Are Your Conference Speakers Tickling Ears Or Transforming Lives? July 1, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Several months ago, a well-known established professional speaker chided me publicly in Facebook because of a post I wrote about how our brains thrive on images. This speaker said that he didn’t need to add visuals to his presentations because all of his clients were extremely satisfied with his keynote presentations. And he had been … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , industry speaker, professional speakers, speaker selection, speaker tips
Most Association And Conference Beliefs About Attendee Learning Are Wasted Efforts June 27, 2014 by Jeff Hurt The empirical research on how we learn and remember shows that… …Most of what we know as truth about learning is nothing more than wasted effort! The learning opportunities that we offer to our customers and members are based on outdated theory, lore, past experiences and gut instincts. And the empirical evidence says much of … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , adult learning, conference education, conference learning model, education best practices, learning myths, neuroscience
What You Are Doing Today Probably Will Not Drive Your Long Term Conference Growth June 26, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Most conference strategy is stuck! It’s stuck in strategic thinking based on ideas and frameworks designed for a different era. Our current conference growth strategy is out of context with today’s dramatic accelerated pace of change. We have taken for granted a set of growth strategy assumptions that served us in the past. But they … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model, Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference growth, conferences, long term growth, strategic planning, strategic thinking, strategy
Conference Growth Is Connected To Unique Attendee Experiences June 25, 2014 by Jeff Hurt If you want to grow your conference, you need to annually create a unique conference experience. You also need to create an emotional bond with your registrants. We have to remember that our registrants are people too. And your conference experience should help them solve the issues that are keeping them up at night. Our … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , attendee experience, attendee growth, conference experience, conferences, emotional connection
Conferences Are Creating Toxic Events With Visual Logorrhea June 24, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Most conferences spread verbal diarrhea and visual logorrhea like viral diseases. We create toxic airborne events cluttering the conference experience with an overuse of monologues, panel dialogues and slideuments. Author Garr Reynolds coined the word slideument referring to presentations that have enough text that they can “speak for themselves.” While a presentation that speaks for … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , presentation best practices, presentation strategies, slideument, speaker tips, visuals
Your Conference Needs More Joyful Silence June 23, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Most conferences emphasize the spoken word. Usually, the aim of a conference is to provide stimulating speakers, fun entertainment, engaging networking, new business leads, great music and healthy food. The conference experience is typically geared to an extrovert, Type-A Personality. But how often do we use the power of silence and solitude in a conference … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference contemplation, reflection, reflective thinking, silence, solitutde
What Are You Becoming? June 18, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Dear Meeting And Association Professional: Here are some of my personal reflections, shaped by many of the people I read and those that have touched my life that I recently shared with NACE 2014 participants. I ask you the same thing I asked them… What Are You Becoming? What Are You Becoming? from Jeff Hurt … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , becoming, inspiration, motivation
Changing Conference Metrics To Design For Attendee Loyalty June 10, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Quick, name any business that makes money from one-time customers only. Can you do it? What business model depends upon a one-time customer purchasing services or products from the company and never returning? You probably can’t think of a successful business model that works that way. Repeat Business Is Required For Success Imagine a restaurant … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , attendee loyalty, conference best practices, conference data collection, conferences
How To Create An Entirely Unique, Clangorously New Conference Experience June 9, 2014 by Jeff Hurt The conference market is saturated with commoditized information-driven attendee experiences. Most conferences are nothing more than status-quo, average, predictable information overloaded experiences. They reek of sameness. After you’ve attended a conference for the first time, it loses its freshness and excitement. It feels too familiar. Focus On Creating The Attendee’s Experience So how can a … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , attendee experience, conference best practices, conference experience, conferences, emotional connection
The Six Types Of Audiences Your Conference Needs To Succeed June 6, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Your conference audience is your most important asset. Imagine your conference for a minute without an audience. Imagine exhibitors and sponsors showing up but no audience arrives. What happens? Your conference needs an audience to survive. And you need a loyal audience if your conference is to grow and evolve. Your conference audience is the … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing Tagged With: , attendee loyalty, conference audiences, loyal
