Most conference organizers are not even aware of the mental models that drive their decisions—especially when it comes to conference education. Rarely do we openly examine or actively process our mental models. We just act. So those beliefs continue to govern our thoughts and decisions, without our awareness or knowledge. As a conference organizer, your primary task should be to develop appropriate and accurate mental models. That means your current thinking may need to change. Your … [Read more...]
More Dangerous Assumptions About Your Conference Education Part 2
The research* shows that much of what we do in our conference education is actually counterproductive. (*See partial list of research and books at the end of Dangerous Assumptions Part 1 post.) We spend too much of our conference time on delivery of information. The web is a better information delivery model than our events. We should shift our conference education focus to our attendees’ real business results. When we emphasize delivery for application instead of delivery for information … [Read more...]
Dangerous Assumptions About Your Conference Education Part I
It’s a very dangerous assumption. We assume that if our speakers are talking, our attendees must be learning. We equate telling from the stage with audience education. Telling does not equal learning. We’ve placed a value on experts talking instead of a value on attendees’ learning. It’s backwards thinking and it’s one of our conference’s most dangerous assumptions. Mimicking The Wrong Model Most of our conference education mimics our traditional higher education model. Attendees listen … [Read more...]
Creating Sticky Learning: Complimentary (Sales Free) VCC Webinar July 30
As adults, we are rather lazy learners. Much of what we hold as fact regarding learning is actually illusion. We waste a lot of effort, time and resources with common-sense accepted educational practices that are rooted in intuition, tradition and myth. The most effective learning strategies and education programming are counter-intuitive. We need to build new bridges between our education offerings and the learning research in order to increase our participants’ ROI. We have to develop a … [Read more...]
Getting Leadership Buy-in For Your Conference Upgrades
Your conference planning team has bought in to the idea that their traditional conference model needs to change. They’ve even agreed to some of the unique changes that should happen. Now you have to convince your leadership including the C-Suite, possibly the Board of Directors, and others, that these changes are the right move to make. So where do you start? Especially since our brains are attracted to all the reasons why change is a bad idea. What types of discussion starters can you … [Read more...]
Converting Three Hugely Popular Complaints About Changing Conference Education
Some conferences have begun to make the transition from passive listening experiences to active participatory education sessions. Participatory conference education is moving from a buzzword to a normal practice. And ultimately, attendees benefit greatly from the change. Some conference organizers have discovered that this transition requires more work than the traditional model of sit-‘n-get lectures and panels. Conference leaders, organizers and presenters often face strong resistance … [Read more...]
The Next Frontier Of Conference Improvement: Conference Education
Traditional conference education models have lost their relevance. The process of distributing a call for session and speaker submissions, selecting experts that transmit and dispense information, and packaging it as professional development for the masses is overdone. One-size-fits-all education doesn’t work anymore. We are in the midst of great workplace disruption, brought on by a new generation of workers, an increasing sophisticated public and rapidly changing technology. The … [Read more...]
Myths Your Conference Should Stop Perpetuating
Your conference is spreading the cult of myths, traditions and rituals. How so? What do you mean? You ask. Providing conference education is not as intuitive as it seems! Science shows that there is a right way and a wrong way to design, deliver and implement conference education. Unfortunately, most conferences ignore the science. Instead, they sell and promote their unscientific approaches to education. Source: The Science of Training and Development in Organizations: What Matters in … [Read more...]
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