Elizabeth McCormick, CSP, is a former U.S. Army Black Hawk Helicopter Pilot and an award-winning motivational keynote speaker ranked #13 among the Top 30 Motivational Speakers in the World by Global Gurus. She is hired by corporations, associations, and government agencies worldwide to deliver high-energy, experience-driven keynotes on leadership, resilience, and performance. Her presentations move audiences toward immediate positive action.
Drawing on her distinguished military aviation background, McCormick translates real-world lessons from the cockpit into practical strategies for business and leadership success. Her presentations are known for combining engaging storytelling with actionable insights that strengthen culture, elevate communication, and inspire results.
If your organization is planning meetings, conferences, or client events in 2026, the ground beneath you is already shifting. The event industry has entered what experts are calling the Experience Age; where success is no longer defined by attendance or budget compliance, but by emotional engagement, measurable outcomes, and brand resonance.
According to the latest American Express Global Meetings & Events Forecast, in-person gatherings are back in full force, with 95 percent of North American meetings projected to be live in 2026. Yet they won’t look like the events of five years ago. Businesses are now expected to design experiences, not agendas and to demonstrate the value of those experiences long after the applause fades.
From ROI to ROE: Redefining What “Successful” Means
Corporate planners and event teams are rethinking traditional Return on Investment (ROI) metrics. The new measure is Return on Experience (ROE), how deeply participants feel inspired, connected, and motivated to act.
Research from Freeman’s 2025 Experience Trends Report found that 85 percent of attendees are more likely to return after experiencing a “peak moment,” an emotionally charged highlight they can’t stop talking about. Only 40 percent, however, say they’ve experienced one.
For businesses, that gap represents both a challenge and an opportunity. Events that create emotional resonance; through storytelling, interaction, or shared purpose can drive loyalty, retention, and internal culture far beyond the event itself.
Data and Technology Are Changing Everything
Artificial Intelligence is no longer a future tool, it’s a present-day partner. Over half of meeting professionals now use AI for agenda design, speaker curation, and content alignment with audience profiles. New technologies, including facial-analysis software, can even measure engagement and attention in real time, reading cues like curiosity and interest across an audience.
For corporate hosts, this data-driven shift means you can now quantify the intangible: energy, engagement, and emotional response. These insights allow for continuous improvement, ensuring every gathering, whether an internal leadership summit or a customer event, delivers measurable business value.
The Human Connection Returns as the Differentiator
After years of virtual and hybrid formats, employees and customers are craving connection. In-person events have reclaimed their status as a strategic business tool for culture-building, collaboration, and brand trust. Yet audiences’ expectations have evolved; they want meaning, participation, and alignment with their values.
Sustainability and inclusion are now central to planning decisions. Thirty-eight percent of event organizers have sustainability policies in place, and more than a third actively prioritize accessibility. Businesses that weave these principles into their event design demonstrate social responsibility and strengthen brand credibility.
Rising Budgets, Rising Expectations
While per-attendee spending is climbing, planners and executives face increasing pressure to justify every dollar. The question isn’t “How much did we spend?” it’s “What changed because we gathered?”
Companies are responding with more integrated event strategies: combining live sessions with digital engagement before and after the meeting, using CRM systems to track interaction, and analyzing feedback to document real outcomes such as improved morale, collaboration, or client conversion.
The Bottom Line
In 2026, events will no longer be line items on a budget they will be strategic investments in experience, culture, and connection.
Businesses that treat their meetings as moments of impact, designed with intention, measured by emotion, and guided by data, will gain the greatest returns.
Because in the Experience Age, success isn’t defined by who attends your event. It’s defined by who leaves changed.
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