Experience Design


Designing Content For The Big Tent General Session

Finding the right keynote presenter that has content specific for your conference audience is frequently as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. Many times the content experts are not the greatest presenters. Yet the good presenters don’t have any content of value to the attendees. So what do you do? How can you design conference content … [Read more…]

Shifting From Serving Attendees To Involving Participants

If you haven’t made the shift from ‘serving attendees’ to ‘involving participants,’ consider this your wake-up call — and your roadmap. The Participatory Class Sociologists identify today’s networked individuals as the participatory class. As part of a participatory culture, we expect to create, collaborate, connect, share, and learn interactively. We feel that our contributions matter. … [Read more…]

How To Use Pecha Kucha And Ignite Models Effectively In Your Event

Finding new ways to engage conference participants is a challenge for many conference organizers. Entertainment, the Internet and media have transformed society into the participatory culture. Today’s conference audiences are accustomed to quick action, rapid scene changes, racing soundtracks and the ability to change their direction with a click. They expect visceral stimulation and are … [Read more…]

Tides Of Change: Trends Disrupting The Meetings Industry

Disruptive forces are significantly reshaping the world of work and the meetings industry. Some of these changes have been brewing for a decade or more. The recession exacerbated their influence and speeded up their effects. Companies that survived the downturn need to shift their focus to surviving the upturn. We are not ever going to … [Read more…]

Modernizing Conference Education

With all the advancements in society and research on how the brain works, why is it that most conference education still provides talking heads and passive listeners? Is that best for your attendees? Here is the PowerPoint from a short 12-minute TED-style presentation that I gave at Experient’s 2010 e4 conference in Orlando, FL. Enjoy. Modernizing … [Read more…]

Mapping The Emotional Highs And Lows Of Your Event

Do you as an event or conference organizer plan scream machine roller coaster event experiences? Or ho-hum, obligatory amusement park train rides? What do your attendees want in their conference experience? Do you even know what they want? Do your attendees want a plain vanilla, flat-line experience? Or do they want something unforgettable with unexpected … [Read more…]

Thinking About How Conference Meeting Design Impacts The Brain

The things that make you go hmmm. I’ve been reading a lot of books recently about how our brains experience emotions, engagement and learning, and how we remember, retain and apply information. I’ve been thinking about the application of cognitive neuroscience to conferences, events and meetings. These are the things that make me go hmmm. … [Read more…]

Registrant, Attendee, Participant Or Learner?

Words, words, words. They are everywhere. Billboards, blogs, books, Facebook, menus, movies, internet, LinkedIn, magazines, newspapers, roadway signs, screens, social media, smart phones, television, Twitter and websites to name a few. Words are rapped, shouted, spoken and sung. Some are believed, felt and trusted. Some are disputed, doubted and cause negative emotions. Some words dance, … [Read more…]

Three Critical Keys To Your Annual Meeting Education Success: Context, Recall And Storytelling

When was the last time you ordered something in a restaurant and the wait staff brought you the wrong dish? Go ahead and think about that for a minute. You’re probably thinking, “Uh-h, when was the last time that happened? Where was I?” French Onion Soup, Cheese Fondue And Mushroom Crepes It happened to me … [Read more…]

A Blueprint For Socially Augmented Events: The Seven Stages Recap

On June 15, at the PCMA Education Conference 2010, I saw Scott Klososky present how to use social technologies in the seven stages of event planning.  The title of his presentation was “A Blueprint For Socially Augmented Events.” Scott’s presentation was mind boggling, thought-provoking and progressive. He laid it all on the line and challenged … [Read more…]