Bothell Rental Hall
Starting at USD 0
Tue, 28 Oct, 2025 at 09:00 am - Thu, 30 Oct, 2025 at 05:00 pm (PDT)
Bothell Rental Hall
24323 Bothell Everett Highway, Bothell, United States
Experience the future of inclusive collaboration at The Engaging Conference 2025. Dive into a transformative space where ideas from all backgrounds, abilities, and identities converge.
Learn how to design & deliver engagement at your in-person, hybrid and virtual events.
Learn from the world's experts in Engagement.
What do you get with an IN-PERSON ticket?
Speakers Include:
From captivating panel discussions to interactive sessions, we're breaking barriers to ensure everyone's voice finds a platform and feels engaged. Using the most advanced and engaging hybrid setup, you will have the best seat in the house no matter if you attend in-person or virtually.
Join industry pioneers who value diversity as strength, and equip yourself with insights that redefine the norm.
With dedicated accessibility options and content tailored to a myriad of perspectives, this conference transcends the ordinary.
2024 Attendee Karin Crinella said, “This conference has given me so much more than I could have ever imagined. I feel lighter. I feel more confident. I have a new way forward because of you!”
NEW for 2025 - The first 50 IN-PERSON attendees get a 5-minute 4-camera fully edited video!
Engage, empower, and evolve together. Your unique story is our collective strength.
🌍♿️🏳️🌈Note: Accessible formats & captioning are readily available.
Attend virtually!
Attend in-person!
Attend what a PhD called, "The Best HYBRID E.V.E.R!"
Click "FOLLOW" for speaker announcements and agenda updates! See speaker videos below.
Tuesday 10/28/2025
7:30am Doors Open, hosted by Virtual Emcee JO Welch
8:00am The Engaging Conference Opening Ceremony hosted by John Chen, CSP
8:50am GAME ON: How to Design & Deliver Interactive Game Shows with Brian Walter, CSP, CPAE, Cavett
9:40am Break
10:20am - The Engagement Triangle by Rebecca P. Murray
11:10am - Best Team Ever to Every Team: Building a Relationship-Centered Culture with Ed Cohen
12:00pm - Lunch
1:00pm - Unlocking Engagement: Proven Practices Leaders Can Apply Now with Josh Craver
1:50pm - Engagement Through Luxury Wines - Gary Agajanian
2:40pm - Break
3:20pm - From Dishwasher To Restauranter with Luam Werson
4:10pm - The Engaging Debrief by John Chen, CSP
5:00 pm Dinner/Networking, end of virtual (In-Person Only)
7:00 pm Optional Evening Activity (In-Person Only)
Wednesday 10/29/2025
7:30am Doors Open, hosted by Virtual Emcee JO Welch
8:00am How To Make Your Next Keynote More Engaging With No Additional Technology by John Chen, CSP
8:50am Laugh, Connect, Repeat: The Art of Engagement with Props and Punchlines with Tim Gard, CSP, CPAE
9:40am Break
10:20am Cook Up a Keynote Learning Experience Your Audience Will Crave - And Remember with Frank Kitchen, CSP
11:10am - You’re More Important Than You Think.... Yes, You Are! by Mark Hunter, CSP
12:00pm Lunch
1:00pm Better Engagement Through Curiosity and Wonder – Becoming a Perspective Seeker - Adam Bacher
1:50pm The 7 D's: Navigating Dynamics as a DJ - Adam Tiegs
2:40pm Break
3:20pm Unleash the C.O.P.I.L.O.T. Emcee Framework with JO Welch
4:10pm - The Engaging Debrief by John Chen, CSP
5:00 pm Dinner/Networking, end of virtual (In-Peson Only)
7:00 pm Optional Evening Activity (In-Person Only)
Thursday 10/30/2025
7:30am Doors Open, hosted by Virtual Emcee JO Welch
8:00am The Hybrid Advantage for Speakers with John Chen, CSP
8:50am - Engaging With Your Health with Blair LaCorte
9:40am Break
10:20am The Brain Science of Engagement with Ariel Hazi
11:10am - Leading with LinkedIn with Lia Bliss
12:00pm Lunch
1:00pm Engagement Through Data Analytics - Scot Duffield
1:50pm - Engaging with Video with Vaibhav "Happy" Nahata
2:40pm Break
3:20pm - Super Engaging Panel moderated by John Chen, CSP
4:10pm The Engaging Retreat Closing Ceremony with John Chen, CSP
5:00 pm End of Virtual, Dinner/Networking (In-Person Only)
7:00 pm Celebration (In-Person Only)
In-Person Hotel Suggestions
McMenamins Anderson School
18607 Bothell Way NE, Bothell, WA 98011
To book by phone -
Call 425-398-0122
To book online -
Visit https://reserve.mcmenamins.com/mcmenamins/availability.asp
Comfort Inn & Suites Bothell - Seattle North
1414 228th St SE, Bothell, WA 98021
(425) 402-0900
Your Speakers:
John Chen, CSP
He’s the author of the #1 Amazon Hot New Book Release, Engaging Virtual Meetings. He’s been meeting virtually for over 38 years. He has produced over 4,000 virtual meetings including an EIGHT language meeting and the only 100% LIVE virtual conference in the training industry. He’s 1 of only 400 Certified Speaking Professionals designated by the National Speakers Association. Let’s WELCOME your speaker, John Chen, CSP!
GAME ON: How to Design & Deliver Interactive Game Shows
Game shows are a powerful way to prepare learners for a topic you’re about to cover or to lock in content you’ve already covered. That is . . . unless the games are complicated, hokey, no-fun, too easy, too long, or boring. (Yikes!) In this Engaging Retreat session, you’ll discover exactly how not to do that.
APPLICATION
- Use a variety of concepts and rules to make games that are instantly playable
- Leverage bold graphics and embedded audio to create a game show look and feel
- Incorporate fast pacing and purposely quirky question and answer copy to deliver a truly fun game experience
Brian Walter, CSP, CPAE, Cavett
Seattle-based Extreme® Emcee Brian Walter is the co-founder of Extreme Meetings Inc – providing customized infotainment to make meetings memorable. For over 25 years, he has specialized in transforming meetings from boring to exciting.
He can explain your brand to employees at All Hands meetings, test your sales peoples’ product knowledge with a custom game show, facilitate Extreme® Panels, interview execs, and produce videos that even your millennial employees will be impressed with.
Building on a degree in Communications from UCLA, Brian has been an advertising director, award-winning television and radio commercial producer, management trainer, consulting firm marketing director, freelance video producer, copywriter, speaker, internal communications director, and adjunct college professor at Seattle Pacific University
Tim Gard
Whether you're in a ballroom or a Zoom room, one truth remains: connection matters more than content alone. In this high-energy, laugh-filled session, Hall of Fame speaker Tim Gard, CSP, CPAE, reveals the secrets to making audience engagement unforgettable—live or virtual.
With over 28 years of experience captivating crowds from Texas to Tasmania, Tim shares how to use humor, props, and storytelling to connect in meaningful, memorable ways. This isn’t about gimmicks—it’s about purposefully creating moments that stick.
You’ll discover:
Tim will demonstrate how ordinary items (yes, even rubber chickens) become extraordinary tools for cutting through digital noise and human resistance. You’ll learn to build rapport faster, reduce tension, and keep audiences engaged from start to finish.
Whether you're a leader, speaker, educator, or trainer, this program arms you with ready-to-use strategies for creating stronger human connections—while making people laugh along the way.
Laugh. Connect. Repeat. It's not just a title—it's a technique. And once you learn it, your audiences will never forget you.
Tim Gard is a Hall of Fame speaker who transforms his audiences through humor for happier workplaces, renewed motivation, and greater profits. Tim is one of the funniest speakers on the planet, but he is not a comedian. He doesn’t make light of serious situations, instead, he shines a light on unseen possibilities.
If we look, we can find humor everywhere, especially when things get tough. Tim shows us how we can shift our perspective and change how we respond to these stressful circumstances. He calls this approach Comic Vision which helps audiences navigate how to turn negatives into positives through humor.
Frank Kitchen, CSP
Yes, Frank's last name really is Kitchen!
Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), Frank Kitchen is the Executive Chef of Transformation—a Results-Driven Leadership Expert who works with leaders and organizations tired of feeling stuck. He equips them with the mindset and strategies to consistently cook up the results they—and their people—are hungry for in their career, business, or organization.
As a keynote speaker, Frank blends research-backed strategies with real-world experience and his signature culinary-themed storytelling. His high-energy presentations don’t just motivate—they empower audiences to flip their mindset, break through barriers, and transform their loftiest aspirations into tasty, tangible results.
Frank’s journey to the stage began in 2015, sparked by a life-changing setback—being fired on Father’s Day weekend while supporting a pregnant wife and toddler. Rather than letting that moment define him, Frank made a bold decision to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time professional speaker. Since then, he has captivated audiences worldwide with his powerful story of resilience, transformation, and mindset mastery.
You’re More Important Than You Think.... Yes, You Are!
Breaking through in today’s world is more than having great ideas or an entertaining approach. Breaking through requires you to be the real you... This means creating a one-to-one relationship with your audience and your audience doing the same with everyone else.
Passion, emotion, body language, stories are the tools of a great presenter. Making the message stick occurs not by what is said, it’s by how it’s said and the level of engagement by the audience.
In this session you’ll learn how to use “you” in ways you never imagined to allow your audiences to leave your events having learned more and...remembering more than ever.
Bio:
Mark Hunter, CSP, “The Sales Hunter”
Mark Hunter, CSP, “The Sales Hunter,” is recognized as one of the top 50 most influential sales and marketing leaders in the world. He is author of multiple sales books, including A Mind for Sales and host of two podcasts, Sales Logic and The Sales Hunter Podcast.
Mark is known for the passionate style he brings to every engagement. His personality is engaging and yes, infectious making him a speaker companies and associations have back year after year. Audiences love how he brings stories to life and has audiences leaving with a renewed sense of purpose. This is the style he’s used to speak in 29 different countries and regardless of the language his message breaks through proving it’s far more than just the words being spoken.
The most amazing fact is how Mark began his career. It’s a story not yet worthy of a Netflix documentary but maybe with your help this will change. In the meantime, if you want to learn more you can visit his website: TheSalesHunter.com
Also check out other Meetups in Bothell, Arts events in Bothell, Business events in Bothell.
Tickets for The Engaging Retreat 2025 can be booked here.
| Ticket type | Ticket price |
|---|---|
| In-Person (Seattle, WA) | 2,130 USD |
| Virtual VIP (Zoom) | 209 USD |
| Virtual FREE (Zoom) | Free |
