Your Conference Attendees Avoid And Crave Change Simultaneously October 30, 2013 by Jeff Hurt It’s quite ironic actually. Our brains do everything they can to avoid change. Yet at the same time, our brains increase their engagement and focus when change is involved. Our brains crave change to keep us connected to the situation at hand. Wired To Be Risk-Averse Our brains are naturally wired to avoid any type … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , brain-friendly conferences, brain-friendly meetings, change, conference best practices, conferences
Smarter Attendees Make a Smarter Conference October 24, 2013 by Sarah Michel We have known for a while that networking is one of the top reasons people attend conferences. But who knew it actually makes them smarter? According to a new study published by Scientific American on 5 ways to Maximize Your Cognitive Potential networking was cited as one of the best ways to expose yourself to … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Experience Design Tagged With: , brain-friendly conferences, conference best practices, conferences, connections, informal learning, networking
21st Century Revolutionary Conferences Have Transformed The Traditional Education Session October 21, 2013 by Jeff Hurt Conferences that focus primarily on lecture-based methods are becoming increasingly difficult to defend! There is ample evidence that the lecture creates phony learning, along with the inability to retain and apply what has been heard. Packed conference sessions and smile-sheet summary evaluations only indicate that attendees can successfully sit through dreary lectures. It does not … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , active learning, conference best practices, conference education, conferences, meeting planner, meeting professionals, trends
The Function Of Content Changes In Revolutionary Conferences October 18, 2013 by Jeff Hurt Conference organizers strong commitment to content actually blocks the path to more attendee-focused and learner-centric conference experiences. This focus on content as the core of the conference creates a barrier that obstructs presenters. Most speakers freely acknowledge that the need to cover content strongly influences, and often dictates, their presentation decisions. Our allegiance to content … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Sponsorship & Exhibits Tagged With: , conferences, content, meeting industry trends, sponsorship, trends
Disruptive Revolutionary Conferences Are Coming: The Need To Refocus On Our Customer October 17, 2013 by Jeff Hurt “If anyone is going to disrupt this industry, it is going to be us!” I love this quote from Smart Customers, Stupid Companies. I think more conference organizers should adopt it! Here’s my question for meeting professionals and conference organizers: Are you going to have “Smart Attendees, Stupid Conferences or Smart Attendees, Smart Conferences?” To … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conferences, meeting industry trends, revolutionary conference, sponsorship, trends
It Is Time To Revolutionize Conferences October 16, 2013 by Jeff Hurt The traditional conference is in dire need of creativity, innovation and reinvention! It has been stuck in an ancient, out-dated rut for too long. Those planning and organizing conferences need to see themselves as creators and artists. As Seth Godin says in Linchpin, “An artist is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity and boldness to … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , conferences, meeting industry trends, sponsorship, trends - See more at: http://velvetchainsaw.com/?s=trends#sthash.g8yHnu7l.dpuf
Maximizing Attendee Trust, Mining Weak Ties And Conference Marketing October 7, 2013 by Sarah Michel Here are more tips on how weak ties make strong conferences from VCC’s VP of Connexity, Sarah Michel. Note: She recently wrote about how weak ties can make conferences stronger, connexity and speed networking tips as well as has her own series called Perfecting Connecting. Maximizing Trust Between Conference Attendees One way to maximize trust … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing, Conference Networking Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, connexity, networking
Fostering Weak Ties And Speed Networking Tips For Your Conference October 4, 2013 by Jeff Hurt VCC’s VP of Professional Connexity, Sarah Michel, is the go-to-networker-guru. She lives and breaths networking and connexity. She recently wrote about how weak ties can make conferences stronger and connexity, and has a series called Perfecting Connecting. After reading her recent post, I had several questions about weak ties, speed networking and conferences. I wanted … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Experience Design Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, connexity, networking
Weak Ties Make Stronger Conferences October 3, 2013 by Sarah Michel Think about who connected you to your current job? I’m willing to bet it was a weak connection; someone you just met, didn’t know very well or hadn’t talked to in years. The facts are that when it comes to looking for information, opportunities and connections, weaker connections are more helpful than our strongest ones. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Experience Design Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, connexity, networking
Eight Unique Types Of Conference Relationships You Can Grow October 2, 2013 by Jeff Hurt Relationships can be messy business! We all have some type of unique relationship with everyone that we know. We have long histories with some people that include thousands of distinct touchpoints and interactions that shape how we feel about one another. We are very close to some people and not so close to others. We … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Experience Design Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, connexity, networking
