I don't believe in cookbooks for learning. I've seen too many well-intentioned instructors pick up someone else's education recipe and create a flawed experience. It just falls flat. The Meal Needs More Than Just The Right Ingredients I do believe in sound ingredients that can be combined and recombined in many ways to create a simple or elegant meal. The difference in the meal is not usually grounded in the ingredients. It's usually in the specific combinations used as well as the experience … [Read more...]
Horseshoe Groups: Merging Two Buzz Groups To Increase Audience Discussion
Lectures are a barrier to the listener's thinking. The constant one-way transfer of information is like a dripping faucet. The information keeps coming and coming and coming. And that constant drip of new data, facts, figures and info keeps the brain overwhelmed with new information. The listener is faced with a choice: listen to the new information or think about what they just heard. You can't listen to the lecture and think about that information at the same time. You either do one or the … [Read more...]
Creating Buzz Groups To Add Audience Participation To Traditional Lectures
Lectures are good for sharing information. They are not good for learning and getting listeners to think! Nor are the good for getting listeners to remember and apply the information they hear. Audience discussion methods are more effective for learning than the lecture. Lectures are the equivalent of distributing a report and asking people to read it. The scientific research about the ineffectiveness of lectures for education and learning abounds. Yet it is still the primary method used in … [Read more...]
How To Use Your Meeting Space To Create An Ownership Experience
Have you ever been in an Apple Store? They are bright, open spaces with lofty ceilings, sleek design and great technology to play with at your fingertips. They offer a variety of services from the private one-on-one Genius Bar consultations to how-to classes to events to roving staff that are more like personal assistants than sales clerks. What's interesting about Apple Stores is that the space and their services are inseparable. You can't describe the Apple Store by just describing the floor … [Read more...]
Helping Conference Participants Move From Superficial Knowing To Understanding
Have you ever walked out of a conference education session and said, "Now I understand," and then can't remember the main point? Sure you have. You've been a victim of superficial knowledge. You have a false sense of security that you "got it." Then when you try to talk about it, you can't remember the main point. It seems lost. Forgetaboutit Imagine the following scenario. You and a friend decide to watch a movie together. You've already seen the movie and agree to watch it again. As the … [Read more...]
Innovative Techniques In Conference Formats For The Participatory Culture
Here is the PPT slide deck from a recent presentation to The Higher Education User Group (HEUG). Innovative Techniques In Conference Formats For The Participatory Culture View more presentations from Jeff Hurt. For more information consider these past posts: How Participatory Cultures Are Changing Conferences, Events And Associations The One Technology Tool Most Associations And Conferences Need Today 14 Presentation Techniques That Encourage Maximum Learning, Participation And Memory … [Read more...]
How To Use Pecha Kucha And Ignite Models Effectively In Your Event
Finding new ways to engage conference participants is a challenge for many conference organizers. Entertainment, the Internet and media have transformed society into the participatory culture. Today's conference audiences are accustomed to quick action, rapid scene changes, racing soundtracks and the ability to change their direction with a click. They expect visceral stimulation and are unwilling to sit passively for long periods of time. Enter Pecha Kucha and Ignite. Pecha Kucha: … [Read more...]
What Presentations And Pancakes Have In Common
I woke up with an intense craving for golden, fluffy, hot, spongy pancakes with a crispy edge. I rarely eat pancakes. But this morning the desire was strong. My mind was deluged with the smell of fresh pancakes on the griddle, the sound of the batter hitting the pan and the sight of a pancake made in the shape of an animal with a chocolate chip as an eye. Childhood memories flooded my mind. So what do successful presentations and great pancakes have in common? Actually a lot. 1. The right … [Read more...]
