I was extremely irritated. In less than twenty minutes I visited four different conference education sessions. Each of them was a waste of my time. Two sessions were about content that I already knew, even though their session descriptions said they were for advanced audiences. One session had two bumbling, rambling presenters speaking jargon and using acronyms that made no sense. One session was on a subject that was entirely different than the session description. I sat in the hallway and … [Read more...]
Overcomplicating Conference Content Confuses Attendees
Is your conference content like an encyclopedia, a textbook or a report? Does your conference promote content-centric or learner-centric design? Unfortunately, most conferences default to content-centric design without even knowing it. SMEs Do It Difficultly If your conference prides itself on securing subject matter experts (SMEs) to present information, then consider the following. Your attempt to help attendees learn through SMEs, may actually be a barrier to learning. SMEs naturally … [Read more...]
Considering The Learning Journey At Conferences
Many years ago I taught school during the day and high school dropouts preparing for their GED exam at night. It was a grueling schedule. Yet, it was extremely rewarding. On The Road To GED Every evening, after a long day of teaching, I spent another five hours on my second job at Students For Success: The GED Academy. With many of the students, I had a decent chance of helping them improve their math scores. The reading, social studies and science tests were often more challenging. Why? They … [Read more...]
What Do Yearbooks Have To Do With Presenters And Audiences?
During my three years in high school, I diligently worked on our school yearbook. I even served as assistant editor and editor of our yearbook. I enjoyed the design process including creating each two-page spread layout. I also spent many hours making sure that as many of my peers were pictured in candid shots as possible. Where's Waldo And Jennifer And John And Sharon And...? Every summer, we would have a yearbook distribution day for the previous years' students. Guess what was the first … [Read more...]
Which Would You Rather Attend: A Speech Or A Movie?
Which would you rather attend: A ninety-minute speech or a ninety-minute movie? You've got to be kidding, right? The majority of us would rather go to a movie than a speech. Now, let's put this into a conference context. Given a choice, would you rather go to a two-day film festival or a two-day conference? Again, many of us would choose the film festival over the conference. Unless you just hate films. Why Movies Over A Speech? Why would many of us choose attending a movie over a … [Read more...]
Your Presentation Needs This Strategy To Succeed
There is one important strategy that your presentation must have in order to succeed. Without it, you are guaranteed a fail. Without it, you will not connect with your audience. Without it, your words will fall on deaf ears. Adults learn on a "need-to-know" basis! You have to explain why the listener needs-to-know your information. Solve My Current Problems Now Adults are problem-centric. They come to your presentation looking for an answer to their problem. In most cases, they don't … [Read more...]
Our Ability To Learn Has Deep Roots In Our Ability To Talk To Others
Listening is often the only thing attendees do in formal learning environments. Speakers talk. Audiences listen. They listen to keynote speakers at conferences. They listen to presenters in workshops. They listen to industry speakers in education sessions. They listen to staff in HR trainings. The truth is that all that listening amounts to very little learning or change in attitudes, behaviors and skills. Talking Is More Important Than Listening Listening should actually be the smallest part … [Read more...]
From Boring To Beneficial Conference Education
Let's face it. Most conference education is yawn-stirring, sleepy-eyed, ho-hum, day-old soggy Melba-toast tasting boring. It makes root-canals seem fun! Regardless, the human brain loves to learn. In spite of our age, culture, gender and race, our brains are designed to always be on the prowl for new things to discover and experience. The brain is genetically programmed to learn. It's in our DNA. Our brains love to learn! Daydreaming Rules At Most Conferences Amazingly, our brains cannot … [Read more...]
