The Unconference Unveiled: How to Engineer Serendipity and Foster True Community at Your Next Event

Richard Chalmers
Jul 24
12 min read

Beyond the Badge Scan: The Case for Radical Community at Your Next Event

For the seasoned event professional, the promise of "great networking" has become a familiar, yet often hollow, refrain. We design intricate agendas, secure world-class speakers, and orchestrate coffee breaks in crowded halls, all in the service of connection. Yet, the reality frequently falls short. The most common outcome is a pocketful of business cards and a series of fleeting, superficial conversations. This isn't a minor failing; it's a fundamental disconnect at the heart of the event experience. The stakes for getting this right are incredibly high. Data shows that nearly 80% of event organisers view in-person conferences and conventions as a critical component of their organisation's success, with 78% identifying them as their single most impactful marketing channel.

There is, however, a stark contradiction between the perceived importance of events and their effectiveness in one key area. A 2024 survey revealed that only 46% of organisers believe their current networking opportunities are highly effective at helping attendees build meaningful connections. This statistic represents a systemic failure to deliver on a core value proposition. The issue is not a lack of effort but a flaw in the design philosophy. The traditional conference model is built around a top-down, one-to-many delivery of content. This structure inherently positions attendees as passive recipients, relegating true peer-to-peer interaction to the margins. Yet, the most valuable resource at any gathering is not the person on the stage, but the vast, untapped reservoir of collective intelligence and experience distributed among the attendees in the room. This article explores a powerful alternative: a strategic shift from delivering content to an audience to facilitating connections within a community. It provides a blueprint for unlocking that collective wisdom, focusing on advanced formats like the "unconference" to engineer serendipity and forge the genuine, lasting community that attendees—and businesses—crave.

The Unconference Unveiled: When Attendees Become the Main Event

At the core of this community-centric approach is the unconference, a model that radically inverts the traditional event structure. It operates on a simple yet profound premise: the people who have gathered are the most qualified to determine what they need to discuss.

A Deep Dive into the Unconference: Definition and Origins

An unconference is a participant-driven event where the agenda is created by the attendees on the day of the event. It is not a meeting without a plan; rather, it is a meeting with a highly effective, real-time process for creating a plan that perfectly matches the needs and interests of those present. This format is not a recent invention but has a rich history rooted in the work of Harrison Owen, who developed a methodology called Open Space Technology (OST) in the mid-1980s.

Owen's pivotal moment of insight came after organising a large, traditional international symposium. In the feedback that followed, participants consistently reported that the most valuable and productive parts of the entire event were the coffee breaks. During these unstructured moments, attendees self-organised into passionate, relevant, and highly productive conversations. Owen wondered if it was possible to create an event that captured the energy and dynamism of a coffee break and sustained it for the entire duration. His solution, OST, became the framework for what we now call the unconference—an event designed to be "one big coffee break," guided by a central theme but driven entirely by the participants themselves.

The Guiding Philosophy: Four Principles and One Law

The unconference format is not an uncontrolled free-for-all. Its success is underpinned by a simple but powerful philosophy that creates the psychological safety and shared understanding necessary for self-organisation to flourish. This philosophy is expressed through four core principles and one inviolable law.

The four principles are:

Whoever comes are the right people. This principle alleviates the pressure associated with attendance numbers or the presence of specific VIPs. It asserts that the value of a conversation is determined by the passion and interest of those who choose to participate, not by their quantity or status.
Whatever happens is the only thing that could have. This encourages participants to remain present and engaged with the conversation as it unfolds, rather than being attached to a preconceived notion of what the outcome "should" be.
Whenever it starts is the right time. This acknowledges that creativity and meaningful dialogue do not follow a rigid timetable. It allows conversations to begin organically when the energy is right.
When it's over, it's over. This empowers a group to conclude a session when the conversation has run its natural course, rather than feeling obligated to fill a predetermined time slot. This frees up participants to move on to other productive discussions.

While these principles set the tone, the mechanism that guarantees the vitality and relevance of every session is the Law of Two Feet. This law states: "If at any time you find yourself in a session where you are neither learning nor contributing, use your two feet and move to another session". This is not a suggestion but a core tenet of personal responsibility. It empowers each individual to curate their own experience, ensuring that every session is populated only by those who are genuinely engaged. An event that creates a participant-driven agenda but does not empower attendees with the Law of Two Feet is not a true Open Space event. By systematically replacing the external control of a traditional conference with principles that foster internal motivation and trust, the unconference format transfers the responsibility for a valuable experience from the organiser to the attendee, thereby making the collective a powerful, self-regulating force for engagement.

How to Engineer Serendipity: The Unconference Playbook

An unconference might sound chaotic, but its success relies on a well-defined and facilitated process. It is not an unstructured event; it is a highly structured framework designed to support emergence and self-organisation. The organiser's role shifts from content curator to process architect, guiding participants through a series of steps that build psychological safety and collective ownership.

The Opening Circle: Facilitating a Democratic Agenda

The event begins with all participants gathered in a large circle, or concentric circles if the group is large. This physical arrangement is intentional; it immediately dismantles the typical hierarchy of a theatre-style setup, signalling that everyone is an equal participant. There is no "front of the room."

The facilitator then welcomes the group and explains the process, introducing the four principles and, most importantly, the Law of Two Feet. Following this introduction, the "Marketplace" opens. Anyone who wishes to host a session—whether it's to ask a question, share expertise, or facilitate a discussion—is invited to write their topic on a large Post-it note or index card and form a line. One by one, each person steps forward and gives a brief, 30- to 60-second pitch for their session, explaining the topic and what attendees can expect. This rapid-fire pitching process is a critical phase; it generates energy, crystallises ideas, and provides a "live trailer" that helps the entire group discover conversations of interest.

Building the Grid: From Chaos to a Co-created Schedule

As the Marketplace unfolds, the agenda is built in real-time on the "Session Wall." This is a large, pre-prepared grid, typically on a prominent wall, with available time slots listed down one axis and breakout room numbers or space names along the other. After delivering their pitch, each session proposer walks to the wall and physically places their card into an empty slot, thereby claiming a time and a space for their conversation.

This tangible, visual process transforms the abstract concept of an agenda into a physical artefact that the community builds together. It is a powerful act of co-creation that fosters immediate investment and ownership from all participants. If more sessions are proposed than there are available slots, the facilitator can initiate a simple voting process, such as giving each attendee a few dot stickers to place on the topics they most want to see happen. The facilitator's role here is to be a gentle guide, perhaps noticing two very similar topics and suggesting the proposers might want to merge their sessions for a richer, more comprehensive discussion.

The Art of the Un-Session: Facilitation Over Presentation

Once the grid is filled and the sessions begin, the role of the session proposer shifts. They are not a presenter delivering a monologue; they are a facilitator of a conversation. Their primary responsibility is to "hold the space" for the topic—to pose the initial question, guide the discussion, and ensure that the environment is inclusive and allows everyone to contribute.

The format of an un-session is inherently flexible. It could be a traditional group discussion, a Q&A with someone who has deep expertise, a "show and tell" of a new tool or project, a hands-on workshop, or a peer-to-peer problem-solving clinic. The unifying characteristic is a focus on interaction and multi-directional knowledge sharing, prioritising conversation over presentation.

Capturing Collective Genius: A Modern Documentation Strategy

A key challenge of the unconference format is preventing the immense knowledge generated in dozens of simultaneous conversations from evaporating at the end of the session. A robust documentation strategy is essential to create a lasting asset for the community. Effective methods include:

Dedicated Scribes: Each session can have a volunteer whose primary role is to capture the key points of the discussion.
Shared Digital Spaces: A central, shared document (like a Google Doc) or a collaborative whiteboard (like Miro) can be created with a separate section for each session. The link is shared with all attendees, allowing scribes and participants to add notes, resources, and links in real-time.
Physical Capture and Display: Providing flip chart paper and markers in each breakout space allows groups to visualise their conversations. After the session, these sheets can be hung on a central "Breaking News" or "Harvest" wall, allowing attendees to browse the outputs of sessions they couldn't attend.
The Wrap-Up: The unconference should conclude with a final closing circle. Here, a representative from each session can share one key insight, a powerful question, or a major takeaway with the entire group. This final step is crucial for cross-pollinating the most valuable ideas and creating a sense of collective accomplishment and shared learning.

Beyond the Unconference: A Toolkit of Community-Centric Formats

The unconference is a powerful, holistic approach, but its principles of peer-to-peer learning and participant-driven content can be applied through various other formats. These can be used as standalone events or integrated into a traditional conference to inject moments of genuine community and interaction.

Braindates: Hyper-Focused Peer-to-Peer Connections

Braindates are a modern solution to the age-old problem of finding the right person to talk to in a crowd. They are structured, one-on-one or small group conversations (typically 30-45 minutes long) that attendees schedule with each other through a dedicated digital platform.

The process begins with participants posting topics they either want to learn about or have expertise to share. This creates a crowd-sourced "marketplace of ideas". Any attendee can then browse this marketplace and send invitations to others for a "braindate" to discuss a specific topic. This format elegantly solves the challenge of serendipity by making shared interests explicit and searchable. Major events like Total Rewards '25 have successfully integrated the model, often creating a dedicated "Braindate Lounge" to host these focused conversations. The platform's success is evident in its scale; to date, participants have booked more than 500,000 braindates, demonstrating a clear demand for more intentional and meaningful networking.

Fishbowl Conversations: Structuring Inclusive Dialogue at Scale

A Fishbowl Conversation is an ingenious format for facilitating a large-group dialogue without it descending into chaos. The setup involves a small inner circle of chairs—the "fishbowl"—surrounded by a larger audience in concentric circles. Only the individuals in the inner circle are permitted to speak.

In the most dynamic version, the "Open Fishbowl," one chair in the inner circle is left empty. Any member of the outer audience can join the conversation at any time by moving to occupy the empty seat. When this happens, an existing member of the fishbowl must voluntarily get up and return to the audience, freeing up a chair. This creates a fluid, rotating panel of speakers drawn directly from the expertise and interest of the audience. The format is exceptionally effective for discussing complex or controversial topics, as it promotes active listening and breaks down the artificial barrier between "speakers" and "attendees". It has been successfully used in business settings, such as enabling a sales team to share their on-the-ground experiences with a new technology or allowing an executive team to conduct a meeting transparently in front of their managers.

Peer-to-Peer Problem Solving: Tapping into the Hive Mind

This format provides a structured and focused environment for collaborative problem-solving. Unlike a casual chat, these are facilitated sessions where an individual can present a specific professional challenge to a small group of peers and receive targeted feedback and advice.

A typical structure, often used in "action learning groups," might proceed as follows: one person has 10 minutes to outline their challenge. The group then has 5 minutes to ask clarifying questions only. Finally, the group spends 15-20 minutes brainstorming solutions and offering advice, while the original presenter simply listens and takes notes, without interrupting or defending their position. This disciplined process prevents defensive reactions and ensures the focus remains squarely on generating constructive, forward-looking solutions. It harnesses the power of diverse perspectives and leverages the "protégé effect," where individuals who explain concepts to others often deepen their own understanding in the process.

Infographic Suggestion: A visual comparison of a traditional conference agenda versus an unconference agenda. The traditional side would be a rigid, linear, top-down list of keynote speakers and pre-set panels. The unconference side would be a dynamic, grid-like "session wall" filled with handwritten Post-it notes, showing a fluid, bottom-up, and co-created schedule. This table provides a similar strategic overview.

Feature	Traditional Conference	Unconference	Braindates	Fishbowl Conversation	Peer Problem Solving
Agenda	Pre-planned, top-down	Co-created in real-time	User-generated topic market	Single topic, facilitated	Individual challenges
Content Source	Designated speakers/experts	All attendees	All attendees	Rotating group of attendees	Individual presenter & peers
Primary Goal	Information dissemination	Knowledge sharing & co-creation	Targeted 1:1 or small group connection	Large-group inclusive dialogue	Actionable solutions to a specific problem
Best For	Announcing new products, sharing established research	Exploring a complex theme, building a community of practice	Large events, facilitating targeted networking	Discussing controversial topics, sharing field experience	Deepening trust, solving specific professional challenges
Group Size	50 - 5,000+	20 - 500	2 (1:1) or 3-5 (group)	20 - 100+	5 - 8
Key Dynamic	Passive listening	Active participation & self-organisation	Pre-scheduled, intentional conversation	Rotational speaking & active listening	Structured feedback & brainstorming

The Bottom Line: The Business Case for Building True Community

Adopting these community-centric formats is more than a progressive choice in event design; it is a strategic decision that delivers tangible business value. Moving beyond traditional metrics like lead generation—which over 71% of organisers already find challenging to prove the ROI of —this approach builds a multi-faceted "Return on Community" composed of content, insight, and loyalty.

From Anecdote to Asset: Turning Conversations into Evergreen Content

The documented outputs from an unconference are a goldmine of high-quality, user-generated content (UGC). The topics proposed for the session wall are a direct reflection of your audience's most pressing concerns. The notes, key takeaways, and solutions generated within those sessions represent authentic, peer-validated answers to their biggest questions. This content is exceptionally valuable because it is inherently more credible than brand-created marketing materials. Research from Adweek shows that 85% of people find UGC more influential than content produced by brands themselves. This rich repository of conversations can be repurposed into a year's worth of blog posts, social media content, FAQs, and webinars, fuelling a content strategy that is guaranteed to be relevant. Furthermore, featuring authentic UGC on digital platforms has been shown to increase return visits by 20%, as audiences recognise it as a place to find the genuine views of their peers.

The Loyalty Dividend: Why Connection Converts and Retains

Genuine human connection is a powerful engine for building brand loyalty. Data shows that live events are uniquely positioned to foster this, with 77% of consumers reporting that their trust in a brand increased after an in-person interaction, and 64% retaining a positive impression of that brand long after the event. Community-centric formats are designed to catalyse exactly these kinds of trust-building moments. When attendees collaborate to solve a problem in a peer-support session or share a breakthrough insight during an unconference discussion, they form a powerful bond not only with each other but also with the organisation that created the space for that connection to happen. This is a proven strategy for major brands. Salesforce, for example, has cultivated immense loyalty through its "Trailblazer" community, with 80% of its members reporting that active engagement with the community helps them extract more value from the Salesforce platform.

The Ultimate Feedback Loop: Discovering What Your Audience Truly Values

A traditional conference agenda is, at best, an educated guess about what an audience wants to hear. An unconference agenda is empirical data. The session wall, filled with topics proposed, debated, and voted on by the attendees themselves, is an unfiltered, real-time snapshot of the community's collective priorities, challenges, and passions.

This is market research of the highest calibre, delivered at virtually no extra cost. It provides direct, unmediated insight that can de-risk future investments and guide strategic decisions across the business, from product development and marketing messaging to future event programming. Instead of speculating on what content to create or which features to build next, the community explicitly shows what it needs and values most. This transforms the event from a simple marketing channel into an invaluable strategic listening post.

Your Next Move: From Passive Audience to Active Community

The evolution of events marks a definitive shift away from the top-down, broadcast model of content delivery. The future lies in a bottom-up, community-driven framework of value co-creation. This transition does not diminish the role of the event organiser; it elevates it. The organiser becomes less of a stage manager and more of an architect of serendipity—a skilled facilitator who builds the container within which a community can connect, create, and flourish.

Embracing this shift is a bold move, but it is one that transforms a fleeting event into a lasting asset. It is the ultimate expression of valuing the collective intelligence in the room, turning passive listeners into active participants. The call to action for every seasoned event professional is to experiment. Start small. Integrate a single Fishbowl conversation into your next all-hands meeting. Pilot a Peer-to-Peer Problem-Solving track at your annual conference. Host a one-day internal unconference to tackle a complex business challenge. By taking this step, you are not just designing a more memorable and engaging event; you are investing in the construction of a stronger, more loyal, and more resilient community that will deliver value long after the lights have dimmed.