Experiential & Engagement Stage Keynote Presentation
Experiential & Engagement Stage sponsored by PreMagic Register to attend Open in live agenda View full agenda
Years ago, Joanna Montgomery collaborated with a ballet company on an unusual experiment.
Audience members wore heart-rate sensors during a live performance. Their collective physiological response was translated into lighting on stage, creating a visual representation of how the room was feeling. The dancers then improvised in response to that data, creating a real-time feedback loop between audience and performer.
At the time, the technology was cumbersome, expensive, and far from plug-and-play. Today, this level of interaction is remarkably achievable.
Advances in AI, wearable sensors, computer vision, and real-time analytics mean events can now respond dynamically to audience behaviour and emotion. Content can adapt to energy levels. Networking can become more intentional. Experiences can shift based on how people are actually engaging, rather than how we assume they are.
This session explores what happens when we stop treating audiences as passive recipients and start designing events as living systems. Part case study, part provocation, it offers practical ideas for event organisers who want to create experiences that do more than run smoothly. They listen, adapt, and respond.
Because the future of events is not just more personalised. It is more responsive.
Speaker
Joanna Montgomery is an interaction designer, entrepreneur, and speaker who builds technology for human connection.
She is best known as the creator of Pillow Talk, an award-winning connected product that helps families feel close across distance, used in more than 80 countries worldwide. Her work spans connected devices, healthcare, parenting, and live experiences, focussing on situations where emotions run high and connection is transformative.
Joanna’s central belief is that the most meaningful technology does not just solve problems. It helps people feel more connected, understood, and human. She now advises companies building connected products and speaks internationally on the future of human-centred technology.