How to Improve Your Call for Presentations Process April 12, 2017 by Dave Lutz When Velvet Chainsaw Consulting conducted speaker research with 120 associations with research and consulting company Tagoras Inc. in 2013, we found that nearly 77 percent use a call for speakers/sessions process. Associations value member input. One-third of these organizations accept 60 percent or more of the proposals, indicating either a low number of submissions or … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Event Planning Tagged With: , adult learning, adult learning principles, call for presentations, conference best practices, Education & Adult Learning, presentation strategies, speaker practices
The Future Conference Is About Increasing Attendees’ ROI September 3, 2015 by Jeff Hurt The future conference is not about the environment, the furniture, the venue, the audio visual or the technology. The future conference is about increasing the paying attendee’s ROI. The future conference is about helping the attendee transfer and apply their conference learning to their job. Actually, the fundamental job of future conferences is threefold: To … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , adult learning, adult learning strategies, conferences, connexity, interactive, meeting planning best practices, networking, passive listening, presentation strategies, speaker
Most Keynote Speakers Fail At Providing Audience Learning & Performance Improvement March 30, 2015 by Jeff Hurt Most keynotes fail at actually providing learning and retention. Sure, many keynotes are inspirational, motivational and provide an engaging story. And if that’s all we’re looking for from a high-paid professional speaker for a keynote, it works. However, when an organization pays $10,000-$75,000, or even a higher fee, for a 45- to 60-minute message, we … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , adult learning, adult learning principles, adult learning strategies, conference best practices, general sessions, keynote, presentation strategies, professional speakers
Too Many Conferences Provide Plop, Placate And Pay November 19, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Have conferences become too enthralled with experts and attendees swapping solutions? Have conference organizers resigned themselves to the inertia of the way we’ve always done it? Is the traditional conference experience in danger of being institutionalized which devalues individual expression? Are we addicted to providing passive plop, placate and pay* experiences? Are conference organizers sitting … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , attendee engagement, conference exper, conferences, curiosity, engagement, meeting planner, presentation best practices, presentation strategies, traditional conferences
Conferences Can Cultivate Curiosity Or The Cult Of Expertise Groupies November 18, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Everyone seems to be looking for the next sure thing. We like answers. We seek quick remedies. We attend conferences looking for shortcut solutions with big payouts. We expend a lot of energy to find tips to the trade, keys to success, or hacks that provide instant results. The less we have to work at … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , attendee engagement, conferences, curiosity, engagement, meeting planner, presentation best practices, presentation strategies
Time To Face This Ironic Truth: We Do Not Learn From Experience September 10, 2014 by Jeff Hurt There, I said it. People do not learn from experience. You may think you learn from experience but… People only learn from reflecting on their experience. That’s the point author, facilitator and educator Sivasailam “Thiagi” Thiagarajan drives home in his writings and workshops. The Key To Learning From An Experience If people learn from experience, … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , adult learning, adult learning principles, debriefing, education best practices, presentation strategies, reflection, reflective thinking, Speaker Emerging Practices
Conferences Are Creating Toxic Events With Visual Logorrhea June 24, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Most conferences spread verbal diarrhea and visual logorrhea like viral diseases. We create toxic airborne events cluttering the conference experience with an overuse of monologues, panel dialogues and slideuments. Author Garr Reynolds coined the word slideument referring to presentations that have enough text that they can “speak for themselves.” While a presentation that speaks for … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , presentation best practices, presentation strategies, slideument, speaker tips, visuals
When Speakers Truly Care: From Spouting Witty Repartee To Transforming Lives March 20, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Our conferences and association education programming depend upon speakers as experts sharing their knowledge with the crowd. Yet, the education research is loud and clear that people talking at an audience does not necessarily lead to attendees’ learning. Actually, there’s more likelihood that you’ll win a multi-million dollar Powerball lottery than telling leads to learning. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , adult education, conference best practices, conferences, education best practices, presentation strategies, professional speakers
How To Be A Bodacious, Wicked, Totally Tubular Technical Presenter January 29, 2014 by Jeff Hurt 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…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , industry speaker, presentation best practices, presentation strategies, speaker, speaker tips, STEM, subject matter experts, technical presentation
Conference Audiences To Speakers: It Is All About Me, Not You! November 11, 2013 by Jeff Hurt 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…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , adult learning, conference best practices, conferences, facilitator, industry speaker, presentation strategies, professional speakers, speaker tips
