Conference Improvement Means People Improvement June 2, 2014 by Jeff Hurt The quality of a conference’s education program cannot exceed the quality of its speakers. The message is simple. What speakers do during keynotes, breakouts, concurrents, symposiums and workshops, matters. The greatest variance in our conferences relates to our presenters. In short, a conference education program cannot give what it does not have. If it doesn’t … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, Speaker Emerging Practices
Your Conference Needs An Innovative Strategy May 22, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Executives and conference organizers need to train themselves to look for change! Innovative organizations look out the window, away from the organization as well as look inside the organization for opportunities. They embrace change as an opportunity to innovate. Not as a threat. Your Success Can Be Your Failure Many conferences that have got into … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, Innovation
She Who Dares Conference Improvement, Wins May 21, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Most conferences are so safe. Yawn! So boring…so tame! Contagious yawn, setting off a chain reaction of conference meeting yawns. Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t think that conferences are supposed to be boring. But most are! Big yawn, time to sleep. Creating An Adventure What if your next conference was an adventure? Weren’t conferences created … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, Innovation
Frank Conversations On Better Conference Measurement May 5, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Recently, I wrote about how most conference organizers are really bad at measurement. Oh, we’re fairly good at measuring our conference goals. As long as those goals are based on common conference inputs and outputs. You know, expenses/revenue, attendance, exhibitors and sponsors. But rarely do we measure anything else that proves ROI, ROO or ROA … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference evaluation, education best practices, speaker evaluations
Conference Execution As Attendee Learning April 28, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Most conference organizers believe that the delivery of information in an efficient, timely, productive manner is the key to attendee satisfaction, success and financial stability. We focus primarily on the efficient execution of delivery of content. But in today’s knowledge economy, that is not enough. The focus on controlling information flow, creating a one-way and … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , adult learning, conference best practices, conference education, conferences, learning, meeting planning best practices
Conferences Need Quality Measurement Tools And Feedback To Spur Innovation April 23, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Most conferences suck at collecting data. (Oh, were good at collecting registration and fees but that’s about it!) It requires work, intentionality, time and interpretation to get the feedback we need to make improvements and drive innovation. I like what CEO and meetings professional Hugh Plappert says about conference measurement: Measuring requires planning. Planning requires … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference evaluation, education best practices, speaker evaluations
Conferences Suck At Measurement! April 22, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Conference professionals suck at measurement. If you trust your conference smile sheet evaluations as a barometer of how effective your conference education was, you are just being foolish says learning research psychologist Dr. Will Thalheimer. Ouch! The truth hurts! The Emptiness Of Smile Sheets Evaluations Thalheimer points to research that the smile sheet evaluation shows … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference evaluation, education best practices, speaker evaluations
Three Amen-Astonishing Ways To Improve Your Conference Networking April 21, 2014 by Dave Lutz Networking! It’s one of the top reasons participants say they attend your conference. Yet few know how to do it effectively. Give them a helping hand. Networking’s Value Proposition Networking can be the most subjective and variable portion of your conference value proposition. For some, one or two meaningful interactions can more than justify the … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Experience Design Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, connections
Bringing Authentic Conference Conversations To Life April 16, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Peer conversations are more important to your conference than you know. I’m not talking about one of your attendees serving as a speaker talking at the audience. That’s a lecture. I’m referring to peer conversations in pairs, threesomes and small groups. You know when it’s happening at conferences because the rooms are buzzing with discussions. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , adult learning, conference best practices, conference education, conversations, discussions, education best practices, peer-based learning, peer-to-peer, peerology
Innovation Starts With Observing Your Conference Attendees In Action April 14, 2014 by Jeff Hurt With today’s tools and environment, radical innovation is extraordinarily accessible to those who know how to cultivate it says author Steven Berlin Johnson. Some environments and workplace cultures squelch innovation while others breed it he adds. So what do conference organizers need in order to embrace innovation in their conferences, meetings and events? The Innovators’ … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, Innovation, meeting planning best practices