Conferences that Work

APRIL 29, 2024

Since 2009 I’ve maintained an informal calendar of peer conferences (aka unconferences) on this site. It’s informal because I only list events I hear about, a minuscule fraction of the unconferences people hold every day. Even so, the calendar lists hundreds of events. Currently, I add a few peer conferences a month.

Conference 245

Conference 2009 Healthcare Conference Design 245

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 17, 2018

So this is what we did: Read the full article at Conferences That Work Related posts: Face The Fear—Then Change Your Conference Design! Want to see my 6 minute 40 second Pecha Kucha presentation Face The Fear—Then Change Your Conference Design! given at EventCamp Twin Cities on September 9, 2010? If so, download.

Conference 160

Conference 2010 2011 Conference Design 160

Velvet Chainsaw

JULY 8, 2021

There’s never been a better time to experiment with new meeting elements or to say goodbye to some time-worn ones, Dave Lutz, managing director of Velvet Chainsaw Consulting, said in this recent VCC post. Dave will talk about his forecasts for future trends for association events at a virtual education session on July 15 at 10 a.m.

Consulting 195

Consulting Conference Design Education Conference 195

Conferences that Work

DECEMBER 25, 2023

Here’s an independent review of my conference design work, published as a case study in Chapter 25—Designing and Developing Content for Collaborative Business Events—of the book The Routledge Handbook of Business Events. Tip: The hardback version is expensive, the ebook is a quarter of the hardback cost.)

Conference 240

Conference 2009 Conference Design 2015 240

Conferences that Work

JULY 2, 2018

Thirty minutes of discussion with three stakeholders revealed they hadn’t yet settled on the event’s specific purpose, scope, and format. The needs assessment trap Conference design clients who “know what they want” have already decided on their “ why? Conferences That Work goes to Japan!

Meeting Design 192

Meeting Design 2012 2014 Meetings 192

Velvet Chainsaw

MARCH 6, 2017

Your real conference competition is not that event held six months after yours. Today’s technology driven, hyper-connected, instant gratification, real-time world puts you as a conference organizer in a difficult position. We also strive to offer something for everyone at our event. We aggregate speaker proposals.

Conference 295

Conference Trade Shows Conference Planning Contracts 295

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 16, 2024

.” —Jeff Jarvis At conferences, the “users” are primarily participants. For decades, I’ve championed responsible conference designs that prioritize participants. ” —Jeff Jarvis In the same way, the processes of participant-driven conferences are open. A good platform is transparent.

Conference 240

Conference 2012 Conference Design Government 240

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 179

Conference Conference Design Meeting Design Education 179

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

I’ve been promoting the Conferences That Work meeting format for so long, that some people assume I think it’s the right choice for every meeting. two meeting types and three situations when you should NOT use a Conferences That Work design: — Most corporate events. Here are (drum roll!)

Meeting Design 120

Meeting Design Conference Meetings Conference Design 120

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 29, 2016

How your audience responds will have a direct impact on your conference’s brand image and credibility. From a conference design perspective, we believe the current best practice is to bookend your conference by opening with a strong-thought provoking speaker and closing with inspiration. What to Look For.

Speakers 278

Speakers Conference Food and Beverage Negotiating 278

Conferences that Work

AUGUST 6, 2018

As an example I’ll use a three-day conference I’m currently designing. The participants are four hundred scientists who work all over the world and only get to meet en masse every few years. Want to see my 6 minute 40 second Pecha Kucha presentation Face The Fear—Then Change Your Conference Design!

Conference 252

Conference 2010 2011 Conference Design 252

Velvet Chainsaw

JULY 25, 2017

During your conference education sessions, are your participants stationary or free to move around the space to meet their needs? This means we must design and plan an entirely new learning experience. The Best And Biggest Question To Ask During Your Conference Planning Process. You don’t have to change everything.

Conference 315

Conference Education Conference Planning Conference Design 315

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. Closing sessions that meet personal and group wants and needs are often absent.

Conference 280

Conference Venues 2023 Consulting 280

Conferences that Work

JANUARY 11, 2021

How to help solve participants’ obvious, complicated, and complex problems at conferences. For each domain, I’ll include examples of meeting processes you can use to satisfy participants’ problem solving wants and needs. Evaluate event production company abilities for a game-changing event I’m planning?

Conference 371

Conference 2010 2011 2014 371

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?” 2 — Elementary Meetings.

Event Design 136

Event Design 2010 2016 2009 136

Smart Meetings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

How to incorporate a sense of belonging into the attendee event experience The phrase “sense of belonging” is defined as the psychological feeling of connectedness to a social, spatial, cultural, professional or other type of group or community (Hurtado & Carter, 1997).

Food and Beverage 246

Food and Beverage Entertainment Sustainability Hotels 246

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 4, 2018

Here are six ways to focus on designing your team’s experience during your next conference planning process. Embrace Your Event As A Giving Field. Read more about embracing your conference as a giving field here. What type of experience do we want as we aim to meet our conference objectives? Turn Inward.

Conference 271

Conference Conference Planning Conference Design Meetings 271

Event Marketer

MAY 24, 2023

The flagship experience, launched in 2018 as part of a portfolio consolidation, marked a new chapter this month as it reconvened May 9-11 in Orlando as a smaller, targeted in-person conference designed to serve up content and networking experiences “that matter most to you.” Emphasis on the you.

2023 246

2023 Conference Trade Shows Technology 246

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.

2005 240

2005 2009 2007 Consulting 240

Conferences that Work

JUNE 27, 2016

In this two-part article I’ll share a little of my experience and takeaways, followed by their relevance to event design ( red ). In Lessons From Improv , and other posts I’ve shared how improv shines a powerful light on core practices that improve events. Face The Fear—Then Change Your Conference Design!

2015 192

2015 2012 2016 2010 192

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 23, 2024

As you’d expect from LLMs these days, NotebookLM provided a good written summary of the post: “The sources compare the responsibilities of news organizations to the responsibilities of conferences, arguing that both should prioritize their users and be transparent, open, and reliable. ” So far, so good. Woman: Totally.

Conference 359

Conference Conference Design Technology Tech 359

PCMA Convene

APRIL 6, 2020

Several scientific and medical conferences are changing to meet the demand. has been to many conferences. He’s taken home awards for his presentations at events like the European Congress of Entomology. Certainly, some scientific conferences are guilty as charged. After all, these are scientific and medical events.

Meetings 76

Meetings Conference Conference Design 2019 76

Conferences that Work

NOVEMBER 2, 2020

Traditional conference designs also adopt this model. Eventually, a transforming idea or event allows a period of transition away from chaos, via integration and practice , towards a new status quo. Team members don’t show up at meetings or answer messages. Obviously we can make plans to initiate change.

Consulting 257

Consulting Conference Design Conference Management 257

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. And that’s what happened.

Conference 156

Conference 2022 2004 Meeting Design 156

Conferences that Work

OCTOBER 31, 2016

Another issue of an occasional series— Dear Adrian —in which I answer questions about event design, elementary particle physics , solar hot water systems, facilitation, and anything else I might conceivably know something about. Face The Fear—Then Change Your Conference Design! Let’s explore this in more detail.

2010 120

2010 2011 Conference Design Conference 120

PCMA Convene

AUGUST 4, 2022

Thirteen is a lucky number in Italy — and for Milan-based conference organizer AIM Group International, which created Re-Think MS , a multi-hub, one-day CME event in 13 different cities in the country in early March. Another multi-hub AIM event connected as many as 40 venues, she told Convene. Barbara Sambugaro. Adrian Segar.

Conference Design 98

Conference Design Hotels Conference Hospitality 98

Event Industry News

JULY 13, 2020

The Business Visits & Events Partnership (BVEP) the umbrella body and advocacy group for the UK’s £70 billion events industry, is now calling on the Government to save the industry from complete collapse by providing further targeted and long-term support for the sector.

Government 95

Government Trade Shows B2B Sustainability 95

Conferences that Work

JULY 18, 2016

Each session was designed to discover and meet wants and needs of the executive officers and volunteers of the association’s regional chapters’ members in an area of special interest. Face The Fear—Then Change Your Conference Design! Session goals. other issues related to the session topic.

Consulting 120

Consulting Sponsorships 2010 2011 120

Slido

OCTOBER 24, 2018

To help you find the best of the game content as well as the hidden gems of the event blogosphere, we scoured the web and put together blogs that keep us on top of things. Here are some of our favorite blogs that bring the best from our industry, as well as some amazing companies that have inspired us on our journey toward better meetings.

Social Media 75

Social Media Consulting Conference Education 75

The Modern Event

MARCH 30, 2016

Blogs are becoming key resources for meeting and event professionals in terms of trends, event planning, emerging technologies, inspiration, and connecting with fellow professionals. Adrian Segar’s blog is for the corporate meeting professional; creating “relevant, memorable conferences.” ConferencesThatWork.com.

Technology 40

Technology Meetings Tech Trade Shows 40

PCMA Convene

JANUARY 3, 2017

He founded the FoST Summit in 2012, inviting 300 people from the fields of technology, arts, theater, business, and communications to attend a one-day event to explore the impact of technology on storytelling. We really had to blow up the conference model,” Melcher said in an interview with Convene. This is not your ordinary conference.

Meetings 63

Meetings Speakers 2016 2015 63

Velvet Chainsaw

MARCH 2, 2017

Imagine designing your next conference or annual meeting from scratch around content instead of picking up the template you’ve been using for years and tweaking it. The need for understanding your target audiences’ challenges and delivering content that is relevant has never been more important for your conferences.

Conference 150

Conference Education Speakers Meetings 150

Eventmobi

JULY 10, 2023

With the right conference app, you can: Enhance communication Streamline event management Personalize attendees’ experience And so much more. But how do you choose the right app for your conferences? Plus, what features should you be looking for in a conference event app?

Conference 150

Conference Event Apps Trade Shows Social Media 150

PCMA Convene

JUNE 1, 2016

How your audience responds to a keynote speaker has a direct connection to your conference’s brand image and credibility, so choose wisely. From a conference-design perspective, it’s a smart practice to bookend your event by opening with a strong thought-provoking speaker and closing with an inspirational one.

Speakers 73

Speakers Social Media Sponsorships Consulting 73

PCMA Convene

JULY 31, 2016

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the meetings and conventions industry is built on relationships — one on one, face to face, rooted in competence and trust. Meetings bring people together, you see, and that applies to the back of the house just as much as it does among attendees. Our readers did not disappoint.

2016 76

2016 2015 Hotels Management 76

Bizzabo

DECEMBER 22, 2020

The most authoritative list of 2021 virtual events and conferences on the internet. Virtual events are nothing new but—as we discuss in our comprehensive guide to coronavirus and events —we're seeing many organizers pivot from in-person to digital. Virtual Events & Conferences in 2021. Start Date.

2021 79

2021 Conference Insurance 2020 79

PCMA Convene

APRIL 18, 2017

The PCMA European Influencers Summit will gather approximately 40 European business events leaders in Monte Carlo, Monaco, June 25–27, to address the future of the events industry. It’s a combination of being with others, sharing, and then listening to really smart people that you would never meet in your daily life.

Banking 66

Banking Conference Tech Conference Design 66