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...]
Seven Tips to Get the Most From Your Industry Speakers
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” When it comes to selecting industry speakers, that adage is especially sage. You've read their speaker proposal, description and bio. They look like the right fit for your conference. But just because they’ve got the right dancing shoes doesn't mean they can pull off the dance. Here are seven considerations to keep in mind to make sure you line up the right industry speakers for your event. 1. It takes two to dance. Build a relationship with your industry … [Read more...]
What Presentations And Pancakes Have In Common
I woke up with an intense craving for golden, fluffy, hot, spongy pancakes with a crispy edge. I rarely eat pancakes. But this morning the desire was strong. My mind was deluged with the smell of fresh pancakes on the griddle, the sound of the batter hitting the pan and the sight of a pancake made in the shape of an animal with a chocolate chip as an eye. Childhood memories flooded my mind. So what do successful presentations and great pancakes have in common? Actually a lot. 1. The right … [Read more...]
HAPO – Help A Planner Out! Crowdsourcing A Speaker Confirmation Letter
Have you heard of HARO - Help A Reporter Out? We'll here's your opportunity to HAPO - Help A Planner Out. If you have expertise in meetings, events, education, association work, marketing, branding--whatever, think about helping this meetings and education specialist. Crowdsourcing A Speaker Confirmation Letter Meet Veronica Bemis, Education Program Coordinator, American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Veronica is an avid reader of this blog and active in PCMA. She and her colleagues at AWEA … [Read more...]
Three Ways To Upgrade Reekin’ Stinkin’ Conference Education And Help Your Presenters Practice Their Craft
Let's face it. Most conference education is lackluster. Actually, most of it stinks, is dull and could be used to line bird cages. Generally, our customers say they attend conferences and meetings to learn and network. Yet, we as conference organizers continue to do the same things we've always done when planning our meetings--focus on the logistics and details. Ultimately, the biggest barrier to better conference education is the speaker. Conference organizers typically secure industry … [Read more...]
Improving Your Conference Education: Begin With The End In Mind
When securing speakers for you next conference or meeting, here are two things that you can do that will have an immediate positive effect on your conference education: Tell your speakers that you want them to build their presentations backwards. They should begin by identifying the learning outcomes. What is it that they want their attendees to learn and remember after attending their presentation? Then build their presentations around those objectives. Ask them to identify the top three … [Read more...]
The American Idol Strategy Of Picking Conference Speakers
America has a love-hate-relationship with American Idol. We boo the negative naysayer and painfully honest founder and judge Simon Cowell. Although we often secretly agree with what he has to say. We applaud the effervescent Ellen DeGeneres when she says she likes a finalist and compares them to an unripe banana. Although we know she is struggling to find something positive to say when a singer does a poor job. The entire process of finding the next American Idol is very similar to the … [Read more...]
Fore! Some Master It. Others Teach It. A Speaker Selection Golf Lesson For Meeting Professionals
In early history, golf was reserved for the royals, played with sticks and pebbles over natural landscapes. During the Industrial Revolution, golf clubs and balls became mass produced and inexpensive enough for more of us to chase the little white ball around a fairway, rough and other hazards. Today, there are millions of golfers in the world and thousands of professionals. So what does this have to do conferences and events? Everything. And I'm not referring to conference golf tournaments … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 3
- 4
- 5
