Leaving no conference attendee brain behind. It's the new motto of the 21st century conference organizer…that is, if you want to get them back next year. It's time for associations and corporations to address the root cause of the conference learning crisis: a limited understanding of successful adult learning. Andragogy - How Adults Learn Malcolm Knowles championed the word "Andragogy" to describe how adults learn in contrast to how children learn or "pedagogy." Andragogy focuses on adult … [Read more...]
Emotional Connection, Brand Loyalty & Cinemas: The Art Of Storytelling
A little over four years ago, I left the C-suite to begin the next chapter in my life. During my first few months, I had the opportunity to do some serious soul searching and self discovery. Like many of you, I have a passion for learning. I initially focused much of my reading around increasing my knowledge of what makes a great vs. mediocre leader. You know, things like humility, drive, vision, character, servant’s heart and excellent communicator. Not too long into it, I had an ah hah … [Read more...]
The American Idol Strategy Of Picking Conference Speakers
America has a love-hate-relationship with American Idol. We boo the negative naysayer and painfully honest founder and judge Simon Cowell. Although we often secretly agree with what he has to say. We applaud the effervescent Ellen DeGeneres when she says she likes a finalist and compares them to an unripe banana. Although we know she is struggling to find something positive to say when a singer does a poor job. The entire process of finding the next American Idol is very similar to the … [Read more...]
13 Things You Can Do Now To Improve Your Conference Content
Imagine you are going to hear Martin Luther King's memorable "I've Got A Dream" speech for the first time, live and in person. You grab your time machine manual and follow its instructions. You step into your time machine and set the location for the steps of the Lincoln Monument and the date for August 28, 1963. You put on your seatbelt, push the flux capacitor button thingy and away you go. As you open the door of your DeLorean, you find yourself in a New York Subway. There standing on the … [Read more...]
Baseball, Children’s Counting Rhymes And Virtual Events
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe Face-To-Face or Virtual Go My mother told me To pick the very best one And you are [not] it. Often when meeting professionals consider whether to offer a face-to-face or virtual event, they feel as if the choice is best made by using a children's counting rhyme. You know... Pizza, pizza, pizza pie Offering virtual will cause our face-to-face to die Or perhaps this is the rhyme you use. Get your fists ready. One potato, two potato Face-to-face galore Hybrid or … [Read more...]
