever.

Career transitions are demanding enough without unnecessary distractions. Protecting your inbox is part of protecting yourself.

If you found this useful, I share practical reflections like this regularly in Event Pulse, my newsletter for event professionals navigating a changing industry.
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