Conference organizers and speakers, they're coming to your next event. Bigger than the Blob. Mightier than the Undead. Faster than the Twilight Vampires. Here they come as you shake in your boots. Meet your new audiences: Attendee 2.0. They are coming to your next event and like the Blob, have the potential to overtake all in its path. They will ooze into your opening general session. They will start small like some virus that's released on the masses. They will consume everything said from … [Read more...]
Busted: Ten Conference Adult Learning Myths
In conference and meeting environments, attendees receive more messages and content from attending six to eight hours of presentations than a typical day of being bombarded by advertising, direct mail, radio and TV. Duplicate that day two or three times, and you have a mind that is flooded with messages and information on excessive conference overload. But how many of those messages are remembered? How many are actually learned and retained? Here are ten conference adult learning myths - … [Read more...]
How To Be Lean, Mean & Green At Your Next Event: Three Green Philosophies To Consider
"In nature, there are neither rewards nor punishments - there are consequences," R.G. Ingersoll (1833-1899). Environmental initiatives have been in vogue since the 25th Anniversary of Earth Day in 1995. Yet in the past five years, many environmental friendly programs have moved beyond fashion and fad to becoming socially acceptable and the norm. Even some large corporations are expanding their social responsibility programs by creating a triple bottom line focus on people, planet and … [Read more...]
Fore! Some Master It. Others Teach It. A Speaker Selection Golf Lesson For Meeting Professionals
In early history, golf was reserved for the royals, played with sticks and pebbles over natural landscapes. During the Industrial Revolution, golf clubs and balls became mass produced and inexpensive enough for more of us to chase the little white ball around a fairway, rough and other hazards. Today, there are millions of golfers in the world and thousands of professionals. So what does this have to do conferences and events? Everything. And I'm not referring to conference golf tournaments … [Read more...]
7 Meetings Industry Take-Aways From Convening Leaders 2010
Here are seven takeaways from PCMA's 54th Convening Leaders Annual Conference that I attended recently in Dallas, TX. 1. Expert failure in the decision making process occurs for one of two reasons: incompetence, the disease of idiocy, or miscalibration, the disease of over confidence. Miscalibration is more dangerous than incompetency. In times of crisis, we want our leaders not to show expertise but show humbleness. Malcolm Gladwell, author Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers: The Story of … [Read more...]
Tweeting At Conferences And Events: The Good, The Better, The Best
Today's conference attendees, armed with laptops, flip cameras and smart phones, are no longer sitting quietly taking notes during presentations. They are using their new tools to document, take notes, check the presenter's facts, search for resources, post and publish their reflections and connect with others in and outside the room. Millions of people use Twitter in a variety of ways, well beyond what the inventors first envisioned for it. Some use Twitter to post updates on what they are … [Read more...]
Social Conference Strategy Without Human Engagement = Fail
Social Conference Strategy Without Human Engagement = Fail or Why Conference Organizers Need To Think Like Community Managers Canned speeches and passive audiences are out! Conference attendees have reached keynote fatigue. Attendees want conferences that implement more social strategies. Not sure what a "Social Conference" is? Read Do You Conference Social? and 6 Steps For The Social Conference. If you plan a conference: Where the presenters read their presentations, you can expect a … [Read more...]
Don’t Get Caught With Your Social Pants Down. Six Considerations For The Social Conference.
Traditional conferences versus social conferences. Which will you plan this year? Not sure about the "Social Conference?" Read this post on "Screw Your Event Resolutions. Do You Conference Social?" Here are six things to consider when planning the Social Conference so you don't get caught with your social pants down. 1. In this new information landscape, your conference is not for a passive audience but an engaged community. No conference attendees in history have been more thoroughly … [Read more...]
