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Senior executives can be afraid to ask questions of their event audience
audience engagement

10 Questions Senior Leaders Should Ask Their Event Audiences But Are Afraid To

We live in the participation economy. We have phones in our pockets that are one tap, click or voice request away from finding anything that we want to know on the Internet.

When I look around, I still see events struggling to integrate and use technology to tap into the power of their attendees to create content and conversations. So, why are we still stuffing people in chairs in rows quietly for hours on end in our events? Why are we still using the lecture model?

Today, senior leaders have a unique opportunity to use events as a transformative tool for their organizations. More specifically, they have the opportunity ask hard questions, tackle unsolved problems and use events as a tool for collaboration.

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Samuel J. Smith July 18, 2017

20 Reasons People Attend Conferences

why do people go to conferences

People come to meetings and conferences for lots and lots of reasons.  Here is my list of 20 reasons people come to conferences – in no particular order:

  1. Learn best practices
  2. Learn new skills – How to’s
  3. Learn about new trends
  4. See a vision of the future
  5. Listen to a “Star” speaker
  6. Earn continuing education credits
  7. Get new ideas
  8. Try new concepts
  9. Listen to industry experts
  10. Gain inspiration – from networking with peers in the industry
  11. Meet new people
  12. Re-connect with old friends
  13. Share war stories (stories of difficult challenges overcome)
  14. Share your experiences
  15. Meet with like-minded people
  16. Become re-energized as you become part of the larger whole
  17. Discuss common problems
  18. Realize that you are not alone with your thoughts and opinions
  19. Meet with several suppliers or customers in one place
  20. Had to go – the meeting was mandatory

Why do I think this list is important?

I like to look for “hidden” insights that might help me change my perspective and challenge me to think differently. If I can learn something new that changes my perspective – then I might be able to come up with better recommendations, new solutions, etc.

For example, once this list was assembled, the following words jumped out at me: Try, Share, Meet and Discuss. To me, these are action words used by people that like to engage in dialogue at conferences. They are not the words of people that want to sit and be entertained for 8 hours.

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Samuel J. Smith April 24, 2017

41 Ways to Measure the Business Value of Meetings

41 metrics to measure the value of your meetings

In a recent study, 60% of trade show booth organizers said that “Closed Sales” is their #1 measure of success at their event.  Yet, there are many, many more ways that meetings add value beyond revenue generated. How are you measuring the business value that your meetings and events create for your organization?

In MPI’s Business Value of Meetings research, they identified 41 different metrics that can be used to help you measure and track the business value of your meetings. Take a look at the list below – you might be able to find a few new metrics for measuring your success:
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Samuel J. Smith April 20, 2017
Event presentation app for successful question and answer experience
audience engagement

How to Manage Interactive Q&A With An Audience Response App

Several years ago, I was in Norway giving a presentation and using interactive Q&A for the first time in a conference. Previously, I had always used the microphone for my presentations. On this day, we had a new event technology that had a Q&A feature.

I discovered very quickly that if everyone had a chance to ask questions they would do it. I received dozens of questions via the interactive Q&A app.

Second, I learned that people were more willing to ask questions via the technology than stand up in front of the room with microphone.

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Samuel J. Smith March 1, 2017

10 New Ways to Visualize User-Generated Content with Event Technology

Socialpoint Social Media Wall Hub

Mobile devices and social media technology makes it easy to create attendee engagement experiences in our events.

You can capture polls, votes, surveys, ideas, questions, photos and much more through event apps, audience response apps, social media, SMS, tablet activations and much more.

In return, there are many fun, animated displays that will display user-generated content in real time back to the audience.  Here are 10 user-generated content visualizations that will forever change the way you use event technology to show user-generated content at your events.

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Samuel J. Smith February 20, 2017