Education Myths That Shape Conferences November 3, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Conventional wisdom regarding traditional conference education is well-intentioned and misguided. Our accepted beliefs about what does and doesn’t work in conference sessions are universal. We’ve always done it this way and no one has complained so it must be working. Today, cognitive neuroscience has created a new standard of proof. Most of what we thought … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference education, learning myths, presentation best practices, presentation myths, speaker tips
Why Audiences Detest Presenters That Abuse PowerPoint October 25, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Presentations are the business currency of today. PowerPoint is often the legal tender of those presentations. We trade and share PowerPoint presentations like baseball cards, stamps and money. Viewing a presentation without PowerPoint (Keynote or Prezi) is like listening to a TV show over the radio. We expect and want the visual to help keep … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , conferences, presentation best practices, presentation strategies, speaker tips
6 Barriers That Impede Conference Attendee Attention October 20, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Everyday our brains make a payment of their precious resources. We try to pay attention. We attempt to listen, read or work on a single task for as long as we can. Our visual and auditory systems strive to lock into the work at hand. Can I Have Your Attention? To pay attention, we have … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , attention, brain-friendly conferences, brain-friendly meetings, conference best practices, conferences, presentation best practices
The Top Reason Your Virtual Presentation Failed October 19, 2011 by Jeff Hurt I remember the first time I gave a virtual presentation. I was in a small conference room with six other panelists. A camera on a stand faced me. To my left was a computer that looked like a mashup of the old overhead projector and a touch screen. A large screen displaying six feeds at … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Experience Design, Hybrid & Virtual, Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , digital meeting, digital presentations, presentation best practices, virtual event, virtual meetings
Creating Sizzling Audiences: From Essential Sparks To Combustible Motivation October 10, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Imagine for a moment that you’re preparing for a presentation for an upcoming conference. Close your eyes and visualize that your audience appears to be actually sizzling in their seats with enthusiasm. They are on fire for your words. Now imagine you have that same experience every time you present. Creating Audience Combustible Motivation This … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , brain-friendly conferences, brain-friendly meetings, engagement, presentation best practices, presentation strategies, speaker, speaker tips
Using Emotional Marketing Value To Create Conference Education Titles That Attract Not Repel September 30, 2011 by Jeff Hurt You’re browsing a conference website. The dates look good. The city is appealing to you. The hotel seems to offer a reasonable rate. The schedule is jam-packed with offerings. So does the conference offer anything of education value? You click the link to the education sessions. There you see a long list of hyperlinked session … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference session descriptions, conference session titles, conferences, meeting planner, presentation best practices, professional development, writing good conference session descriptions
Helping Your Audience On The Hero’s Journey September 23, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Let’s take a trip back to your junior high days. If you’re like me, immediately your palms begin to sweat. Your throat tightens. Your heart starts racing and your mouth gets dry as you remember those trying teen years. Imagine that today is that day! It’s the big day when you have to deliver your … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , presentation best practices, presentation strategies, speaker, speaker tips
They Are The Heartbeat Of Your Presentation: Do You Know Them? September 15, 2011 by Jeff Hurt “Getting to know you, Getting to know all about you. Getting to like you, Getting to hope you like me.” These lyrics from the King and I’s “Getting To Know You” would make a great theme song for every presenter. They clearly articulate one of the very first steps all presenters should take: get to … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , presentation best practices, presentation strategies, speaker, speaker tips
Creating Engaging Meetings Using Visual Language August 24, 2011 by Jeff Hurt I wish meetings and conferences were more fun! Don’t you? So many of them are nothing more than a boring, complicated, over stuffed information dump. Curating that information for the one or two tidbits of relevant, applicable take aways is like mining for gold. And there is little time for real dialogue and engagement. We … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, engagement, meeting best practices, presentation best practices
Speaker Tips When Using A Live Stream, Backchannel And Face To Face Experience June 30, 2011 by Jeff Hurt In the past two weeks, I’ve done three live streamed presentations. It’s more work than a traditional presentation. With a few tweaks to my traditional face to face presentation, everyone benefits. The rewards of the extra work are worth it! Presenting To Three Audiences At Once The challenge when presenting for a hybrid event is … [Read more…] Filed Under: Hybrid & Virtual, Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , backchannel, hybrid event, meeting planning best practices, presentation best practices, presentation str, speaker, speaker tips, twitter, virtual events
