Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

I use the phrase “wants and needs” a lot when talking about participant-driven and participation-rich conferences. Conference organizers have, of course, every right to create an event that satisfies their wants and needs. Otherwise, why bother creating the conference in the first place? Whom is your event for?

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Conference Meetings Events Event Design 421

Velvet Chainsaw

FEBRUARY 8, 2021

Over the past nine months, many industry experts have proclaimed that meetings and conferences are forever changed and hybrid is here to stay. Meetings of the future will be improved and monetized by embracing the tenants of strategic product management. While I agree in principle, I think the future is so much more than hybrid.

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Conference Sponsorships Education 2022 366

Conferences that Work

APRIL 18, 2022

I’ve been writing about hybrid meetings for a long time; my first post was in February 2010. The COVID19 pandemic created an explosion of interest in hybrid meetings, and the marketplace and event professionals are still defining what “hybrid” means. (No, Sounds crazy, yes, but stay with me!

2010 423

2010 Meetings Conference Travel 423

Conferences that Work

MARCH 28, 2022

My work at a pre-con is different from that of a typical meeting planner since I focus on the meeting’s design and facilitation. I’ve been convening meetings for decades, though, so I know a fair amount about meeting planning. The traditional bread and butter of a meeting planner’s job.

Food and Beverage 429

Food and Beverage Meetings Meeting Design Site Selections 429

Conferences that Work

AUGUST 31, 2020

Please stop treating adults like children at your conferences. Or use this variant if you’re meeting online. So, please stop treating adults like children at conferences. Children play — and play is important at meetings. For an exception, see the end of this post.). one exception. No related posts.

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Conference Education Meetings Events 380

Conferences that Work

AUGUST 9, 2021

Far too much money is spent on meeting glitz at the expense of good meeting design. “There’s no budget” I’ve noticed over the years that every meeting has a budget for F&B. But “there’s no budget” for core event design, which is actually about designing great meeting process.

Meeting Design 358

Meeting Design Meetings Event Design Conference 358

Conferences that Work

JANUARY 11, 2021

What makes attending conferences worthwhile? As I described in Conferences That Work , the two most common reasons for attending conferences are to learn useful things and make useful connections. But there are numerous other ways that conferences provide value to stakeholders. Obvious problems. Complicated problems.

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Conference 2010 2011 2014 371

Conferences that Work

MAY 4, 2020

Providing downtime during any meeting is important , but it’s especially important to schedule breaks during online meetings. What happens if you don’t schedule breaks during online meetings. Obviously, there are times when online meeting participants need to take a break. Let’s explore this.

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Meetings Conference Event Design Events 400

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. Online and hybrid meetings have seen less drastic reductions. One bright spot has been the normalization of online meetings for routine connection and collaboration. It ain’t necessarily so.

Meetings 367

Meetings Meeting Design 2020 Speakers 367

Conferences that Work

MARCH 3, 2025

It’s time to revisit this important topic because you can improve your meetings by making attendee status a real-time construct. Their status is publicly proclaimed on the pre-conference program, giving attendees no say in the decision. Improve all your meetings! For more on how this works, check out this 2014 post.

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Meetings 2014 Conference Design Fashion 156

Conferences that Work

MARCH 20, 2023

Hey, meeting planners! Are you obsessed with conferences? Yet no vice bedevils me like my one desperate fixation, my shameful ravening itch: I simply must attend conferences. So, are meeting planners obsessed with conferences? Yes, you , you know who you are. Well…hopefully not to the same extent as George Meyer.

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Conference 2007 Meetings Events 284

Conferences that Work

OCTOBER 12, 2020

Many event professionals are hoping and waiting for a meeting industry new normal. We want to believe that, at some point, in-person meetings like the ones we’ve held for decades will return. Such areas are already holding local in-person events, but safe inter-regional meetings are not possible.

Meetings 406

Meetings Transportation 2022 2021 406

Conferences that Work

JUNE 29, 2020

I’ve been noticing a strange trend, ever since COVID-19 caused just about all bread and butter meetings to vanish. Suddenly, people are calling the meetings we’re holding these days virtual meetings. I’m sorry, but when I think of a virtual meeting, this comes to mind…. together with content like this….

Meetings 418

Meetings Conference Events Event Design 418

Conferences that Work

AUGUST 10, 2020

Is it possible to routinely start online meetings on time? Think about the last three meetings you attended. Why don’t scheduled meetings start on time? The reason that almost no scheduled meetings (in-person or online ) start on time is that we provide one single time for meetings to both open and start.

Meetings 434

Meetings Technology Conference Event Design 434

Conferences that Work

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

Why not make your entire conference a braindate? I like the braindate approach , but it doesn’t have to be something that’s grafted onto a conference. Because good event design is about how a conference works. So there’s no need to add a braindate process to a well-designed meeting. No related posts.

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Conference 2020 2019 Meeting Design 305

Conferences that Work

JANUARY 20, 2020

The Association for Software Testing (AST) has just issued a free guide to creating peer conferences. I believe the software testing community adopted my term “peer conference” for their get-togethers after a conversation I had with pioneer software tester James Bach in 2004. email templates and helpful checklists.

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Conference 2004 2014 2018 303

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…. A terminology reminder.

Meetings 367

Meetings 2011 2021 Fashion 367

Conferences that Work

JUNE 14, 2021

Why are our meetings still full of lectures? 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. It’s just the opposite. No related posts.

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Meetings 2021 Meeting Design Conference 348

Conferences that Work

JANUARY 18, 2021

Why people continue to speak for free at meeting industry conferences : Another issue of an occasional series— Dear Adrian — in which I answer questions about event design, elementary particle physics , solar hot water systems, and anything else I might conceivably know something about. an unknown level of expertise.

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Conference Meetings Speakers Trade Shows 276

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

What is the mix of presentation versus interaction at your meetings? Traditional meetings focus heavily on presentation. Presentation versus interaction at meetings. But our meeting designs, in large part, haven’t changed to reflect this shift in cultural awareness. What should it be? The written word.

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Meetings Meeting Design Conference Event Design 315

Conferences that Work

NOVEMBER 8, 2021

What are the fairest rules to use when running meetings? ” I think it’s reasonable to concentrate on fairness to participants : the majority of those involved with the meeting. All meetings have rules, whether overt or covert, conscious or unconscious, that influence how they proceed. Status and power at meetings.

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Meetings Conference Negotiating Speakers 358

Conferences that Work

OCTOBER 17, 2022

But what does it mean in the context of meetings? Surely we sometimes become attached to people we meet? Isn’t creating and strengthening attachments one of the desirable functions of meetings? So what is the relationship between connection and attachment when people come together? No related posts.

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Meetings Conference 297

Eventmobi

NOVEMBER 26, 2020

So for many event planners looking for the right tool to host a virtual conference, Zoom is the first thing that comes to mind. This means planners can easily connect their Zoom account with EventMobi to deliver a seamless and user-friendly experience to their virtual conference attendees. Already an EventMobi customer?

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Conference 2020 Speakers Meetings 370

Conferences that Work

MAY 15, 2023

It’s time for a “sound of silence” roundup of meetings industry pet peeves.

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Meetings Conference Speakers 296

Conferences that Work

MARCH 8, 2021

I’d like to be clear that I don’t hate in-person meetings , despite what some have been posting recently on a Facebook group for meeting professionals: “Often wondered why so many on this feed hate live events.” The tension in the meeting industry. No related posts.

Meetings 334

Meetings Financial Conference Event Design 334

Conferences that Work

APRIL 5, 2021

If people come to meetings to learn, how can we create the best environment for them to do so? It turns out that trust and safety are prerequisites for optimum learning at meetings. How we learn at meetings. Only about 10% of adult learning involves formal classroom or meeting presentation formats. No related posts.

Meetings 361

Meetings Conference Meeting Design Management 361

Conferences that Work

JANUARY 25, 2021

How can we design the optimum balance between control versus freedom at meetings? Note that I’m not suggesting meeting professionals give up any attempt to control what happens at their events. Creating events that truly meet participants’ wants and needs. First, let’s get one misconception out of the way.

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Meetings 2010 2020 Conference 345

Attendease

NOVEMBER 6, 2024

Whether you’re organizing a corporate conference, a product launch, a holiday party, or a training seminar, this handy tool turns overwhelming project timelines into bite-sized, actionable steps. In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about event workback schedules.

Event Planning 370

Event Planning Contracts Risk Management Speakers 370

Smart Meetings

FEBRUARY 21, 2025

Meeting planners are responsible for the success of corporate events, conferences, and incentive programs. Hotels, CVBs, and destinations looking to attract more group business, need to understand the top pain points of meeting planners. Attendees now expect more interactive and engaging events.

Meetings 130

Meetings Sustainability Contracts Tech 130

Conferences that Work

AUGUST 30, 2021

The Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) has published some useful lessons learned from organizing six online scientific meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Online meetings improve access and attendance. Conferences are an important learning and support resource for early career scientists.

Meetings 295

Meetings 2020 Conference Travel 295

Smart Meetings

APRIL 10, 2025

The nature of business meetings has undergone a significant transformation. Companies are increasingly shifting from large, infrequent conferences to smaller, more frequent gatherings that foster collaboration and connection. Another key factor is budget optimization.

Hotels 130

Hotels Meetings Advertising Hospitality 130

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

Though I don’t teach college anymore, I’m interested in educational class design because a class is a meeting. And much of what we can do to design great meetings is applicable to college classes too. Read the full article at Conferences That Work The post A class is a meeting appeared first on Conferences That Work.

Meetings 296

Meetings 2022 Education Speakers 296

Conferences that Work

OCTOBER 30, 2023

Meetings and conferences are perhaps one of the most important fundamental ways in which people come together and change happens. So I’m pleased to discover an academic research article paper about unconference — especially since its title is: The Future Of Conferences Is Unconferences !

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Conference 2023 Education Travel 283

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 ). In an outrageous display of chutzpah , I wrote three of these books. [If

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Meeting Design Meetings 2009 2013 324

Conferences that Work

OCTOBER 11, 2021

I think it’s also a meeting problem: “The real problem of humanity is the following: we have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology.” And so it goes with meetings. It’s why businesses sponsor meetings. All meeting design needs to recognize this reality. ” — E.

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Meetings 2009 2002 Technology 320

Conferences that Work

OCTOBER 21, 2024

I’ve not always agreed with Freeman’s Reports , but, if you’re in the meeting industry, Freeman’s Trends Report Q4 2024 is a must-read. Informal meetings with SMEs are rated important by 24% of organizers , but 48% of attendees find them crucial. The language of connection : The words we use for meetings matter.

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2024 Event Design Meeting Design Education 240

Velvet Chainsaw

JULY 23, 2018

Likewise, many conference professionals have no idea what embracing the long-tail, pull benefits of content marketing even means. Most marketing and communications teams agree that content marketing serves as the foundation to their conference marketing strategy. A Poverty Of Conference Content Marketing Success. Get specific.

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Conference 2018 Marketing Tech 294