What are the common biases that affect your event production decision making?

As an event producer, you have to make many decisions that affect the success of your event, from choosing the venue and speakers to managing the budget and timeline. However, sometimes your decision making can be influenced by cognitive biases that distort your perception, judgment, and reasoning. These biases can lead to errors, inefficiencies, and conflicts in your event production process. In this article, we will explore some of the common biases that affect your event production decision making and how to overcome them.

1 Confirmation bias

Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek, interpret, and remember information that confirms your existing beliefs or preferences. For example, you might favor a certain venue because it matches your vision of the event, and ignore or downplay its drawbacks or alternatives. Confirmation bias can make you overconfident, resistant to feedback, and blind to risks or opportunities. To avoid confirmation bias, you should actively seek out different perspectives, challenge your assumptions, and test your hypotheses with data and evidence.

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Bill Burgos

Founder at LONU.ai
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When training NBA players during a season, common biases affecting decision-making include availability bias (prioritizing recent information or trends), confirmation bias (favoring methods that align with preconceived notions), and overconfidence bias (assuming one's training approach is infallible). These biases can impact player development strategies and influence performance outcomes.

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Gene Benson

Error Reduction and Human Factors Specialist
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A manager's confirmation bias can easily and dangerously spread to subordinates, causing them to report only positive information. A culture must be established in which contradictory points of view or unfavorable information is not only accepted, but welcomed. I have had success with this by appointing a "devil's advocate" for a day or for a meeting. that person is tasked with searching for the negatives and arguing in their favor. The practice is particularly valuable when a person who leans toward being a "yes person" is chosen for the roll.

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2 Anchoring bias

Anchoring bias is the tendency to rely too much on the first piece of information you receive when making a decision. For example, you might base your budget estimate on a previous event or a generic template, and adjust it only slightly according to the specifics of your current event. Anchoring bias can make you miss important factors, underestimate variability, and settle for suboptimal outcomes. To avoid anchoring bias, you should consider multiple sources of information, use a range of estimates, and negotiate or compare options.

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Gene Benson

Error Reduction and Human Factors Specialist
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As a pilot, I am a firm believer in the use of checklists. Like everyone else, I use a template for event development and planning, but I have created a checklist for many of the items on the template. The checklist asks for specific metrics on the particular item. If any of the metrics are not available or are unfavorable, it is time to take a step back and look at the overall plan.

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3 Availability bias

Availability bias is the tendency to judge the likelihood or importance of something based on how easily you can recall it from your memory. For example, you might overestimate the impact of a recent or vivid event, such as a technical glitch or a negative review, and neglect other factors that affect your event performance. Availability bias can make you biased by recency, salience, or emotion, and overlook trends or patterns. To avoid availability bias, you should use data and statistics, seek feedback and reviews, and avoid generalizing from single cases.

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4 Framing bias

Framing bias is the tendency to be influenced by the way information is presented or worded, rather than by its actual content or value. For example, you might react differently to the same information depending on whether it is framed positively or negatively, as a gain or a loss, or as a percentage or an absolute number. Framing bias can make you susceptible to manipulation, persuasion, or deception, and affect your risk appetite or satisfaction. To avoid framing bias, you should examine the information objectively, use multiple frames, and ask clarifying questions.

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Gene Benson

Error Reduction and Human Factors Specialist
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Framing bias is the lifeblood of politicians and sales people. This is where a "devil's advocate" approach is essential. Let the information sit for a day and then revisited it with a fresh and open mind.

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5 Sunk cost fallacy

Sunk cost fallacy is the tendency to continue investing in something that is not working or delivering results, because you have already invested a lot of time, money, or effort in it. For example, you might stick to a failing vendor or a flawed plan, because you don't want to waste or admit your previous investment. Sunk cost fallacy can make you irrational, stubborn, and wasteful, and prevent you from exploring better alternatives or solutions. To avoid sunk cost fallacy, you should focus on the future value, not the past cost, and be willing to cut your losses or change your course.

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6 Bandwagon effect

Bandwagon effect is the tendency to follow the opinions or actions of others, especially when they are popular or widespread. For example, you might adopt a certain trend or technology because everyone else is using it, without evaluating its suitability or effectiveness for your event. Bandwagon effect can make you conformist, unoriginal, and dependent, and reduce your critical thinking or creativity. To avoid bandwagon effect, you should form your own opinions, research the pros and cons, and differentiate your event from the crowd.

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Gene Benson

Error Reduction and Human Factors Specialist
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Younger or less experienced people are much more susceptible to the bandwagon effect. It is fostered by a lack of confidence. My practice of assigning a person to be the "devil's advocate" for a day has helped greatly in fighting this effect. Forcing someone to look at alternatives seems to provide them with license to go against the trends or at least to look critically at them.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Dr. Samuel James

1) Global Business consultant 2) Top 20 Global MBA graduate, Deakin Uni, Aus 3) Specialist Radiologist 4) Medicine from JIPMER (2nd in India and 55 Global rank)
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Faulty assumption which is not backed by data or previous events. One might expect certain segment to respnd to the event and it might not be the right segment or target audience because the deision to choose that segment was based on faulty assumption.

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Event Production

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What are the common biases that affect your event production decision making?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Confirmation bias

2 Anchoring bias

3 Availability bias

4 Framing bias

5 Sunk cost fallacy

6 Bandwagon effect

7 Here’s what else to consider

Event Production

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What are the common biases that affect your event production decision making?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Confirmation bias

2 Anchoring bias

3 Availability bias

4 Framing bias

5 Sunk cost fallacy

6 Bandwagon effect

7 Here’s what else to consider

Event Production

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