Here's a question to think about as a conference organizer or speaker. Do you want your attendees to hear the content or learn it? Goal: Hear The Information If your goal is for your attendees to hear the information, then continue planning like you always have. The lecture is the quickest, easiest and most efficient way of delivering information. Your focus is on covering content. The aim is for the speaker to do all the talking and the audience to do all the listening. The main objective is … [Read more...]
Bite-Sized Conference Sessions: Do They Work?
Shorter education sessions are not the secret sauce for making boring or ineffective conferences appetizing. They may be more innovative and less predictable. They are even more entertaining. Unfortunately, rapid-fire five-to-18-minute presentations don’t improve learning. Unless you intentionally add time for context and meaning making. Shorter Conference Session Trends There is a growing trend for conference organizers to design shorter education sessions into their programs. Some of these … [Read more...]
Why Your Conference Rots: It Is Just Like School
What's wrong with your conference? It's just like school! Most conference education has adopted bad baggage from America's education system. Every conference organizer was brainwashed for twelve or more years that our education system works. Every conference host is convinced that education only occurs with a subject matter expert at the front of the room lecturing to a group of silent passive listeners. Every conference executive thinks that their customers learn the same way they … [Read more...]
Education Myths That Shape Conferences
Conventional wisdom regarding traditional conference education is well-intentioned and misguided. Our accepted beliefs about what does and doesn't work in conference sessions are universal. We've always done it this way and no one has complained so it must be working. Today, cognitive neuroscience has created a new standard of proof. Most of what we thought was good education is directly opposed to how the brain operates. Most conference education actually obstructs learning. Using Brain … [Read more...]
Your Conference Content Is Cheap!
Our conferences need less information and more meaning! Information is cheap and easy to find. Meaning is difficult to acquire! Finding Answers Is Easy Google created a program to crawl the entire Internet, collect data and index all the answers. They got us to ask questions. Then they created a map that connected those questions and the data they indexed. Now finding answers and information is easy. The arduous part is making meaning of those answers. Information Is Cheap Conferences that … [Read more...]
The Mirage Of Conference Information Tsunami
Your attendees rate the learning impact of "massing" as superior at your event. Massing in the education world is defined as receiving large blocks of information in condensed amounts of time. Attendees feel that the more information they can receive, the higher their performance. Unfortunately, the conference information tsunami is a mirage. It is a short-lived, instant gratification that quickly fades like a gummy bear sugar rush. And back in the office, it leaves the attendee feeling … [Read more...]
Connecting The Dots Critical To Brain-Friendly Conference Learning
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 complex. Sometimes we had to solve math problems or interpret symbols to identify the next dot in the chain. Your Brain's Web Of Connected Dots Your memories are like large dot to dot webs of … [Read more...]
Creating A Brain-Friendly Not Brain-Adverse Event
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 disagreed with your political views. Why? Because each of these people stirred your emotions. Emotion and memory are closely related. The part of your brain in charge of emotions is the limbic … [Read more...]
