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. Include lots of communal activities.

Meeting Design 61

Meeting Design Meeting Speakers Conference 61

Conferences that Work

MARCH 13, 2017

We know that participants — people who are active learners — learn more, retain more, and retain more accurately than passive attendees. They are also far more likely to make valuable connections with their peers during the event. Ask a hard question every time we go to a meeting…. Seth Godin, What Would Happen.

Attendee 80

Attendee Education Booking Meeting Design 80

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. But Julius didn’t see them catch on and now focuses on other aspects of the meeting industry. Why aren’t unconferences more popular?

Preparation 106

Preparation Venue Conference Attendee 106

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! Nothing worked.

Booking 80

Booking Meeting Design Consulting Conference 80

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

Conferences that Work

JULY 3, 2023

Back in 1992 , I developed The Three Questions as a fundamental opening process for participant-driven meetings and conferences. Those who offer it are usually first-time attendees. Read the full article at Conferences That Work The post Exploring the Second Question appeared first on Conferences That Work.

Conference 62

Conference Attendee Meeting Design Booking 62

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. Zoom has rapidly become the dominant platform for online meetings.

Online 150

Online Conference Platform Attendee 150

Conferences that Work

MARCH 14, 2022

Traditional events relegate conversations to the hallways, to breaks and socials. Given the fundamental human need to tell, meeting stakeholders owe it to participants to create opportunities and environments for rich conversations in the sessions, rather than just the gaps between them. No conversations occur during lectures.

Meeting Design 65

Meeting Design Conference Online Audience 65

Conferences that Work

APRIL 1, 2019

At traditional conferences with fixed programs set in advance, at best half of sessions offered are what attendees want. I was an amateur in the meeting industry, and that led to some mistakes, but it also gave me a fresh perspective at a time when meeting design wasn’t really a “thing.” If you had told me then that the.

Booking 97

Booking Conference Meeting Design Speakers 97

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. The fairest rules and my six agreements.

Meeting 129

Meeting Conference Speakers Booking 129

Conferences that Work

AUGUST 29, 2016

The following year, David was kind enough to honor me in his flagship publication BizBash as one of the most innovative event professionals. Whenever I’ve had the pleasure of meeting David (not often enough!) The cover proclaims “What’s Next in Event Design?”

Logistics 54

Logistics Event Design Conference Design Conference 54

Conferences that Work

FEBRUARY 7, 2022

So here’s my review of Butter, a meeting platform for facilitators to shine. In this review of Butter, I’ll share a big picture overview, what I think is Butter’s finest feature, an example of how to implement a meeting design in Butter, and my closing thoughts. The usual caveats.

Platform 62

Platform Meeting Online Production 62

Conferences that Work

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

Participant-driven and participation-rich peer conference designs improve on traditional events because they don’t treat openings and closings as necessary evils but as critical components of the meeting design. Read the full article at Conferences That Work Related posts: Participate!

Conference 64

Conference Conference Design Meeting Design Education 64

Conferences that Work

APRIL 9, 2018

In a nutshell, I think that our industry associations have become too focused on justifying their continued existence financially, and are neglecting their core mission of supporting and representing their members and association meeting attendees. But their inclusion looks good on the promotional materials.

Education 74

Education Meeting Sponsors Speakers 74

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 14, 2020

Besides explaining the program, as outlined below, we need to set expectations about what will happen during the event. I decided that our event would not include public denigration, and included a statement to this effect in the invitations. The term wake evokes a more informal event and experience than that of a traditional funeral.

Online 126

Online Registration Logistics Affiliate 126

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

After I talked about my meeting design work with pioneer tester James Bach at the 2004 Amplifying Your Effectiveness conference, the testing community somehow adopted the term peer conference for their get-togethers. I miss hanging out with the folks I got to know at these events. That’s the way to improve meetings!

Conference 62

Conference Meeting Design Proposal Retreat 62

Conferences that Work

MARCH 29, 2021

The essential characteristics of meeting professionals. If there is a heaven on earth in the event industry, there are four essential characteristics of successful meeting professionals you’ll meet there. Every successful meeting involves thinking about, planning for and executing countless details.

Meeting 121

Meeting Communications Communications Logistics 121

Conferences that Work

AUGUST 24, 2020

Here are five meeting design books I especially recommend. Into the Heart of Meetings: Basic Principles of Meeting Design ( ebook or paperback ). Into the Heart of Meetings: Basic Principles of Meeting Design ( ebook or paperback ). Intentional Event Design ( ebook or paperback ).

Meeting Design 114

Meeting Design Booking Meeting Publishing 114

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.) Most meeting conveners concentrate on feedback about meeting content (“great speakers!

Logistics 58

Logistics Conference Trade Show Attendee 58

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 85

Publishing Speakers Education Booking 85

Conferences that Work

APRIL 8, 2019

Invent a way to make the conference successful based on the collective needs, wants, and experience of the attendees. Organizations hear about these conferences and ask me to design and facilitate them. I decide to write a book about it, and in… 2009: I self-publish Conferences That Work: Creating Events That People Love.

Publishing 58

Publishing Consulting Manufacturing Conference 58

Conferences that Work

JUNE 18, 2018

I’ll bet that even today, if you asked attendees what they remembered about the event, most would immediately recall the There Was No Coffee moment. Experienced meeting planners know that every meeting has its share of unexpected surprises. Surprising Meetings But not all meeting surprises are bad.

Meeting 70

Meeting Conference Planner Attendee 70

Conferences that Work

JUNE 13, 2016

Why mention this on an event design blog? Well, the most effective aspect of China’s online censorship regime illustrates what happens when you don’t incorporate covenants into your meetings. Read the full article at Conferences That Work. The Chinese government runs a massive online censorship program.

Meeting 63

Meeting Conference Online Education 63

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 Conference Social Network Logistics 88

Conferences that Work

JUNE 26, 2017

The meetings industry is far more aware of the importance of treating and supporting attendees as active participants rather than passive consumers of education. I also moderated the #eventprofs Twitter chats for several years, and until recently, ran the weekly #Eventprofs Happy Hour Hangout for meeting professionals.

Booking 50

Booking Conference Education Meeting Design 50

Conferences that Work

MARCH 25, 2019

When meetings don’t stay on time, the event is out of control. Ultimately, the attendees are the losers when this happens. A client asked me to facilitate a 90-minute workshop for 600 attendees. But when it was time to start, no attendees appeared. Chaos and cynicism follow.

Rehearsal 70

Rehearsal Logistics Contracts Contracts 70

Endless Events

OCTOBER 19, 2018

After all, event industry blogs are accessible, provide information about events from around the globe and cover every aspect of event planning. You can find bigger and better ways to deploy events, the latest in event tech, and follow where other event profs’ careers are taking them. Endless Events.

Trade Show 333

Trade Show Events Planner Trends 333

Conferences that Work

DECEMBER 12, 2016

significantly increase owner and attendee satisfaction and participation at your sessions and events. significantly increase owner and attendee satisfaction and participation at your sessions and events. The attendees are still here talking to each other! Using white space at events. I’m excited!

Registration 25

Registration Conference Venue Education 25

Conferences that Work

MARCH 28, 2022

Unfortunately, you wouldn’t know this from looking at meeting planning textbooks. They assume that meetings will consist of sessions with speakers on a stage. They assume that the core purpose of a meeting session is to transmit content to an audience. The meeting industry has redefined novelty as creativity.

Logistics 169

Logistics Meeting Meeting Design Site Selection 169

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 126

Rehearsal Meeting Design Conference Planner 126

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 132

Meeting Online Remote Conference 132

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.) 1—In-person attendees participate in an online session!

Meeting 164

Meeting Online Conference Booking 164

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

Venue owners can make other attendees co-hosts. The host can broadcast a text announcement to all attendees in all rooms. Anyone speaking on stage will be heard by everyone in the room, and presenters can hear audience response at a reduced level, rather like as if they were speaking at a live event. next to their name).

Online 80

Online Platform Panel Venue 80

Motivation Excellence

FEBRUARY 20, 2020

An in-house or outsourced corporate event planner is responsible for planning the logistics. End-of-event assessments are a critical tool in evaluating the subjective success of the incentive travel event. Event attendance gives earners public recognition for their achievements. Why do incentive travel programs work?

Incentives 130

Incentives Travel Travel Social Media 130

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. To succeed, you have to be dynamic, you have to be flexible, and, above all, you have to be in tune with attendee desires.

Trends 167

Trends Meeting Planner Venue 167

Conferences that Work

JULY 30, 2018

Here’s what you might see on a stroll through a typical workshop: An example At one workshop, association staffers noted that no one touched a cell phone, and intense conversations with frequent bursts of laughter filled the entire two-hour event. A participant started crying and his group members rushed to console and support him. (We

Consulting 54

Consulting Education Venue Conference 54

Conferences that Work

JANUARY 24, 2022

Have you attended in-person meetings where your hallway conversations were the highlight of the event? But I see meetings where hallway learning trumps a majority of, if not all, conference sessions as failures of design, rather than a fact of life. Give your attendees plenty of breaks. Don’t get me wrong.

Conference 144

Conference Attendee Meeting Booking 144