Episode Summary:
Meet Jacques The Party Scientist, a dynamic speaker, consultant and event producer who uses his background in public health and biochemistry to revolutionize the way we approach events. On this episode of BEATS WORKING, Jacques shares how fostering joy and authentic connection — not just impressive venues or open bars — creates truly unforgettable experiences. Discover why goofiness is more than fun; it’s a leadership superpower that unlocks deeper human bonds.
Takeaways:
- Goofiness Is a Leadership Skill: Embracing silliness helps people drop their social “masks” and fosters authentic connections at events.
- Connection Outweighs Aesthetics: The strongest communities are built through engineered interaction, not just impressive venues or fancy décor.
- Alcohol Doesn’t Equal Connection: Most meaningful event connections happen when facilitated vulnerability and engagement are prioritized over open bars.
- Nudging Participation Works: Simple tactics like structured pairings, gratitude exercises, and playful movement can elevate the room’s vibe and inclusivity.
- Event Openings Set the Tone: Creating clear expectations and social norms from the outset empowers deeper interactions and participant comfort.
Timestamps:
[00:00] – Jacques on goofiness, masks, and leadership
[08:55] – Common event mistakes and the “PPP” framework
[18:01] – Designing gatherings for deep, intentional connection
[25:15] – Transformational impact of joy interventions
[28:44] – Goofiness, masks and imperfectionism
[35:16] – The impact of class, belonging and authenticity
[36:25] – Jacques’ most unforgettable joy intervention
Resources & Links:
The Party Scientist: Website, LinkedIn, Instagram
–More about Jacques The Party Scientist
-Event: Joy Bootcamp
-Alysse & Libby: Bios & LinkedIn
Connect with Us:
-Website: www.beatsworkingpodcast.com
-LinkedIn: @BEATS WORKING Show
-Instagram: @beatsworkingshow
-Facebook: @Beats Working Show
-YouTube: @BEATSWORKINGPODCAST
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Transcript
The following transcript is not certified. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. The information contained within this document is for general information purposes only.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:00:00]:
And the power of this form of goofiness that I just described, that the power of that is helping people take off their mask. Because otherwise people are going to wear a mask around you. And do you want that? Do you want people to wear a mask around you? I certainly don’t. And so even when I’ve dressed really nicely and you know, like, I got my lab coat on, right? My like, green lab coat with love it. I might as well just put it on. Honestly, even when I’m like, dressed super nicely, because I’ll just be straight up, like, do people take me seriously unless I’m dressed really nicely? Of course not. I look like I’m 16 and like I’m jumping around with light up shoes on. So, like, I have to look, I have to play the game a little bit.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:00:56]:
So the point I’m making is goofiness is a leadership skill.
Alysse Bryson [00:01:01]:
Welcome to Beats Winning the Game of Events, where we share stories and strategies to turn any event or life moment into something unforgettable.
Libby Sundgren [00:01:11]:
Events are wild and the people who work in them are some of the most resilient humans on Earth. If you know, you know.
Alysse Bryson [00:01:19]:
So come with us behind the curtain for a look at their most memorable experiences.
Libby Sundgren [00:01:24]:
As they say, the show must go on. So. So let’s get on with the show. Hello and welcome back to Beats Working Winning the Game of Events. Our guest today isn’t your typical scientist. Jack. The party scientist is on a mission to bring science back, joy and connection to every room he enters. That’s a lot of rooms.
Libby Sundgren [00:01:54]:
With a background in public health and biochemistry, he’s led over 700 joy interventions across 13 countries. Who doesn’t need a joy intervention right now? Transforming meetings and events into unforgettable experiences. He’s here to show us that human connection isn’t just fun, it is essential. Help me welcome the one and only party scientist himself. How the crowd goes wild. The crowd goes wild.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:02:25]:
We’re just gonna party all podcast now. So we do. Let’s get the music. Oh, thank you. Thank you. I’m excited. I’m excited to break some misunderstandings about what a party scientist does and hopefully give you a lot of tools to activate your own joy and bring it into every connection you have with people.
Libby Sundgren [00:02:49]:
Well, that’s a great start. Tell us what you do for the people who don’t know what a party scientist does if they didn’t have that on their dream job list as a kid.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:02:59]:
Yeah. So I empower joy makers, and what that means is empowering people to ignite joy with humans. And I believe this is one of the most important skills in leadership and also for happiness. And just to back that up, the greatest recommendation from the science of happiness is socialize more. And, you know, this is a controversial statement, but it’s backed by the research, even for introverts. So if introverts socialize more, they’re happier. And same with extroverts. And so how can we socialize better? How can we design gatherings where people are socializing better and forging lasting relationships? Well, we use this.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:03:58]:
This neuroscience, the neuroscience of joy.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:04:01]:
Right.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:04:02]:
Joy is pretty much a performance enhancement drug. It helps our brain work more effectively. It helps us empathize and helps us build social bonds. And so. And it’s also an antidepressant. When we. When we multiply joy by human connection, it’s the greatest antidepressant. And I say this not as woo woo hippie.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:04:30]:
I say this as someone who has a degree in drug development.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:04:35]:
Right.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:04:35]:
I went through lectures on antidepressants, and I learned about these conditions. So I hope by the end of this conversation, all of you, part of you, maybe even if it’s just 5% of you, identifies as a joy maker and realizes that being a joy maker will make you substantially happier. So let’s do it.
Alysse Bryson [00:05:03]:
Do we get a badge? Do we get a joy maker badge? Is there something like that?
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:05:09]:
So we do capes. Joy maker capes. Yeah. So I have a bunch of capes here, and I knight people with the capes. If they’ve demonstrated, there must be sufficient evidence. So if they’ve demonstrated that they are hosting epic gatherings or they’re lighting people up in their conversations, then I will knight them with a cape. I will fly to wherever they are. No, not yet.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:05:41]:
But that’s my hope. My hope is eventually I just, like, have, like, a $10,000, like, flight budget, and I just fly and night people.
Libby Sundgren [00:05:52]:
That would be phenomenal.
Alysse Bryson [00:05:53]:
That’s amazing. Did you always know that you wanted to do this? Like, when you look back on childhood, do you see how it showed up as a kid that you were meant to do this work?
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:06:06]:
Early on, I was obsessed with preventive health care, and that’s really what my work is about. It’s all disease prevention. It just looks like fun. And it looks like, you know, a lot of people think it’s hedonism. But truthfully, what I do is I give people skills so that. So that they can go ignite joy in their lives.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:06:30]:
Right.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:06:31]:
But yes, and that was heavily influenced by my dad, who Was a public health officer for 30 years. He handled the Ebola outbreak, you know, in Vancouver. Like, he. He handled a lot of these disease outbreaks, infectious disease, obesity, beyond. So that. That really ignited my excitement for medicine. But I don’t want to be a part of a broken system. And there’s a lot of great things about our healthcare system, but the prevention is missing.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:07:03]:
And so I’m really excited about prevention. And how do we prevent disease? Well, we create a positive social environment where people are exercising, encouraging one another, touching each other. Oh, I said the word touch. Oh, my gosh.
Libby Sundgren [00:07:22]:
Whoa.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:07:23]:
Shaq’s gonna get canceled, right? But, like, the reality is this is, like, that is so healthy. It’s so good for our bodies. And so that’s really what I’m trying to do, is create these experiences that are just powerful methods for preventing disease.
Libby Sundgren [00:07:42]:
Something I think that all people in the event industry, and I. I say this as somebody who comes from, like, the planner side of this, but I think that the goal of almost everyone that I know in the event industry is, I mean, to create a good event, but also to create joy and to foster that and for people to be happy and to love the event and have great things to say. But that obviously doesn’t always happen. And, you know, the. What you think is going to be a great event can really fall flat. You know, whether it’s emotionally, whether it’s, you know, in the vibe, whether it’s physically. So what mistakes do you see people making when they’re trying to create connection? And how do we fix that from the start? Or maybe not even mistakes, but what. What are your, you know, top three or top one, whatever tips from for people who are in the events industry to really keep that goal of joy and connection in mind from the beginning.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:08:55]:
Yeah. So I’ve had the chance to get to know event planners, just everyone listening. I also produce my own event. I produce a retreat called Joy Boot Camp. So I now produce events, but they’re very different because everyone lives in a giant spa mansion together. So it’s a little different than a conference.
Libby Sundgren [00:09:18]:
I love it.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:09:21]:
We all get up at the same time and do a joy workout. It’s called involving laughter, yoga, meditation, et cetera. But I produce events, and I own my events. And so I just want to empathize with all the planners out there who have a bunch of stakeholders and are not able to. To innovate and experiment as much as they’d like. And that’s a huge barrier, getting your stakeholders bought in. I first Just want to emphasize, I think the. The most like the KPI here is returning customers.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:09:59]:
We want to create raving fans for our events. How do we do that? Well, we create the strongest bonds of people that come to our event again and again and again because they want to connect with the people. Right. So I believe that one mechanism to creating raving fans for our events is creating a really strong community. And how do we create community? Well, we use joy. So joy is not just, oh, we’re just trying to give people an emotional high. No, joy is also a mechanism to forge these deep bonds of emotional safety. You know, we’ve all heard of psychological safety.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:10:43]:
Emotional safety is just how can we create more emotional aliveness in the room so that people can have real human relationships? Now, coming back to your question, the real simple answer is ppp. So this is an acronym I created, and it stands for Performers, playsthetics, and Potions. Okay, Performers, playsthetics, and Potions. And this is what event planners obsess about. We obsess about the venue, we obsess about what drinks we’re serving, and then we have these performers. And all of this, honestly, is not like it impacts the vibe. It impacts the vibe. But is it the best, most direct way to forge meaningful connections? Absolutely not.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:11:43]:
I would say most of those strategies, they’re kind of like checkboxes that we focus on way too much. And let me just go through them. So, first of all, performers, what do performers do? I’m going to tell you a story. The first event that I spoke at was mpi, and it was in Mexico, and it was wec, and it was a spectacular event, an amazing hotel. I made great connections. I had a great session. In fact, my producer, after my session, she came up to me and she sat me down and she said, you can’t have that many people on stage. You can’t use music, you can’t do this, you can’t do that.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:12:25]:
But you’re really good, and you could do this full time if you wanted. Anyway, so I was at this event, and I want you to just imagine hundreds of people dancing, drinks in the air. It’s open air, it’s warm, there’s pools surrounding us everywhere. And then suddenly everything stops. And people, every single human, brought out their phone to film a drone show. And it was great. It was probably great for the event because they got a bunch of video footage that got posted online, but it was not great for the actual emotional. It might have created awe, but it was just ironic.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:13:12]:
It was this magical experience. And suddenly every single person there was in spectator mode. Spectator mode.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:13:19]:
Right.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:13:20]:
My thing is, how do we get people in the participant mode and connector mode? So performers, they put people into spectator mode and that limits their emotional experience. Okay. Number two, playsthetics. Most event planners, they spend like all their budget on like the place. When really like, that has less of an impact on the connections we make than how we actually socialize. Okay, So I get it. The place that you book, it’s going to determine the brand and it’s going to give people expectations. But we blow, like a lot of the vent players, they blow the budget on a really nice venue, and then they just have people socialize without any structure and they just give people alcohol.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:14:10]:
But like, there’s no real facilitation. There’s no like activations. Like, if you had like carnival games or something going, like something, something more interesting or like some roving performer who got people interacting right, like, that to me is higher ROI in terms of creating that sense of strong community. Finally, potions, right? We know in the event industry there’s a lot of alcohol. A lot of planners, they, they love drinking and socializing, and it’s awesome. I’ve had some amazing experiences socializing with, with, you know, the open bar. And it does help people bring their walls down. But the reality is alcohol prevents people from intentionally connecting.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:14:58]:
Okay. So when you become intoxicated by anything, you know, drugs, alcohol, basically, you have less frontal lobe activity, which is your executive functioning. You have less self awareness. You’re basically socially less aware when you’re drinking alcohol. So how can you, how can you intentionally connect? Like, sure, it, it decreases people’s nerves. Okay, I’ve been ranting for a while. What do you think? Disagree. Agree.
Libby Sundgren [00:15:33]:
I think we agree with all of it.
Alysse Bryson [00:15:35]:
We do, we do.
Libby Sundgren [00:15:37]:
It’s really interesting. All true, all true. But the third point you made about potions, we host these small dinners, you know, 20 to 24 people, and they’re kind of like a. It’s like a dinner party with guided conversation. And truly there is just this very cozy, like, very intimate vibe at these dinners. And everyone who I know that has gone has come away saying like, oh my God, I can’t believe I connected with that person. And I never would have known them. And we had so much.
Libby Sundgren [00:16:17]:
You know, their points were so interesting. Whatever, it was great, stars and eyes. But the alcohol bill has always been minimal at most. And it. At the beginning, I. When we first started these, I was like, oh, we’re gonna, we’re gonna Spend a lot in. A lot in alcohol because people are really gonna need it to connect. And truly, the connections that we’ve seen between people have almost entirely happened without alcohol.
Libby Sundgren [00:16:51]:
And it has been a very cool thing to see as somebody who has also planned events where you had to, like, wheelbarrow people out at the end.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:17:02]:
So. So what do you. What do you attribute that to?
Libby Sundgren [00:17:06]:
I think it’s the vulnerability that we encourage people to have and the real, like, sharing that happens. It’s kind of. The format is Dan or Elise.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:17:19]:
They’ll.
Libby Sundgren [00:17:20]:
They’ll kind of talk for a minute, but then give a prompt and say, like, okay, talk to the person in front of you about this or the person next to you, whatever. And then, you know, the next. You know, the next prompt, like, open it up to four people and then kind of open it up to the people at your table. I mean, the topics also are deeper about, like, life and death and intentionality and, you know, whether you’re chasing your own happiness or somebody else’s idea of what happiness should be. So the topics are not fluff, which I think contributes to that, I guess, the sharing that happens at the table.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:18:01]:
So. So I’ll just emphasize most people will not have those conversations unless you explicitly give them permission. So this is. I’m sure you’ve had the experience, right, of just talking. My experience in life is unless I ask people these questions, like, very, very rarely do these conversations happen. So, like, a question is an invitation and a permission slip. And what you’re doing is you’re creating the. The context.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:18:39]:
You’re creating a context in that room where we’re going to have these conversations. And so that’s one thing event planners can do by engineering the expectations around the event as well. What are we here to do? What are we here to talk about? Here are some prompts. Yeah, I found it to be very effective for doing that well.
Alysse Bryson [00:19:04]:
And I think that once people realize they don’t need a potion to get them to relax, it will naturally happen within half an hour if you just let it. I mean, if you just work through the awkwardness that you may or may not feel, or you might feel the person next to you going through, like, it will eventually just work its way out without any potions. I mean, in my experience. But a lot of people have this mindset or culture has this mindset that you have to have it, which is really just a lie.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:19:37]:
I just want to emphasize, too, that, you know, there’s a lot of discussion around. It seems to me like this question of alcohol and the sober generation is a big topic in the events industry. Like, I have been featured in some articles about this, and I think it’s missing the point. Like, I don’t think it matters much whether there’s alcohol or not. Like, what matters is, are we truly capitalizing on the potential of the gathering? And it’s like, okay, mocktails or not. Like, whatever. Like, are we doing something? Are we using science to give people a magical experience? And I think that whether alcohol is present or not, as long. As long as there is that, like, event design in place, you can achieve a very similar outcome.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:20:47]:
And so I’m much more interested in, like, really. My passion is what can we do with groups of people that unlock the happiness neurotransmitters, right? Serotonin and oxytocin, especially those are called the here and now neurotransmitters. And then endorphins, which are like, proteins, which. Which are responsible for social bond formation. So for me, whether someone is inebriated or not, like, first of all, if they’re. Oh, my gosh. I once hosted a party for a group of people, and they were so drunk that they actually couldn’t participate in the activities. So it ended up being a disaster.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:21:39]:
It was, like, one of the biggest disasters in my life because there was too much alcohol. But the point I’m making is I think that this question, okay, do we include alcohol or not? I don’t think that’s as important as, okay, what are we doing at this event? Are we just letting people mingle around? And you know what they’re gonna do? They’re gonna stay in their cliques. That’s what people do. They stay where it’s safe. So how do we nudge?
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:22:13]:
Right.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:22:13]:
Nudge is behavioral science term where we just kind of subconsciously nudge people in a direction of, like, you know, novelty or discomfort. How do we nudge people into these deeper connections, into new connections? Right. That’s what I’m interested in.
Libby Sundgren [00:22:33]:
So what are your favorite ways to do that? To nudge people? How would. How do you like to nudge people?
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:22:39]:
Hmm. Yeah. So, to me, the most important aspect of an event is the opening. And so if you set the right context during the opening of the event, then people have a new, like, awareness of what the social norms are. They have a new understanding of the social norms that are acceptable. Honestly, like, the easiest way to do this is to just invite people. Like, you don’t even have to give sophisticated, deep prompts. Although I’ve done This successfully with groups of strangers that I never thought would ever want to do this.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:23:22]:
But really just pairing people up that don’t know each other and doing that five times, that can change the vibe in an entire room. That’s kind of what I do during my opening Joy notes because I do public speaking at events as well. And the idea is, how do you make people feel like they know everyone in the room and they feel comfortable talking to anyone in the room?
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:23:50]:
Right.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:23:51]:
And, well, how do you do that? Well, you just get people to pair up a lot and, like, play a quick game or ask some deep questions and invite some more vulnerability. I like to also leverage a lot of gratitude, like exercises. Gratitude prompts, gratitude, meditations. I also like to leverage movement. Movement and music is one of the natural disinhibitors. Alcohol is a disinhibitor.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:24:21]:
Right.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:24:21]:
It reduces people’s nerves, it reduces people’s social anxiety. So how do we do that naturally? Well, we use music and movement. And I’m not talking about dance, because dance is a performance art. You go to a dance studio, what do you see? You see mirrors. Dancing, like dancing is about looking good. So we want to move away from dance. We want to move toward movement. How can we just move playfully, joyfully, Right? And that’s going to change everyone’s state because we all have a pretty similar nervous system that changes when we move our bodies.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:24:58]:
So you’ve.
Alysse Bryson [00:24:59]:
This is a good transition. You’ve led these joy interventions on five continents. Can you give us an example? And you obviously don’t need to name the person of someone who came into an event, and you could see they were a different person when they left.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:25:15]:
So the reason why I started producing my own events is because I was tired of having a temporary impact on people’s lives. You know, one question that I ask myself as an event producer is, how do I achieve a change in people’s lives versus is my event just an escape? And, like, I used to throw a lot of sober parties, and people would come to my. My events, and then they would just go back to normal. So this, this is why I created Joy Boot Camp, which is this, like, program. Pretty much. It’s like a leadership program. But, yeah, I had. I had someone actually join me in my living room.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:25:58]:
We host these little circles in my living room. We hosted one of these circles for New Year’s Eve. And so what we do on New Year’s Eve every year is my crew and I, Joy Makers. We go out into the city and we get thousands of People dancing, singing, smiling, hugging. And it’s just the most fulfilling, rewarding experience ever. So we meet beforehand in my living room, and this person was so quiet, almost mute, like you would assume they’re mute. And they didn’t really say anything in the opening circle. And then, you know, they enjoyed.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:26:39]:
They enjoyed the Joy. The parade through the city. Afterward, they decided to come to Joy Boot Camp. And they. They had to. Well, they got invited to do a talk in front of the group. And so we do public speaking exercises at Joy Boot Camp because that’s like, you know, so the big two fears that hold people back from spreading a lot of joy is like, perfectionism and then fear of a judgment and rejection.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:27:14]:
Right.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:27:14]:
We all want to be liked. So how do we overcome that? Well, we can do public speaking exercises. We can encourage each other. And they sat in front of the group, and they didn’t have much to say. So they were just in front of the group, and we were all watching them. But to sum it all up now, today, this person comes to my events, and I can actually have conversations with them. And before that, I couldn’t see. I couldn’t.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:27:43]:
I couldn’t have a conversation with them. So. So that’s an example of someone with. With like, some complex things going on. And. Yeah, I like to create these spaces where people can fail and be awkward and be imperfect and learn how to speak in front of people, have enriching conversations. Right. And so that was a big.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:28:12]:
That was a big change that I witnessed, from pretty much mute to being able to have a real conversation and be engaged and ask questions.
Libby Sundgren [00:28:22]:
And that’s a big, you know, transformation for somebody, you know, regardless of what. What else they’ve got hidden in their brain or in their DNA. But it’s so true, the perfectionism and, you know, wanting to be accepted, which is just such a common theme in the human race.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:28:44]:
Yeah, yeah. I. This term imperfectionism really, really resonates with me. And I actually just wrote an article today on this theme, and it’s this concept of goofiness and the contrast between goofiness and what culture tells us. So, you know, we’ve all been to an event where we feel the pressure to look as attractive as possible, seem as intelligent as possible as possible, and appear like wealthy and high status.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:29:20]:
Right.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:29:21]:
And that’s the opposite of goofiness.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:29:24]:
Right?
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:29:24]:
That is the exact opposite of goofiness. Goofiness is not caring about whether you look intelligent or attractive or high class. That’s. That’s what goofiness is. And the power of this form of goofiness that I just described, that the power of that is helping people take off their mask. Because otherwise people are going to wear a mask around you. And do you want that? Do you want people to wear a mask around you? I certainly don’t. And so even when I’m dressed really nicely and you know, like, I got my lab coat on, right? My like green lab coat with love.
Libby Sundgren [00:30:08]:
It might as well.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:30:10]:
I might as well just put it on. Honestly, Even when I’m like dressed super nicely. Because I’ll just be straight up, like, do people take me seriously unless I’m dressed really nicely? Of course not. I look like I’m 16 and like I’m jumping around with light up shoes on. So, like, I have to look, I have to play the game a little bit. So this is serotonin right here, I think. Or dopamine. I don’t know.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:30:39]:
I think it’s serotonin. So the point I’m making is goofiness is a leadership skill. And that was my rant about goofiness. Welcome to the, to the rant club, everybody.
Libby Sundgren [00:30:51]:
It’s true. Because when you’re, you’ve. Everyone has experienced that when you’re at an event and you’re, you’re trying to be cool and trying to be like, just cool, and you look and you see somebody else being really authentic and you’re like, they’re having such a better time. Like, I’m actually not having that. Like, I wish I was that person. Just really being themselves. It’s underrated. Goofinesses.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:31:18]:
Yeah. And I want to emphasize too that we’re all in different event contexts and some of them are purely transactional.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:31:27]:
Right.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:31:28]:
Some of them are sales oriented. And I think the sweet spot is. And we can’t deny. So I wrote another article about classism and lookism and how I’ve struggled in my past of judging people who look high class. And I judge them. In fact, I used to tell myself those people are judging me. They think I’m low class. Because honestly, I’ve experienced that.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:32:01]:
I’ve experienced that at dozens of event conferences. People judge me because I’m this young guy who’s super fun and playful and they judge me as being something.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:32:14]:
Right?
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:32:15]:
But we need to accept that lookism is real and unfortunately, it’s kind of biological. And so, yes, dressing nicely and dressing attractively is important. And the sweet spot for me is playing into the lookism game and being goofy. And. And so I’m getting the best of both worlds. People aren’t, people aren’t judging me based on my appearance. And then I go into the interaction and I light people up and I make people feel safe. And I tell people, hey, by the way, I’m not, I don’t really care what social value you have.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:33:01]:
Like, I’m just here to have fun with you and get to know you.
Alysse Bryson [00:33:05]:
I love that so much, especially as someone who has a nickname of Cheese. Being cheesy, being the big cheese. So I feel like you have really just reinforced the, my, my ethos of just sticking to being the unique character that I am, making mistakes at full speed and, you know, and just embracing the Cheese. Because that’s just, it just, it just feels right to me. And I will still get judgment for it, and that’s okay. But, like, at the end of the day, I hope that I make more people smile than I annoy people.
Libby Sundgren [00:33:44]:
I did call her Cheese one time when we were interviewing somebody, which I.
Alysse Bryson [00:33:48]:
Was like, libby, you can’t actually call me Cheese in an interview.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:33:52]:
I don’t know that, that, just please.
Libby Sundgren [00:33:53]:
Don’T do that in an interview next time. Like, oh, sorry, I didn’t even know. It just slipped out.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:33:59]:
Yeah, I, I think the big theme here, how do we create environments where people don’t have to hide? I think, I think that’s really it, right? Like, I don’t want to have to hide that I, like, am a flash mob expert and I get people holding hands and hugging and none of them know each other. Like, I don’t want to have to hide that, nor should. And so, yeah, so. And, you know, I think we’ve all been at events where you just kind of feel like that. And, you know, I, I’ll give you another story. I was at this beautiful Fairmont in Toronto, and it’s like the fanciest Fairmont ever. It’s like, it just looks like it’s from the Monarch era, you know, and like, well, what context does that set? The context that it sets is you gotta act as classy as possible. You gotta appear as classy as possible.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:35:16]:
And I’m kind of, I, I, I just wonder, I wonder about the impact of that on our connections. And this is like a juicy conversation, right? Like, class. That’s a big topic. Can we, we have limited perspectives. I have a limited perspective about this. But what I’ve noticed over and over again is when I feel like I need to show class, it doesn’t feel good and it doesn’t facilitate my connections. And that’s what I felt at this really fancy hotel, and I was just like, am I supposed to be here? Yeah.
Libby Sundgren [00:36:03]:
I know this is gonna have to be like a 10 parter interview, so.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:36:07]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, let’s. Let’s wrap it up. We’re gonna.
Libby Sundgren [00:36:11]:
We’re gonna. We’re gonna do definitely a part two. But before we wrap, I want to know what is your most. What’s been your most unforgettable or one of the most unforgettable joy interventions that you have done?
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:36:25]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I once led an adult summer camp in California, and we had the group on one side of the field, and then we had a line of people on the other side of the field. And one at a time, the people would run toward the large group and jump into the crowd and we would lift them up into the air and it was so exhilarating. I’ve done this a bunch. I haven’t done this with the, with my, like, corporate audiences yet, but I have done laughter yoga. I’ve done laughter yoga with. At the professional conferences at the Marriott. I’ve done laughter yoga at the Marriott.
Libby Sundgren [00:37:13]:
I love that summer camp. It’s kind of like a mix of Dirty Dancing and Red Rover. Red Rover, which you’re not allowed to play anymore because that, like, broke many people’s arms or something. So this is a much better version of it.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:37:25]:
I haven’t played that game because I’m afraid. Yeah, I have not played Red Rover.
Libby Sundgren [00:37:32]:
Amazing. Well, Jacques, thank you so much for joining us. This was the best. And truly, we know where you live and where it’s your contacting, so we’re coming after you for another interview.
Jacques W. Martiquet [00:37:44]:
Yes. Joy Rave. Come up for a Joy Rave.
Libby Sundgren [00:37:47]:
All right, well, that is a wrap for this episode of Beats Working. If you’ve got an idea or you want to reach out, just email us at infoatsworking show. And remember, every detail matters, every moment counts, and no matter what, the show must go on.
Alysse Bryson [00:38:02]:
Thanks for listening to Beats Working. Winning the game of events where we explore what it takes to make moments unforgettable.
Libby Sundgren [00:38:09]:
If you’re leaving with a little more inspiration, a little more perspective and and a big side ache from all of the laughing at our funny jokes, then we’ve done our job.
Alysse Bryson [00:38:18]:
Beats Working is a work P2P production. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platforms.
Libby Sundgren [00:38:28]:
Your support helps us keep the magic going.
