Not long ago, becoming a professional speaker was a third step in a thought leaders career path. Many built their expertise in an industry or function, shifted to consulting and then wrote a book to launch their speaking career. In today’s digital age, the path to creating a thought leader platform, leading to speaking gigs, is shifting to a second career play. This is good news for planners. More quality options result in a buyer’s market...now and in the years ahead. What to Look For Keynote … [Read more...]
Increase Your Conference Attendee Engagement By Increasing Relevance
“How can I increase engagement at my conference?” It’s a question I hear a lot. “How can I help my attendees increase their engagement?” What’s my answer? Increase the relevance. Increase the relevance of the content. Increase the relevance of the learning experience. Oh and by the way, what type of engagement are you talking about? The Camouflaged Faux Engaged Attendee As meeting professionals, we struggle with defining attendee engagement. Too often we think that when … [Read more...]
Are Your Conference Speakers Tickling Ears Or Transforming Lives?
Several months ago, a well-known established professional speaker chided me publicly in Facebook because of a post I wrote about how our brains thrive on images. This speaker said that he didn’t need to add visuals to his presentations because all of his clients were extremely satisfied with his keynote presentations. And he had been doing his presentations without images or PPT for years successfully. Sound familiar? I laughed when I read this speaker’s public denouncement of my post. … [Read more...]