The walking dead! We see them at every conference we attend. Eyes glazed over. Faces void of emotion. Weird body twitches from sitting in one position too long. Aimlessly walking the same direction to the next session. Grunts and groans as they salivate for something they will not get–relevant, meaningful information, relationship building activities and … [Read more…]
“In the spirit of honoring tradition, conferences hang on to past practices imperiling their futures,” paraphrase, Clayton Christensen, Harvard University. Conference speakers present today, exactly the same way they did one-hundred years ago. Little has changed. Yet, we’ve learned so much more about how people learn and retain information. Unfortunately, the conference presentations have not … [Read more…]
How much do you learn from your sight? Take a guess. The majority of scientific and education researchers agree that about 75 percent of your learning is through your vision. Wow, that’s a lot. According to neuroscientist Dr. John Medina, “The more visual the input becomes, the more likely it is to be recognized and … [Read more…]
You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain! ~ Jerry Lee Lewis This is how many speakers feel when they are asked to adopt good adult learning principles in their presentations. Their heart beat races as their fear increases. Making Presentations Stick Applying good adult learning principles is actually easier than you think. The … [Read more…]
In today’s successful forward-thinking conferences and events, the experience has become more sophisticated and seamless. It flows back and forth between participants, experts, speakers and event organizers. No longer is the conference host or speaker seen as the primary source of content and information. It’s a fluid and dynamic experience, rich in relationship building and … [Read more…]
Ruts. We all have them. A rut is a settled or established habit or course of action, especially a boring one. It is usually a boring, predictable, stale routine. So, is your conference education stuck in a rut? Have you created predictable tracks and paths? If you’re like most meeting professionals, you start planning for … [Read more…]
Many people believe that PowerPoint (PPT) presentations are a leading killer of learning. We even call it “Death by PPT.” Actually, the typical 45-, 60- or 90-minute speech has a higher mortality rate than PPT. And that speech may actually be a fugitive living under an assumed name like keynote, lecture, breakout, plenary, concurrent or … [Read more…]
If you play cards you know the importance of a trump. A trump is a card which ranks higher than the played cards. A trump suit outranks all cards of plain suits. Literally, a trump refers to any sort of action, authority or policy that automatically prevails over others. The Brain’s Natural Learning Trumps The … [Read more…]
As an adult, what drives you to learn? Enjoyment? Fun? Growth? Developing new skills? Seeking a new career? Job promotion? Professional certification requirements? New experiences? Supervisor mandates? All of the above? None of the above? The Motivations To Learn ASAE’s research, The Decision To Learn, states that the top two reasons people join nonprofit associations … [Read more…]
In most nonprofit associations, education deserves some respect. Yet it is frequently treated like the Rodney Dangerfield of the association world. To paraphrase Dangerfield, “Education doesn’t get no respect. No respect, no respect at all. That’s the story of education’s life. Education gets no respect.” Members Value Education Typically, education is one of the top … [Read more…]
