Here’s something that many conference organizers suspect but rarely act on: Big-name keynote speakers don’t make your event memorable. In fact, they’re probably sabotaging both your budget and your attendees’ experience. I’ve spent decades designing and facilitating conferences that people […]
August 2016. Northern New Mexico. I was deep into a five-day silent meditation retreat, surrounded by quaking aspens, mountain air, and breathtaking wilderness. But my brain wouldn’t shut up. I couldn’t tame my creative mind. On the outside, I was […]
How can we create conditions where real learning can take root? Whether you’re leading a workshop, teaching a class, or simply trying to help people engage more meaningfully, this question strikes at the heart of what it means to facilitate […]
I get some of my best ideas from my clients. (That’s because consulting—when I listen well—is a two-way street!) So I wasn’t surprised when, during a recent debrief, a client mentioned a simple way to improve the human spectrogram maps […]
I love the folks (especially my good friend, Jan-Jaap In der Maur) at Masters In Moderation, a company that has been providing meeting and facilitation services and training in the European Union since 2012. Why? Because their core beliefs about […]
After four decades of founding associations, serving on non-profit boards, and designing and facilitating countless association meetings, I’ve witnessed my fair share of mistakes associations make. Some are well-known and documented behaviors, such as micromanagement, poor internal and external communications, […]
Event planners often overlook the importance of attendee conversations. Why does this happen? For a clue, read this AT&T advertisement promoting telephones in the 1900’s! Here’s Kevin Kelly’s analysis of what AT&T totally missed about how telephones could be used. […]
The social media platforms we once relied on for authentic connection are disintegrating. My ikigai—the reason I get up in the morning—is facilitating connection. But today’s major social media platforms—Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, et al.—are all owned by […]
If you are serious about improving your conferences, my meeting design workshop can be the game-changer your organization needs. Here’s what happens at a typical one-day workshop. In a world where passive listening no longer satisfies attendees, traditional lecture-based conferences […]
years ago, I pointed out that most meetings are small meetings. It seems the meeting industry is finally catching on to this reality and its benefits. Yes, small is the new big! From eSpeakers‘ report on IMEX America 2024: “Small […]