Tag: industry speaker


Lose the PPT Template

Many conference organizers are actively seeking and experimenting new learning formats and innovative room sets. Both are worthwhile quests to improve conference learning and participant value. If this describes your organization, strike while the iron is hot and discontinue mandating usage of your conference’s PowerPoint template. The brand police at your company won’t like this … [Read more…]

Too Many Technical Presentations Suffer From POOH!

Sutro Baths: Vertical Poop by Andy Morris Your conference’s technical presentations suffer from POOH*! “Huh?” you ask. “What are you talking about?” Too often, and I mean way too often, our conferences are full of technical presentations that offer nothing more than POOH! For some reason, we falsely believe that technical presentations don’t have to … [Read more…]

Are Your Conference Speakers Tickling Ears Or Transforming Lives?

Several months ago, a well-known established professional speaker chided me publicly in Facebook because of a post I wrote about how our brains thrive on images. This speaker said that he didn’t need to add visuals to his presentations because all of his clients were extremely satisfied with his keynote presentations. And he had been … [Read more…]

How To Be A Bodacious, Wicked, Totally Tubular Technical Presenter

Highly specialized technical complex topics are often associated with boring, butt-numbing, brain-draining, hum-drum, buzzkill presentations. So how do you tackle complicated technical content head on and still deliver an engaging, memorable and bodacious presentation? How do you move your audience from saying, “I thought that presentation would never end,” to “Booyah! That was totally awesomesauce!” … [Read more…]

Conference Audiences To Speakers: It Is All About Me, Not You!

Me, me, me, me, me! No, it’s not the latest Sesame Street song sung by Beaker. Nor am I talking about the “Me Generation.” I’m talking about today’s conference audiences focused on their own ROI and not the speaker as entertainer. Me, Me, Me! Today’s audience’s see conference keynotes and education sessions differently than in … [Read more…]

Three Conference Speaker Ahas You Need to Know

How does your conference speaker selection process compare to other organizations? What’s working and what isn’t when it comes to selecting and securing industry and professional speakers? The Use Of Professional And Industry Speakers The past summer, Velvet Chainsaw partnered with Tagoras, a leading market research and consulting company for learning, to survey conference professionals … [Read more…]

The Job Of A Speaker Must Drastically Change For Successful Conferences Today

Today’s audiences expect more from a speaker than the traditional lecture. They want to be inspired, motivated, entertained and learn relevant take aways that they can apply immediately. They are not satisfied with sitting passively listening to monologues and panel platitudes. They want to actively participate in an education session. The End Of A Speaker-Expert … [Read more…]

Your Conference Speakers’ Skills Gap Is Causing You To Lose Money

The majority of your conference speakers have a major skills gap! They are relying on pedagogical mimicry–presenting the same way that their teachers taught them. That causes you and your conference to rely solely on a foundation of mimicry for education success. And this foundation is the exact the opposite of what your speakers should … [Read more…]

Do Not Start With The Roof: A How To Blueprint For Your Presentation Content

Imagine you’re going to build a house. You don’t just start building and add more wood as you proceed. Nor do you start with the roof and build from the top down. You start with a blueprint. You create a detailed and precise plan of what you want your house to be. The blueprint serves … [Read more…]