The Growing Majority Of The Conference Declined

Who are the people that don’t regularly attend conferences?

What are the traits of those that devalue the traditional conference experience?

It seems that what attracts some people to conferences actually repels others. Some see the traditional conference experience as stale and predictable. They are uninterested in spending $1,500-$2,000 in registration, airfare, lodging and expenses for an average experience.

The Perspective Of The Conference Declined

Here are some of the standard characteristics and perspectives of those that don’t want to attend a traditional conference experiences.

Hat tips to authors and researchers Thom & Joani Schultz for their insights about people’s expectations for experiences today.

1. Not Audience-As-Spectators Oriented

While many people enjoy entertainment and a good production, these people don’t view their potential conference attendance as a spectator sport. They don’t feel the need to sit in a ballroom and watch professional speakers perform canned, over-rehearsed presentations. They aren’t enamored with performance, production and pageantry. They want participation.

2. Not Anonymous, Lone Ranger Types

Ultimately people crave relationships. They want to connect with other like-minded individuals. They want to be known and participate in authentic conversations. They do not want to sit in a crowd and seek anonymity. Telling their story and their needs is as important as listening to someone else’s.

3. Not Authority- and Expert-Centric

The internet has provided easy, fingertip access to information. People no longer have to wait for the approved expert to deliver their information from the stage at a conference. Most people are very comfortable accessing and processing an authorities’’ information online, when they need it. These people also believe that the many others have experiences and knowledge to share that is as valuable, if not more valuable, than the conference’s appointed authorized messenger.

4. Not Academic- and Scholarly-Focused

Most people don’t feel that they are lacking scholarly, academic information. Information is everywhere. They want peer, socialized sharing. They are more comfortable in their local Starbucks talking with others than in the lecture. They sense growth comes from a give-and-take honest open discussion than passive consumption of someone else’s monologue or panel dialogue.

5. Not Auditory Motivated

Most people are tired of listening to others tell them what to do and how to do it. They know that listening to someone else doesn’t lead to attitude, behavior and skill change. They’ve got to process it themselves and with others. These people tend to tune out when asked to sit passively and endure a presentation that requires quiet and stillness.

Learning And Networking Still Drivers

These people are not uninterested in learning and networking. They want to learn and connect with others. They just don’t find the traditional conference experience and its overused format the right fit for them. The traditional experience of ballroom lectures and panel dialogues isn’t the way for them to connect their learning with the real world.

Let’s face it. The traditional conference formula is losing its ground with people. It is not the right fit.

Some conferences will continue to do what they’ve always done. They think if they can just do it better, everything will be ok.

It won’t.

People are not looking for better conferences. They are looking for something different!

How can we start conversations with leadership about developing new and different ways to engage people in conference experiences? What new type of conference experiences have you participated in recently?