Recent research has found that employees feel less connected to their employers than they have in the past. They’re less satisfied with their organizations, feel less of a sense of purpose, and don’t believe that anyone at work cares about them as a person.
In the work of re-aligning and re-energizing them, there are some important lessons to be found in an unlikely place: the Republican and Democratic National conventions.
Gatherings like these—and your version of them—provide organizations of all types an opportunity to inspire believers, energize supporters, and convert skeptics. Having helped oversee speechwriting and programming for Democratic conventions and many multispeaker corporate events, here are some lessons from the political conventions for planners of multi-day and multi-speaker corporate events.
1. Spirit and Spectacle are Meaningful
We know that a company’s external reputation is a major driver of internal satisfaction. We also know, from our own research, that many companies have to pay a premium to get their people to “wear the logo.” (A good informal measure of this is how many questions you need to ask at a barbecue or cocktail party before someone tells you exactly where they work. “I handle trade issues.” What kind? “Mostly intergalactic.” For whom? “Sigh… Emperor Palpatine.”) These gatherings are an important way to instill pride in the brand.
Yes, you want to use your “convention” to deliver serious and substantive information and messages. But spirit and spectacle matter. There’s a reason the conventions featured everyone from Hulk Hogan to Lil John, and it’s the same reason people order fajitas—the steak may be nourishing, but the sizzle is what gets you excited.
2. Unexpected and Unlikely Allies are Powerful Messengers
Often, your own people can be your greatest skeptics. After all, they’re the ones who see how the sausage gets made. Hearing from someone who is not always an ally in support of your message can be immensely powerful.
At the RNC, Teamsters President Sean O'Brien made waves as the first labor leader invited to speak to a Republican convention, while the Democratic convention featured prime time speeches from Republicans like Adam Kinzinger.
So when your people hear from an environmental partner about how much of a difference your sustainability policies are making, or a small business about how much your tools are helping them succeed—those are the messengers who can surprise and inspire.
3. Getting Granular Makes it Memorable
In communications, we often talk about the “ladder of abstraction”—the idea, derived from the writings of S.I. Hayakawa, that communication can move up and down from the concrete to the conceptual.
In the conventions I’ve helped plan, the most “concrete”—the specific, granular stories and moments—are the ones that are most memorable and resonate most.
That was certainly the case at this year’s conventions. Whether it was Anne Fundner talking about losing a child to a fentanyl overdose at the RNC or gun violence survivors at the DNC.
Ultimately, the most powerful moments at these events often come from the least powerful people. And the additional irony is that the most memorable moments from the most powerful people come when they’re being their most relatable (think of Doug Emhoff’s mention of his ongoing group chat at the DNC).
What does this mean for corporate events? It means featuring frontline workers telling their own stories, customers sharing their unique experiences.
But don’t we have to feature executives and leaders? Of course, but we have a saying in politics when a speaker steps to the lectern and makes vague, lofty statements anyone else could have made: “blue suit, red tie, here to lie.” Speakers are at their best when they say the things that only they can say, or share the things that only they have seen. Encourage your leaders to find their place in your organization’s story, as only they can.
4. Meet your people where they are
This year, the DNC made a small but significant change to encourage viral video sharing by streaming its speakers in vertical video—a first for conventions, and a recognition of the reality that many viewers will be watching on phones and engaging on TikTok.
It’s an important reminder to think about the steps your event can take to meet your people where they are, invite them to not just be viewers but participants in your corporate story.
Major events can be slogs—with long presentations and longer slide decks. This year’s conventions demonstrated that yes, plenty of viewers will tune in and engage for full speeches (that could run 20-30 minutes long, like President Clinton, or much longer, like President Trump). Yet, many of the conventions' most impactful moments were the shortest—the pre-produced videos and shareable and snackable moments that served to capture the larger gestalt.
The benefit of pre-produced videos is that they provide anchors of certainty (both in terms of timing and content) in events where other moving pieces can go awry. At the same time, viral moments can be unexpected, but organizers should be ready to make the most of them—whether that was Republican attendees wearing bandages, Tim Walz’s son’s reaction to his father’s speech, or President Obama’s somewhat suggestive “crowd size” gestures. These moments brought the energy of the conventions out of the room and helped them live on beyond the moment.
5. A Kick Off, Not a One Off
I work with a client who often says “There are no good meetings, only good follow-up.” The same goes for major gatherings. At conventions, it’s important to make sure the event serves to register voters and sign up volunteers. Given the investment of time and resources required to gather your team (often from all over the world), it’s important to make sure they go home with marching orders.
Yes, convening is powerful, but it is not the same as convincing. The most effective gatherings convene and convince, and, in so doing, deliver benefits that continue to accrue long after everyone has gone home.
Jeff Nussbaum helped manage speechwriting for the 2004-2020 Democratic National Conventions. He now leads executive communications as a partner at Bully Pulpit International.
Sam Whipple co-authored this article. Whipple is an Emmy-nominated producer for his work on January 6th, a Discovery+ documentary. He currently serves as the Associate Director of Business Development at Bully Pulpit International.
