One of the strongest intangible attributes of a healthy conference is how much sharing takes place. Too often, competition and self-interest get in the way of sharing what’s most helpful. Professions that deliver conference sessions with a high level of sharing – not diluted or generalized from the stage – are often in fields linked to prevention, healthcare, education and philanthropy. Protecting, curing, developing and caring are noble causes, and sharing the secret sauce is viewed as the … [Read more...]
The Conference Lecture Paradox
When talking about conference education, most people think about the traditional lecture. It is perceived as the holy grail of much of the conference. Many attendees swear they learn a lot from those subject matter expert speeches. It’s a paradox. Attendees flock to general sessions and breakouts to hear a lecture. Yet science says they retain very little from it. Same goes for panels, but that's another post. Hat tips to authors Thom and Joani Schultz for their writings about learning … [Read more...]
Adopt These Four Values To Super Charge Your Conference Participant Peer Learning
In today’s high-tech, information-at-your-thumbs world, education models have shifted. Our conference participants now have the capacity and cultural motivation to produce their own knowledge. They experience overwhelmingly support for creating and sharing information and connections in their daily lives. We continue to witness the rise of the participatory culture as Henry Jenkins describes it. These ongoing developments mean that conference organizers must foster and leverage … [Read more...]
Five Super Effervescent Sparkling Fresh Conference Education Ideas
As a conference organizer, do you replicate last year's conference schedule and experience and just change the filling? Or do you mix it up? Constantly looking for new ways to freshen up the attendee's conference experience. The best conference organizers proactively seek fresh, new ideas to implement at their next annual meeting. They work hard at coming up with the next big idea. They are willing to make at least 25% of their annual meeting a new experience for everyone. Changing The … [Read more...]
Conferences Are Providing Inferior Education Through Lectures
Conferences are providing inferior education if all they provide is didactic, presenter monologue lectures. Yes, that’s right. The speaker lecture is ineffective and inferior! If all your attendees do is sit and listen passively to speakers, you’re providing bad conference education! At least that’s what 2001 Physics Nobel Prize recipient, Stanford professor and former director for science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Carl Weiman says regarding lectures. … [Read more...]
Five Myths Of Interactive, Participatory Learning For STEM Conferences
It’s one of the most common excuses I hear from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics/Medical) conference organizers today… “As ______________ (insert appropriate STEM word) attendees, they won’t participate in interactive sessions or discussions. They don’t want to be actively involved. They don’t like to talk. They came to hear from an expert. We can’t leave them to their own learning.” In short, these conference organizers and their teams are convinced that they can … [Read more...]
Increase Conference Attendee Engagement, Intimacy And Participation At Your Next Event
Have you ever attended a conference by yourself and you didn’t know anyone there? If you have, you’ve experienced a range of emotions from anticipation to anxiousness to concern. If no one acknowledges or welcomes you when you first step onsite, you may feel like an outsider. Conferences can be some of the loneliest places in the world. Tips To Encourage Connections, Intimacy And Participation As conference organizers, it is our job to find ways to encourage participation and foster … [Read more...]
Old Guard Conferences Vs. Cutting Edge Conferences
When the winds of change blow, some people build walls. Others build windmills. ~Chinese Proverb Conferences are divided today between Old Guard and Cutting Edge Conferences. Old guard conferences build walls when the winds of change blow. Cutting edge conferences build windmills to capture and leverage the winds of change. Old Guard And Cutting Edge Conferences These two types of conferences move at different speeds. They value different things. They measure success differently. They think … [Read more...]
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