Personal Branding

First, you need to brand yourself. An often-misunderstood buzzword, “personal brand” means having a clear vision of who you are, and it makes the difference between a wildly successful planner and a mediocre one, says career and branding coach Amanda Guralski, president of bizMe Consulting. Begin this year with one big career goal, Guralski advises; smaller goals will follow in time.

Next, ditch the suit. “Clients should view you as partner, not a vendor,” says Richard O’Malley, a 15-year veteran of special events planning and president of The O’Malley Project, a production and trade show services company. “When you go on the site visits, dress appropriately. Don’t wear the $3,000 suit to the lighting warehouse.”

It’s also important to remain calm. Clients need to see your enthusiasm, even on tough days. “The planners that get called back time and time again are the ones who don’t let anyone see them sweat,” says Guralski. In a bad mood because of a speeding ticket acquired on the way to a meeting? If possible, reschedule.

New planners have to cut their teeth in the industry somewhere, and many faith-based planners start in volunteer roles at churches or with nonprofits. Those are good places to start. “It teaches you how to talk to people and how to negotiate, because you have to get everything for free,” says O’Malley, who got his start as a wedding DJ in college, then transferred that experience to fundraising events.

As you continue to brand yourself, understand that there are times where you’ll be uncomfortable. You need to be uncomfortable to challenge yourself and advance your career. Too many mid-level planners become burned out or lulled into a comfort zone, no longer giving their all. A client’s big day becomes “just another job” to them. “It’s not just the bottom line on this one job,” says O’Malley. Create wonderful memories, add value to events, and clients will return.

Certification

Planners often seek professional certification, but O’Malley cautions against pursuing every certification opportunity presented. Thoroughly investigate the instructor’s credentials before signing up. “There are a lot of charlatans out there who hold seminars to hold seminars.”

While Guralski is an advocate of continual learning and personal growth, she says work experience often outweighs certification. “Anyone can memorize a book,” she says. “Business savvy and maturity come from applying skills and knowledge.”

Social Media 

“If you’re not on social media, you don’t exist,” says Guralski, who encourages the business owners she coaches to be very clear in their 140-word bios on Twitter. Make it easy for potential clients and peers to understand what you do, what you specialize in, what your mission is and, eventually, to recognize you as an industry guru. Host Twitter chats on topics relevant to your expertise or form a content-driven group on LinkedIn. And content is still king. When sharing links via Twitter or LinkedIn, give your audience ideas of substance—articles on how to be inspirational or incorporate giveback programs into events, for example.

Marketing

As an individual, marketing yourself can be difficult. It’s important to include money for event sponsorships in your marketing budget, then select opportunities that optimize exposure. “Your stuff should be highlighted, not just thrown in a goodie bag…that’s wasted marketing money,” says O’Malley. “Make sure it’s something that’s seen and experienced by the crowd as important so they’ll take away the memory of it.” Faith-based planners have a real opportunity to showcase their skills at events, which could ultimately lead to more business.

Maria Carter is an Atlanta-based writer focusing on business, travel and other lifestyle topics. Her work has appeared in dozens of consumer magazines and trade publications. You can reach her at maria@marcarter.com.

Taxes
Canada’s Foreign Convention and Tour Incentive Program  offers reduced tax incentives for international groups that hold their meetings in the country. For rebate information, requirements and forms go to the FCTIP website.

Passports
Passports are required for any air travel outside the U.S. and its territories. They’re no longer cheap (for adults, $135; for kids under 16, $105), can take up to two months to process, and first-timers must apply in person. For forms and info, go to travel.state.gov/passport.

Mobile Phones
The new iPhone 4S is a world phone. It can be bought from AT&T, Verizon and, for the first time, Sprint. Even if you get your iPhone 4S from Verizon, whose CDMA network is incompatible with the GSM networks used in most other countries, you’ll still be able to make calls overseas, either through Verizon or by inserting another carrier’s SIM card. Whatever mobile phone you use, you should call your wireless provider to make sure it is ready to make and receive calls in a foreign country. You can also check with your carrier for the exact rates in the countries where you’ll be traveling. Calls will be charged on a per-minute basis. For subscribers with U.S. cell phone service, domestic voice, text message or data plans do not apply when traveling in another country. SMS text messaging is typically the cheapest way to communicate with people in the country where you’re traveling and also with people back home in the U.S.

Attendee Info
Create your own international tip sheet for attendees and include with event information.

Online Resources
The State Department posts current travel warnings and alerts on its site at travel.state.gov, which also has passport information. While the customs process has become more streamlined there are still certain restrictions and requirements. For specific dos and don’ts, choose “Tips for Traveling Abroad” on the international travel page. Lonelyplanet.com is also a useful site for international travelers. Users can click on the world map for information on global destinations, including crime and practical concerns.

<< Return to International Understanding

Q. Why do I need to set up “sub-blocks”? Can’t I just put everyone on one block? Wouldn’t it be easier to manage?
A. By allocating sub (smaller) blocks, you can better manage your inventory. For example, staff rooms may be at a discounted rate. Members may get a hotel preference compared to non-members or exhibitors. By setting up smaller sub blocks, you can easily see where each of these groups are relative to pick up and you may add or re-allocate where some groups may not be performing and others are in need of additional rooms based on demand.

Q. Why is it important to integrate registration information to housing/reservation info?
A. Two main reasons. 1, When the systems are integrated, the common info (name, address, etc.) most often will pre-populate to the reservation system eliminating the need to re-type it. This makes it easier to make a reservation at the time of registration. 2, Statistically when the systems are integrated, in-block reservations increase by as much as 25 to 30 percent and the pick-up will happen earlier.

Q. How do you determine what concessions to request? For example, If you have 5,000 room nights, what should the hotel comp be?
A. There really are no standards. Some concessions appear to be great but in actuality may not be as good a value. This varies with the meeting, venue, demand during the meeting dates in your city/venue. The key to concessions is to identify what value items are important to the group. For example: Comp rooms at 1:50 as opposed to 1:40. Looks good on paper, but if you have 500 room nights, you gain 25 more room nights. Sounds like a lot, but 10 percent on F&B, AV or power may yield a higher dollar return.

Q. Will hotels let you put that clause in typically? I’ve had push back.
A. Hotel clauses need to be vetted thoroughly by your legal or a competent authority. Once accepted by a major chain property (Marriott, Hyatt, etc.), these become much easier to get accepted at other properties within their respective brands. The “My legal won’t accept this” can’t be used in most cases when it’s been accepted previously by another in the chain.

Q. How do you get hotels to do the audit? We work internationally and we put wording in the contract that they must do so, but we receive push back when we ask them to audit, thus missing out on revenue. They think the job is too big and they usually claim they don’t have the staffing to do so.
A. Get it in your contract. This is a common practice and we’ve never had a hotel push back when we state that there will be an audit post-event and that credit will be given to those identified. Don’t budge on this. There are processes in place at the hotel level to accommodate this need.

Q. How is using a housing partner different from using a hotel’s “Passkey”-type system?
A. It’s all about focus. Most hotels/CVBs that will provide housing do it as an accommodation, not as their primary focus. That having been said, you don’t often get the “Turbo charged” version. Not that the system is dialed back, with a housing provider, you get the experience, system capabilities knowledge and PRIMARY FOCUS on housing to maximize your goals and objectives.

Q. Are there any cut-off date trends?
A. The more time to fill your block, the better. And if you capture and can share history of late pickup, you’ll have a much better chance of getting a shorter window prior to your event. Optimally, 30 days is the hotel “standard” and two weeks is the preferred.

Q. What percentage books after the cut-off date?
A. Studies have shown as much as 30 percent. Integration with registration can reduce this percentage.

Q. What incentives have you seen that get more participants to stay in the group block?
A. Athletic events use a “stay-to-play” model, where a participant must stay in the block to play in the event. Others offer a monetary penalty if someone is not in the block, or some offer a discount on the program to their exhibitors if they prove they have stayed in the block.

Q. Is it necessary for housing systems to have their own app for mobile devices like iPhone or Android?
A. No, it is not required nor needed. The Passkey system recognizes a mobile device and directs the user to a web-based, mobile-device optimized website. They are still on the Internet but the size and format of the screen is better for mobile devices and takes up less memory.

With goals and objectives at the forefront, next look at audiovisual requirements, speaker needs and traffic flow, taking into consideration participant safety, comfort and accommodation for people with disabilities. If your program includes a food and beverage function, review your meeting room’s access to this service and decide if you will need these functions outside your meeting room or included within.

When deciding on a room setup, keep in mind three principles to guide choice of configuration:

1. Set to the long side of the room. For a rectangular room, placing the speaker on the long side will put more of the audience closer to the presentation. If you are lacking space or using rear-screen projection, you may have to set the stage on the short side of the room to be more space efficient.

2. Minimize straight-row seating. Set chairs in a semi-circle or herringbone (V-shape) to give the audience the best view of the presentation. With straight-row seating, you can only see the people next to you and the backs of heads of those in front of you. A semi-circle set enables viewing between persons.

3. Avoid center aisles. The center of the room is the best viewing of the presentation and should not be wasted on an aisle. A center aisle would be necessary if you have entertainers entering or leaving through the center of the room.

With these principles in mind, it’s time to choose the ultimate setup for your meeting.

Theater or Auditorium Style

This is the best setup for a large group where writing is not necessary and food is not served. Chairs are set in rows facing the speaker, stage or focal point of the room. Remember that a standard meeting room chair is narrower than most people’s bodies. Ask the hotel or venue not to set the chairs touching side-by-side and allow at least 2 inches between (4-6 inches for optimal comfort). This reduces the capacity of your room because not all chairs are used. You may not have a choice in chair spacing, however. Capacity restrictions and fire codes can dictate space between chairs, distance between rows and the number and width of aisles. Some hotels may use chairs that interlock to meet spacing requirements. Ask what the hotel’s regulations are up front and to provide diagrams of the various setups available. A last-minute change of setup due to fire code regulations can cost additional man hours.

Schoolroom or Classroom Style 

This setup is best for meetings where attendees need to write or use a computer. It allows for minimal interaction between attendees and is best used for lectures and training meetings. Chairs are set at 6-foot or 8-foot tables facing the presenter. Standard seating is three people per 6-foot table and four people per 8-foot table. To allow for more workspace between attendees, ask the hotel to reduce this to two chairs per 6-foot table and three chairs per 8-foot table. This setup is most optimal for breakout sessions where entertainment is not used and thus center aisles create the best access for attendees entering and exiting the room.

Conference Style  

This format is ideal for smaller groups where attendee interaction is a main objective. Seated around tables, participants have a direct view of their colleagues to facilitate discussions. Specify what type of table arrangements you need based on the objectives of your meeting:

1. Boardroom: One solid, rectangular table that can be an existing table in a hotel meeting room or created by putting together 30-inch tables. This setup is best for a board of directors meeting with heavy discussions as participants are in closest reach to each other.

2. U-Shape: Tables are arranged in a horseshoe, which is ideal for meetings that need to facilitate discussion between attendees but also include an audiovisual presentation set at the opening of the “U.”

3. T-Shape: Best for a panel, presenters or lead management that needs to sit at the top of the “T” and direct the discussion down the length of the tables.

4. Hollow Square: Best for meetings that do not require an audiovisual presentation. If the hotel has serpentine tables, request a rounded hollow square setup to maximize seating on the ends. If these are not available, straight tables can be placed at an angle creating an angled hollow square setup.

5. Multi-Sided Shapes: Multi-sided shapes such as a diamond or octagonal are best for larger groups of 20 or more. They comfortably seat nearly every attendee at the end of a table and provide direct sight and voice communication to participants.

Banquet Style 

This setup works best for meetings that require food and beverage service and where participants are asked to break out into small groups. Setup includes 60-, 66- or 72-inch round tables with chairs around the entire table or only on one side—a crescent-round or half-moon setup. If your function includes a speaker or audiovisual presentation, the crescent-round setup allows for better viewing of the presentation while still facilitating discussion between attendees.

Combination Setups  

For large conventions with a quick turnaround between meeting and meal functions, consider combining a theater-style setup with banquet tables at the back of the room. Attendees can easily move from one function to the next without major changes to the room setup.

No matter what setup you choose, remember to consult with your conference services manager on what setup has worked the best in his or her facility and any challenges that need to be overcome such as columns restricting sight lines or fire marshal restrictions. Facilitating a learning environment in accordance with your meeting’s objectives should take top priority. The more comfortable the room can be for attendees, from the width of the chairs to the temperature in the room, the more likely they will learn and interact on a higher level.

The common excuse is “I don’t have the time,” or “my manager isn’t going to read the report anyway.” But it begs the following questions: How will your manager learn about the meeting’s success? How will the organization appreciate your abilities and the planning skills required to pull all of the complexities of meeting planning into a spectacular event?

A post-con report summarizes and showcases every element of your work, and demonstrates the results of the meeting. It provides hard data to determine if a meeting should continue to be held, improved upon or eliminated. Armed with a solid report, you can better manage and control your overall meeting systems, discovering new ways to improve the speed and flow of details.

You need to record the history of each event. How many of us can remember the details of a meeting we planned a year ago? What did the evaluations tell us? What did the focus groups and committees report to us in the post-con meetings? What were the final results of our financial report? Did we achieve our goals? How did we market the meeting? A post-con report provides the facts when we reopen the file to plan for the following year.

The report answers the tough questions you may be asked about the success of the meeting, as well as the areas requiring improvement: What was the return on investment for the organization, the stakeholders and the meeting planning department? Were the attendees satisfied with the meeting and why? Was the location convenient to attendees? What were the highlights of the location? Can the failures be fixed? What aspects of the meeting worked? Should the organization retain or eliminate the meeting? In order to persuade change and move others into action, the report should summarize information and facts, not emotions.

Components of a Post-Con Report

1. First, determine who will read your report and what information is important to them. Will it go to senior management, board members or volunteers? Perhaps you will be the only reader. Whoever else sees it may not be interested in the extensive detail you deem important. Simply ask what they would like you to report on after the meeting is complete. Once you know your audience, begin to develop an outline for the report. As you collect the data, place it in a folder right away.

2. Match the culture of your organization. Does your audience prefer a one-page summary in a memorandum format, a long document with appendices and color charts and graphs, or a five-minute PowerPoint presentation? If you’re covering all the areas below, be sure to create a cover page with your name, date, the meeting name and your organization’s brand.

3. An executive summary contains the most important elements of the whole report, offering conclusions and highlights from the material that follows. While it is the first, and maybe only section your audience will read it should be written last. It needs to contain original material. Do not simply copy sections from the report and place them in the summary.

4. Listing the names, roles and responsibilities of the meeting planning staff is critical in order to showcase your team’s talents and abilities. Also, it is wise to include detailed timelines, demonstrating the hours and coordination involved in the work you do.

5. Many organizations use volunteers. Listing their names, roles and responsibilities highlights their contributions to the overall meeting.

6. The meeting agenda needs to be summarized in a short paragraph reviewing the theme and the program plan. The detailed agenda is placed in the appendix.

7. Demographics may be of particular interest to your organization. Answer the following questions: Was there an increase or decrease in the number of attendees, and why? Where did the attendees come from? Are attendees members? If not, why not? Was there minority participation or participation from any other group that may be of importance to the organization? How did attendees hear about the meeting?

8. There are numerous types of evaluations for every part of a meeting. An overall evaluation communicates the attendees’ impressions of the entire event. Specific evaluations for speakers, special workshops or receptions, the trade show, vendors and meal functions can be designed and individually summarized in this section. A summary of issues surrounding contracts and negotiating points is quite helpful when you are considering whether or not to return to a property or city in the future. Notes pertaining to vendors and third-party suppliers offer a plethora of information as well.

9. Having risk and crisis management plans in place is critical. Was the crisis management plan implemented? Much of this information is confidential and cannot be released to all of your readers. Ask the major stakeholders where certain information should go. Highlight critical situations within the report. The detailed plans are to be placed within the appendix.

10. Include a summary of face-to-face, post-con meetings. There are two types of face-to-face meetings: formal and informal. It is human nature to be quite frank and direct when speaking with a meeting planner one-on-one. When the same person is in a group meeting, they evaluate who is in the room and are careful with their statements. Conducting post-con meetings with the site representatives, exhibit company, board members, executives, meeting planning staff and planning committee members is traditional.

11. Marketing documentation such as publicity materials, photographs, press clippings, magazine articles and social media impressions, as well as a list of reporters in attendance is critical for your marketing strategy for next year.

12. The budget report begins with a summary of the overall financial strategies followed by a listing of procedures, activities, a savings chart, a spend management report and the buying decisions of attendees.

A post-con report reflects the overall meeting strategy—the big picture supported by the data. You need to write and present post-con reports regularly to demonstrate that the meeting planning is truly a profession, not just set a set of skills.

Michele Wierzgac, CMM, is an experienced business leader and speaker, focusing on helping people build their business skills, especially in marketing, personal branding and leadership. She presented a two-part session on creating a post-con report at Rejuvenate Marketplace. To learn more about Wierzgac, visit micheleandco.com.

The primary reason most people attend conferences is the educational content. So why is it so many sessions are disappointing? Why are the most fundamental aspects of content development so hard when the premise is so simple? The answer is easy: Too much focus is placed on the subject matter and basic principles of engagement are forgotten.

You need to create a buzz; the content needs to be in line with the buzz. The delivery needs to be engaging and interactive. The presenter needs to tell a story that connects emotionally. The material needs to be user-friendly and distributed online for various audiences.

Keeping content engaging can be difficult since the demographics of an audience can be so diverse, ranging from Baby Boomers to Gen-Xers to Millennials. Keeping the content delivery conducive to the make-up of the audience is important. Today’s presenter must engage the audience by making the session interactive, either by soliciting participation or by breaking the audience into groups to discuss the content.

The format is crucial as well. Too many presenters still make the mistake of using PowerPoint as the crux of their presentations, reading directly off the slides rather than using them as a guide. Weaving storytelling into the presentation engages the audience on an emotional and personal level. People remember good stories, especially when compelling and thought-provoking.

Conference materials should be accessible in a format that is user-friendly. If the conference content is placed online in different formats and levels of detail, it will appeal to at least three different audiences: Participants who attended the conference; prospective attendees; and sponsors who can associate their brand with a site that reaches a wider audience over a period of several weeks or months.

Since many organizations are cutting back on the number of people sent to a conference, it is crucial to ensure the content is on point. Attendees and their decision makers are demanding a higher, more tangible return on their investment. The goal is for the attendee to bring back information that can be shared with the rest of the team.

> Return to The Challenge of Change

Amita Patel, CHSP, has been a leader in the hospitality industry for more than 25 years. Her experience includes destination and facility management as well as hotel sales and marketing. For the past 10 years, she has championed sales and marketing efforts at the Ontario Convention and Visitors Bureau/Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, Calif. 

I was thrilled to hear Bill Buxton of Microsoft talking about ideas and innovation on NPR’s morning show. It reinforced my own experience with ideas, creativity and problem solving. And it reminds me of a phrase I use during my keynote presentations, “Date, but don’t marry your ideas.”

In the interview, Buxton talks about ideas, lots of them—how we tend to get attached to one idea and pursue it even when it might not be the best idea. Part of the creative process is coming up with lots of ideas, turning them over, sharing them, discarding them and coming up with more ideas.

As a professional songwriter, I’m used to trying out new ideas almost every day. I’ve learned that some ideas turn out to be terrific and grow into real things, like hit songs. I’ve also learned some ideas are not so great, and it’s best to get rid of them and move on to the next brainstorming session.

> Return to The Challenge of Change

Billy Kirsch is a Grammy and Emmy-nominated, CMA and ACM award-winning songwriter. His abilities as facilitator, leader and performer are the foundation of his highly successful corporate event programs: Team Building Through Song, Harnessing Your Creative Power and Everyday Team Building. The presentations help people rediscover their creativity encouraging them to be more innovative and engaged in their work.

As director for constituent resources for the Mennonite Church USA, Glen Guyton was especially interested in feedback from Pittsburgh 2011, the biennial convention held this past July, where an alternative format was incorporated as part of the goal to encourage discussion and an increased sense of belonging and ownership for the constituents. Here, he shares some notes on the experience and reactions.

We had more than 6,500 people at Pittsburgh 2011. It balanced out to more adults, fewer youth. We incorporate service projects and had two things going on—adult delegate sessions and a youth gathering. There was joint daily worship and workshops split between adults and youth. Adults also have business sessions; youth just have worship, workshops and service projects.

New this year was a conversation room where we talked about hot topics. We used what they call a Samoan circle. Before the convention we had an outline of topics we would address. We had a schedule posted on the wall and slots where people could come and have discussion. There were mediators present, and we used a variety of discussion techniques. Controversial subjects could be discussed in a safe space.

People said they felt like they were heard. They felt like they had the opportunity to discuss controversial issues in the church but didn’t feel like they were being attacked. There was an openness and safety within the discussion; people enjoyed it and we may do something like that again.

> Return to The Challenge of Change

As director for constituent resources for the Mennonite Church USA, Glen Guyton was especially interested in feedback from Pittsburgh 2011, the biennial convention held this past July, where an alternative format was incorporated as part of the goal to encourage discussion and an increased sense of belonging and ownership for the constituents. Here, he shares some notes on the experience and reactions.

The term “strategic event marketers” is common within the events industry, yet some planners remain hesitant to embrace a strategic event planning process. Acting as a strategist does not require one to understand or recite the corporate go-to-market plans or financial earnings. Rather, it is about understanding the event objectives and developing innovative tactics to create memorable attendee experiences.

If there is one thing I could change within the events industry, I would challenge all planners to become strategists and focus their attention on the attendee engagement versus merely logistics.

As a corporate event manager, it is my responsibility to act as the event strategist when planning events for Symantec Corporation. A successful strategy I use often is one of storytelling. Storytelling is the concept of developing an event around one common message, a storyline, and ensuring every element supporting the event connects the dots back to the main storyline. Whether you are planning a conference, product launch or board of director’s luncheon, the gathering should tell a story. When the attendees can recite the storyline upon the leaving the gathering, you know you have successfully relayed your strategic message. The key to storytelling is being consistent in the delivery. When executed effectively, the storyline should become intuitively obvious and, to double the punch, the attendees should feel inspired by the message.

Storytelling creates a huge opportunity for event strategists to cultivate longevity in the conference objectives and messaging. While the story is unveiled at the event, it can act as the foundation for post-event communications throughout the year.

In addition to storytelling, planners can also act as strategists by leveraging technology throughout their events. The event technology landscape is vast and the options, features and usage can be overwhelming. However, as planners we cannot allow ourselves to become paralyzed by the immensity of it, but rather see it as an opportunity to customize our specific events. When evaluating how and what technology to incorporate into an event, the handy storytelling strategy can act as a useful tool. Determine how the technology can help tell your story and connect the dots back to the one common event message.

A story used at Symantec’s annual sales conference was based on the need to motivate the attendees to propel their efforts from a successful 2011 into greater achievements in 2012. In an effort to understand the conference objective, the executive team was surveyed with a few key questions: One, how do you want the attendees to feel pre- and post-conference? And two, what is one message you want the attendees to walk away with? The executive responses helped shape the conference storyline into “Fast. Forward. Move fast and move forward into 2012.”

Vibrant, yet visually and tactically appealing, the storyline was carried through every conference element from the signage, website, messaging, evening events and even the technology.

To amplify the forward motion aspect, we used the hottest and latest technology trend of “gaming” in an effort to engage attendees. Mobile device applications are the direction of the future and a gaming experience was yet another opportunity to create a memorable event and drive home the common message.

A good event strategist is the heartbeat of a memorable event, and every planning decision should be leveraged to inspire the attendees and further the conference story. We need to challenge ourselves daily to act as strategists and implement new conference planning technologies.

> Return to The Challenge of Change

Ashely Muntan, CMP, is an event marketing manager for Symantec Corporation and resides in Atlanta. With more than 11 years in the industry, she project manages large events and takes pride in acting as the team “storytelling champion” and seeing projects come to fruition.

Social. It’s a word that strikes fear in some and excites others.

Today it seems that everything is social. From social media to social networking to social technology to social business, the trend is all things social. It’s the new black.

So what is the social conference?

Does it mean adding more social media efforts to our event marketing? Is it allowing people to use social networks to communicate with speakers during the event? Is it integrating face-to-face audiences with live streaming remote audiences?

For me, one of the most critical things a conference organizer can do to appeal to our increasingly sophisticated audience is to design experiences that are more engaging, participatory and social. People are not coming to your conference for the content. (They can get that online.) They are coming for the conference experience, so make it social and less independent.

Humans are essentially social beings. Our meetings and events are complex social experiences. And our conference experiences have the power to alter our attendees’ minds.

When we require our attendees to sit passively and quietly in rows with little or no social interaction, we work against the brain’s natural social systems. We rob attendees of the chance to engage, interact and learn. We create social isolation in the midst of a crowd. In short, we are treating our attendees like robots trying to download data from the speaker into their hard drives: the brain. We think that if our attendees hear the information, they automatically learn it.

In traditional conferences, an expert stands at the front of the room and lectures to an audience that sits passively listening. It’s a one-way monologue. Research is clear that this conventional conference design is directly opposed to how our brains learn.

Conference organizers need to work hard at making a shift from long-established one-way, vertical presentations to more multi-directional education experiences.

Our traditional vertical, one-directional conference experience from the speaker to the audience needs to shift. We need to create multi-directional, horizontal experiences where attendees are invited to talk to each other, talk about the content, talk with the speaker and engage in active learning with one other. This means fewer speaker monologues and more attendee dialogues.

In short, we need more structured and facilitated conversations to create a compelling, irresistible social conference experience that continues to attract today’s sophisticated audiences.

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Jeff Hurt blogs about the convergence of Web 2.0, social media, meetings, events and education. He is the director of education and engagement at Velvet Chainsaw Consulting and an in-demand speaker (he’s at Rejuvenate Marketplace this year). He describes himself on Twitter as a thinker, advocate, progressive, nonprofit junkie, meeting/event planner, educator, change strategist, social media explorer.