How strategic is your thinking? Do you crave information? Do you believe that more is actually better? Do you desire data, data and more data? If you hunger after more and better ideas at all cost, your info-craving habits actually zap your brain’s energy. The persistent pace of focusing on details makes it more difficult for your brain to decipher and understand the big picture. Details Or Big Ideas According to cognitive neuroscience expert and author Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman, when you … [Read more...]
21st Century Leadership Skills Require Collaborative Learning
Are 21st Century conference organizers trying to create success using outdated 20th Century skills? According to a 2012 Skillsoft survey, too many professionals today are trying to lead with last century’s abilities. Then they wonder why their business, or in this case their conference, is not thriving. Skillsoft’s findings illustrate that 21st Century leaders must be more collaborative, creative, flexible and innovative than their 20th Century predecessors. Encouraging Outdated … [Read more...]
You Need To Move The Finish Line For Your Learning Participants
We are sending the wrong message with the majority of our organization’s learning opportunities. Our programs often end with a certificate of completion, CEU credit or some type of recognition. It implies that the learner is done. The learner has arrived. That learners have completed all that is required of them. The Real Work The real work actually begins when the education session ends. The real work is the effort the learner uses to transfer and apply the new knowledge and skills … [Read more...]
All Brains Use These Four Things To Survive Conference Experiences
We are born with the capacity for fear and pleasure. Unfortunately, we are not born with the knowledge of what to fear. Or what gives pleasure. We learn those things. Our Brain’s Four Wants At A Conference Our brains survive most conference experiences. Regardless how good or how bad they are. It is rare to hear of someone dying from a bad conference experience. Although many of us have zombie-like near brain-death experiences because some of them are so boring. Author James E. Zull … [Read more...]
Your Brain Wants To Avoid Thinking In Conference Settings
Your brain is built to survive! It’s in the biology and chemistry of your brain to survive at all costs. Survival and protection are at the top of the list when it comes to brain activity. It even outranks thinking in priority. Survival Trumps Thinking Your brain will avoid thinking in order to conserve energy for its survival instinct. That’s often why we don’t want to think in conference settings. And it’s why we don’t want to work in education opportunities. Remember, thinking … [Read more...]
Increase Your Conference Attendee Engagement By Increasing Relevance
“How can I increase engagement at my conference?” It’s a question I hear a lot. “How can I help my attendees increase their engagement?” What’s my answer? Increase the relevance. Increase the relevance of the content. Increase the relevance of the learning experience. Oh and by the way, what type of engagement are you talking about? The Camouflaged Faux Engaged Attendee As meeting professionals, we struggle with defining attendee engagement. Too often we think that when … [Read more...]
Changes In The Information Cycle Are Driving Conference Education Reform
Conferences (and associations) used to be the go-to source for information and content about a profession or industry. Today, the tools of content creation and distribution actually rest in the hands of individuals. Anyone can create and share content. While not everyone wants to be a content creator, everyone has an interest in organizing and packing information in their own, unique way. We Relate Differently To Information Today Today, we relate to information differently. We can receive … [Read more...]
Most Association And Conference Beliefs About Attendee Learning Are Wasted Efforts
The empirical research on how we learn and remember shows that… …Most of what we know as truth about learning is nothing more than wasted effort! The learning opportunities that we offer to our customers and members are based on outdated theory, lore, past experiences and gut instincts. And the empirical evidence says much of our education offerings are nothing more than wasted effort and time! Our Intuition About Learning Is Wrong “People generally are going about learning in the wrong … [Read more...]
