Why Your Conference Needs An Intrapreneur February 2, 2017 by Jeff Hurt Are you making some changes to your annual conference? Trying to upgrade your participant experience? Or introduce some new innovations? If you are, you need a conference intrapreneur! More than just one intrapreneur, you need a conference planning culture of intrapreneurship. Ultimately, you’ll want to develop a conference team of intrapreneurs. Perplexed About Intrapreneurs? Ask … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference intrapreneurship, conferenceplanning culture of intrapreneurship, implementing conference change, Innovation, intrapreneurs, intrapreneurship
What Participants Expect From 21st Century Conference Experiences January 30, 2017 by Jeff Hurt Everything we take for granted about conferences, and planning them, faces disruption. Participants from all generations and cultures increasingly expect conferences to mirror their work and personal lives. They expect conferences that are authentic, connected, contextual, mobile, participatory, work-related and transparent. Savvy conference organizers meet these disruptions head-on. They know how to segment their target … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning, Experience Design Tagged With: , 21st century conferences, cognitively stimulating, collaboration, conference experience, conference experience design, engagement, learning spaces, mental engagement, participants, purpose-driven
Even More Buckaroo Breakaway Cadillac Conference Programming Trends – Part 2 January 19, 2017 by Jeff Hurt Expect the unexpected…just as Buckaroo Banzai did in the 1980s movie of the same name. Buckaroo and his merry band of cavaliers were ready to save the world from whatever came their way. They would embrace the context of each dimension much like you need to embrace these current conference programming trends. While these trends … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning, Experience Design Tagged With: , attendee experience, collaboration, conference organizer, disruption, future-focused conference programming, leadership, meeting planner, strategic thinking, systems thinking, trends
Buckaroo Breakaway Cadillac Conference Programming Trends Looming Your Way In 2017 – Part 1 January 18, 2017 by Jeff Hurt It’s the adventures of your next conference experience across the eighth dimension. Oh, wait. That’s the intro to Buckaroo Banzai about the adventures of the science fiction rock musician and his band of cavaliers. Well, similar to Buckaroo’s adventures, you have the opportunity to take your band of conference participants into the 21st Century conference … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning, Experience Design Tagged With: , attendee experience, choice architects, conference organizer, conversational intelligence, curators, future-focused conference programming, learning design, meeting planner, trends, We-Centric
What If Attendees Remember Nothing From Your Event? October 24, 2016 by Jeff Hurt Yes, what if they remember nothing from your event? “Meetings are often so overloaded with material that learning may be hurt more than it’s enhanced,” says Andrea Driessen, Chief Boredom Buster, No More Boring Meetings. (Read her article for seven ways to boost learning.) What’s worse than remembering nothing from the event? If attendees learned … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , adult learning, adult learning principles, adult learning strategies, conference education
Creating The Highly Energized And Engaged Conference Participant September 16, 2016 by Jeff Hurt Are 50%-80% of your conference attendees in your programming at any given time? Or are they filling the hallways, hotel spa and lounge, local restaurants, coffee shops and bars conversing with others? Or are they visiting the local tourist attractions? One thing is certain, if your conference attendees are not fully engaged in the experience … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , attendee engagement, conference best practices, engagement, participant, participant-centric
Great Questions Define Great Conference Experiences September 15, 2016 by Jeff Hurt It is much more effective to provide opportunities for conference participants to solve their own problems, then telling them how to solve it. (Paraphrase Dr. A. Gidget Hopf, President & CEO of The Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired—Goodwill Industries.) Conference organizers automatically assume that if someone is attending their event, they expect the … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , better conference experiences, collaboration, conference best practices, curiosity, learning design, problem solving, questions
The High-Impact Strategic Conference Revolution August 17, 2016 by Jeff Hurt Let’s face it! For too long we have settled for too little from our conferences and annual meetings. We have allowed our past planning procedures, our structures and outdated traditions to hinder and handicap our conference creativity, innovation and uniqueness. We have allowed our conferences to creak along unchanged, year after year. This webinar is … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conferences with impact, meetings with impact, strategic conversations
When Your Conference Planning Process Eclipses Your Purpose July 21, 2016 by Jeff Hurt Did you ever play the board game of Chutes and Ladders? The object of the game is to get to the end of the path first. You avoid landing on a chute, which makes you slide backwards. And take advantage of the ladders which help you climb ahead. I played this game a lot with … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference planning, conference planning committee, conference planning team, conference stakeholders
Avoid These Hazardous Conference Planning Thinkholes [Part 2] July 20, 2016 by Jeff Hurt Ever run your car over some severe potholes? It can do some major damage to your tires. And to your vehicle too. Potholes can be an expensive problem for both drivers and cities. Just like potholes, conference planning thinkholes can be an expensive problem for your event. They can create some major cavities and damage … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference planning thinkholes, reflective thinking, strategic thinking, thinkholes, thinking
