Expert insights. Personalized for you.
Earlier this year I reviewed ( 1 , 2 ) three online conference social platforms: Gatherly , Rally , and Wonder ( the new name for Yotribe since September). Since then, the Gatherly and Rally developers have been hard at work! MORE
Adding to my reports on new platforms providing online incarnations of traditional conference socials , here’s a review of online social platform Rally. Two points before we start. MORE
How can we work on facilitating change in our lives? If we want to facilitate change in our lives, having a model of how change happens can be very helpful. But which model ? MORE
Is it possible to routinely start online meetings on time? But first…. Think about the last three meetings you attended. Raise your hand if all of them started on time. Anyone? Anyone? Why don’t scheduled meetings start on time? MORE
How can we create great online breakout sessions? Does this sound familiar? You attend a conference session on a topic that interests you. Perhaps you’re a novice, or an expert, or someone in between. Or perhaps you want a general introduction. MORE
I’m holding TWO #Eventprofs Happy Hours next Friday, August 7, at 10:00 EDT/16:00 CEST and 15:00 EDT/21:00 CEST. The first one is especially for you Europeans who insist on living your lives five or six hours ahead of mine, but night owls are welcome at the later one too. MORE
Part 1 of this series of posts gave an overview of what’s involved in implementing participant-driven breakouts in Zoom. Read it before diving into this post! In this post (Part 2) I’ll cover most of Step #1 of the previous post: preparing for The Three Questions using Zoom breakout rooms. If necessary, get familiar with Zoom, including breakout room functions, before proceeding. MORE
How can we entwine content and connection during an online conference? During a MeetingsCommunity (MeCo) discussion thread “ Networking at conferences ” last week, Sharon Fisher posted this. Sharon’s post. Hi all, I am coming in very late to this conversation, but figured it’s never too late to share. MORE
? ? Here’s a standing invitation for event and hospitality teachers. I will meet online with your class for free. During the COVID-19 pandemic, much education has moved online. One small silver lining of this disruption? MORE
Here are my current thoughts about COVID-19, hybrid meetings, and the future. Earlier this year I wrote : Unfortunately, it currently looks like one potential short-term improvement outcome, containment , will not be successful. MORE
The meeting industry old normal is over, and many event professionals are hoping and waiting for a new normal. See Part 1 of this post for an introduction to this point of view.]. What will the meeting industry new normal look like? MORE
How does what someone says about me myself influence my life. Who am I really? How can I be myself? What does it even mean to “be myself”? The school play. Educated during our teens to be total nerds , we had little time for anything but science and math at Dulwich College. MORE
This is not an easy post to write. The pandemic’s impact on lives and businesses has been devastating. COVID-19 has virtually eliminated in-person meetings: our industry’s bread and butter. MORE
Part 1 of this series of posts gave an overview of what’s involved in implementing participant-driven breakouts in Zoom. Part 2 explains how to prepare for The Three Questions using Zoom breakout rooms. Read them before diving into this post! In this post (Part 3) I’ll cover how to run The Three Questions using Zoom breakout rooms. Preparing staff to run The Three Questions in Zoom. MORE
What’s the best way to hold a discussion online? For years I’ve been successfully facilitating in-person group discussions at meetings, using the simple fishbowl and fishbowl sandwich processes. MORE
Here are five meeting design books I especially recommend. Each gets a short overview, so you can figure out which one(s) will satisfy your wants and needs. In an outrageous display of chutzpah , I wrote three of these books. [If MORE
You’ve surely overheard or been part of a “conversation” where one person talks non-stop. Who goes next? Nobody! “Free discussions” at meetings frequently suffer from the same phenomenon. A few people monopolize most of the time, and many people, often a majority, say nothing. If you want to support everyone’s right to share at a meeting, you’ll need to facilitate what happens via defining and agreeing on who can speak, and when, and for how long. MORE
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. In the immortal words of Bob Newhart. Stop it! Virtual. I’m sorry, but when I think of a virtual meeting, this comes to mind…. together with content like this…. MORE
Are you old yet? Click on the image to watch the skateboarding professor, who’s my age.). I turned 69 last week. My body and mind do not work as well as they used to. Oh for the days, long gone, when I went to bed, fell asleep immediately, and woke up eight hours later feeling refreshed! MORE
Meeting planners typically default to squaring the circle when specifying room sets. They persist in seating attendees in long straight lines whenever possible, ignoring the benefits of curved and circular seating at their events. See Paul Radde’s Seating Matters: State of the Art Seating Arrangements for more information.) The architecture of assembly where curved theatre seating dominates, teaches us otherwise. MORE
Unlearning is crucial for change , both personal and organizational. Here are two examples of unlearning from the Apple ecosystem: one successful, and one not. #1 1 The Apple Watch Workouts app. In 2017, I purchased an Apple Watch. It has improved my life in many ways. MORE
Exactly one year ago, at the age of 68, I started running daily for the first time in my life. Since then, I’ve shared a few things learned along the way. Today I thought: why not provide a seasonal guide to what I wear for running? MORE
Please stop treating adults like children at your conferences. For an exception, see the end of this post.). With children there’s an argument for broadcast-style learning. Schools originally developed as establishments for improving the efficiency of oral communication of information. MORE
Many event professionals are hoping and waiting for a meeting industry new normal. The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated our businesses. We want to believe that, at some point, in-person meetings like the ones we’ve held for decades will return. MORE
Despite the terrible impacts of the coronavirus on the meeting industry, there’s a silver lining. Hear me out! There’s no question times are hard. The coronavirus pandemic has already devastated lives and businesses globally, and we don’t know how much worse things will get. The meeting industry is reeling under a wave of cancellations, postponements, and uncertainty. MORE
I’m leading a free online workshop on Friday, June 26, 12 – 2 pm EDT, that will give you a unique opportunity to experience The Three Questions : in my opinion, the best way to open a conference designed for active learning, connection, and engagement. The workshop is limited to sixty people, and you must register to attend. Full details about the event are available here. MORE
How often have you heard “Any questions?” ” at the end of a conference session? Hands rise, and the presenter picks an audience member who asks a question. The presenter answers the question and picks another questioner. The process continues for a few minutes. Simple enough. We’ve been using this Q&A format for centuries. But can we improve it? Read the full article at Conferences That Work The post Any questions? MORE
If you can’t hang out with people in person, how can you best meet up with your tribe online? That’s the selling proposition for a host of new platforms that have sprung up over the last few months: creating a compelling online incarnation of the traditional conference socials we all know and love (or hate). Last week I got to try out a couple of these new platforms, so I thought I’d write a Gatherly versus YoTribe review. MORE
I am designing an online memorial service, to be held later this month. The deceased is not a person, but a beloved, 74-year-old small college that closed its local campus a few months ago. I taught there from 1983 – 1993. MORE
Why implement participant-driven breakouts in Zoom? 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. Unfortunately, most online events are still using a traditional webinar/broadcast-style approach: presenters speaking for long periods, interspersed with chat-mediated Q&A. Why Zoom? MORE
How can you support a community online during covid-19? Over the last few weeks I’ve run numerous online Zoom meetings for support groups and local, social, and professional communities. In the process, I’ve learned a lot about what makes these meetings most useful for participants. I’m sharing what I’ve learned (so far) here. Key takeaways. Breakout room functionality is essential for your online meeting platform. MORE
How can we successfully work with others for change and action? During the last eight months, I’ve been striving to save a tiny liberal arts school , Marlboro College , from closure. I’ve felt compelled to do this work, not only because the school sits at the heart of rural Marlboro, Vermont , where I’ve lived since 1978, but also because I taught there for ten years (1983-1993) and have a deep affection for the College’s rare form of education. MORE
Is most classroom practice astrology? David Bowles thinks so. I’ll let you in on a secret. I have a doctorate in education, but the field’s basically just a 100 years old. We don’t really know what we’re doing. Our scholarly understanding of how learning happens is like astronomy 2000 years ago. MORE
Why would you want to share information, not hoard it? In today’s cutthroat business environment, isn’t exclusive knowledge synonymous with power — and the ability to make money? Well, if you’re a stock trader or house flipper, maybe. MORE
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. Some people have the attitude that attendees at online meetings are grown-ups and they should be given the freedom to take a break when they want and/or need to. Let’s explore this. Obviously, there are times when online meeting participants need to take a break. MORE
How are eventprofs feeling during COVID-19? Over the past few weeks in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, I’ve listened to hundreds of people share their feelings at online meetings I’ve led and joined. Though everyone’s response has been unique, three distinct sets of emotions stand out. Here they are, from the perspective of the many meeting professionals I’ve heard. Anxious. MORE
Conferences that Work
OCTOBER 19, 2020
The meeting industry old normal is over, and many event professionals are hoping and waiting for a new normal. See Part 1 of this post for an introduction to this point of view.]. What will the meeting industry new normal look like?
Conferences that Work
OCTOBER 12, 2020
Many event professionals are hoping and waiting for a meeting industry new normal. The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated our businesses. We want to believe that, at some point, in-person meetings like the ones we’ve held for decades will return.
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Conferences that Work
NOVEMBER 23, 2020
Earlier this year I reviewed ( 1 , 2 ) three online conference social platforms: Gatherly , Rally , and Wonder ( the new name for Yotribe since September). Since then, the Gatherly and Rally developers have been hard at work!
Conferences that Work
AUGUST 17, 2020
This is not an easy post to write. The pandemic’s impact on lives and businesses has been devastating. COVID-19 has virtually eliminated in-person meetings: our industry’s bread and butter.
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Conferences that Work
AUGUST 10, 2020
Is it possible to routinely start online meetings on time? But first…. Think about the last three meetings you attended. Raise your hand if all of them started on time. Anyone? Anyone? Why don’t scheduled meetings start on time?
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Conferences that Work
NOVEMBER 16, 2020
How does what someone says about me myself influence my life. Who am I really? How can I be myself? What does it even mean to “be myself”? The school play. Educated during our teens to be total nerds , we had little time for anything but science and math at Dulwich College.
Conferences that Work
NOVEMBER 2, 2020
How can we work on facilitating change in our lives? If we want to facilitate change in our lives, having a model of how change happens can be very helpful. But which model ?
Conferences that Work
AUGUST 31, 2020
Please stop treating adults like children at your conferences. For an exception, see the end of this post.). With children there’s an argument for broadcast-style learning. Schools originally developed as establishments for improving the efficiency of oral communication of information.
Conferences that Work
OCTOBER 26, 2020
Is most classroom practice astrology? David Bowles thinks so. I’ll let you in on a secret. I have a doctorate in education, but the field’s basically just a 100 years old. We don’t really know what we’re doing. Our scholarly understanding of how learning happens is like astronomy 2000 years ago.
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Conferences that Work
AUGUST 3, 2020
I’m holding TWO #Eventprofs Happy Hours next Friday, August 7, at 10:00 EDT/16:00 CEST and 15:00 EDT/21:00 CEST. The first one is especially for you Europeans who insist on living your lives five or six hours ahead of mine, but night owls are welcome at the later one too.
Conferences that Work
NOVEMBER 9, 2020
Unlearning is crucial for change , both personal and organizational. Here are two examples of unlearning from the Apple ecosystem: one successful, and one not. #1 1 The Apple Watch Workouts app. In 2017, I purchased an Apple Watch. It has improved my life in many ways.
Conferences that Work
SEPTEMBER 14, 2020
I am designing an online memorial service, to be held later this month. The deceased is not a person, but a beloved, 74-year-old small college that closed its local campus a few months ago. I taught there from 1983 – 1993.
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. Two points before we start.
Speaker: Mike Damphousse, Managing Partner of Category Design Advisors and Founder of Green Leads
Business as we know it is never going to be the same. Working from home has become the norm, conferences and meetings are going online, marketing budgets are being shifted, reduced or put on hold – it's time to adapt. Join this insightful and informative webinar with Mike Damphousse, Managing Partner of Category Design Advisors and Founder of Green Leads, who will discuss how businesses can be resilient during these challenging times.
Conferences that Work
OCTOBER 5, 2020
Are you old yet? Click on the image to watch the skateboarding professor, who’s my age.). I turned 69 last week. My body and mind do not work as well as they used to. Oh for the days, long gone, when I went to bed, fell asleep immediately, and woke up eight hours later feeling refreshed!
Conferences that Work
MAY 11, 2020
Why implement participant-driven breakouts in Zoom? 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. Unfortunately, most online events are still using a traditional webinar/broadcast-style approach: presenters speaking for long periods, interspersed with chat-mediated Q&A. Why Zoom?
Conferences that Work
AUGUST 24, 2020
Here are five meeting design books I especially recommend. Each gets a short overview, so you can figure out which one(s) will satisfy your wants and needs. In an outrageous display of chutzpah , I wrote three of these books. [If
Conferences that Work
JULY 20, 2020
What’s the best way to hold a discussion online? For years I’ve been successfully facilitating in-person group discussions at meetings, using the simple fishbowl and fishbowl sandwich processes.
Speaker: John Storm, President, BrainStorm Network
In this webinar, we’ll use a sampling of case studies, tools, techniques, and strategic stories to help you identify game-changing opportunities within your company and the world of events, and then brainstorm ways to capitalize on these ideas. Get ready to change your game in 2020!
Conferences that Work
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
Here are my current thoughts about COVID-19, hybrid meetings, and the future. Earlier this year I wrote : Unfortunately, it currently looks like one potential short-term improvement outcome, containment , will not be successful.
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. Some people have the attitude that attendees at online meetings are grown-ups and they should be given the freedom to take a break when they want and/or need to. Let’s explore this. Obviously, there are times when online meeting participants need to take a break.
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. In the immortal words of Bob Newhart. Stop it! Virtual. I’m sorry, but when I think of a virtual meeting, this comes to mind…. together with content like this….
Conferences that Work
MARCH 30, 2020
How can you support a community online during covid-19? Over the last few weeks I’ve run numerous online Zoom meetings for support groups and local, social, and professional communities. In the process, I’ve learned a lot about what makes these meetings most useful for participants. I’m sharing what I’ve learned (so far) here. Key takeaways. Breakout room functionality is essential for your online meeting platform.
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Conferences that Work
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020
? ? Here’s a standing invitation for event and hospitality teachers. I will meet online with your class for free. During the COVID-19 pandemic, much education has moved online. One small silver lining of this disruption?
Conferences that Work
JULY 6, 2020
How can we successfully work with others for change and action? During the last eight months, I’ve been striving to save a tiny liberal arts school , Marlboro College , from closure. I’ve felt compelled to do this work, not only because the school sits at the heart of rural Marlboro, Vermont , where I’ve lived since 1978, but also because I taught there for ten years (1983-1993) and have a deep affection for the College’s rare form of education.
Conferences that Work
MARCH 16, 2020
Despite the terrible impacts of the coronavirus on the meeting industry, there’s a silver lining. Hear me out! There’s no question times are hard. The coronavirus pandemic has already devastated lives and businesses globally, and we don’t know how much worse things will get. The meeting industry is reeling under a wave of cancellations, postponements, and uncertainty.
Conferences that Work
FEBRUARY 17, 2020
Why would you want to share information, not hoard it? In today’s cutthroat business environment, isn’t exclusive knowledge synonymous with power — and the ability to make money? Well, if you’re a stock trader or house flipper, maybe.
Conferences that Work
JULY 27, 2020
Exactly one year ago, at the age of 68, I started running daily for the first time in my life. Since then, I’ve shared a few things learned along the way. Today I thought: why not provide a seasonal guide to what I wear for running?
Conferences that Work
APRIL 22, 2019
How often have you heard “Any questions?” ” at the end of a conference session? Hands rise, and the presenter picks an audience member who asks a question. The presenter answers the question and picks another questioner. The process continues for a few minutes. Simple enough. We’ve been using this Q&A format for centuries. But can we improve it? Read the full article at Conferences That Work The post Any questions?
Conferences that Work
JUNE 22, 2020
I’m leading a free online workshop on Friday, June 26, 12 – 2 pm EDT, that will give you a unique opportunity to experience The Three Questions : in my opinion, the best way to open a conference designed for active learning, connection, and engagement. The workshop is limited to sixty people, and you must register to attend. Full details about the event are available here.
Conferences that Work
JULY 8, 2019
Meeting planners typically default to squaring the circle when specifying room sets. They persist in seating attendees in long straight lines whenever possible, ignoring the benefits of curved and circular seating at their events. See Paul Radde’s Seating Matters: State of the Art Seating Arrangements for more information.) The architecture of assembly where curved theatre seating dominates, teaches us otherwise.
Conferences that Work
MAY 18, 2020
Part 1 of this series of posts gave an overview of what’s involved in implementing participant-driven breakouts in Zoom. Read it before diving into this post! In this post (Part 2) I’ll cover most of Step #1 of the previous post: preparing for The Three Questions using Zoom breakout rooms. If necessary, get familiar with Zoom, including breakout room functions, before proceeding.
Conferences that Work
JUNE 22, 2020
If you can’t hang out with people in person, how can you best meet up with your tribe online? That’s the selling proposition for a host of new platforms that have sprung up over the last few months: creating a compelling online incarnation of the traditional conference socials we all know and love (or hate). Last week I got to try out a couple of these new platforms, so I thought I’d write a Gatherly versus YoTribe review.
Conferences that Work
JULY 13, 2020
How can we entwine content and connection during an online conference? During a MeetingsCommunity (MeCo) discussion thread “ Networking at conferences ” last week, Sharon Fisher posted this. Sharon’s post. Hi all, I am coming in very late to this conversation, but figured it’s never too late to share.
Conferences that Work
APRIL 13, 2020
How are eventprofs feeling during COVID-19? Over the past few weeks in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, I’ve listened to hundreds of people share their feelings at online meetings I’ve led and joined. Though everyone’s response has been unique, three distinct sets of emotions stand out. Here they are, from the perspective of the many meeting professionals I’ve heard. Anxious.
Conferences that Work
MAY 25, 2020
Part 1 of this series of posts gave an overview of what’s involved in implementing participant-driven breakouts in Zoom. Part 2 explains how to prepare for The Three Questions using Zoom breakout rooms. Read them before diving into this post! In this post (Part 3) I’ll cover how to run The Three Questions using Zoom breakout rooms. Preparing staff to run The Three Questions in Zoom.
Conferences that Work
APRIL 20, 2020
You’ve surely overheard or been part of a “conversation” where one person talks non-stop. Who goes next? Nobody! “Free discussions” at meetings frequently suffer from the same phenomenon. A few people monopolize most of the time, and many people, often a majority, say nothing. If you want to support everyone’s right to share at a meeting, you’ll need to facilitate what happens via defining and agreeing on who can speak, and when, and for how long.
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