Samuel Smith

Sam (one of the co-leaders of EventCamp Twin Cities) has been working with technology professionally for 13 years and international meetings and events for 3 years in Europe. He worked at Ford Motor Company, 3M, GT Urological and Shockfish SA (creator of Spotme).

September 19, 2011

Tips for Meeting Innovators From GameOn

By Samuel Smith

What would happen if you transformed your event with a game? Would it inspire creativity, problem solving and innovation among your attendees? Would it energize everyone? Or would it be so stressful that it wouldn’t be worth the effort?

The Green Meetings Industry Council used gaming to transform their learning and communication platform. GMIC designed an interactive and collaborative game that created incentives for attendees to (A) apply the learning from the conference in real time, (B) support sponsors and exhibitors and (C) share the key messages of GMIC via social media with the rest of the world.

The Game & Leaderboard

The objective of the game was to earn the most points. Points were awarded by doing the following:

* Share insights from the event via Twitter or Blogging

* Visit Exhibitor booths in the Exhibit area

* Attend Educational Sessions

* Complete a Group Case Study project that helped integrate all of the learning.

The Leaderboard kept track of the points earned in a pseudo real-time way. Some of the points were recorded digitally. While other items, like the case studies, had to be manually scored and entered into the system. You could check the leaderboard anytime by logging into a mobile application and seeing where your team stood.

Teams

GMIC pre-loaded Team profiles into the system to help get teams started. Then each team self-formed and added members to their team roster in the game. As a virtual participant, I couldn’t see who was on which team. So I had to get some feedback on teams from Twitter. Greg Ruby (@gregruby) and Brian Hunt (@brianhunt04) told me that Team Oak was the best. So, I accepted their invitation to join Team Oak. Brian and Greg were right – we were good.

The Technology: iPad Apps & Mobile Apps

The system that kept all of this together was an iPad app and a mobile app made by QuickMobile. Each team was given an ipad that had the official team app on it. This app allowed the team to do a lot of different types of data entry and engagement activities.

As a remote participant – I had a mobile app that helped me see how Team Oak was doing. I couldn’t enter any data into the system, but I could follow along with my team. This gave me access to the leaderboard and the case study as well as various other items – like a list of attendees.

Note: If you did use the iPad application, please tell me about your experience in the comment section below. I would be interested in hearing how it worked for you and your teams.

Virtual Participation

Myself, Tahira Endean (@tahiracreates, Vancouver), Brandt Krueger (@brandtkrueger, Minneapolis), Sanne Jolles (@sanne_j, Amsterdam), Katherine Manfredi (@kmanfredi, Florida) and various others were active virtual participants. In one form or another, we were able to join teams and participate in the group projects onsite.

I really appreciated this opportunity to be included in the group activity. It would have been very easy for the organizers to say no, because it really wasn’t part of the original plan. It turns out that GMIC literally embraced a message from Event Camp Twin Cities: “Experimentation is our get out of Jail Free Card…if we weren’t having tech hiccups then we wouldn’t be innovating.” With that as guiding motto – they were willing to let attendees create and push the boundaries.

Virtual View From Brandt Krueger’s Office

Skyping in Virtual Team members

For Team Oak, we skyped in Brandt Krueger and myself into our team meetings to discuss the case and various strategies. Brandt Krueger skyped in via skype audio onto the team iPad. He was placed in the center of the table. I was video skyped in and took a seat around the circle. John Chen (@bigkid) and Greg Ruby (@gregruby) were gracious enough to help put it all together.

View of Team Oak from my Virtual Perspective

I liked the experience because I could observe the non-verbal communication from the other attendees that accompanied what they said. However, it was not always possible to hear all team members all of the time. Did I mention that we met at the bar?

Here is a video interview with some of my thoughts on being a virtual participant.

Tahira Endean (@tahiracreates) had an entirely different experience. They had problems getting skype to make a good connection. As a result, she used email and text chat to participate in the group. This made her experience dramatically different from my own. Also, it changed the way that the communication dynamics between her f2f team and remote participants.

The Case Study

The case study was brilliantly designed. It challenged us to practice: objective setting, destination analysis, pricing, business analysis, meeting architecture and establishing a measurement strategy. I really appreciated the multiple dimensions that were inside of the case study. Elizabeth Henderson (@ehenderson) did an amazing job.

The Debrief

In my opinion, one of the most important elements in a competitive game is the debrief. This is the part where you find out if you won or not – then figure out what you did wrong. One thing that struck me right off the bat – was Paul Salinger saying that he let us down on objective setting because none of us did it correctly. The irony is that I remember him asking several times on day 1 – do you all know how to do this? The entire room said we do. I guess we didn’t afterall.

Our team ended up second overall and third in the case study. While I was proud of our efforts, Team Magnolia rocked the case study. I would have been interested in hearing them talk about their proposal and get their take on some of the high points.

Total Engagement & Gamestorming

Inspiration for the game design came from the book Total Engagement by Byron Reeves and J. Leighton Read. (http://www.totalengagement.org/) I haven’t read the book – but plan to pick it up soon

Equally important, Paul Salinger opened and closed the gaming sessions by talking about Divergent thinking and Convergent thinking. I first learned about those elements of game design from the book Gamestorming. (http://www.gogamestorm.com/)

It’s Still About People

While the game was cool – one of my big take aways was the wonderful welcome and feeling of inclusion that I got from the organizers and attendees. They went way beyond the call of duty.

I would like to thank Paul Salinger (@psalinger), Midori Connolly (@greena_v), Mitchell Beer (@mitchellbeer), Holly Duckworth (@hduckworth), Elizabeth Henderson (@ehenderson), Greg Ruby (@gregruby), Roger Simons (@rog_simons), Brian Hunt (@Brianhunt04), John Chen (@BigKid), Gina Broel (@gbroel), Ian Lipton, Joseph Chan, Daniella from Team Oak, Team Oak, Lisa Kraus (@LisaKraus), Andrew Walker (@eco_efficient), Jill Drury (@jtdrury), Tahira Endean (@Tahiracreates), Heather Teegarden (@hteegarden) and many others for making me feel part of the GMIC Family. Your kindness exceeded my expectations 20 fold.

Bottom Line

Through my virtual window, I can confirm that this was a very cool event. The tight integration of the game into the event objectives helped make the gaming element a success. While the technology was slick – the real key in my mind was a good game design around the objectives and content of the event.

Posted with the permission of Samuel J. Smith | Originally posted @ http://interactivemeetingtechnology.com/2011/02/24/tips-for-meeting-innovators-from-gameon/

August 23, 2011

Social Media in Events: Beyond Twitter & Facebook

By Samuel Smith

Does it seem like every post about social media in events talks about Facebook and Twitter? Do you feel like your creativity is being constrained, because so many people are talking about the same 3-4 solutions?

I do.

In a followup to my last post (Real World Likes – The Next Big Thing in Social Media in Events), I want to show you two fresh examples that will help you open your mind to new possibilities for social media at your events.

New York City Marathon 2010

July 25, 2011

Real World Likes: The Next Big Thing for Social Media in Events

By Samuel Smith

What happens if I think that the ice sculpture and chocolate fountain at your event are off the hook? How do I tell my facebook friends and my twitter buddies?

I have to pull out my phone, take a picture, enter a short message and upload it. I miss valuable networking time at your event – plus my iphone will probably autocorrect what I type into some gibberish.

In my opinion, the greatest challenge to spreading the use of social media at events is getting people to express themselves digitally without having to use a laptop or handheld device.

What would happen if you could give people a simple way to “like” something in the real world without having to use a laptop or mobile device?

Here are three videos of how events are using RFID and Social Media to allow attendees to express themselves digitally.

Coca-Cola and the Like Machine

Liking Renault at the NLRAI Autoshow

Rock Concert in Belgium

Getyoo – Interactives Experiences for Festivals from Getyoo on Vimeo.

Why is this the next big thing?

There are four reasons why I think this technology will be the next big thing for social media in events.

(1) Ease of Use for Attendees – It is so simple to swipe a wristband or badge against a touchpoint that automatically updates your status. You take the technology complexity out of the experience.

(2) Awareness – If your brand or event is new and lacking widspread awareness, this is the perfect way to tap into the Digital word of mouth power of social media.

(3) Data – You get data about what people like at your event. Plus, you can collect data on what was shared with others and clicked on. When you combine this data with other landing page, registration for newsletters, etc. data to see how it contributed to driving people into your marketing funnel.

(4) Widespread application – This technology will work for the galas, weddings, conferences, tradeshows, national sales meetings, association conferences, parties, etc.

Bottom Line

In my opinion, allowing people to express themselves digitally without the need for a device is the next evolution in the integration of social media in events.

Now you know where I stand. What do you think? What’s the next big thing for social media in events – if this isn’t it?

Posted with the permission of Samuel J. Smith| Originally posted @http://interactivemeetingtechnology.com/2011/04/18/real-world-likes-the-next-big-thing-for-social-media-in-events/

June 20, 2011

Shifting to Digital: The MPI World Education Conference

By Samuel Smith

If your annual education conference attracts only 20% of your members what are you doing for the other 80%? How do you create and deliver education for them? How do you bring your community together?

Meeting Professionals International is making some bold moves in 2011 to tackle some of these challenges. Have a look at what they are doing at their annual world education conference and let me know what you think.

Rolling Out the Hive

The Hive is designed to be the hub of digital buzz for MPI’s 2011 WEC (see sketch above). It’s a physical space in the global village. The Hive combines the cyber cafe, info desk, interview studio, device recharge point, twitter wall, social media aggregator, lounge and a stage (for quick tech lessons) all in one place. The idea is to give attendees multiple ways to connect to the people, content and ideas at WEC. Digital Rookies can connect with Digital Allstars. Groups can hold tweetups. It will be so much more than a cool place to recharge your phone and hangout.

Transforming MPI Website into a Virtual Hub

In another bold move, the MPI website will become a funnel for all social media during the conference. It will aggregate the tweets, photos, videos, blog posts, etc into a single place. In addition, sessions will be streamed live to the MPI website. Some content will be free and others will be available to members only. The rest will be uploaded into MPI’s on demand program. This is a major shift from 2009′s $300 virtual access pass experiment and a good evolution.

Crossing the Pond

The UK chapter (a large european chapter) is working on an initiative to run a parallel event. They will get UK members together and have a viewing party. Some of the sessions from Orlando will be streamed live to the UK chapter’s viewing headquarters. If this comes together – it will be a first for MPI and could open the doors for other viewing pods in other regions with heavy membership around the world.

Bottom Line

If 80% of your members are not attending your annual conference, consider other ways to connect them with the people, ideas and content from your event. Meeting Professionals International is shifting to digital with a multi-pronged approach.

What are you doing?

March 30, 2011

Are You Multiplying the Value of Your Meetings?

By Samuel Smith

When you get ready to start planning your next meeting, is your plan to make an incremental change or take a giant leap?

My guess is incremental change. And, I bet you then go look for new ideas that you can include in your event. Right now you might be excited about QR codes, mobile apps. and social media.

I have a question for you.

What would it mean to your organization if you could multiply the value of your meetings and events?

Picture of KFC Ultimate Value Box

Think about that question for a minute.

How would your attendees feel if you sent them home with 3X the educational value for the same cost/effort? How would your leadership teams feel if you could generate 3X the output from annual top management meetings for the same cost/effort? How would your sponsors feel if you could send them home with 3X the qualified leads for the same cost/effort? How would your employees feel if you included them in 3X the important decisions affecting the future of your company?

I bet your stakeholders would be ecstatic, if you delivered a giant leap in meeting performance. And I bet they would throw you a ticker tape parade and put your name in lights.

The Big Question

Here’s the big question: How do you do it? Which part of your meetings need rethinking in order to multiply the value?

This is a tough one. If you talk to 1,000 people, you will get 1,000 different answers.

Some Answers

Maarten Vanneste, author of Meeting Architecture, created a tool called the Meeting Support Matrix that offers a super-simple way to look at what you are doing in your event, identify gaps and make adjustments in your strategy. This 3X3 matrix allows you to look at your event across time and by “core” objective. (Download)

At BizBash’s Rethink Forum, Mary Boone and Flemming Fog talked about starting with objectives and then using group processes with technology to deliver results. They shared several examples. (Learn More)

Bottom Line

Ask yourself these questions: (A) what would it mean to your organization, if you could multiply the value of events? (B) How would you measure it? (C) Where would you invest time and energy in rethinking your meetings? (D) For those of you that are already doing this – what is working and where are you running into challenges?

Posted with the permission of Samuel J. Smith | Originally posted @ http://interactivemeetingtechnology.com/2011/03/18/are-you-multiplying-the-value-of-your-meetings/

January 25, 2011

Meeting Innovation: PCMA’s Learning Lounge

By Samuel Smith

What comes to mind when someone says – Learning Lounge?

For me, I think of a sterile library-like-space with few people, little noise and empty chairs. I’m extremely pleased to tell you that PCMA‘s Learning Lounge was anything but. It was noisy, engaging and full of life!

This experimental idea gave us a glimpse into the Future of Meetings. It showed us new ways to include and engage a large number of attendees. And, showed us how we could incorporate the back of stage into our event experiences.

Luckily I brought my Flip Camera and made a short video. Have a look.

5 things that I liked about the Learning Lounge:

The format gave approximately 100 additional attendees an opportunity to share ideas and expertise with their peers.
The open space allowed you to “sample” a bunch of ideas and move between theaters very quickly.
The interview studio sessions were recorded and broadcast on the internet allowing people at home to participate as well.
The use of 3D structures and décor created intimate spaces out of a huge open space.
Having the Learning Lounge right next to the general session helped people arrive early, network, learn and get excited before the general session started.

Bottom Line

PCMA’s Learning Lounge was a high-energy, high traffic space that gave a bunch of attendees an opportunity to participate in the event. This is an idea that you should consider for your next meeting or event.

Have you experienced anything like PCMA’s Learning Lounge before? Have you tried anything similar in your own events? And, if you were at PCMA last week – what did you think of the Learning Lounge?

PS. This is a perfect example of Wish #2 coming to life!

January 10, 2011

Five Wishes for the Meetings Industry in 2011

By Samuel Smith

It’s January. It’s that time of year, when all of us prognosticators and pundits look into our crystal balls and make big and bold predictions about the future.

Last year, I wrote an article called 10 Ways Social Media Will Transform Events. I talked about the way Social Media will transform communication at events. The article is still relevant today.

For 2011, I have five wishes for the meetings industry. With your help, these wishes could become reality. Have a look and let me know what you think.

1. I wish we would stop stuffing people in chairs in rows and making them listen to speakers for 5 hours.

Seriously people. Friends don’t let friends stuff attendees into chairs to mindlessly listen to speakers babble for 5 hours per day. Attendees brains can’t absorb the 400-500 slides that you are throwing at them during the day. Plus, today’s attendees are smarter, more educated and have access to more information at their fingertips than ever before. Why don’t we do more to work on harnessing that capability?

Strangely, I feel like the reason meetings have not evolved more is that we don’t have enough good examples of what “different” looks like in meetings.There are many people talking about making events “different.” Yet, there are very few public examples of different approaches. It seems like we need to round up these meeting mavericks that are innovating and get them to share all of their examples and case studies with others.

Here is an example from my 2010 work that was recently written about in PCMA Convene: 5,000 Points of View. Please share yours as well.

2. I wish that the meetings industry would invest more to create conversations and experiences that resemble the future of meetings.

We need to do more to create “safe” spaces for people to try out new and innovative event concepts. The Event Camp Series, Engage365, BizBash’s Rethink Forum are a good start. Velvet Chainsaw Consulting’s Learning Lounge at PCMA’s upcoming Annual Conference could be another good example.

I think that we can still do a lot more. Would you be willing to sponsor (or work on) an innovation lab project in 2011/2012? If so, email me.

3. I wish hotels and venues made conference WIFI and LAN services more affordable for meeting organizers.

To me the venue Wifi discussion is like the wart on the wicked witches’ nose. It’s big, ugly and in your face – yet, you can’t do a darn thing about it. Help may be on the way.

Since October, I have been using Verizon’s MIFI card. It is a private wireless hotspot that allows me to connect 5 devices to the internet via Verizon’s cell network. It saves my bacon anywhere AT&T doesn’t work (like the entire state of Wisconsin). I use it rather than hotel or venue wifi while I am traveling. It makes life so much easier.

Hopefully, in 2011, we will start to see more competitive products like Verizon’s MIFI Cards and Tradeshow Internet that will put pressure on suppliers to improve their pricing and performance. In the interim, I strongly encourage you to negotiate Wifi and LAN service levels and access into your venue contracts. This way, you can save yourself money and make the connectivity more affordable right out of the gate.

4. I wish that your event website was social media friendly and designed for mobile devices

With so many people accessing the internet from mobile devices, I don’t understand why your event website doesn’t have a mobile version. I get so mad when I have to look at a “browser” based website on my mobile phone. The text is too small, your flash graphics don’t work and it gives me a bad experience with your organization.

In the next two years, the number of people accessing content from their mobile devices is going to outnumber those that access content via PC. It’s time to talk to your IT guy about setting up a mobile version of your site – it’s dead simple and will make your growing audience of mobile users happy.

While you are working on the website, go ahead and make your event website social media friendly, as well. Please add some social sharing buttons for Facebook, Twitter and Email. These butttons should be put on each of the key pages of your website, so that attendees and fans can tell their “likeminded” social media friends about your event. If you want people to talk about you in Social Media, you need to make it simple to do. A “tweet” button and a “like” button are about as simple as it gets. It amazes me how many of you miss this valuable opportunity. (Need an example? See the buttons at the bottom of this post and every post on this site.)

5. I wish that I could transfer all of the crazy ideas for interaction and collaboration in my brain to your boss’s brain.

Imagine what would happen if there were like 10,000 leaders talking to meeting planners about getting people to collaborate and work together in large groups at meetings. I think that would be awesome!

What would it take to do that? Should we create some cards like the IDEO Method Cards to give away? Or is it enough to show leadership the TED examples and then let their imaginations start running wild?

Bottom Line

Those are my five wishes for the Meetings Industry in 2011. I don’t think it’s asking for the world. In fact, if I can get you and five of your friends to join in – we should be able to turn these wishes into dreams come true in a year from now.

What do you say? What should we tackle first?

Posted with the permission of Samuel Smith | Originally posted @ http://interactivemeetingtechnology.com.

December 6, 2010

Talking TEDActive with Sarah Shewey

By Samuel Smith

What comes to mind when someone mentions the TED Conferences?

Do you think about a specific presentation – like Bill Gates presentation on malaria?

You know the one – where he opened up a jar of mosquitos in the auditorium. Then he said – malaria doesn’t need to be a poor person’s problem (watch video). Or do you think about an endless supply of smart people sharing great ideas? Or do you think of cool, inspiring videos that are free to watch and easy to share?

Regardless of what comes to mind first – you eventually draw the conclusion that TED is awesome!

Have you ever wondered how they create this magic? Have you ever wondered what they are doing that you aren’t?

Recently, Mike McAllen and I got a glimpse inside of TEDActive from Sarah Shewey of Pink Cloud Events (pictured above). Sarah joined Mike and I on a recent installment of Meetings Podcast Going Digital to talk about what they are doing to make the TEDActive Simulcast an awesome experience.

(Listen to the podcast)

For those of you that want the highlights from our conversation – Read on.

TEDActive is Much More than Watching TV

TedActive is the simulcast event that is tied to the main TED Conference. TEDActive attracts people that are ready to create action around the ideas at TED. This event is much more than watching TV. They weave real talks (that are given by real people), social activities and collaborative activites into the experience. These activities help TEDActive participants establish community and create a unique experience of their own – beyond watching the simulcast.

The main conference room has a ton of different seating options. There are beds, bean bag chairs, lounge chairs, and tons of screens all over to watch the TED Talks. The environment is designed to breakup the big room into smaller groups of 4, 8, 20 or 60 people. If you get a bed – your simulcast screens are on the ceiling (Pictures). The event attracts more than 500 people.

It’s a simulcast and a real event at the same time. Pretty cool, huh?

Participants Create Something Together

The attendees at TEDActive get to determine 1/3 of the content and workshops. In 2010, the attendees and a group of musicians created a music video during the event. Attendees were given a piece of paper and asked to make drawings that matched the event’s theme – What the World Needs Now. Then, a group of singers on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus took recorded a track to go with the pictures and a production team created the video. You can watch that video here:

Why are TED Videos So Engaging?

TED works with speakers to create awesome presentations and to have stage presence. Then, they use about 8 different cameras to film the videos. The shots are positioned so that they will be engaging to people watching online. Sarah makes a point of saying that they use closer shots to make things more intimate. They rarely use the long shots.

Why does the Simulcast Event Work?

We asked Sarah why the simulcast worked. She shared the following reasons:

Live host is the glue for the simulcast.
Localize the event with other activities/experiences and create community.
Coach the Speakers on their delivery.
Video Production (see above).
Broadcast the Video and the slides.
Treat the simulcast as a special event.

Of course, she didn’t talk in bullet points – she elaborated on most of these points in detail. You should go listen to the podcast to hear what she had to say.

Bottom Line

TED rocks! But, you knew that already.

Posted with the permission of Samuel Smith | Originally posted @ http://interactivemeetingtechnology.com.

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November 29, 2010

The Television Show Session: 42.3 Minutes to More Engagement (from ECTC10)

By Samuel Smith

Professional master of ceremonies Glenn Thayer said general sessions can be presented in many new and innovative ways. His focus today would be on the television show format, specifically talk shows, but he would also refer to YouTube and technology, entertainment, and design (TED) conferences.

A successful TED event brings speakers on subjects ranging from chemistry and the environment to politics and cartoons to anyone with Internet access. Speakers deliver their best talk in 18 minutes or less—more than that “and you lose your audience,” said Thayer.

Thayer asked participants whether they had experimented with different general session formats. One participant said his company followed a talk show model at one event: they hired a moderator who interviewed the company’s CEO and CFO. Another participant said his organization used a David Letterman show format at its last conference; this was very well received.

Thayer cited the 60-minute Today Show as an example of a successful formula that could be adapted to a general session. The show is broken down into five-minute segments, each followed by commercials or national and local news. He said he had counted over 90 transitions between segments, commercials, and news during the show.

A typical Today Show involves a mix of expert panels speaking with participants who Skype in questions, commercials, segments moderated by hosts, videos, live interviews, the weather report, local news, cooking segments, and live performances. Thayer said The Tonight Show also has a successful format that includes comedy sketches, guest interviews, and musical performances.

Thayer suggested event organizers could follow YouTube’s example, which focuses on user-generated content. He noted that MPI’s MeetDifferent events have drawn on their potential attendees prior to conferences to generate testimonials about their reasons for attending. MPI posts these on their website and blogs to generate even more interest in the event, and ultimately greater attendance.

“The biggest issue is control—are we willing to give up control to collaborate?” asked Thayer. The conversations are happening with or without event organizers’ sanction. “Imagine if you could harness that energy.”

Saying they were neither widely available nor inexpensive, Thayer presented participants with some other “cool ideas,” including the David Beckham hologram for the Adidas press launch for the London Olympics 2012. “You could have your CEO deliver a speech although she or he is not there.” He also cited the NVIDIA^® GeForce^™ 6800 graphics processing units’ launch, which used digital puppetry to create Nula, a mermaid who addressed the audience.

Enticing potential attendees to an event requires as much creativity as planning for the general session, said Thayer. He suggested speakers could be engaged before or after an event to hold webinars or live webcasts, noting that most speakers are pleased to generate the extra publicity.

Thayer also suggested the idea of trailer or teaser videos, ideally containing user-generated content, which could be solicited in a contest, for example. The person with the best trailer could win a conference registration. He mentioned post-conference video interviews with speakers, hot conversations, bloopers, and behind-the-scenes segments as other ideas for promoting the next event.

Thayer asked groups to brainstorm over a conference theme, a promotional hook, and a 60-minute general opening session. He provided a number of further suggestions for innovative general session formats including expert panels, video segments, user content, tele-presence, audience interaction using audience response systems (ARS), live demonstrations, and entertainment segments.

Participants generated various ideas including a First Ladies’ conference featuring a video introduction of past First Ladies, an audience Q&A, and a final appearance by the current First Lady. Thayer asked all other groups to submit their ideas so he could make them available to the conference community following ECTC10.

“The possibilities for general sessions are endless,” he said.

> Watch Glenn’s Session

News capsules, summary reports, and news tweets during EventCamp Twin Cities produced by The Conference Publishers, leading specialists in content design and capture for meetings.

Posted with the permission of Samuel Smith | Originally posted @ http://eventcamptwincities.com.

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November 3, 2010

Pecha Kucha: The F2F Twitter Stream for Events (from ECTC10)

By Samuel Smith

Adrian Segar, author of Conferences That Work: Creating Events That People Love, said Pecha Kucha, which originated in Japan, consists of several speakers presenting 20 slides for 20 seconds apiece. With presentations no longer than seven minutes each, Pecha Kucha “is really an art form. It is a great way to present cool information with the style and format adapted to the individual presenter,” Segar said.

Watch All Six Pecha Kucha Presentations

Event ROI for non-believers

Elling Hamso, managing partner of the European Event ROI Institute, said event ROI is measurable and meetings create value when participants change their behaviour. The determination of ROI starts with measuring participant satisfaction, followed by identifying the information and skills acquired at the event. The application of learning from events leads to impact—“this is the real value of meetings,” said Hamso.

The final level in the ROI pyramid is a simple calculation of subtracting the costs of the event from the impacts, once those attributable to the meeting have been isolated. Hamso said these impacts can be measured in monetary terms—“It is possible.”

PowerPoint SchmowerPoint

“Knowing a few simple things about PowerPoint formatting will go a long way,” said Brandt Krueger, Geek Dad and corporate technology director for metroConnections, Inc. Aspect ratio can turn a mediocre presentation into a very powerful one. The “old school” 4:3 screen format is becoming obsolete as wide, high-definition, and panoramic screens become the norm. Kruger said aspect ratios must be changed manually in MS PowerPoint as the default is 4:3.

“Transitions are like salt—a little is good, too much is not,” said Krueger, noting the speed with which transitions cut from one slide to the next is important. He said he favors 1.2-second transitions, noting that Apple has a very user-friendly transition menu.

Stories, Sagas & Fables

“Influence your audience through stories,” said brand strategist Lara McCulloch-Carter—stories work because “they stick.” Once people hear stories, they have the impression of having lived through them. “While facts and figures float away, stories connect with the brain, heart, and emotions.”

McCulloch-Carter gave several examples of how stories have influenced the public, including the “ugly-as-sin” Chili cat figurine that was worth 50 cents but sold online for over $20 once a story was associated with it. Getting the public involved in the story also paid off in the first-ever Twitter Opera, sponsored by the Royal Opera House.

McCulloch-Carter encouraged participants to think of stories about their brands that tap into their audience’s hearts and minds. “Create a tale worthy of being told and shared.”

EventsThatLast

“Build, engage, and grow your community,” said Lisa Qualls, co-owner and CEO of Fresh ID. With new technologies more accessible than ever and the “geek revolution” here to stay, event planners must find new ways to connect to their audience.

Build the event’s brand by differentiating the event, considering what will inspire attendees, and determining how to “tell the story and get people to share it,” said Qualls. Grow the community by providing the information they need. “You need to find intimate touch points and ways to extend your reach, such as blogs and podcasts.” She suggested that content be delivered seven times in seven different ways, so that attendees truly absorb it.

Give Your Event a Charitable Makeover!

Event creator and fundraising counsellor Lindsey Rosenthal encouraged participants to give their events “a charitable makeover.” Adding a charitable component to an event is easy, builds team spirit, and gives “participants a warm, fuzzy feeling.”

Rosenthal said charitable components can be added, created through vendor partnerships, or result from direct donation or entertainment swaps. She discussed various ways to include charitable activities such as community projects, silent auctions or raffles, charity races, and donating meeting supplies.

Rosenthal said event organizers can also ask sponsors to donate to charities, team up with the event venue for a charitable side event, or host a charitable contest. “Adding a charitable component to your event is worth the cost—it always fits in, creates values, and will engage attendees.”

Foursquare for Events, Exhibitions and Destinations

Greg Ruby, principal at Greg Ruby Consulting, introduced Foursquare to participants as both a “friend finder” and a tool to promote events and businesses. Foursquare is a social networking tool, game, and micro-blogging application that allows users to let their friends know where they are and to locate them in turn.

A unique feature of the application allows users to accumulate badges depending on where they “check in.” Checking in to a specific place, such as a restaurant or an event, frequently can bestow honorary mayorship and open the door to freebies.

Ruby suggested special badges could be made for an event to encourage participants to check in. Alternatively, specials such as a registration discount could be offered. Foursquare is free and offers a means to draw people to an event, where it can then be used to create interaction among attendees.

Face the Fear—Then Change Your Conference Design!

Segar closed the Pecha Kucha session by noting that “learning is social”—while content can be shovelled at participants, true learning takes place in the context of participant interaction such as small group discussions. Traditional conferences have not kept pace with participants’ needs.

“Think of your participants as resources—if they are part of the event, they will enjoy it more.”

Segar also noted the importance of event flow rather than presenting a mishmash of sessions. Group processes do not scale well and an appropriate amount of structure and support is necessary. An event that is designed to keep these aspects in mind will create synergy and be experienced as more than the sum of its parts.

> Watch the Full Pecha Kucha Session