The Wentworth Collective‘s founder and CEO Lisa James (our experience and content design partner for EXPO 2026) shares highlights from her DO Lectures talk “Humans Go First”.
In July, I had the honour of speaking at The DO Lectures, one of those rare places where ideas meet courage. It was a pinch-me moment.
The brief was simple: “Do the talk you’ve always wanted to do, the one that scares you because it reveals who you are.”
I spoke about something that has shaped every decision in my life and work, human connection, and how, in a world built for efficiency, we can still walk hand in hand with technology without losing our humanity.
Collective effervescence: What every business craves right now
The air was thick with summer heat and teenage excitement. Olivia Rodrigo took to the stage in Hyde Park, the first chords of Driver’s License filled the air, and a lilac sea of fans started singing every word.
I cried.
That surge of joy, unity and belonging has a name, collective effervescence.
Sociologist Émile Durkheim used the term to describe the electricity we create when we gather at concerts, football matches or around a dinner table, and become more than the sum of our parts.
It happens only when we are together, and every business leader I meet is trying to create that same energy inside their organisation.
Memorable experiences: The key to unlocking connection
My fascination with shared experience began early.
My dad worked for Pan Am, so travel was part of life. I fed kangaroos in Australia, hula danced in Hawaii and met Mickey Mouse in Florida. Culture wasn’t something I watched; it was something I lived.
Later, while studying Italian, I spent a year on the Amalfi Coast working between an English resort and the locals. Guests were stuck on cookie-cutter tours while the town’s vibrant Italian life unfolded outside. I started taking them out with the locals: go-karting and pizza. There were no itineraries, just laughter and messy tomato sauce, and I watched people come alive.
Then came EuroDisney. I joined the opening crew in 1992 and learned the craft of front-stage magic and backstage precision. It taught me that unforgettable experiences are carefully designed.
That became my work, creating the right conditions for connection.
Presence vs productivity: Is it a fair trade?
We swipe, scroll and ping our way through the day, yet many people feel increasingly alone.
A few facts still make me pause:
- 73% of restaurant orders are now placed through delivery apps
- UK adults spend an average of 4 hours 20 minutes online every day
- Half of fully remote workers say they feel lonely at work
- The World Health Organisation compares chronic loneliness to smoking 15 cigarettes a day
We are constantly online, but rarely connected.
When we meet face to face, oxytocin, the bonding hormone, spikes. We laugh, touch, make eye contact and feel part of something again.
So, we have to ask, are we trading presence for productivity?
The business case for collective effervescence
When a leading law firm asked me to reconnect its 350-person partnership after years of online meetings, we chose Barcelona, because I wanted them out of their heads and into their hearts.
In the open-air museum Poble Español, the group created Gaudí-style mosaics using the trencadís technique. Within minutes, they were laughing, collaborating and fully absorbed. Nobody touched the bar I had set up. One partner was so engrossed that he nearly missed the coach back while searching for the “Dalí eye”.
At the gala dinner on the final evening, opera singers performed Barcelona as guests arrived. Then the reveal, all their artwork assembled into a giant installation spelling Seize the Day / Aprovecha el Día.
The room lifted. Goosebumps, pride, connection.
That moment was beautiful and measurable.
When people feel connected and proud of what they have created together, engagement rises, ideas flow and silos soften.
Connection makes business sense.
The most successful organisations are not the ones with the biggest budgets, but the ones that design for belonging. Belonging fuels energy, and energy drives results.
Technology: The backstage, not the show
That Barcelona event worked because we used technology well.
We used tech to take the pain out of the process: every detail gathered, every need covered, so that when guests arrived, their only job was to be present.
My Olivia Rodriguez concert? No way I could have made it on time without technology.
Hospitality visionary Will Guidara writes in Unreasonable Hospitality, technology should handle efficiency so humans can focus on connection.
That is my approach too.
How to design corporate events for human connection
Connection doesn’t happen by accident; it happens by design. Here’s how I build it.
1. Start with observation.
Notice what people need before they arrive. Gather details, understand motivations, and design from empathy rather than assumption.
2. Remove friction.
Great experiences are lost in the details. No coffee, bad signage, dull content. Eliminate distractions and discomfort so people can focus on one another.
3. Minimise uncertainty.
Clarity is kindness. When guests know what is happening next, anxiety drops and engagement rises.
4. Leave space for magic.
You don’t have to over-engineer every moment. The best connections often appear in the gaps: a conversation in the coffee line, shared laughter, an unexpected surprise.
Humans go first
We are only as good as the information we feed our machines.
AI can be powerful, but it cannot replicate the warmth of a hug.
Brands are starting to notice.
Netflix is building physical spaces for people to meet.
Polaroid made headlines with their latest campaign: “AI can’t generate sand between your toes.”
Technology will keep evolving – and that’s a good thing.
Our job is to remember who we are, and keep making space for what makes us feel alive.
Key takeaways from Lisa’s do lectures talk
- Human connection is a basic need, not a luxury
- Collective effervescence can only happen when we are physically together
- Technology should manage efficiency so people can focus on emotion
- Great design balances structure and spontaneity
- Humans go first, always