Is your education program stuck in a rut? If you’re like most meeting professionals, you start planning for next year’s conference with good intentions, but end up with the same format and tracks—and very few new faces at the podium. The end result is a cookie-cutter experience.
Ifyou want to retain and grow your audience, breathing new life into your conference education is a must. Here are four quick fixes to consider that will help you design an improved conference experience: 1.Makethecontent current—Results of a sur-
vey of 250 association professionals conducted by Velvet Chainsaw andTagoras in September indicat- ed that about 75 percent of respondents use a call- for-papers process that closes nine to 10 months before the annual conference. Attendees often com- plain that education is too basic and not current. The fix — Re-examine your call-for-papers
deadline, and shrink it to six to eight months out fromthe conference. Program80 percent of your sessions for the initial marketing push, leaving holes that can be filled with relevant and timely topics. Announcing newly added sessions in the weeks leading up to your meeting is a drip-marketing campaign strategy that helps attract hold-out reg- istrants. Consider adding an exclusivity clause to your speaker agreements stating that their content will be presented first at your conference, and hold that advantage for as long as reasonable. 2. Identify content gaps—Conferences that
rely solelyonthecall-for-papers processmaynotpro- duce the education your participants need most. The fix — Prior to opening up your call for
papers, survey or crowdsource your primary audi- ence segments to gain a deep understanding of their major problems. Make it clear that proposals that map to those needs will be given greater consideration. After plotting the initial program, solicit additional presentations that address the spe- cific issues that are under-programmed.
3. Coach industry speakers — Sending out
emails, links to manuals, or speaker portals isn’t enough. Much of this type of communication is ignored and focuses on logistical needs versus education excellence. The fix—Provide advice that helps speakers
prepare content that is up-to-the-minute and includes tips for audience participation.Onaver- age, it takes about eight hours to prepare a one- hour presentation. Are your presenters putting in that much time? Acommon attendeecomplaint is “therewasn’t
enough time for the session.”Makesure your pre- senters are focused on the three to five things they want the learner to recall. Content reduction and a laser focus should be your mantra. Organ- izations that coach and communicate with their speakers over the phone are more successful. 4.Continuous improvement—According to
the survey referenced previously, only 70 percent of conference organizers ask attendees to rate each speaker in their session evaluations. If you want an improvement, you must have better data. The fix—A speaker database or Excel work-
book with ratings should be kept up to date. Ses- sion evaluations should evaluate each speaker’s style, delivery, andknowledge. Also surveywhether the presentation matched the learning objectives— and whether there was any selling from the podi- um. Top speakers should be invited back and will needless coaching. Thismay seemlike I’m con- tradictingmyassertion that you neednewfaces on your program, but the intent is to invite back only the creamof the crop. The top 25 percent is a good rule of thumb.
ON_THE_WEB: Presentations that include scientific or technical data are some of the toughest to improve. A framework written by Chris Witt of Witt Communications may help: http://bit.ly/qacLfD.
36 pcma convene November 2011 ILLUSTRATION BY BRAD YEO
Eat Your Own Dog Food If your organization’s leaders are not actively attending and participating in the conference education, that needs to change. No board or committee meet- ing is as important as participating fully in the education and networking experi- ence alongside those professionals whom the organization’s leaders serve. Don’t allow these schedul- ing conflicts to occur during official educa- tional hours.
Dave Lutz, CMP, is managing director of VelvetChainsaw Consulting,www .velvetchainsaw.com, a business-improvement consultantcy specializing in the meetings and events industry. His com- pany assists organizations in realizing top- and bottom-line growth by delivering customer- focused solutions in business development, best practice and process improvement, strategic planning, and training.