Today, you need to produce for a micro conference market. Fifty years ago, producers and marketers got smart. They saw the miracle of mass marketing and they adopted it as their own. They amped up mass production and bet on […]
What impact does a good process have on the learning environment? Ask me about an environment for learning. I recall sitting in a classroom full of ancient wooden desks. Their hinged lids are inscribed with the penknife carvings, initials, and […]
Some people have a funny idea of sustainability in meetings. In 2011 Simon Sinek keynoted MPI’s World Education Congress. As I and thousands of attendees watched, he began to share his message by drawing a diagram on a flip chart pad. Almost as soon as […]
If your event had a mouth what would it say? In their brilliant book Into The Heart Of Meetings, Eric de Groot & Mike van der Vijver set out their process for formulating meeting objectives—a critical activity that, sadly, is glossed […]
How do you market a new peer conference? Another issue of an occasional series—Dear Adrian—in which I answer questions sent to me about event design, elementary particle physics, solar hot water systems, and anything else I might conceivably know something […]
In American schools, the first experience of public speaking is typically Show and Tell. A child stands in front of the room with something brought from home and tells their classmates about it. The child gains experience and confidence in addressing a […]
We need to re-envisage event technology to significantly improve our events. Revolution doesn’t happen when society adopts new technologies—it happens when society adopts new behaviors. —Clay Shirky, Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations I feel irritated when I […]
To truly listen is a gift to the one to whom you listen. It can also be a gift you give yourself. The gift to yourself is a possibility—and a risk. As Sakej Henderson says: “To truly listen is to […]
Do great speakers just provide a better emotional experience? Feeling good—for a while At MPI’s 2011 World Education Congress, I heard the best motivational speaker I’ve ever seen. Bill Toliver gave an amazing twenty-minute speech. I felt inspired by Bill. […]