Use A Conference Story Arc To Shift Your Participants’ Brain Architecture And Strengthen Their Neural Connections November 6, 2018 by Jeff Hurt We are helpless story junkies says author, journalist, and storyteller Michelle Weldon. We can’t help it. It’s part of our human nature to crave and connect with stories. Your brain on story acts very differently than when your brain is receiving data, facts and information. It changes its structure and releases cortisol and oxytocin–called the … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference story arc, hardwired for connections, narrative, neural connections, neuroscience, neurotransmitters, story arc, story sharing, storytelling
Time Capsules, Time Machines And Evolution Of Traditional Meeting Planners September 27, 2018 by Jeff Hurt Is your annual meeting more like a time capsule or a time machine? Conferences that are like time capsules promote and preserve nostalgia and the past. Conferences that are like time machines teleport people to the future so they can discover what’s next. Conferences that resemble time capsules defend the status quo and traditions. Events … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conferences as time capsules, conferences as time machines, Innovation, meeting planning evolves
Effective Organizational Change Requires Engagement and Empowerment September 26, 2018 by Jeff Hurt I’m still getting my head around what does and doesn’t work with organizational development and change. After eight and half years of consulting at Velvet Chainsaw, one would think I would have figured out this change management stuff. But I haven’t. I have more questions than answers. I have seeds of ideas in need of … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , change, change management, content and process, organizational change, organizational growth, process
Our Preoccupation With Solutionitis, Hammers And Nails September 25, 2018 by Jeff Hurt If all you have is a hammer, everything else looks like a nail. The hammer nail analogy is a common business idiom. It describes the bias that we bring to solving problems based on our personal experience and background. Well, hammer meet nail. Nail says to hammer, “Hammer, meet screwdriver, pliers, wrench, saw and the … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , attendee curiosity, fixing things, hammer and nails, participant perspective, problem solving, solutionitis, understanding your target market
Emerging Evergreen Conference Practices—From This To That September 18, 2018 by Jeff Hurt You can never get enough of what you really don’t need says Eric Hoffer. To paraphrase Hoffer, you can never get enough of conference fads, gimmicks and trends. We want more, more, more! (Unless your a conference participant and we often have had enough!) Fads and trends are often about gaining attention. They also want … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , chief participant experience officer, conference fads, conference gimmicks, conference trends, Customer Centricity, emerging practices, evergreen conference principles, insights, metrics, strategy
Do Not Be Seduced By Meeting Fads Or Conference Trends September 17, 2018 by Jeff Hurt Most conference and meeting professionals want the coolest, hippest, latest ideas and trends for their events. We are on the hunt for the next meeting, seating, session format, technology, and food and beverage fad. We want to know what unique things other conferences are doing so we can borrow their ideas. We pursue fads, gimmicks … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , conference bandwagon, conference fads, conference gimmicks, conference trends, emerging practices, evergreen conference principles
When History Is Weaponized To Keep Your Conference Stuck In The Past September 13, 2018 by Jeff Hurt We’ve always done it this way and it’s worked. So why should this time be any different? It’s a classic proclamation used to silence any discussion about changing directions. History becomes weaponized and used as a machete to clear the path for personal agendas, influencing others and legitimizing staying the same. Ultimately, weaponizing your conference’s … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference conventional wisdom, conventional wisdom
Start Your Conference Improvement Process With Enrollment July 31, 2018 by Jeff Hurt As conference organizers, we frequently ignore the evidence all around us of what’s working and what’s not. That evidence is everywhere. It’s just that we don’t know what to do with it once we have it. Often our conference planning teams and volunteer advisors follow our lead as we give more precedent to what feels … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , conference improvement, conference improvement process, data based decisions, enrollment to change
Making The Common Conference Uncommon July 27, 2018 by Jeff Hurt Who wants to attend a common, ordinary, ho-hum, everyday, I’m-just-like-all-the-others traditional conference? Even worse, who wants to pay to attend one? And who wants to plan or sell one? Your conference growth and revenue depends upon repeat paying attendees year after year. Customer loyalty is the cornerstone for your event’s success. And your customer loyalty … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , common conference uncommon, conference customer loyalty, customer loyalty, designing conference experience, making your common conference uncommon
Meeting Professionals Anxiously Want To Start Their Improvement Planning Process Yesterday July 26, 2018 by Jeff Hurt Conference and meeting professionals like action when planning their events. They are accustomed to juggling multiple demands. They have long to-do lists that require their attention and often exceed their available time. So, they have the tendency to want to hurry up and check-off items on their to-do list–yesterday. Herein likes one of their challenges … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , backward design, conference organizers, conference planning, conference professionals, future-back planning process, long-term trends planning mindset, present-forward planning mindset
