Applying a story arc to the conference can activate participants’ brains. And you want stimulated, motivated engaged brains during your event for sure! A story arc is an extended, continuous storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television series, comic books, video games, films etc. Each episode follows a dramatic arc with the story unfolding over several episodes. You can use the story arc concept to carefully craft the messages and issues you want your conference participants … [Read more...]
Use A Conference Story Arc To Shift Your Participants’ Brain Architecture And Strengthen Their Neural Connections
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 human bonding or empathy chemical. That’s why you sometimes say, “I felt as if I was really there,” or “I could feel their pain,” when you read or … [Read more...]
Burn Conference Traditions Immune From Criticism
People don’t trust institutions today says sociologist Dr. Josh Packard. We don’t think institutions have our best interests in mind he says. We believe they serve the interests of the professionals who created and run them, and they serve the interests of perpetuating their own existence. Your association, annual conference, and governance are all institutions. As such, you’ll need to earn more trust and loyalty from your members, attendees, and suppliers, who now have higher expectations … [Read more...]
Time Capsules, Time Machines And Evolution Of Traditional Meeting Planners
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 that are like time machines invest in preparing their audience for what’s coming around the corner. Ultimately, our conferences should be where the … [Read more...]
Our Preoccupation With Solutionitis, Hammers And Nails
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 entire toolbox of unique tools to solve different challenges. You see hammer, there’s more to fixing the problem than pounding nails.” Our Drive To Solve Problems We love … [Read more...]
Emerging Evergreen Conference Practices—From This To That
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 access to your conference budget. Evergreen conference practices that have promising results are often obscured by our obsession with fads and trends. Seven Emerging … [Read more...]
Do Not Be Seduced By Meeting Fads Or Conference Trends
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 and trends as the silver bullets of our conference woes. We expend resources searching for the mysterious conference trend panacea. These fads and trends appear … [Read more...]
When History Is Weaponized To Keep Your Conference Stuck In The Past
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 history when making future decisions is lazy thinking. Peddling historical conventional wisdom is superficial and unproductive. The … [Read more...]
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