Giving Your Conference Content Handles

Presentations are a way to move information from my head into your actions. If I do it right, I give my ideas handles, so that you can run with what I’ve started and make it your own. ~ Chris Brogan

Do you design your conference content so that it has handles? Have you ever even thought about it in that context?

Handles Are Good For…

So what exactly are handles good for?

Literally,

handles are parts of something that are to be grasped or held by the hand.

Conference takeaway – handles are the part of the content that is to be grasped and taken away from the meeting and implemented. Some handles help open the doorway to new insights.

Figuratively,

handles are that which may be held, seized, grasped, or taken advantage in effecting a purpose.

Conference takeaway – Handles are the content that is to be internalized, grasped and seized and will ultimately effect changes in the way the person does business

In retail,

handles are sometimes given to customers that are purchasing products in boxes. The handles can be attached to the box for easy carrying.

Conference takeaway – Provide content that is relevant and can easily be applied in the attendee’s profession. Excess, unnecessary content should be avoided and stripped away.

In social sharing,

handles are the content that is to be gripped by the virtual hand and easily shared.

Conference takeaway – Do you provide ways that your conference content can easily be shared with others? Are your conference PowerPoint presentations available on Slideshare? Are short YouTube video clips from the conference available on your conference YouTube page? Are blog highlights from presentations available on your conference website? Are all of these easy to share via social sharing buttons?

In technology,

handles are the little black boxes around or on an object. Often they are located in the corners. You can size or move the object from its handles.

Conference takeaway – Provide both deep dives and short chunks of content that people can process and digest at will. Consider sessions that are longer than the typical 60- or 90-minutes that allow attendees to dig deeper into the content and see inside the topic. Or consider chunking content that provides only one or two takeaways that is offered in 15- or 20 minutes TED-style presentations.

Love handles

are something that you don’t want to provide for attendees. It is excess often around the midsection.

Conference takeaway – Less is actually more. Secure speakers that focus on bite-size or 140 character size takeaways…even in deep dives.

Give Your Content Handles

Is your goal to provide content at a conference so that it has an impact on the industry or profession? Or are you just providing content because it is what you’ve always done.

Think about your content and see if it easily has handles that people can take, use and make it their own. Help them not only Carpe Diem but also Carpe Content.

What are some other ways you can provide handles to your conference content?