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! Here it is—enjoy!

Conference 241

Conference Meetings Corporate Meetings Association Meetings 241

Gallus Events

MAY 18, 2017

Networking at conferences is always one of the top three reasons that attendees give for attending a conference. This is something very different from the networking that we casually think about: you know, the random meetings over coffee or picking up the delegate pack. Why is structured networking missing from many conferences?

Conference 187

Conference Conference Networking Technology Meeting Design 187

EventMB

AUGUST 9, 2017

Speakers have an important role at conferences because they not only need to share learning, we need them to connect, interact and engage with attendees to make a strong impact. The post 12 Engagement and Presentation Ideas To Give Your Speakers by EventMB Team appeared first on [link]. Traditional presentations […].

Speakers 154

Speakers Conference Meeting Design Meetings 154

Gallus Events

APRIL 24, 2017

What “traditional” ways are there to stop your conference delegates leaving early? Perhaps it’s your KEYNOTE / best speaker wrapping up the day. If you are running a traditional style conference then doing some of the things I’ve suggested above would be a good idea. appeared first on Gallus Events.

Conference 153

Conference Meeting Design Speakers Venues 153

Gallus Events

APRIL 18, 2017

There is no such thing as the “perfect” conference programme. Every programme should reflect the slight differences in the audience; those delivering the content; the physical space in which the meeting takes place; the budget, and a good few other aspects too! Conference Programme Template. Add some meeting design.

Conference 140

Conference Meeting Design 2017 Sponsorships 140

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.

2014 259

2014 2019 Conference Meeting Design 259

Conferences that Work

JULY 24, 2017

So you’re holding a conference. Read the full article at Conferences That Work. The Solution Room—a powerful conference session There’s been a lot of interest in The Solution Room, a session that I co-facilitated last July at Meeting Professionals International World Education Congress in Orlando, Florida.

Conference 180

Conference 2011 Education Meetings 180

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.

2024 235

2024 Conference Meeting Design Speakers 235

Conferences that Work

NOVEMBER 8, 2021

At a traditional meeting, however, perceived status roles rarely change significantly during the event. This leads to a number of problems, which I described in my first meeting design book: Conferences That Work. For a low status person (like me at those conferences), that is a great freedom to have.

Meetings 352

Meetings Conference Negotiating Speakers 352

Gallus Events

MARCH 22, 2016

At the end of February we supported Practically Perfect PA to run their second “Assist Conference” They reached their target of 100 PAs just a few days before the date of the conference, and everyone was delighted to have sold out the event. The five keys to great conference content. And the reason?

Conference 100

Conference Meeting Design Speakers Fashion 100

Gallus Events

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

In February Gallus Events organised the fourth annual conference for Europe’s largest blog for Personal Assistants “Practically Perfect PA” Attracting over 150 attendees to the physical event in London and over 100 watching online, we created an event that was very different from any other conference for Assistants.

Conference 150

Conference Venues Speakers Hotels 150

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. In my case, the demand for the meeting design and facilitation services I provide has been exploding. (In

Education 194

Education Meetings 2006 2012 194

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. .” Superstar lecturers and motivational speakers.

2012 227

2012 Speakers Education 2019 227

Conferences that Work

JULY 31, 2017

Although I have good reasons to champion meeting designs where the participants get to choose what they want and need to discuss and learn rather than a program committee , there is invariably a place for some predetermined presentations at conferences. Read the full article at Conferences That Work.

Meetings 215

Meetings Meeting Design Conference Speakers 215

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.

2024 235

2024 Conference 2023 2022 235

Conferences that Work

MARCH 21, 2022

This coming June will mark my 30th year of designing and facilitating participant-driven and participation-rich meetings. So I designed the workshop as an “ Ask Adrian Anything ” about meeting design and facilitation. I’ve shared the why? and the details of how I typically run this format here.

Meetings 381

Meetings Meeting Design Conference Speakers 381

Conferences that Work

APRIL 8, 2019

1992: I organize a conference where there are no expert speakers available (it’s a new field, there are no experts). Invent a way to make the conference successful based on the collective needs, wants, and experience of the attendees. The conference has run continually for the last 27 years.) This is something new.

2005 161

2005 2009 Consulting Conference 161

Gallus Events

MAY 11, 2020

As one of my speakers said during my last online event: “to get to the next level you will have to pay at the next level” Everyone is heading online……… So here they are: The five best online training courses for online events. The meeting design institute have been pioneering hybrid events for as long as I have.

Meeting Design 225

Meeting Design Events Speakers Management 225

GEVME

DECEMBER 19, 2019

Take a look at the following picture of a trade fair back in 1979: National Tire Dealers and Retreaders Association Conference & Trade Show 1979. Same goes for meetings format. Most of the meetings today are still about people sitting down and listening to one or more speakers. Sure, what people wear has changed.

Trade Shows 156

Trade Shows 2019 Speakers Meeting Design 156

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!”)

2018 169

2018 2004 Conference Trade Shows 169

Gallus Events

APRIL 21, 2017

Hilton Davos, your meeting rooms could have looked out onto the Swiss Alps! As any Conference Architect, Meeting Designer or experienced planner will tell you: put any meeting in a boring room and you will have a boring meeting. Venue Fail. And as every attendees will tell you, boring is bad.

Venues 140

Venues Hotels Meeting Design Speakers 140

Slido

OCTOBER 30, 2018

A good icebreaker at the onset of your conference can set the tone for your event, boost audience engagement and create the right conditions for networking. But before you dive into planning one for your conference, keep these three things in mind: Set a clear goal Know what you want to achieve with your icebreaker. Do you have a pet?

Conference 80

Conference Speakers Meeting Design 2016 80

Slido

OCTOBER 15, 2018

How many times have you reached into your creative ideas shelf when planning a conference and realized you’ve used all the usual session formats way too often? This can be difficult at the end of a conference day as people’s attention tends to wane. This year’s Festival of Marketing used this format widely.

Conference 75

Conference Speakers 2018 Meetings 75

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. For us it’s better to sell to associations, businesses, corporate marketers, and student clubs instead of large tradeshows, conferences etc. Two points before we start.

Conference 235

Conference Venues Marketing Meeting Design 235

Event Industry News

OCTOBER 21, 2021

The Association of Event Venues (AEV) has announced that Samme Allen, speaker, event designer and founder of conferenceemcees.com, will be hosting its annual conference on Friday 26 November 2021 at the Business Design Centre (BDC), London, with the theme ‘Disruption: the new norm.’.

2021 69

2021 Conference Sustainability Meeting Design 69

Gallus Events

JULY 1, 2019

And the best way to get a grip of texturising content is to look at the principles of meeting design. I know that the idea of scaling the “meeting design” mountain can seem daunting. If you are designing a physical or an online event these simple tips will set you right.

2019 113

2019 Meeting Design Speakers Meetings 113

Gallus Events

AUGUST 7, 2017

And new areas such as meeting design, seem to spring up from nowhere. Every conference should be designed and not produced. And every speaker should be delivering the best possible session, with the event organisers full support. The possibilities of event technology seem to change almost every day.

Speakers 113

Speakers Meeting Design Events Venues 113

Gallus Events

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

IBTM session was all about Meeting Design and the venue is about 5 miles from my office, so attending that one was much easier! Chances that the organiser will pay for the time the speakers have put into preparing, traveling and delivering that content will be low. However, none of these events offered to pay a speaker fee.

Event Tech 127

Event Tech Speakers Tech 2011 127

Gallus Events

JUNE 17, 2016

The event was held at one of the particular fantastic – and pretty new- ETC Venues in London and it was a day that promised something different from the standard association conference: and trust me, association conferences can be VERY STANDARD. They used Meeting Design. They had a gender balanced speaker programme.

2016 113

2016 Meeting Design Sponsorships Events 113

PCMA Convene

FEBRUARY 27, 2020

The “reimagined” meeting now will take place entirely online, with a daylong agenda that includes keynote speaker Billie Jean King, multiple panels, and breakout sessions. Both attendees and speakers have cameras, “so that the sound is connected in all directions, and the video is connected in all directions,” he said.

Consulting 100

Consulting 2020 Meeting Design Speakers 100

Gallus Events

MAY 11, 2020

As one of my speakers said during my last online event: “to get to the next level you will have to pay at the next level” Everyone is heading online……… So here they are: The five best online training courses for online events. The meeting design institute have been pioneering hybrid events for as long as I have.

Trade Shows 130

Trade Shows Meeting Design Events Management 130

PCMA Convene

JANUARY 16, 2018

Photo Credit: The FRESH Conference. When FRESH18 — which bills itself as the first annual conference focused exclusively on meeting design — gets underway Feb. 27-28, it will be showcasing its own solution to a common event-design problem: getting the audience to participate.

Tourism 79

Tourism Speakers Hospitality Meeting Design 79

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.

Meetings 157

Meetings 2016 Trade Shows Social Media 157

SpotMe Blog

JULY 6, 2021

We’ve confirmed that virtual events can be engaging and productive, but only if the meeting design is truly participant driven and takes into consideration the needs of that audience. Now that we can meet again, attendees are craving strong networking opportunities and being able to have meaningful conversations with their colleagues.

2021 179

2021 Event Planning Fashion Retail 179

Social Tables

OCTOBER 6, 2018

All of the above is driving the generation’s expectations in regards to meetings and events, ultimately redefining the industry as a result. Control over the meeting agenda is moving to attendees. Gone are the days of static schedules that shuffle through speaker after speaker while attendees remain seated.

Meetings 158

Meetings 2016 Trade Shows Social Media 158

Conferences that Work

JULY 30, 2018

Such workshops routinely meet the outcomes they’re designed to achieve: creating useful and memorable learning experiences and connections. These workshops are not successful because of the: excellence of a speaker; beauty/novelty of the venue/F&B/entertainment; or extraordinary facilitation.

2011 136

2011 Education Consulting Conference 136

PCMA Convene

JULY 6, 2020

We’ve long talked about how technology connects us, points out designer and researcher Pamela Pavliscak , a panelist at the technology conference Collision@Home , held online June 21-24. I’ve seen events where you have a second moderator guiding the discussion, as the speaker is speaking.

2020 105

2020 Technology Meeting Design Consulting 105