Do your conference learning opportunities—from the general session to networking to breakouts to deep dive workshops—empower registrants to participate in their own learning journey? Or do your conference education sessions motivate participants to see the finish line? Their learning stops once the session ends. Authentic learner-centered conferences foster a connection between the participant and the learning taking place. The participants develop a deep understanding that they are … [Read more...]
21st Century Leadership Skills Require Collaborative Learning
Are 21st Century conference organizers trying to create success using outdated 20th Century skills? According to a 2012 Skillsoft survey, too many professionals today are trying to lead with last century’s abilities. Then they wonder why their business, or in this case their conference, is not thriving. Skillsoft’s findings illustrate that 21st Century leaders must be more collaborative, creative, flexible and innovative than their 20th Century predecessors. Encouraging Outdated … [Read more...]
Ten Meeting Professional Resolutions For Personal And Professional Development
It's the start of a new year and most people are thinking about their New Year's resolutions. Have you made yours yet? Personally, I don't make New Year's resolutions. I make goals during the entire year. And I set personal commitments as I need them. 10 New Year's Resolutions To Increase Your Professional Development If one of your goals or New Year's resolutions is to increase your personal and professional development, here are a few ideas that you might want to consider. Hat Tips to … [Read more...]
Using Emotional Marketing Value To Create Conference Education Titles That Attract Not Repel
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 titles arranged chronologically by date and time. You start at the top and scan the list. First title: dud. Second title: ho-hum. Third title: boring. Fourth title: … [Read more...]
Conference Trend: Taste On A Toothpick
Like moth to the flame, mosquitoes to blood or honey bees to pollen, the mall crowd surrounded the young man. Piranhas Devouring Their Prey They looked like a frenzied group of piranhas, devouring their prey. They were driven by the opportunity for a taste on a toothpick. The chance to sample food. To digest and discuss together. As a child, I used to love going into the Hickory Farms store in the mall. It was a smorgasbord of tastings on a toothpick. Today I enjoy frequenting Central … [Read more...]
Nine Essentials To Keep Your Presentation From Becoming A Corpse
Presentations are the economy of most conferences and business today. Yet most presentations are boring. A majority of them are just uninteresting. They lack humanness, life, passion and emotional connections. Today, many conference participants feel trapped by a parade of monotonous, dreary, insipid presentations. It doesn't take long to recognize a corpse. It takes even less time to recognize a conference that is a morgue of corpse presentations. Presentation Failures In Three Critical … [Read more...]
The 21st Century Conference Attendee Bill Of Rights
Here is the heart of why most people attend conferences: learning. Learning about others. Learning new ideas through collaboration and problem solving. Learning what has worked. Learning solutions to our problems. Learning current trends and research to further our careers. Learning is the heartbeat of today's world. Stop learning and you stop progression, and business is dead in its tracks. Stop learning and you become stagnant like a cesspool. Learning is also the pulse in business: doing it … [Read more...]
Designing Next Generation Conference Education Sessions
On May 11, 2010, I presented a Webinar for KRM Information on Designing Next Generation Conference Education Sessions: Creating an Environment for Informal and Formal Learning in a Digital Age. Update May 13, 2010: Listen to the free recording of the sixty-minute presentation. As promised, here are the slides from the presentation. Enjoy. Designing Next Generation Conference Education Sessions View more presentations from Jeff Hurt. After viewing the slides from the presentation, what questions … [Read more...]
