Amplify with Intention: Finding Your Voice in the Live Event Industry

As March arrives, many of us in the live event world feel the familiar shift. Calendars begin to fill. Tour buses start rolling. Festival sites move from quiet fields to buzzing villages of crew, artists, and production teams. The season is ramping up.

With that momentum comes excitement, but also the pace, pressure, and complexity that define our industry. At ECCHO Live, we’ve been hearing an important theme emerge across recent gatherings. From our Lunch & Learns, to conversations at our recent Day Off at Futureshirts (watch the IG recap at this link), to discussions with the clinicians who will support us through All Access On Site as it hits its stride next month, the topic keeps returning to one powerful idea: How do we amplify our voices in an industry that often moves at full volume?

Finding your voice in live events isn’t about being the loudest person in the room. It’s about communicating with clarity, deftly setting realistic boundaries, asking questions, and knowing when to listen. It’s about intentional amplification...of your needs, your ideas, and the well-being of the crew around you.

Here are five ways to begin strengthening that voice for the season ahead.

1. Speak Up Early, Not Just When Things Break

Live events run on problem-solving at high paces. But many problems can be softened, or avoided, when we feel comfortable speaking early. Maybe it’s asking for clarification on a call sheet, naming a schedule conflict before it becomes a crisis, or voicing a safety concern on site.

Try this:

• Asking questions without an apology. Such as saying, "Tell me more about what I am not seeing or hearing fully."

• Offering solutions when you see a gap. Saying, "This is what could be helpful."

• Remembering that clarity helps the entire crew.

When we speak up early, we contribute to smoother shows and healthier teams.

2. Listen as Intentionally as You Speak

Voice isn’t just expression, it's connection. Some of the most respected leaders in live events are the ones who create space for others to contribute. Intentional listening helps crews feel valued and helps teams catch things that might otherwise be missed.

Try this:

• Pausing before responding. Take the beat!

• When something isn't clear, asking, “What am I missing?” or "Tell me more."

• Making space for quieter voices on the crew, which may require a follow up side conversation.

When listening becomes part of leadership, communication strengthens across the entire production.

3. Advocate for Your Well-Being

The culture of live events often celebrates endurance. Long days, overnight drives, and tight turnarounds can be part of the work, but caring for yourself is not a weakness. It’s sustainability. At ECCHO Live, many conversations this year have centered on how we normalize wellness in an industry built on adrenaline and physical exhaustion.

Try this:

• Communicating when rest is needed, even if pushing through a timeline- it can help tame it to name it.

• Using available wellness resources, such as a gym for your day off, a spa day you could book, a podcast to tune into?

• Encouraging mental health conversations on your crew.

When one person advocates for balance, it gives others permission to do the same.

4. Share Your Knowledge

The live event industry is built on mentorship, formal and informal. A quick conversation backstage, a tip on managing gear flow, a reminder to drink water on a hot festival day.

Your voice matters not just for you, but for the people coming up behind you.

Try this:

• Sharing what you’ve learned from the road.

• Offering guidance to someone newer to the industry.

• Celebrating the people who helped you get here.

Every crew member who passes knowledge forward strengthens the entire ecosystem.

5. Choose Courage Over Silence

Sometimes the most important moments to use your voice are also the hardest. Addressing unhealthy dynamics, calling out unsafe practices, or speaking honestly about burnout can feel uncomfortable, but those conversations often create the greatest change.

Try this:

• Naming concerns respectfully with thoughtfulness.

• Supporting colleagues who speak up. ("I hear you" can go along way.)

• Remembering that doing what you say you will do builds trust.

A culture of courage begins when one person decides their voice matters.

Intentionality Starts with What Matters Most

By Lizzie Maranto, Program Manager & All Access On Site Coordinator

When thinking about intentionality, my therapist mind goes to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and exploration of values. Values are a key factor of ACT and a huge part of what I focus on with the folks I work with therapeutically. My goal is to help those sitting across from me identify what their top 5 values are within their life and then reflect on what values-based choices could look and feel like when faced with the various questions life throws at us. Orienting to the things we value most in our life helps us to connect with what we will find to be most meaningful and fulfilling. 

That being said, I encourage every single person to complete some type of values sort for themselves. This is the one I walk through in sessions with folks (though if you Google "values sort", you will find dozens that would suffice). The one linked previously walks you through 50+ values, as well as gives you the option to add your own at the end. It has you sort all the values listed into two piles: discard and keep. Once you get through that mighty list, it will have you do it again, but this time you can only keep 15. Then again but 10. Then lastly to 5. 

The reason why it's encouraged to get to 5 is because, if we focus on too many things at once, we actually don't focus on anything at all. Narrowing down to 5 doesn't mean you don't have 6, 7, 8, etc... other things you care about, it means that we can better attune our focus to the main priorities that you will find the most fulfillment and meaning in. Once you have those 5, reflect on your whys - why are each of these values in your top 5? What do each of these values mean to YOU (outside of the definition in the dictionary)? And where are these things showing up (or lacking in presence) within your life currently?

When we can identify the things that have the most meaning, fulfillment, and importance within our lives, we can move even deeper into intentionality - reflecting on our day-to-day decisions of how we are balancing what where, and making changes that feel the most aligned to who we are, what we want, and our greater purpose.

Most of all keep talking and finding ways to communicate!

That kind of awareness doesn’t happen in isolation...it grows in conversation, in shared spaces, and in the courage to both speak and listen.

At ECCHO Live, these conversations are just beginning. As the season unfolds, we’ll continue to explore these themes through our Lunch & Learn gatherings, Day Off events, and the expanding All Access program, creating more opportunities to connect intention with action.

If you’re looking for ways to engage:

• Share your voice at an upcoming ECCHO event.

• Find support through All Access, whether on site or through one of our clinicians.

• Be a voice for someone else by mentoring a colleague entering the industry.

The live event world is powered by collaboration, creativity, and community. When we amplify our voices with intention, and listen with the same care, we help shape an industry where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. As the trucks roll out and stages rise this season, may we each find ways to speak clearly, listen deeply, and support one another along the way.

— The ECCHO Live Team

Empowering People. Amplifying Potential.

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