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 idea and will fight it tooth and nail. Use these talking points to win that discussion and implement the … [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 follow good adult learning strategies. But that’s totally wrong! The Truth About POOH! Consider the following: Make up your bottom hole … [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 doing his presentations without images or PPT for years successfully. Sound familiar? I laughed when I read this speaker’s public denouncement of my post. … [Read more...]
High Voltage Highlights About Speakers At Meetings Infographic
The 2013 Speaker Report: The Use of Professional and Industry Speakers In the Meetings Market (Free PDF download. No contact information required.) … [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!” Our Need For Technical Presentations Trade organizations depend upon accuracy, … [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 the past. The emphasis is shifting. We are shifting from a speaker-centric, expert-emphasis conference to attendee-emphasis and learner-centric … [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 about their use of speakers for our second speaker report. This research was initially conducted in … [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 Era For the past 10-20 years, the focus of conference education sessions and keynotes has been on the speaker. Speakers acted … [Read more...]
