Working on a video trailer for my book Conferences That Work reminded me of Margaret Wheatley’s beautifully written turning to one another and its short chapter willing to be disturbed. She points out how society teaches us not to admit we don’t […]
There’s still a lot of buzz in the events industry about hybrid events where there are two audiences: people physically present, the local audience, and people connected to the event remotely, via Twitter, chat, audio, and video streams, the remote […]
Say Yes! Thoughts triggered while rereading Patricia Ryan Madson’s delightful, straightforward, and yet profound improv wisdom. Patricia Madson’s first improv maxim is “Say Yes!” This reminds me of a harrowing incident not so long ago… Will this closing session achieve […]
William Gibson & Bruce Sterling’s The Difference Engine introduces us to an alternative world where we never discovered electronics, where computers are made of polished brass and powered by steam. Sometimes I dream I’m living in an alternative conference universe. […]
“Patiently Smiley waited for the speck of gold, for Connie was of an age where the only thing a man could give her was time.” from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, by John Le Carré I was facilitating a peer conference […]
Planners of traditional conferences assume that the primary purpose of conference sessions is to transmit pre-planned content. The three communication modes used among a group of people are one-to-one (individual conversations), one-to-many or broadcast (presentations and panels), and many-to-many or […]
Learn about peer conferences Let’s learn about peer conferences, sometimes called unconferences. A peer conference is small, attendee-driven, inclusive, structured, safe and supportive, interactive, and community-building. Let’s look at each of these characteristics in turn. Small conferences Most professional conference planners […]