The Engagement Effect

Emmy Award-winning television host and entrepreneur Steve Spangler shows how cultivating experiences can spark curiosity, build trust, and inspire people to take action. Steve Spangler has spent more than three decades studying a simple question: What makes people lean in instead of tune out. As an Emmy Award-winning television personality, educator, entrepreneur, and professional speaker, Spangler has captivated audiences everywhere from elementary classrooms to corporate boardrooms—and in front of millions of viewers during his 27 appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Many people first discovered Spangler through the viral Mentos and Diet Coke experiment, one of YouTube’s earliest internet science sensations. But behind that unforgettable moment is a deeper insight: Engagement doesn’t happen by accident. It’s intentionally designed. In The Engagement Effect, Spangler reveals the principles he has refined through decades of live demonstrations, national television appearances, and large-scale audience experiences—including events that have brought more than fifteen thousand students, teachers, and families together in a single stadium for hands-on STEM learning. Through stories, demonstrations, and leadership insights drawn from decades on stage and television, Spangler shows readers how to create experiences that make people feel seen, involved, and inspired to act. Readers will learn how to: Capture attention in the first fifteen seconds Turn passive audiences into active participants Design shared experiences that spark curiosity Build trust that inspires engagement Transform everyday interactions into memorable experiences Whether you lead a classroom, a team, an organization, or a room full of conference attendees, The Engagement Effectoffers a practical framework for creating experiences people remember—and act on. Because when people truly engage, learning deepens, trust grows, and ideas finally begin to stick.