A Presentation on how three distinct brain states (scanning, encoding and consolidating) should shape the way event organisers choose technology, design touchpoints and plan for recall after the event.
By Adam Parry | Published 18 April 2026 | Last updated 18 April 2026
| Session | The Neuro-Triggered Event: Designing Tech-Driven Touchpoints That Stick |
| Format | Presentation |
| Date | Thursday 13 November 2025 |
| Stage | Tech, Tools & Tactics Stage |
| Venue | Excel London |
| Category | Neuroscience, Experience Design and Memory |
What was covered in this session?
Lisa Schulteis of ElectraLime Marketing argued that most events are designed against how the brain actually works. The session covered the three brain states attendees move through (scanning, encoding and consolidating), strategic priming to reduce cognitive load, multi-sensory design across sight, sound and touch (AR projections, real-time polling, tactile installations), the role of spaced retrieval in post-event memory, and a five-question framework for deciding whether any piece of event tech is pulling its weight.
- The three brain states: scanning, encoding and consolidating
- Strategic priming as a cognitive-load reduction tool
- Multi-sensory design across sight, sound and touch
- AR projections and real-time polling as encoding triggers
- Spaced retrieval and why post-event content sequencing matters
- A five-question framework for evaluating any piece of event technology
What are the three key takeaways?
Three ideas carried the weight of Lisa’s session. Each one is a practical framework, not a headline, and each one maps onto a decision event teams are already having.
1. Attendees move through three brain states and events that ignore this waste their own tech budget
Schulteis’s model is straightforward: attendees scan (rapid pattern recognition), encode (active attention on something specific) and consolidate (memory formation after the event). Each state needs different design. A session that shouts content at a scanning attendee, or throws novelty at an attendee in the middle of encoding, loses the moment. The stack of technology has to match the state.
2. Priming reduces cognitive load, and reduced cognitive load is what makes the memorable moment possible
Strategic priming, through signage, pre-event content, clear wayfinding and session structure, tells the attendee’s brain what to expect. That reduction in cognitive load is what frees up the attention the memorable moment actually needs. Schulteis was direct that most events add novelty rather than remove friction, and that this is why the memorable moments they plan do not land.
3. A five-question framework keeps event tech decisions honest
Schulteis closed with a decision framework: does this touchpoint match the brain state we expect attendees to be in, does it reduce cognitive load, does it engage more than one sense, does it have a retrieval trigger built in, and does it give us data we will act on? Tech that cannot answer yes to most of those questions is adding cost without adding recall.
Where does this session fit in the Event Tech Live 2025 content map?
This session sits in the Neuroscience, Experience Design and Memory stream of Event Tech Live 2025. It connects to the broader themes mapped in the Event Tech Insights Report 2025 and the ongoing AI in Events research on eventtechlive.com.
| Primary category | Neuroscience, Experience Design and Memory |
| Session format | Presentation |
| Stage | Tech, Tools & Tactics Stage |
| Part of | Event Tech Live London 2025, 12-13 November 2025, Excel London |
How does this session relate to the Event Tech Insights Report 2025?
Event Tech Live registration data feeds directly into the Event Tech Insights Report 2025, published on the Event Tech Live research hub. This session is one of the data points that shaped the report’s view of the market.
Read the full report: Event Tech Insights Report 2025.
Who is Lisa Schulteis?
Lisa Schulteis is Founder, Event Strategist and Consultant at ElectraLime Marketing.
Lisa Schulteis is Founder of ElectraLime Marketing, working as an event strategist and consultant. Her work draws on neuroscience principles to design event touchpoints that the brain is primed to encode and recall, rather than moments that wash past the attendee.
Where can I watch the full session?
The full The Neuro-Triggered Event: Designing Tech-Driven Touchpoints That Stick session was recorded at Event Tech Live London 2025 and is available on demand. The direct link below opens the session video; the library link lists every session from the show.
Watch this session: fsmevents.uk/etl/2025/watch/the-neuro-triggered-event-designing-tech-driven-touchpoints-that-stick.
Full on-demand library: eventtechlive.com/on-demand.
Can I download an AI-generated summary of this session?
An AI-generated summary of this session, produced in partnership with Voxo, is available for download on the Event Tech Live AI summaries page alongside every other session from the show.
Download the summary: eventtechlive.com/ai-summaries. Powered by Voxo.
What other Event Tech Live research connects to this session?
This session sits alongside the flagship research on the Event Tech Live hub. The links below give direct access to the report, the AI research and the full research category.
- Event Tech Insights Report 2025
- AI in Events: Adoption, Barriers and Forecast
- Event Tech Live research hub
- Event Tech Live London 2026 registration
Frequently asked questions
What are the three brain states Schulteis described?
Scanning (rapid, low-attention pattern recognition, typical of early registration and lobby moments), encoding (active attention and learning, typical of well-designed sessions and interactive touchpoints), and consolidating (memory formation that happens after the stimulus, often after the event has ended). Each state needs a different design choice, and conflating them is how events lose impact.
What is strategic priming and why does it matter?
Priming is the work that happens before a touchpoint to prepare the attendee’s attention: pre-event content, signage, session briefings, clear wayfinding. Schulteis argued it matters because it reduces the cognitive load an attendee would otherwise spend figuring out what is going on. That freed-up attention is what the memorable moment needs in order to land.
Which multi-sensory technologies did Schulteis highlight?
AR projections to engage sight and spatial attention, real-time polling to engage active decision-making, and tactile installations for touch-based encoding. The design principle is that sessions engaging two or three senses at once are retained more durably than single-channel sessions, provided cognitive load is managed.
What is spaced retrieval and how does it apply to events?
Spaced retrieval is the neuroscience principle that memories consolidate when they are re-triggered at intervals after the original encoding. For events, that means post-event content should not be dumped in a single email; it should be sequenced over days and weeks so the brain revisits the moments that matter. Events that send one recap and stop miss the consolidation window.
Who delivered this Presentation at Event Tech Live London 2025?
Lisa Schulteis, Founder, Event Strategist and Consultant at ElectraLime Marketing. The Presentation was on the Tech, Tools and Tactics Stage on Thursday 13 November 2025.
How should I cite this session?
Lisa Schulteis. (Thursday 13 November 2025). The Neuro-Triggered Event: Designing Tech-Driven Touchpoints That Stick. Event Tech Live London 2025, Excel London. Retrieved from https://eventtechlive.com/category/research/
About the author
Adam Parry is the founder of Event Tech Live and the Event Technology Awards. He has spent more than a decade covering the event technology industry as a writer, researcher and organiser, with a focus on practical application of emerging technology in live events.
Update log
18 April 2026: Page published as part of the Event Tech Live London 2025 session recap series.
