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
Stop Sabotaging Your Conference Innovation Planning Process November 25, 2013 by Jeff Hurt Are we failing to cultivate innovation in our conference planning process? Do we focus so much on the details and logistics that we unknowingly sabotage our brains’ potential to cultivate innovation and creativity? Keeping our minds engaged and inspired in the creative process is critical to conference innovation. Yet too often, we default to following … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, meeting planning, meeting planning best practices
How The Most Brain Friendly Conference Makes Attendee Networking A Priority November 14, 2013 by Jeff Hurt Quick, name the top two reasons people pay to attend conferences? No, it’s not the attractiveness of the destination, although it does help. Nor is it the opening, marquee speaker. (Two-thirds of recent responders to the 2013 Speaker Report: The Use Of Professional And Industry Speakers In The Meetings Market say that a big name … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Experience Design Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, connections, connexity, networking
Conference Audiences To Speakers: It Is All About Me, Not You! November 11, 2013 by Jeff Hurt Me, me, me, me, me! No, it’s not the latest Sesame Street song sung by Beaker. Nor am I talking about the “Me Generation.” I’m talking about today’s conference audiences focused on their own ROI and not the speaker as entertainer. Me, Me, Me! Today’s audience’s see conference keynotes and education sessions differently than in … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , adult learning, conference best practices, conferences, facilitator, industry speaker, presentation strategies, professional speakers, speaker tips
The Job Of A Speaker Must Drastically Change For Successful Conferences Today November 5, 2013 by Jeff Hurt Today’s audiences expect more from a speaker than the traditional lecture. They want to be inspired, motivated, entertained and learn relevant take aways that they can apply immediately. They are not satisfied with sitting passively listening to monologues and panel platitudes. They want to actively participate in an education session. The End Of A Speaker-Expert … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , adult learning, conference best practices, conferences, facilitator, industry speaker, presentation strategies, professional speakers, speaker tips
Creating Jostled Serendipitous Encounters For Your Conference Networking November 4, 2013 by Jeff Hurt Walking into the pre-convene area of a convention center for a conference, it shouldn’t take long to meet up with another person strolling through the same hallways. Right? Now imagine crossing that same pre-convene area filled with throngs of people. How long will it take for one to reach another person from the same conference? … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Experience Design Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, connections, networking
Your Conference Attendees Avoid And Crave Change Simultaneously October 30, 2013 by Jeff Hurt It’s quite ironic actually. Our brains do everything they can to avoid change. Yet at the same time, our brains increase their engagement and focus when change is involved. Our brains crave change to keep us connected to the situation at hand. Wired To Be Risk-Averse Our brains are naturally wired to avoid any type … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , brain-friendly conferences, brain-friendly meetings, change, conference best practices, conferences
Smarter Attendees Make a Smarter Conference October 24, 2013 by Sarah Michel We have known for a while that networking is one of the top reasons people attend conferences. But who knew it actually makes them smarter? According to a new study published by Scientific American on 5 ways to Maximize Your Cognitive Potential networking was cited as one of the best ways to expose yourself to … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Experience Design Tagged With: , brain-friendly conferences, conference best practices, conferences, connections, informal learning, networking
21st Century Revolutionary Conferences Have Transformed The Traditional Education Session October 21, 2013 by Jeff Hurt Conferences that focus primarily on lecture-based methods are becoming increasingly difficult to defend! There is ample evidence that the lecture creates phony learning, along with the inability to retain and apply what has been heard. Packed conference sessions and smile-sheet summary evaluations only indicate that attendees can successfully sit through dreary lectures. It does not … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , active learning, conference best practices, conference education, conferences, meeting planner, meeting professionals, trends
Building Your Conference Community Drip By Drip October 14, 2013 by Donna Kastner Seth Godin has tremendous influence, particularly in marketing, publishing and entrepreneurial circles. At last count, he’s written 17 bestselling books. Earlier this year, Seth published his 5,000th blog post. While other bloggers float in and out of my daily must-read list, Seth’s been there for years. He’s been dripping valuable insight into my brain, one post at … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference marketing, content marketing, learning
