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These mental models are deeply embedded in our conference planning and management practices. Savvy conference organizers realize that their mental models have much more influence over their outcomes than their decisions and actions. To be successful in the future, conference organizers must become paradigm busters–examining, challenging and changing their conventional mental models. This is especially true of our conference mental frameworks. MORE
Here are nine mythodologies about conferences. At least half the sessions programmed at traditional conferences are not what attendees want. Mythodology: Event socials are a good way to meet people. Reality : People tend to stay with people they already know at event socials. Participant-driven and participation-rich events provide far more opportunities to meet people you actually want to meet. Reality : Sadly, conference curators don’t exist. MORE
I have been struck by the disparity in how an association’s organizational culture translates (or doesn’t translate) to the on-site implementation or planning of its live events. But when it gets to “go time,” does that culture manifest at your conferences and meetings? Her boss apparently thought she should spend all her time out “doing meeting planning” and not hanging out in a hotel conference room. How to Create an Effective Event Culture. MORE
It is much more effective to provide opportunities for conference participants to solve their own problems, then telling them how to solve it. Conference organizers automatically assume that if someone is attending their event, they expect the conference to help them solve their problems. They believe that the conference should provide the answers. Telling attendees the answer is not the key to conference success. MORE
During my career leading association event teams, I regularly recalibrated and redefined team member roles in order to drive innovation and improve our meeting experiences. What should we expect for hybrid or virtual conference attendance? MORE
Too often conference and meeting professionals assume that their role is best suited to planning and executing the conference. I get that from the education section or the conference technical teams.”. However, savvy meeting professional know that their conference’s success depends upon moving from customer fragmented touchpoints to designing holistic conference customer experience journeys. They own designing the conference customers experience journey. MORE
The events industry has been behind some of the most innovative tech conferences in the past decade. Opening the doors for new business prospects, these conferences are places where the top professionals meet and showcase their innovative concepts and bold theories for the future. MORE
Your association, annual conference, and governance are all institutions. One of the sacred cows for associations and their annual conference is attributing notoriety to the office of the president, board chair or annual conference committee chair. Smith’s year” or “Sally’s year” when referring to past annual conferences. If your conference includes a presidential address, reception, or other similarly branded event, you probably need to make some changes. MORE
Once you’ve observed the conference through the lens of your target customer and gained insights from conference data, you can move to the next steps. These steps are critical for you and your conference planning teams to embrace, enlist and employ. You want to move from conference touchpoints to conference customer experience journeys. And remember, someone needs to own and to advocate on behalf of the conference customer’s experience. MORE
Applying a story arc to the conference can activate participants’ brains. And you want stimulated, motivated engaged brains during your event for sure! You can use the story arc concept to carefully craft the messages and issues you want your conference participants to explore, experience and learn. Here’s where the story arc concept gets really cool for your event. So exactly how do you use a story arc for your conference? MORE
Live events are all about bringing people together. Whether it’s to get inspired, to share knowledge, or to do business, the human connection is the number one reason to attend events. At virtual events, by their very nature, this connection is much harder to achieve. MORE
When you’re in the events industry, you should know the main event management conferences for 2019 so you can visit them to improve your knowledge and share your own experiences of working long hours while trying to pull off amazing corporate events for your clients. Discover the current top event management conferences with GEVME. The top 13 event management conferences to attend in 2019. The Special Event 1/8–1/1,0 San Diego, CA. MORE
Achieve Virtual Event Success. While many planners haven’t yet had the opportunity to run a virtual or hybrid event, pivoting from an in-person to virtual format offers new opportunities to engage your attendees and sponsors, while extending the reach of your event. MORE
In 2020, attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors were more forgiving of our virtual conferences than they will be in 2021. Use this opportunity to beta test changes that can be carried over to the next in-person conference. MORE
To paraphrase Hoffer, you can never get enough of conference fads, gimmicks and trends. Unless your a conference participant and we often have had enough!). They also want access to your conference budget. Evergreen conference practices that have promising results are often obscured by our obsession with fads and trends. To avoid being fad-like in our conference planning process, here are seven emerging evergreen practices to consider and invest in instead. MORE
Skip to content Menu Solutions Interactive Floor Plans Collaborative event sales software that increases qualified leads and drives direct revenue. Event Diagramming Collaborative event management software that saves time, boosts revenue and drives loyalty. MORE
Everything we take for granted about conferences, and planning them, faces disruption. Participants from all generations and cultures increasingly expect conferences to mirror their work and personal lives. They expect conferences that are authentic, connected, contextual, mobile, participatory, work-related and transparent. Savvy conference organizers meet these disruptions head-on. Key Drivers To Make The 21st Century Conference An Experience. MORE
In physics, the second law of thermodynamics says all things—bodies, businesses, conferences, energy, organizations, relationships—move toward chaos and disorder. As your conference matures, it experiences entropy. As a conference professional, you know this to be true. It is also the natural law of evolution for any conference. Why do we falsely assume that our event and its customers are self-perpetuating? Entropy Examples In Your Event. MORE
While things have changed, these tenets will hold true and the principles can be applied to other D&I conferences and events. The six attributes of women’s leadership conferences that have stood out for me: [1] Movement. Conference Planning MORE
In spite of all the bad, there is also much that is positive for the next phase of association conferences. Inspired by one of our clients, last week we convened a roundtable of forward-looking association Event Directors. Planning virtual events takes more time, resources and energy. MORE
As conference organizers, why can’t we also have a fun, fulfilling, and collaborative experience planning and designing the conference? 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. It may seem paradoxical at first as we are used to focusing outward on the conference outcomes. MORE
Many conferences are stuck in the rut of legacy routines, age-old rituals and cloned programming. Conference organizers and its advisors replicate the past maintaining the traditions and well-established procedures of yesteryear. The event is nothing more than a zombie conference—a conference that appears to be alive yet in reality creates the walking undead. Conference organizers and advisors can breathe new life into their events. MORE
As it becomes more apparent that face-to-face events will return in some form this year, conference organizers have an opportunity to make changes that would have been more difficult to sell up the ladder in the past. MORE
Webinar description: Monetizing Your Virtual Conference When Competing with Free. Join us to: Explore virtual experience quality filters that will best position your event for participation, value and revenue. MORE
The first peer conference I convened and designed was held June 3 – 5, 1992 at Marlboro College, Vermont. So, as of today, the community of practice that eventually became edACCESS has enjoyed 27 years of peer conferences. Twenty-three people came to the inaugural conference. 27 years of peer conferences. Read the full article at Conferences That Work The post 27 years of peer conferences appeared first on Conferences That Work. MORE
Who wants to attend a common, ordinary, ho-hum, everyday , I’m-just-like-all-the-others traditional conference? Your conference growth and revenue depends upon repeat paying attendees year after year. Customer loyalty is the cornerstone for your event’s success. And your customer loyalty is built upon making your common conference uncommon. Routine Been-There-Done-That Conferences. When your conference experience is no-frills run-of-the-mill…. MORE
If you’re inbox is anything like mine, you could spend a good portion of our day consuming webinars, virtual events and networking in Zoom or Facebook Messenger Happy Hours. Go ahead and read Seth’s post and then come back for the linkage to conference monetization. MORE
The North Star is the perfect metaphor for your annual conference purpose. When your conference purpose serves as a North Star, it guides all decisions, tasks, behaviors and strategy. Uncovering Your North Star Conviction To Find Conference True Target Market. Before your conference can find its true target market, you as the conference organizer must find your conviction. What’s your conference conviction? What’s your conference North Star? MORE
Why not make your entire conference a braindate? One of Skift’s “ 10 event trends for 2020 ” is networking. The report predicts: “Activities such as braindates that deliver more meaningful connections will become mainstream at events.” MORE
The Event Industry especially was hit the hardest but has sprung up to action with ideas as innovative as Virtual Conferences. . Being the norm of 2020, virtual conferences are now the staple form of delivering immediate content to one’s audience, while reaping immense benefits. MORE
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. MORE
Having an emcee at your event was a nice-to-have prior to 2020. Talk to any meeting owner who has managed a large virtual event this past year using a skilled emcee and he or she will tell you it made all the difference. The event’s flow and energy are in the hands of the emcee. MORE
A recent Wired article argues that “ Science Conferences Are Stuck in the Dark Ages “ Unsurprisingly, I agree — but there’s some light in the darkness! Read the full article at Conferences That Work The post Are science conferences stuck in the Dark Ages? MORE
Conference Compass is an all-in-one platform that includes mobile and web apps and offers features for virtual, hybrid, and live events. Conference Compass Virtual Event Platform: What Is It? MORE
Here’s my article “ Five Reasons to Change Conferences “ , published in the December 2018, NSA Speaker magazine. OUTSIDE IN Five Reasons to Change Conferences Peer sessions provide greater connection around content The most important reason people go to conferences is to usefully connect with others around relevant content. But our conference programs still focus on lectures, where a few experts broadcast their knowledge to passive listeners. MORE
The Event Industry especially was hit the hardest but has sprung up to action with ideas as innovative as Virtual Conferences. . Being the norm of 2020, virtual conferences are now the staple form of delivering immediate content to one’s audience, while reaping immense benefits. MORE
Most conference and meeting professionals want the coolest, hippest, latest ideas and trends for their events. We want to know what unique things other conferences are doing so we can borrow their ideas. We pursue fads, gimmicks and trends as the silver bullets of our conference woes. We expend resources searching for the mysterious conference trend panacea. Avoid The Faddish Trendy Event Bandwagon. Conference trend and fad bandwagons. MORE
Here’s what has changed: I’m convinced that “something for everyone” programming — including basic content for the novice or intermediate practitioner — is no longer the right strategy for positioning your conference as a can’t-miss experience. To distinguish your conference from the also-rans, you want your participant’s learning and understanding to grow from the ubiquitous “data and information” categories to “wisdom.” How Conference Sessions Can Deliver on Wisdom. MORE
So for many event planners looking for the right tool to host a virtual conference, Zoom is the first thing that comes to mind. As one of the first virtual event platforms, EventMobi is now available in the Zoom App Marketplace. Added security for event organizers. MORE
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. MORE
Velvet Chainsaw
MAY 20, 2021
As it becomes more apparent that face-to-face events will return in some form this year, conference organizers have an opportunity to make changes that would have been more difficult to sell up the ladder in the past.
Velvet Chainsaw
JULY 23, 2020
During my career leading association event teams, I regularly recalibrated and redefined team member roles in order to drive innovation and improve our meeting experiences. What should we expect for hybrid or virtual conference attendance?
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Velvet Chainsaw
DECEMBER 3, 2020
In 2020, attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors were more forgiving of our virtual conferences than they will be in 2021. Use this opportunity to beta test changes that can be carried over to the next in-person conference.
Attendease
JANUARY 22, 2020
The events industry has been behind some of the most innovative tech conferences in the past decade. Opening the doors for new business prospects, these conferences are places where the top professionals meet and showcase their innovative concepts and bold theories for the future.
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
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.
Velvet Chainsaw
JUNE 17, 2019
I have been struck by the disparity in how an association’s organizational culture translates (or doesn’t translate) to the on-site implementation or planning of its live events. But when it gets to “go time,” does that culture manifest at your conferences and meetings? Her boss apparently thought she should spend all her time out “doing meeting planning” and not hanging out in a hotel conference room. How to Create an Effective Event Culture.
Velvet Chainsaw
JANUARY 21, 2019
In physics, the second law of thermodynamics says all things—bodies, businesses, conferences, energy, organizations, relationships—move toward chaos and disorder. As your conference matures, it experiences entropy. As a conference professional, you know this to be true. It is also the natural law of evolution for any conference. Why do we falsely assume that our event and its customers are self-perpetuating? Entropy Examples In Your Event.
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.
Velvet Chainsaw
JULY 27, 2018
Who wants to attend a common, ordinary, ho-hum, everyday , I’m-just-like-all-the-others traditional conference? Your conference growth and revenue depends upon repeat paying attendees year after year. Customer loyalty is the cornerstone for your event’s success. And your customer loyalty is built upon making your common conference uncommon. Routine Been-There-Done-That Conferences. When your conference experience is no-frills run-of-the-mill….
Velvet Chainsaw
OCTOBER 20, 2020
While things have changed, these tenets will hold true and the principles can be applied to other D&I conferences and events. The six attributes of women’s leadership conferences that have stood out for me: [1] Movement. Conference Planning
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Velvet Chainsaw
APRIL 30, 2020
If you’re inbox is anything like mine, you could spend a good portion of our day consuming webinars, virtual events and networking in Zoom or Facebook Messenger Happy Hours. Go ahead and read Seth’s post and then come back for the linkage to conference monetization.
Conferences that Work
NOVEMBER 25, 2019
Why not make your entire conference a braindate? One of Skift’s “ 10 event trends for 2020 ” is networking. The report predicts: “Activities such as braindates that deliver more meaningful connections will become mainstream at events.”
Velvet Chainsaw
MAY 8, 2020
Webinar description: Monetizing Your Virtual Conference When Competing with Free. Join us to: Explore virtual experience quality filters that will best position your event for participation, value and revenue.
Velvet Chainsaw
DECEMBER 23, 2020
In spite of all the bad, there is also much that is positive for the next phase of association conferences. Inspired by one of our clients, last week we convened a roundtable of forward-looking association Event Directors. Planning virtual events takes more time, resources and energy.
Conferences that Work
DECEMBER 24, 2018
Here’s my article “ Five Reasons to Change Conferences “ , published in the December 2018, NSA Speaker magazine. OUTSIDE IN Five Reasons to Change Conferences Peer sessions provide greater connection around content The most important reason people go to conferences is to usefully connect with others around relevant content. But our conference programs still focus on lectures, where a few experts broadcast their knowledge to passive listeners.
Velvet Chainsaw
NOVEMBER 8, 2018
Applying a story arc to the conference can activate participants’ brains. And you want stimulated, motivated engaged brains during your event for sure! You can use the story arc concept to carefully craft the messages and issues you want your conference participants to explore, experience and learn. Here’s where the story arc concept gets really cool for your event. So exactly how do you use a story arc for your conference?
Conferences that Work
MAY 14, 2018
Here are nine mythodologies about conferences. At least half the sessions programmed at traditional conferences are not what attendees want. Mythodology: Event socials are a good way to meet people. Reality : People tend to stay with people they already know at event socials. Participant-driven and participation-rich events provide far more opportunities to meet people you actually want to meet. Reality : Sadly, conference curators don’t exist.
Velvet Chainsaw
SEPTEMBER 18, 2018
To paraphrase Hoffer, you can never get enough of conference fads, gimmicks and trends. Unless your a conference participant and we often have had enough!). They also want access to your conference budget. Evergreen conference practices that have promising results are often obscured by our obsession with fads and trends. To avoid being fad-like in our conference planning process, here are seven emerging evergreen practices to consider and invest in instead.
Velvet Chainsaw
JUNE 21, 2018
The North Star is the perfect metaphor for your annual conference purpose. When your conference purpose serves as a North Star, it guides all decisions, tasks, behaviors and strategy. Uncovering Your North Star Conviction To Find Conference True Target Market. Before your conference can find its true target market, you as the conference organizer must find your conviction. What’s your conference conviction? What’s your conference North Star?
Velvet Chainsaw
SEPTEMBER 17, 2018
Most conference and meeting professionals want the coolest, hippest, latest ideas and trends for their events. We want to know what unique things other conferences are doing so we can borrow their ideas. We pursue fads, gimmicks and trends as the silver bullets of our conference woes. We expend resources searching for the mysterious conference trend panacea. Avoid The Faddish Trendy Event Bandwagon. Conference trend and fad bandwagons.
Conferences that Work
JUNE 3, 2019
The first peer conference I convened and designed was held June 3 – 5, 1992 at Marlboro College, Vermont. So, as of today, the community of practice that eventually became edACCESS has enjoyed 27 years of peer conferences. Twenty-three people came to the inaugural conference. 27 years of peer conferences. Read the full article at Conferences That Work The post 27 years of peer conferences appeared first on Conferences That Work.
EventMB
SEPTEMBER 17, 2020
Conference Compass is an all-in-one platform that includes mobile and web apps and offers features for virtual, hybrid, and live events. Conference Compass Virtual Event Platform: What Is It?
Event Industry News
JULY 15, 2020
Live events are all about bringing people together. Whether it’s to get inspired, to share knowledge, or to do business, the human connection is the number one reason to attend events. At virtual events, by their very nature, this connection is much harder to achieve.
Velvet Chainsaw
JANUARY 25, 2018
Too often conference and meeting professionals assume that their role is best suited to planning and executing the conference. I get that from the education section or the conference technical teams.”. However, savvy meeting professional know that their conference’s success depends upon moving from customer fragmented touchpoints to designing holistic conference customer experience journeys. They own designing the conference customers experience journey.
Velvet Chainsaw
JULY 12, 2018
These mental models are deeply embedded in our conference planning and management practices. Savvy conference organizers realize that their mental models have much more influence over their outcomes than their decisions and actions. To be successful in the future, conference organizers must become paradigm busters–examining, challenging and changing their conventional mental models. This is especially true of our conference mental frameworks.
Social Tables
JANUARY 27, 2021
Skip to content Menu Solutions Interactive Floor Plans Collaborative event sales software that increases qualified leads and drives direct revenue. Event Diagramming Collaborative event management software that saves time, boosts revenue and drives loyalty.
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. As one of the first virtual event platforms, EventMobi is now available in the Zoom App Marketplace. Added security for event organizers.
Velvet Chainsaw
JUNE 4, 2018
As conference organizers, why can’t we also have a fun, fulfilling, and collaborative experience planning and designing the conference? 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. It may seem paradoxical at first as we are used to focusing outward on the conference outcomes.
Velvet Chainsaw
JANUARY 7, 2019
Many conferences are stuck in the rut of legacy routines, age-old rituals and cloned programming. Conference organizers and its advisors replicate the past maintaining the traditions and well-established procedures of yesteryear. The event is nothing more than a zombie conference—a conference that appears to be alive yet in reality creates the walking undead. Conference organizers and advisors can breathe new life into their events.
Conferences that Work
JANUARY 6, 2020
A recent Wired article argues that “ Science Conferences Are Stuck in the Dark Ages “ Unsurprisingly, I agree — but there’s some light in the darkness! Read the full article at Conferences That Work The post Are science conferences stuck in the Dark Ages?
Velvet Chainsaw
OCTOBER 17, 2018
Your association, annual conference, and governance are all institutions. One of the sacred cows for associations and their annual conference is attributing notoriety to the office of the president, board chair or annual conference committee chair. Smith’s year” or “Sally’s year” when referring to past annual conferences. If your conference includes a presidential address, reception, or other similarly branded event, you probably need to make some changes.
GEVME
MARCH 15, 2019
When you’re in the events industry, you should know the main event management conferences for 2019 so you can visit them to improve your knowledge and share your own experiences of working long hours while trying to pull off amazing corporate events for your clients. Discover the current top event management conferences with GEVME. The top 13 event management conferences to attend in 2019. The Special Event 1/8–1/1,0 San Diego, CA.
Velvet Chainsaw
SEPTEMBER 15, 2016
It is much more effective to provide opportunities for conference participants to solve their own problems, then telling them how to solve it. Conference organizers automatically assume that if someone is attending their event, they expect the conference to help them solve their problems. They believe that the conference should provide the answers. Telling attendees the answer is not the key to conference success.
Velvet Chainsaw
JANUARY 30, 2017
Everything we take for granted about conferences, and planning them, faces disruption. Participants from all generations and cultures increasingly expect conferences to mirror their work and personal lives. They expect conferences that are authentic, connected, contextual, mobile, participatory, work-related and transparent. Savvy conference organizers meet these disruptions head-on. Key Drivers To Make The 21st Century Conference An Experience.
Eventmobi
APRIL 14, 2020
Achieve Virtual Event Success. While many planners haven’t yet had the opportunity to run a virtual or hybrid event, pivoting from an in-person to virtual format offers new opportunities to engage your attendees and sponsors, while extending the reach of your event.
Velvet Chainsaw
OCTOBER 2, 2019
Here’s what has changed: I’m convinced that “something for everyone” programming — including basic content for the novice or intermediate practitioner — is no longer the right strategy for positioning your conference as a can’t-miss experience. To distinguish your conference from the also-rans, you want your participant’s learning and understanding to grow from the ubiquitous “data and information” categories to “wisdom.” How Conference Sessions Can Deliver on Wisdom.
Velvet Chainsaw
JANUARY 26, 2018
Once you’ve observed the conference through the lens of your target customer and gained insights from conference data, you can move to the next steps. These steps are critical for you and your conference planning teams to embrace, enlist and employ. You want to move from conference touchpoints to conference customer experience journeys. And remember, someone needs to own and to advocate on behalf of the conference customer’s experience.
GEVME
JANUARY 18, 2021
The Event Industry especially was hit the hardest but has sprung up to action with ideas as innovative as Virtual Conferences. . Being the norm of 2020, virtual conferences are now the staple form of delivering immediate content to one’s audience, while reaping immense benefits.
GEVME
JANUARY 18, 2021
The Event Industry especially was hit the hardest but has sprung up to action with ideas as innovative as Virtual Conferences. . Being the norm of 2020, virtual conferences are now the staple form of delivering immediate content to one’s audience, while reaping immense benefits.
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