Emerging Evergreen Conference Practices—From This To That September 18, 2018 by Jeff Hurt You can never get enough of what you really don’t need says Eric Hoffer. To paraphrase Hoffer, you can never get enough of conference fads, gimmicks and trends. We want more, more, more! (Unless your a conference participant and we often have had enough!) Fads and trends are often about gaining attention. They also want … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , chief participant experience officer, conference fads, conference gimmicks, conference trends, Customer Centricity, emerging practices, evergreen conference principles, insights, metrics, strategy
Do Not Be Seduced By Meeting Fads Or Conference Trends September 17, 2018 by Jeff Hurt Most conference and meeting professionals want the coolest, hippest, latest ideas and trends for their events. We are on the hunt for the next meeting, seating, session format, technology, and food and beverage fad. We want to know what unique things other conferences are doing so we can borrow their ideas. We pursue fads, gimmicks … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , conference bandwagon, conference fads, conference gimmicks, conference trends, emerging practices, evergreen conference principles
These Conference Big Ideas Are Not For The Trendy Meeting Professional May 4, 2017 by Jeff Hurt Do you remember this Sesame Street song? One of these things is not like the other. Which of these things just doesn’t belong? This list of conference big ideas just doesn’t belong to the traditional, average conference planning process. These ideas are not for the faint-hearted. Nor are they for the meeting professional looking for … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , Big Ideas, conference trends, emerging practices, meeting industry trends
The Conference Big Idea Road Less Traveled That Harvests Success May 3, 2017 by Jeff Hurt Most conferences are stuck in a rut! The experience has not changed in three, five and even ten years. They are predictable and often commoditized. So how do you create a conference experience that is not like all the others? Start by considering one or more of these conference big ideas. They are the conference … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , Big Ideas, conference trends, emerging practices, meeting industry trends
Use These Conference Cures For Outdated Mindset Thinking May 13, 2016 by Jeff Hurt We have a tendency to return to the way things have always been done. When we repeat the same process over and over again, the brain says, “Hey, we’ve done this many times. Let me automate it and you don’t have to think about it anymore.” That’s not always good when it comes to conference … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , association issues and challenges, association trends, conference best practices, conference MindShifts, conference predictions, conference trends, meeting industry trends, meeting predictions, mindset, MindShift
Use These Healthy Conference MindShifts To Thwart Poisonous Thinking May 11, 2016 by Jeff Hurt Sometimes, we just have to stop using old-school thinking. We have to move beyond this thought, “Well, it’s worked for us in the past so it must be the right thing to do now or in the future.” Some of our thinking is out of context with the today’s world. When it comes to conference … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , association issues and challenges, association trends, conference best practices, conference MindShifts, conference predictions, conference trends, meeting industry trends, meeting predictions, mindset, MindShift
Three More MindShift Antidotes To Poisonous Toxic Conference Mindsets May 5, 2016 by Jeff Hurt Antidote: a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning (and in the case of conferences, ingrained, fixed, established methods of thinking). An antidote neutralizes or prevents something harmful, damaging or dangerous. Some antidotes require antivenom used to treat a lethal situation. Many conference planning teams need antidotes to their panacea outdated thinking processes. They … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , association issues and challenges, association trends, conference best practices, conference MindShifts, conference predictions, conference trends, meeting industry trends, meeting predictions, mindset, MindShift
Creating Some Astonishingly Noble Meeting Mojo With Forward Leaning Conference MindShifts May 4, 2016 by Jeff Hurt As a conference organizer you have the amazing opportunity to create some noble and transformative meeting mojo! We just need the right thinking tools to do conferences better. We have to reframe our lens, filters and thinking so that we can propel our customers into the future advantageously. We have to move beyond gathering and … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , association issues and challenges, association trends, conference best practices, conference MindShifts, conference predictions, conference trends, meeting industry trends, meeting predictions, mindset, MindShift
How to Pick Forward Thinking Conference Topics January 29, 2016 by Jeff Hurt Forecasting! The mere word may cause fear, apprehension and the thought “I don’t know how to do that! Much less how to apply forecasting to picking future-focused conference and education topics for my customers.” Don’t worry you’re not alone. More Than Predictions Forecasting is more than predicting or foretelling the future. And if you’re under … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , conference curation, conference predictions, conference trends, curation, forecasting, forward focused topics, picking conference topics
Forecasting The Future Of Conferences: Trends You Should Adopt Now January 7, 2016 by Jeff Hurt Your conference today is where it is based upon the decisions you as a conference organizer made in the past. The decisions you make today about your conference creates your conference’s future. You ability to anticipate your conference participants’ challenges and opportunities impact your ability to plan and strategize your conference. We’ve talked about conference … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference predictions, conference trends, forecasting
