Therefore, conferences should be more like The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

The Tonight Show is the biggest late-night show in the US with all the biggest guests. It’s now two years since Jimmy Fallon took over the hosting role from Jay Leno – and what a difference! The show’s popularity has increased by +41%. But what is it he does that is so much better?

The difference between then and now is well illustrated in the image below: An interview with Justin Timerlake has been replaced with a duet between Justin Timerlake and Jimmy Fallon.

This episode has been watched over 2 billion times on YouTube. The difference from before is that the new The Tonight Show has:

• A sense of musical comedy throughout the show
• Players
• Integrated technology and using social media
• A fantastic and skilled host

Jimmy Fallon has created a new concept in which he:

• highlights the talents of the guests
• integrates social media
• does not take themselves too seriously
• dare to try new approaches
• makes everyone feel relaxed
• and above all, he makes sure that everyone has a really good time!

Serious conferences must not be boring

There is a lot we can learn from Jimmy Fallon. It is possible to draw a wealth of inspiration from his TV show when planning meetings and conferences. Conferences are an important part of many businesses and often contain elements of serious learning and business development. But it is possible to weave elements of joy and entertainment into a serious message. In fact, it actually yields better results when done so. A new neurological research study shows that when playfulness is incorporated into the learning process, we remember more than with traditional teaching methods.

So what could it mean to work more like Jimmy Fallon? In all businesses, it ultimately comes down to ROI, return on investment. If viewers’ ratings on The Tonight Show have risen by 41% since Jimmy Fallon took over, why wouldn’t the knowledge gained at your next conference increase by 41% as well? Or the number of new relationships increase by 41%? Or the outcome of your conference increase by 41%? All while everyone is having fun, who wouldn’t want that!?

Our colleagues at the Canadian event agency Engagment Unlimited offer 4 ways they use to create engaging conferences, inspired by Jimmy Fallon:

1. Let yourself be inspired by musicals. For example, take a pop song, change the lyrics to reflect your company's content, add some entertaining characters, include some dance moves, and encourage the audience to participate.

2. Use fun games. Games do not need to interfere with learning. Incorporate the company’s message and content so that groups have to discuss and discover together. Games always open up opportunities for new and deeper relationships with other participants. It creates a community with shared memories from the conference, memories that make your conference stand out among the noise of all the conferences.

3. Get your boss or management team to deliver their message in a playful way. Do you remember when Jimmy Fallon slowed down the news with Barack Obama.Imagine your CEO delivering next year’s goals in a similar way. How cool wouldn’t that be? And what would that do for your internal brand? (Don’t worry, Contrast of course helps coach your CEO to a good delivery ;-).

4. Use a phenomenal conference host Someone who keeps the energy up, is incredibly positive, can improvise, and joke with the speakers and participants. And above all, find a host who can get all the participants to perform at their best.

Thanks to Engagement Unlimited for an inspiring article.