Children are curious creatures. They explore, question and wonder, often through play. In this context, they learn. We are naturally inclined to learn new things; thus reaping curiosity’s benefits. From the moment we are born until we die, learning is hardwired into our brains. As adults, our challenge is to embrace curiosity instead of viewing it as a childish behavior that should be restrained and suppressed. The Curiosity Cycle As we grow from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, … [Read more...]
How Do We Know Curiosity Killed The Cat? (Allegedly.)
Curiosity allegedly killed the cat. How do we know curiosity killed that cat? Were there any eyewitnesses to that crime? Did anyone hear strange cat calls? Did you see what curiosity was wearing? Do you know any reason why curiosity wanted to kill the cat? Were curiosity and the cat family, friends, enemies, frenemies, or strangers? What color was the cat? What was that cat’s name? How old was it? Is there a carcass or any evidence? Did the cat die from poking its paws through holes in a box? … [Read more...]
Conferences Need More Sharing
One of the strongest intangible attributes of a healthy conference is how much sharing takes place. Too often, competition and self-interest get in the way of sharing what’s most helpful. Professions that deliver conference sessions with a high level of sharing – not diluted or generalized from the stage – are often in fields linked to prevention, healthcare, education and philanthropy. Protecting, curing, developing and caring are noble causes, and sharing the secret sauce is viewed as the … [Read more...]
Shifting from Delivery to Discovery Conference Education
So much of our commonplace practices and conventional wisdom about learning is wrong. Educators have been talking about Bloom’s Taxonomy, critical-thinking skills, executive functions of the brain and HOTS — higher-order thinking skills — for more than five decades. However, those foundational learning principles have not transferred to most adult education experiences. Conference organizers still have a tremendous amount of work to do to involve adults in cognitive learning practices. We are … [Read more...]
Association Messy, Convoluted Conundrums With Compliance Issues In Learning Offerings
Do you ever feel caught between a rock and a hard place regarding your association’s education programming? For years, you’ve offered education to your constituents to meet industry or profession CE requirements. You’ve kept detailed data on content alignment with obligations, program and speaker approvals from governing boards, attendance, test scores and customer certification status. It’s worked for decades. However, today, your attendance and revenue is declining. You have increased … [Read more...]
How Is Your Association Using Learning Technologies?
Improving digital learning and amplifying conference content to a larger audience is a high priority for many clients we consult with. With the advent of DIY solutions, business models that include sponsorship and the strategic alignment of reaching a global audience, we’re seeing an increased focus on expanding the impact of digital learning. If you work for a membership organization, whether or not you use technology to deliver or enhance your learning products, we’re asking for your … [Read more...]
How to Improve Your Call for Presentations Process
When Velvet Chainsaw Consulting conducted speaker research with 120 associations with research and consulting company Tagoras Inc. in 2013, we found that nearly 77 percent use a call for speakers/sessions process. Associations value member input. One-third of these organizations accept 60 percent or more of the proposals, indicating either a low number of submissions or very forgiving quality filters. About 62 percent close off submissions eight months or longer before the conference. These … [Read more...]
Mental Effort
I’ve been in this industry longer than I like to admit, during which time I’ve had the privilege to work side by side with some of the most progressive professionals in the conference business. To my mind, there are two things that separate the good from the great: 1) those who are uber-connected and trusted (not on social media, but rather one-to-one relationships) and 2) those who are committed to life-long learning. The life-long learners aren’t necessarily the ones who attend a lot of … [Read more...]
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