Take Away

Keep It Going It’s one thing to post every handout and slide deck from a con- ference. It’s another to curate key takeaways from mounds of con- tent and put them into visually appealing for- mats that serve as a catalyst for post-con- ference activity. For each conference pres- entation video it posts online, Do Lectures (www.dolectures .com) highlights a “Big Do” and a “Little Do” that summarize both a strategic and a tacti- cal takeaway. Several organizations have experimented with Scoop.it (see On the Web, below) or Storify.com as ways to curate and share con- ference highlights. Many organizations offer a webinar high- lighting key confer- ence takeaways to a broader audience after the main event concludes.

Leading Learning By Jeffrey Cufaude

‘Big Dos and LittleDos’

How different would your meeting be if your core metric for success was how well it enhanced the professional practice of your attendees? Last month, we explored seven habits of highly effective meeting planners as a way of answering this question. This month, we take a look at some of the tactical choices you can make when embracing these habits.

We are creatures of habit, butwhat oncewas a beneficial routine can easily deteriorate into an unhelpful rut. Here are some of the ways specific organizations are refreshing their meet- ing-design habits. 1. Identify timeless and timely learning

needs, and craft a conference program that effectively addresses both. The National Association for College and UniversityResearch Administrators (NCURA) offers a “fundamen- tals” program repeatedly and on an ongoing basis. Such sessions make excellent pre-con offerings and can engage your most knowledge- able members as subject-matter experts. 2. Ensure that conference content is con-

Jeffrey Cufaude is a former higher-education administrator, meeting planner, and association executive. Currently he designs and presents high-impact learning experiences, including engaging conference keynotes and workshops. Learn more about his work atwww.idea architects.org orfollow him atwww.twitter .com/jcufaude.

nected to real-practice issues and that it reflects the diversity of the profession and its practitioners.Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) provides speakers with detailed background info, including a glossary of industry terms, key statistics about the pro- fession and its practitioners, and highlights of current issues. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) holds conference calls between members of its conference-plan- ning committee and conference speakers to ensure content relevance and connections. The National Association for College Stores (NACS) provides its Thought Leader presenters with a list of industry contacts whom they can speak to as they design their presentations. 3.Builda stronger infrastructure to engage

more attendees as communicators and con- tent curators, who will blog, tweet, andpho- tograph their experience in ways that are meaningful for non-attendees. Complement these efforts by extending a “press pass” to a

committed group of volunteers — as the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) does when it invites guests to post to its Acronym blog throughout its Annual Meeting. 4.Strengthen conversations of thecommu-

nity, by the community, andfor the commu- nity.Many conferences are offering more “on- demand” scheduling for participants to con- vene and self-organize conversations, and mak- ing table topics more specific in focus to stimulate more beneficial conversation.To facil- itate stronger community conversations in the formal sessions, consider these five breakout debrief tips from Cvent: http://bit.ly/nuQdht. 5. Help presenters use acceleratedlearn-

ing techniques andmore interactive formats that better involve participants in learning with—and from—each other. The American Academy of Audiology created an online resource center with excellent content culled from other sources for presenters. RSA Conferences offers extensive webinar training for presenters, panelists, and moderators of its information-secu- rity conferences, and also coaches new or under- performing presenters. 6. Implement more widespread hybrid-

meeting approaches to expand real-time conference participation across locations. Throughout the year, EventCamp conferences are held at select sites around the world, with each event connecting to other satellite “pods.” Content and engagement flow between the host site and the pods, as well as among the pods and the sites themselves. Check out http://eventcamptwincities.com to see some of the lessons learned through hybrid experi- mentation.

ON_THE_WEB: See how ASAE used Scoopt.it to curate blog and Flickr content during its 2011 Annual Meeting & Exposition in St. Louis: www.scoop.it/t/asae11.

ILLUSTRATION BY JEAN TUTTLE pcma convene November 2011 35