Conferences that Work

MARCH 13, 2017

How do we get people to participate at meetings? We know that participants — people who are active learners — learn more, retain more, and retain more accurately than passive attendees. Seth Godin describes a desirable meeting mindset: What would happen… if we chose to: …Sit in the front row. Seth Godin, What Would Happen.

Attendee 84

Attendee Education Booking Conference 84

Endless Events

JUNE 15, 2018

Today there are multiple options for attendees to check in to events, whether offline or online. Also, take into account the real-time feedback of your attendees. Meetings may cover the simplest of topics, but mixing things up to break the mold can go a long way. Make sure attendees still takeaway the most important tidbits.

Registration 258

Registration Events Sponsors Event Marketing 258

Conferences that Work

AUGUST 16, 2021

And it made me think about meeting design. And, me being me, I thought about what Marcy had just said in the context of meeting design. And meetings are no exception. The art and craft of the meeting designer. It’s a meeting designer’s job to create these contextual layers.

Rehearsal 139

Rehearsal Meeting Design Conference Planner 139

Conferences that Work

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

Traditional conferences focus on a hodgepodge of pre-determined sessions punctuated with socials, surrounded by short welcomes and closings. Such conference designs treat openings and closings as perfunctory traditions, perhaps pumped up with a keynote or two, rather than key components of the conference design.

Conference 71

Conference Conference Design Meeting Design Education 71

Conferences that Work

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

And yes, I admit it, during the second day of my vacation while enjoying the harmonies I hear, I’m jolted to think about religious meeting design…. Religious services are thought to be around 300,000 years old — by far the oldest form of organized meeting that humans have created. Keep ’em moving!

Meeting Design 66

Meeting Design Meeting Speakers Conference 66

MeetingsNet

MAY 29, 2019

"Conversations & Input" eases presenter pressure, gets all attendees involved, and deepens learning. We're all quite familiar with the Q&A portion of a meeting session: The final few minutes where the audience has its chance to drill down a bit with the presenter. The Results.

Attendee 85

Attendee Meeting Audience Meeting Design 85

The MICE Blog

JULY 27, 2022

One of the presentations that highly inspired me to think differently about event design took place in 2019 at the MICE Forum at ITB Berlin (Organised by VDVO ). The conference programme was designed to highlight the importance of the individual who is the centre of every live event.

Events 147

Events Speakers Conference Attendee 147

Conferences that Work

APRIL 18, 2022

The first novel hybrid meeting format was invented by Joel Backon back in 2010. The second is a design I’ll be using in a conference I’ve designed and will be facilitating in June 2022. 1—In-person attendees participate in an online session! Sounds crazy, yes, but stay with me!

Meeting 169

Meeting Online Conference Booking 169

Conferences that Work

APRIL 25, 2022

Today’s attendees are no longer satisfied sitting and listening to people talking at them. If you want to hold meetings where effective learning, connection, and engagement take place, you need to build in authentic and relevant participation. The Conference Arc: Building connection while uncovering wants, needs, and resources.

Online 116

Online Registration Meeting Design Conference 116

Conferences that Work

JULY 19, 2021

If you want maximum learning, interaction, and connection at a meeting, small meetings are better than large meetings. For example, think about a conference to explore the implications of a medical breakthrough. Increased learning, interaction, and connection. Producing Event Camp Twin Cities 2011. No related posts.

Meeting 147

Meeting Online Remote Conference 147

Conferences that Work

FEBRUARY 5, 2024

Community versus audience I began my first book with the research finding (and common observation) that people go to conferences to network and learn. Creating community at conferences around participant-driven content , therefore, creates a far more effective learning and connection-rich environment.

Audience 98

Audience Meeting Manufacturing Meeting Design 98

Social Tables

OCTOBER 6, 2018

Meetings don’t look how they used to. Today, planners are racing to adapt to trends that make conferences and events more engaging and dynamic than ever before. But when it comes to trends, where should meeting industry professionals put their focus? Attendees want more control over the meeting agenda.

Trends 157

Trends Meeting Trade Show Events 157

Conferences that Work

APRIL 11, 2022

By “practitioners” I mean the folks who do what the meeting is about; e.g., doctors at a medical event or scientists at a conservation conference. Often, vendors meet with practitioners at a tradeshow, and sponsors (who are usually vendors too) get opportunities to address practitioners.

Meeting 118

Meeting Vendor Sponsors Attendee 118

Social Tables

OCTOBER 6, 2018

With that, they’re also now the largest pool of potential meeting attendees. In an industry shaped by attendee expectations, successful events have to cater to their wants and desires. Control over the meeting agenda is moving to attendees. Millennials are the decision makers now. labor force at 35%.

Meeting 158

Meeting Trade Show Events Social Media 158

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

Software testers do peer conferences right! They even call them a peer conference , rather than unconference , a term I don’t like.) As evidence of software tester conference awesomeness, I offer three examples below. a short history of the peer conference. The 2022 SoCraTes peer conference. But first…. …a

Conference 62

Conference Proposal Meeting Design Publishing 62

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

Events and media consultant Julius Solaris shared at the Unforgettable Experience Design Summit that he was initially very enthusiastic about unconference format events. He thought conferences would eventually adopt unconference models. Such attendee experiences further reinforce the myth that unconferences are no big deal.

Preparation 112

Preparation Venue Conference Proposal 112

Convene by PCMA

AUGUST 2, 2024

Others brought up approaches to conferences — which have stood the test of time but are as flat as stale beer — that are within event organizers’ power to rework or at least to advocate for their re-imagination.

Social Media 119

Social Media Events Consulting Culture 119

Conferences that Work

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

For over thirty years I’ve been making clients’ conferences significantly better, for about the cost of a conference coffee break. I make conferences better by dramatically increasing attendee satisfaction. Since 1992, I’ve designed and facilitated hundreds of conferences and thousands of meetings.

Sponsors 96

Sponsors Registration Conference Attendee 96

Conferences that Work

NOVEMBER 8, 2021

I think of status at events as the relative levels of proclaimed or perceived social value assigned to or assumed by attendees. And power at events is an individual’s capacity to influence the actions, beliefs, or conduct of attendees. Typically, but not always, higher status implies greater power at meetings.

Meeting 143

Meeting Conference Speakers Booking 143

Conferences that Work

APRIL 1, 2019

This (slightly edited) interview by JT Long appeared in the March 2019 issue of Smart Meetings Magazine. What led to writing the book, Conferences that Work ? I invented the format by accident 26 years ago when there were no expert speakers to invite for a conference on administrative computing issues in small schools.

Booking 103

Booking Conference Speakers Meeting Design 103

Social Tables

DECEMBER 27, 2018

To succeed, you have to be dynamic, you have to be flexible, and, above all, you have to be in tune with attendee desires. Industry Performance Trends Attendee Experience Trends Meeting Destination Trends Event Technology Trends Meeting Design Trends. Attendee Experience Trends. Industry Performance Trends.

Trends 167

Trends Meeting Planner Venue 167

Conferences that Work

MARCH 25, 2024

Since 2005, I’ve written three successful books on meeting design and facilitation and over 800 weekly blog posts on a wide range of topics. My books continue to sell, and this blog is the world’s most popular website on meeting design and facilitation. Attendees loved my events! ” Jerry was right.

Booking 96

Booking Consulting Meeting Design Conference 96

Convene by PCMA

MAY 19, 2023

Amsterdam’s well-connected infrastructure means attendees can easily jump between venues, hotels, attractions, and restaurants. After all, when event organizers choose host cities that embrace innovation and forward-thinking ideas, those values inevitably set the tone for their event programs and become part of the attendee experience.

Sustainability 52

Sustainability Attendee Fashion Panel 52

Conferences that Work

APRIL 9, 2018

Over the last five years I’ve heard increasing concern from the meeting professionals community about the deterioration of the quality of our national industry conferences. I’ll illustrate with the area where I have most experience: providing education at these meetings.

Education 78

Education Meeting Sponsors Speakers 78

Conferences that Work

AUGUST 8, 2016

For over 25 years, I’ve been designing and facilitating Conferences That Work : successful, innovative, highly interactive, participant-driven events that leverage attendees’ expertise and experience to create just the conference that participants want and need. The attendees are still here talking to each other!

Education 88

Education Social Network Conference Logistics 88

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 14, 2020

I decided to design the wake as a three or more hour event. This timing is not great for potential European attendees. Attendees (~90 right now) are registering on an online platform that’s free for free events. It’s scheduled to be optimum for North American participants (6:00 — 9:00+ pm EDT). Registration.

Online 142

Online Registration Affiliate Logistics 142

The MICE Blog

MARCH 11, 2021

Now, after one year of hosting and attending virtual events, the events industry is facing the challenge of how to engage attendees and combat ‘zoom fatigue.’ We used meeting design to do that, which already had some gamification elements to it. Gamifying a conference – ShipCon case study. Why use gamification?

Contracts 130

Contracts Contracts Virtual Events Online 130

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 16, 2019

Let’s look at these three conclusions in the context of meeting design. Most meeting presenters still lecture. And most meeting session presenters resort to lecturing as their dominant session modality. Attendees learn more when presenters use active learning modalities.

Publishing 92

Publishing Speakers Education Booking 92

Conferences that Work

APRIL 16, 2018

Fun fact: the testing community often uses my term “peer conferences” for their get-togethers, due to a chat about meeting design I had with tester James Bach at the 2004 Amplifying Your Effectiveness conference.)

Logistics 69

Logistics Conference Trade Show Attendee 69

Conferences that Work

JULY 1, 2024

All the conferences I design and facilitate have a time and place for participants to share their experiences. PSFG has a deep appreciation for the importance of meeting design. One of the first things we did was a short exercise that helped us explore the essence of her desired meeting. And that’s okay.

Conference 96

Conference Speakers Proposal Online 96

Conferences that Work

MARCH 14, 2022

Personal meetings like these, whether brief or extended, between good friends or strangers, are fundamental. Someone to tell it to at conferences. Conferences, whether in-person or online, are also potential arenas for conversations. But some conferences offer better opportunities than others. No related posts.

Meeting Design 71

Meeting Design Conference Online Audience 71

Social Tables

OCTOBER 14, 2016

But you’ve forgotten one important piece of the puzzle: how do you plan on engaging your attendees? Attendee engagement is an oft-overlooked component that is just as important as the venue or food and beverage. When you incorporate the event hashtag into a live tweet, it makes it easy for other attendees to join the conversation.

Audience 68

Audience Social Media B2C Networking 68

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

Adding to my reports on new platforms providing online incarnations of traditional conference socials , here’s a review of online social platform Rally. Venue owners can make other attendees co-hosts. The host can broadcast a text announcement to all attendees in all rooms. Two points before we start. next to their name).

Online 96

Online Platform Panel Venue 96

Conferences that Work

DECEMBER 12, 2016

significantly increase owner and attendee satisfaction and participation at your sessions and events. I’ve been convening, designing, and facilitating conferences for over 35 years, concentrating on participant-driven and participation-rich event facilitation and design since 1992. I’m excited! Earn 16.00

Registration 30

Registration Conference Education Venue 30

Conferences that Work

MARCH 25, 2019

Though it’s clearly sensible to keep a conference running on schedule, we’ve all attended meetings where rambling presenters, avoidable “technical issues”, incompetent facilitation, and inadequate logistics have made a mockery of the published program. Ultimately, the attendees are the losers when this happens.

Rehearsal 79

Rehearsal Logistics Contracts Contracts 79

Convene by PCMA

AUGUST 19, 2024

Rhanee Palma Rising global temperatures impact not only the health and safety of participants, but meeting design and site-selection strategies, said Rhanee Palma, CDME, operations and events manager for the Davis, California–based UC Davis Air Quality Research Center (AQRC).

Site Selection 59

Site Selection Regulations Events Retreat 59

Conferences that Work

JUNE 13, 2016

As I’ve explained elsewhere , good covenants publicly clarify the freedoms that attendees have at an event, like the freedoms to speak one’s mind , ask questions , and share feelings. When such freedoms are agreed to individually and as a group at the start of a meeting, ambiguity about meeting behavior dissipates.

Meeting 63

Meeting Online Conference Government 63