Conferences that Work

APRIL 11, 2022

Over the years I’ve designed and facilitated hundreds of meetings. One of the most common issues I address that is rarely acknowledged openly is the tension between the wants and needs of suppliers and practitioners at meetings. But what happens when both suppliers and practitioners at meetings attend sessions ?

Meetings 296

Meetings Conference Meeting Design Advertising 296

Gallus Events

JULY 24, 2017

I have always used the metaphor of a production line to explain the need for meeting design. The production line approach to Meeting Design. The post The production line approach to meeting design appeared first on Gallus Events. I’ve always thought this was the perfect metaphor.

Meeting Design 124

Meeting Design Meetings Technology Sponsorships 124

Conferences that Work

JUNE 12, 2017

I love my meeting design clients, but there is one mistake I see them making over and over again. Clients invariably ask me to help design their meeting after they’ve chosen a venue! Face The Fear—Then Change Your Conference Design! Here’s why they do it, and why it’s a mistake.

Venues 215

Venues 2010 Meetings Conference Design 215

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.

Conference 392

Conference 2012 Meetings Meeting Design 392

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 209

Meetings Meeting Design Conference Speakers 209

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. I’ll illustrate with the area where I have most experience: providing education at these meetings.

Education 191

Education Meetings 2006 2012 191

Smart Meetings

JANUARY 30, 2019

Real meetings are all about content,” he says. You can skip just about any other part of a meeting—a venue, a meal, even a speaker and still be productive, but if there isn’t relevant content, then it isn’t a meeting.”. “You The power of meetings depends on the human dynamics they are capable of unleashing. “The

Meeting Design 101

Meeting Design Meetings 2013 Government 101

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. Well, it’s not.

Meeting Design 120

Meeting Design Conference Meetings Conference Design 120

EventMB

AUGUST 9, 2017

Be more engaging and ditch the slideshow with these presentation ideas that will ramp up your keynote and really get the message across. Traditional presentations […]. The post 12 Engagement and Presentation Ideas To Give Your Speakers by EventMB Team appeared first on [link].

Speakers 155

Speakers Conference Meeting Design Meetings 155

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

I will meet online with your class for free. It’s a good time to invite guest presenters into your online classroom. 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 212

Hospitality Education Meeting Design Conference 212

Conferences that Work

APRIL 1, 2019

This (slightly edited) interview by JT Long appeared in the March 2019 issue of Smart Meetings Magazine. Often it is more like a discussion than a presentation, but that is why it is effective. What led to writing the book, Conferences that Work ? Often, the results are unexpected.

2014 257

2014 2019 Conference Meeting Design 257

Conferences that Work

JANUARY 11, 2021

For each domain, I’ll include examples of meeting processes you can use to satisfy participants’ problem solving wants and needs. Their expertise can, therefore, be shared with participants via traditional presentations. How to help solve participants’ obvious, complicated, and complex problems at conferences.

Conference 365

Conference 2010 2011 2014 365

Conferences that Work

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

We talk about all kinds of things, with a focus on my work and thinking about participant-driven and participation-rich meetings and event design. 07:45 Behind the scenes: How I got into designing and facilitating participant-driven and participation-rich meetings. 16:30 Online meetings benefit from these designs too.

Event Design 156

Event Design Meetings Social Media Meeting Design 156

Conferences that Work

JUNE 7, 2021

Why am I writing about social learning on a blog that’s (mainly) about meeting design? Which means, to create the best meetings we need to maximize the social learning that takes place. Instead, build social learning into your meetings as much as possible. Humans’ true superpower.

Meeting Design 297

Meeting Design Conference Meetings Event Design 297

PCMA Convene

MAY 1, 2017

That observation is at the heart of a new study that Sperstad, program director of the meeting and event management degree at Madison College, is writing with Amanda Cecil, Ph.D., Sperstad will present results from the study at IMEX in Frankfurt, Germany, this month. CSR AND LEGACY.

Meeting Design 75

Meeting Design Meetings Education Fashion 75

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 374

Meetings Meeting Design Conference Speakers 374

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. Venue room capacity charts don’t include these designs.

Conference 279

Conference Venues 2023 Consulting 279

Gallus Events

DECEMBER 11, 2018

I spoke at IBTM in Barcelona ( you can read the “review” here ) at the end of November on one of my favourite topics, Meeting Design or fresh formats for conferences. I then said the way to highlight these issues is to highlight the need for meeting design (or for the sake of this presentation “Fresh Formats”).

Conference 178

Conference Meeting Design Entertainment Meetings 178

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. Conclusion.

2012 223

2012 Speakers Education 2019 223

Conferences that Work

MARCH 15, 2021

Recently, I’ve been appearing as a guest at college event planning and hospitality courses to talk about meeting design. (I Rather than lecture for an hour, I’ve been using an Ask Me Anything (aka AMA ) meeting format. I love to do this. Teachers, please contact me , it’s free!)

Hospitality 182

Hospitality Meeting Design Conference Event Planning 182

PCMA Convene

JANUARY 25, 2019

Kate Fairweather (right) and Amy Blackman present results from “The Future of Meetings and Events” report at Convening Leaders 2019 in Pittsburgh. We believe they are going to be disruptive in every category, but have certain implications that will be important for meetings and events.” More Meeting Trends. Jacob Slaton).

Meeting Design 65

Meeting Design Meetings Consulting 2019 65

Gallus Events

MAY 2, 2017

Too many venues, especially hotels, are still designed and to house traditional conferences. If you want to run a creative conference, one that uses Meeting Design you have to find a venue that will really support your conference. In this post I thought I’d add a little Meeting Design Venue Check List!

Venues 164

Venues Meeting Design Conference Meetings 164

Social Tables

OCTOBER 6, 2018

Change is imminent — and in the meetings industry, it’s upon us. While the shifts are plentiful, there are five that stand out from the fold when it comes to modern event design. Here’s how the meetings industry is changing the game. With that, they’re also now the largest pool of potential meeting attendees.

Meetings 158

Meetings 2016 Trade Shows Social Media 158

Conferences that Work

MARCH 14, 2022

Meetings of every kind offer these opportunities. Personal meetings like these, whether brief or extended, between good friends or strangers, are fundamental. Even post-presentation Q&As rarely evolve into a conversation, which is always between the presenter and a succession of audience members.

2006 170

2006 Meeting Design Conference Meetings 170

Conferences that Work

AUGUST 12, 2024

Religious meetings are a small, fascinating subset of the meeting industry. 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.

2014 227

2014 Tourism 2023 Conference 227

Social Tables

OCTOBER 6, 2018

Meetings don’t look how they used to. 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. Here are five meeting industry trends that are changing the game.

Meetings 157

Meetings 2016 Trade Shows Social Media 157

Gallus Events

MARCH 22, 2016

3 Use meeting design to create the framework for great content. With these first two steps covered: bringing together the content expert and the programme expert, the next step was to add some meeting design. That’s Meeting Design. This included speaking to each other 1.2.1 and in small groups.

Conference 173

Conference Meeting Design Speakers Fashion 173

Conferences that Work

JUNE 3, 2019

At the time, I had no idea that what I instinctively put together for a gathering of people who barely knew each other would lead to: a global design and facilitation consulting practice; over 500 posts on this blog, which has now become, to the best of my knowledge, the most-visited website on meeting design and facilitation; three books (almost!)

Conference 180

Conference 2014 Consulting Meeting Design 180

SmartMeetings

JUNE 22, 2020

Virtual meetings require careful design to keep attendees engaged and deliver value for the hosts. But how do you translate the energy and insights from a face-to-face meeting through a computer screen? One of the main reasons for business events or meetings is to deliver some kind of information.

Meetings 111

Meetings Food and Beverage Speakers Travel 111

Conferences that Work

SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

Presentation & panel capability. So you can’t use Rally to create a presenter or panel session for more than (currently) 36 people. 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.

Conference 227

Conference Venues Marketing Meeting Design 227

Social Tables

DECEMBER 27, 2018

Meetings are growing and evolving rapidly, and each is an experiment in applying new methods to find a perfect formula. Industry Performance Trends Attendee Experience Trends Meeting Destination Trends Event Technology Trends Meeting Design Trends. Demand continues to outpace supply of meetings-eligible hotels.

2019 167

2019 Meetings Hotels Venues 167

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 163

2018 2004 Conference Trade Shows 163

Conferences that Work

MARCH 25, 2019

Though it’s clearly sensible to keep a conference running on schedule, we’ve all attended meetings where rambling presenters, avoidable “technical issues”, incompetent facilitation, and inadequate logistics have made a mockery of the published program. I did so, and noticed that the other presenter did not.

Contracts 189

Contracts 2011 Conference Education 189

Smart Meetings

JUNE 11, 2021

What can meeting professionals learn from this popular pop-up social media craze? This larger-than life projection is worlds away from a droning PowerPoint presentation on a distant screen. Why not transform the welcome reception into a jungle or beach to fit your meeting theme and put everyone in a fresh frame of mind?

Social Media 111

Social Media Meetings Venues Meeting Design 111

PCMA Convene

JUNE 1, 2017

Attendees who want more from their meetings don’t want to sit and listen passively to a formal presentation. Welcome to the era of disrupted meetings, in good company with other industries and institutions whose established norms are being taken down to the studs. They have expectations of involvement.

Meetings 103

Meetings Speakers Meeting Design Tech 103

Conferences that Work

DECEMBER 18, 2023

Before 2020, I was designing and facilitating around a dozen in-person meetings and conferences a year. After COVID decimated the meeting industry, I focused on the design and facilitation of online meetings. He has stayed on top of new meeting trends and technologies for decades. In 2023, in-person is back!

2023 234

2023 Conference 2006 2020 234

Slido

JANUARY 30, 2019

In December 2018, we set out to explore the future of town hall meetings. The goal of our one-day event in partnership with Convene was to show how a successful all-hands could look in 2019 and beyond by using interactive technology and meeting design thinking. He had a separate laptop solely for the Zoom call with the speaker.

Speakers 69

Speakers Meeting Design 2018 2019 69