Your Conference Audience Is Dead September 27, 2011 by Jeff Hurt It used to be that face to face presentations were one of the most important places people would go to get new, cutting-edge, critical information. They would pay a conference registration fee, airfare, lodging and expenses to attend a conference just to get that new information. But that has changed with the click of the … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , active participation, audience expectations, conference best practices, conferences, engagement, lecture, meeting planning best practices, participatory design
Connecting The Dots Critical To Brain-Friendly Conference Learning September 22, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Do you remember the children’s activity connect the dots? This paper and pencil puzzle contained a sequence of numbered or lettered dots. Your task was to draw a line connecting dots in the right series so that the outline of an object was revealed. As we got older, the dot to dot activities became more … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , brain science education, brain-friendly conferences, brain-friendly meetings, conference best practices, conference education, conference tips, conferences, meeting industry trends, meeting planning best practices
Creating A Brain-Friendly Not Brain-Adverse Event September 21, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Imagine going to a party where you meet a bunch of new people. Which faces will you remember? Which names will you recall? You’ll probably remember the woman who made you laugh. The man who accidentally spilled his drink on you. The man who made your face turn red from embarrassment. And the women who … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , brain science education, brain-friendly conferences, brain-friendly meetings, conference best practices, conference education, conference tips, conferences, meeting industry trends, meeting planning best practices
Using AGES To Design Brain Friendly Conferences September 20, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Is your conference experience one that hurts your participants’ brains or one that helps their brains learn? In other words, is your conference brain-adverse or brain-friendly? Does the experience align with how your attendees’ brains work? Or does it work against the brain’s natural systems, shutting it down from learning? Two Critical Conference Factors To … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Experience Design Tagged With: , brain science education, brain-friendly conferences, brain-friendly meetings, conference best practices, conference education, conference tips, conferences, meeting industry trends, meeting planning best practices
We Need A New Conference Drug September 19, 2011 by Jeff Hurt I want a new drug One that won’t make me sick One that won’t make me crash my car Or make me feel three feet thick I want a new drug One that will stop the flow Of conference information indigestion So that I can grow (With apologies to Huey Lewis And The News) Needed: … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, meeting planning best practices, meeting professional, speaker tips
Co-Locating Your Conference Can Be Risky And Rewarding September 13, 2011 by Dave Lutz Co-locating your conference can be a high-risk, high-reward proposition. Before you decide to co-locate your conference with another conference, you need to view the decision through a strategic long-term lens. Defining Co-Location At the basic level, co-locating a conference is placing two or more conferences at the same location, at the same time. Some organizers … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , co-location, conference best practices, conferences, meeting planning, meeting planning best practices, tradeshow, tradeshow best practices
Is Your Conference Like A Five Course Meal Or A Smorgasbord Buffet? September 9, 2011 by Jeff Hurt If you had a choice and money was not a concern, which would you prefer? A fine dining five course dinner or an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord buffet? I prefer a fine dining five course meal anytime. Smorgasbord All-You-Can-Eat Buffet Smorgasbord buffets are usually prepared fast, easily and inexpensively. They are a popular method for feeding a … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, meeting best practices, meeting planning best practices, strategic planning
Three Winning Strategies To Convert Organizational Intentions Into Action September 8, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Good intentions don’t move mountains. Bulldozers do. You’ve probably heard that old saying. There’s great truth to it. The Mission And The Plan For many organizations, the mission and the plan–if that’s all there is–are nothing more than good intentions. Many leaders spend great time and resources helping their teams plan for the future. Afterwards, … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , association best practices, conference best practices, organizational learning, strategic thinking, strategy
Are You A Glorified Scheduler Or Strategic Meeting Professional? September 6, 2011 by Jeff Hurt As a conference organizer, are you focused on checking off your daily to do list or focused on fulfilling your participants’ needs? When you focus only on completing your task, you deliver what’s required. But not what’s expected. You follow the standard operating procedure precisely. And yet you miss the point completely. You comply with … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, meeting best practices, meeting logistics, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices, meeting professional, strategy
The Six Essential Re’s Of Successful Conferences September 1, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Your conference is not as unique as you think it is! Most of them are carbon-copy, cookie-cutter replicates of each other. You may have dressed up your conference with some cosmetics to make it look different than others but it tastes, smells and feels all too familiar. It actually reminds people of a stale, untouched, … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, Education & Adult Learning, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices
