Conferences that Work

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

I’m indebted to Martin Sirk for sharing remarkable information about an 1828 conference designed by the German geographer, naturalist, and explorer Alexander von Humboldt. Read what follows to discover that Humboldt was also a meeting designer way ahead of his time! Martin Sirk Modern meeting design!

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Meeting Design Meeting Conference Conference Design 98

Conferences that Work

MARCH 28, 2022

Unfortunately, you wouldn’t know this from looking at meeting planning textbooks. The meeting industry has redefined novelty as creativity. A “creative” event design is one with a novel venue and/or decor and lighting and/or food and beverage. Competent logistics are the new meeting minimum.

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Logistics Meeting Meeting Design Site Selection 171

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 16, 2024

Rereading a 2012 post by Jeff Jarvis , I was struck by the parallels between his take on news organizations’ responsibilities to their platforms and the responsibilities of conferences. ” —Jeff Jarvis At conferences, the “users” are primarily participants. Design in flexibility. Give them power.

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Platform Media Conference Sponsors 96

Smart Meetings

AUGUST 15, 2022

Now that events are going back to in person, how can meeting professionals deliver the same level of detailed success metrics to the executive team about the range of value delivered on the investment? Two veteran meeting designers joined Smart Chat Live! Meet the Experts. Watch the entire webinar here.

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Medical Meetings Meeting Trade Show Virtual Events 246

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.

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Events Speakers Conference Attendee 147

Endless Events

JULY 27, 2018

Event networking can be both a fun and confusing experience. Today’s favorites are all about how to make event networking better. PS: If you need more event networking and audience engagement tips, why not. Facebook Finds a New Event Rival in Pinterest. Get More People in Your Free Events. Click To Tweet.

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Networking Attendee Registration Events 200

Conferences that Work

APRIL 1, 2024

On Tuesday, March 26, 2024 , I sat down with Martin Duffy and Paul Nunesdea on LinkedIn Live for an hour’s deep dive conversation about peer conferences: the participant-driven, participation-rich events I’ve designed and facilitated for over thirty years. Peer Conferences Unveiled—The Transcript!

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Conference Meeting Booking Audience 98

Conferences that Work

JANUARY 10, 2022

Most of the event industry and our clients continue to assume that if you can make the meeting bigger it’s a good thing. The massive disruption of in-person events since March 2020 has shaken our industry to the core. We have also seen the emergence of new forms of online events, supported by solid business models.

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Meeting Meeting Design Online Sponsors 147

Conferences that Work

JUNE 3, 2019

The first peer conference I convened and designed was held June 3 – 5, 1992 at Marlboro College, Vermont. So, as of today, the community of practice that eventually became edACCESS has enjoyed 27 years of peer conferences. Twenty-three people came to the inaugural conference. 27 years of peer conferences.

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Conference Consulting Meeting Design Website 75

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.

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Conference Conference Design Meeting Design Education 71

Conferences that Work

MAY 11, 2020

I’ve been designing and facilitating participant-driven and participation-rich in person meetings — aka peer conferences — for almost thirty years. Because participants love these meetings ! Now the covid-19 pandemic has forced meetings online. In person meetings have vanished overnight.

Online 158

Online Conference Platform Publishing 158

Conferences that Work

APRIL 18, 2022

The COVID19 pandemic created an explosion of interest in hybrid meetings, and the marketplace and event professionals are still defining what “hybrid” means. (No, No, sticking a streaming camera in the back of the room does not make an in-person meeting hybrid.) Sounds crazy, yes, but stay with me!

Meeting 169

Meeting Online Conference Booking 169

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!

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Meeting Design Meeting Speakers Conference 66

Endless Events

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

Care to join us for some stimulating conversation about multi-hub meetings? Because this week’s episode of Event Tech Podcast is all about this up and coming, exciting topic. Everyone who works in the event industry knows the power of meetings. And who says we have to stop at single-hub meetings?

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Meeting Speakers Regulations Meeting Design 176

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

Convene by PCMA

AUGUST 2, 2024

Michelle Russell Convene Editor in Chief When we asked planner respondents to our recent Salary Survey to share their sacred cows in the events industry, some griped about things that are largely out of their control, like rising costs.

Social Media 119

Social Media Events Consulting Culture 119

Conferences that Work

MARCH 3, 2022

Here’s a rare opportunity to ask me anything about meeting design and facilitation at a unique, free, online workshop. Join me next Thursday, March 10th, 2022 at 12:00 pm EST for Ask Adrian Anything ( AAA ): an online participant-driven workshop on the future of events. Experience a participant-driven online event.

Online 118

Online Affiliate Meeting Design Platform 118

Social Tables

OCTOBER 6, 2018

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? While the shifts are plentiful, there are five that stand out from the fold when it comes to modern event design.

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Trends Meeting Trade Show Events 157

Conferences that Work

JULY 2, 2018

Recently, a client asked for help designing a new conference. Thirty minutes of discussion with three stakeholders revealed they hadn’t yet settled on the event’s specific purpose, scope, and format. hoping that in the process the event’s purpose and desired outcomes will become clearer.

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Meeting Design Logistics Conference Design Consulting 76

Social Tables

OCTOBER 6, 2018

From more engaging, holistic experiences to the the bold new expectations of “bleisure,” event planners and suppliers are racing to adapt in an industry that’s as dynamic as it’s ever been. While the shifts are plentiful, there are five that stand out from the fold when it comes to modern event design.

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Meeting Trade Show Events Social Media 158

Conferences that Work

JULY 19, 2021

Ever since my first encounter with the hybrid hub and spoke meeting topology at Event Camp Twin Cities in 2011, I’ve been a big fan of the format. Yesterday [see below], I realized that hub and spoke is a great format for purely online meetings too. What’s a hub and spoke meeting? But first…. Convenience.

Meeting 147

Meeting Online Remote Conference 147

Conferences that Work

AUGUST 15, 2022

All too often, clients planning an event don’t spend enough time making hard but important event choices. Read the full article at Conferences That Work The post Making event choices appeared first on Conferences That Work. No related posts.

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Events Conference Meeting Design Event Design 118

Conferences that Work

AUGUST 12, 2024

I learned about them when I presented at The Religious Conference Management Association annual conference in 2014, and I’ve written about what meeting designers can learn from religious services. Olsen ‘s paper Events, Faith Communities, and the Public Square. and Olsen, Daniel H. 4, Article 13.

Events 96

Events Venue Trends Conference 96

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Presentation versus interaction at meetings. But our meeting designs, in large part, haven’t changed to reflect this shift in cultural awareness. Read the full article at Conferences That Work The post Presentation versus interaction at meetings appeared first on Conferences That Work.

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Meeting Publishing Booking Meeting Design 126

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

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Conference Proposal Meeting Design Publishing 62

Conferences that Work

JUNE 28, 2021

During our 25 minutes together, we discussed various panel formats, their value, and how to structure and design powerful panel discussions into the larger context of meetings, conferences, and events. We covered a lot in a short time, but there’s much more to learn about Powerful panels and good meeting design!

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Panel Meeting Design Conference Audience 133

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

? ? Here’s a standing invitation for event and hospitality teachers. I will meet online with your class for free. As an experienced facilitator and designer of participant-driven and participation-rich meetings, I love to share what I’ve learned during my four decades in the meeting industry.

Hospitality 90

Hospitality Online Education Events 90

Conferences that Work

JUNE 14, 2021

When the leading candidate for the Mayor of New York City has this take on how people learn, perhaps it’s not so surprising that we’re still sitting through endless broadcast-style sessions at meetings and conferences. Learning researchers and our best teachers and meeting designers have known this for a long time.

Meeting 139

Meeting Remote Meeting Design Conference 139

Conferences that Work

FEBRUARY 17, 2020

Finally, as a meeting designer I’m convinced that using meeting formats that facilitate and support sharing amongst peers of relevant information is one of the most powerful ways to improve the effectiveness of meetings. Share information; don’t hoard it. Image attribution: Flickr user ben_grey.

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Consulting Meeting Design Benefits Training 147

Conferences that Work

APRIL 25, 2022

Hosted by CSAE Manitoba , this free one-hour online Participate Lab will introduce you to the design of participation-rich events through the direct experience of participatory meeting techniques and formats. All are welcome to attend this event at no charge (both CSAE members and non-members). Where & When.

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Online Registration Meeting Design Conference 116

Conferences that Work

OCTOBER 11, 2021

All meeting design needs to recognize this reality. What we think of as modern business meetings and conferences are hundreds of years old. The traditional top-down formats of meetings and conferences reflect the top-down structure of the institutions that still largely dominate our world. Institutions.

Meeting 128

Meeting Technology Technology Manufacturing 128

Conferences that Work

FEBRUARY 5, 2024

These two quotes are from my posts on the parallels between the evolution of journalism and events (2015) and on the parallel missions of journalism and participant-driven and participation-rich events (2018).] This brings us to a key question that is rarely openly discussed: Whom are conferences for?

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Audience Meeting Manufacturing Meeting Design 98

Social Tables

DECEMBER 27, 2018

What does it mean to be a part of the events industry in 2019? Meetings are growing and evolving rapidly, and each is an experiment in applying new methods to find a perfect formula. For venues and planners, that means looking into the crystal ball to get ahead of event trends and expectations. Well for starters, don’t blink.

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Trends Meeting Planner Venue 167

Conferences that Work

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

Ten years of Conferences That Work ! Ten years ago today, I started this website and published my first book: Conferences That Work: Creating Events That People Love. (A These days, this site gets about six million page views per year, making it, as far as I know, the most popular website in the world on meeting design.

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Conference Publishing Website Booking 10

Conferences that Work

NOVEMBER 8, 2021

Status and power at meetings. 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. At many events, only high status people talk.

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Meeting Conference Speakers Booking 143

Conferences that Work

JUNE 7, 2021

Why am I writing about social learning on a blog that’s (mainly) about meeting design? Because social (uncovered) learning is the best learning model for conference sessions. Which means, to create the best meetings we need to maximize the social learning that takes place. Humans’ true superpower.

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Booking Conference Meeting Design Online 123

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.

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Booking Conference Speakers Meeting Design 103