Most Keynote Speakers Fail At Providing Audience Learning & Performance Improvement March 30, 2015 by Jeff Hurt Most keynotes fail at actually providing learning and retention. Sure, many keynotes are inspirational, motivational and provide an engaging story. And if that’s all we’re looking for from a high-paid professional speaker for a keynote, it works. However, when an organization pays $10,000-$75,000, or even a higher fee, for a 45- to 60-minute message, we … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , adult learning, adult learning principles, adult learning strategies, conference best practices, general sessions, keynote, presentation strategies, professional speakers
Speakers: Covering Content Actually Obscures Understanding September 26, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Education is one way to improve ourselves personally and professionally. Whenever we find ourselves lacking knowledge, understanding or skills for a specific job task, we take a class. Or attend a conference. Or participate in a webinar. Or read a book. Sounds really simple. Right? Well, it’s not. The challenge with most education is our … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , active learning, adult education, adult learning principles, adult learning strategies, covering content, education best practices, Speaker Emerging Practices, speaker tips
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
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
When Speakers Truly Care: From Spouting Witty Repartee To Transforming Lives March 20, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Our conferences and association education programming depend upon speakers as experts sharing their knowledge with the crowd. Yet, the education research is loud and clear that people talking at an audience does not necessarily lead to attendees’ learning. Actually, there’s more likelihood that you’ll win a multi-million dollar Powerball lottery than telling leads to learning. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , adult education, conference best practices, conferences, education best practices, presentation strategies, professional speakers
How To Be A Bodacious, Wicked, Totally Tubular Technical Presenter January 29, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Highly specialized technical complex topics are often associated with boring, butt-numbing, brain-draining, hum-drum, buzzkill presentations. So how do you tackle complicated technical content head on and still deliver an engaging, memorable and bodacious presentation? How do you move your audience from saying, “I thought that presentation would never end,” to “Booyah! That was totally awesomesauce!” … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , industry speaker, presentation best practices, presentation strategies, speaker, speaker tips, STEM, subject matter experts, technical presentation
It Is Time To Hold Conference Speakers More Accountable January 6, 2014 by Jeff Hurt It’s time to hold speakers accountable for attendee learning, not just completed evaluation smile sheets! It’s time to encourage conference speakers to consciously improve. And if we want our conference speakers to improve, we need to provide them with information that shows where they need to improve and how to improve. What Product Does A … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , adult education, brain science education, education best practices, presentation best practices, speaker tips
Just Because You Speak Does Not Mean Your Audience Learns: Eight Presenter Principles To Master January 3, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Most speakers are really good at talking! But talking to your audience does not mean that your audience is learning. Our Brains Have Limits As speakers, we have assumed that talking to an audience results in their learning. We think that their minds are like sponges absorbing what we are saying. But just hearing information … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , adult education, brain science education, education best practices, presentation best practices, speaker tips
Helping Speakers Move From Dispensers Of Information To Facilitators Of Learning December 2, 2013 by Jeff Hurt The greatest sign of success for a speaker is not a full room and positive smile-sheet summaries that only indicate attendees can successfully sit through long lectures. The greatest sign of success for a speaker is to be able to say, “The audience is now working on the content as if I did not exist!” … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , adult learning strategies, conference best practices, conferences, facilitator, learner-centric, meeting professional, speaker tips
These Conference Presentation Myths Cramp The Attendee Experience November 19, 2013 by Jeff Hurt Most conference organizers see attendees as consumers of the conference’s information. Little thought is given to seeing attendees as active participants in their own learning and experience. 8 Myths That Restrict The Attendee Experience Here are eight conference presentation myths that you should avoid. Myth 1: The lecture or panel best serves all conference attendees. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , active learning, active participation, association, conferences, Education & Adult Learning, engagement, learning myths, meeting planner, presentation myths, Speaker Emerging Practices
