"Most presenters forget that their job is not simply to explain something, it is to transmit a feeling to their audience. Often, for business audiences, they neither feel nor face anything much that is positive in their worlds. They are often under pressure, have too much to do, and don't have much time to spare on you and your message; so it's a good idea if you accept that part of your job as a presenter is to earn the right to be listened to. You earn the right by connecting with the hopes, dreams and realities of the people in front of you. In this article Jim identifies the one, powerful skill we need to develop to do just that.
"Your attendees are humans not machines. They are not a means to an end—paid attendees that result in your profit. They are not a cog in your conference machine, insignificant, immaterial and invisible.
They are real people with real emotions, real hopes and real dreams.
"An engaged attendee is a happy attendee. But with all the other challenges of putting a conference or exhibition together, from food and beverage details to attendee registration, how do you focus on improving engagement as well?
Intuit's QuickBooks Connect Conference offers some insight. Held November 13 to 15 at California's San Jose McEnery Convention Center, the conference deployed a number of engagement strategies, from cutting-edge technology to a program designed for first-time attendees. AgencyEA produced the event with Intuit, and Kristin Barbour of the Chicago-based agency shared four key strategies they used to engage the conference's 4,200 attendees.
The MTN App of the Year awards were a success a few weeks ago, but have you ever wondered about the tech-savvy system behind the awards? Mike Lysko, CEO and founder of Flock Eventing Platform explains the connectivity, convenience and entertainment opportunity of the delivery mechanism.
"Why do people camp outside Best Buy before Black Friday sales?
"Flock, an online eventing platform developed in South Africa but currently in use in 23 countries worldwide, delivered a seamless online eventing experience for the 2017 MTN App of the Year Awards held in Johannesburg last week (October 12).
"According to recent studies, mobile addiction is rife and could even be having a negative effect on life. Attendees could be spending more time on their devices than engaging with the event. What can eventprofs do to win back their attention?
"Event technology can improve efficiency and attendee engagement so why are you hesitating? Jump in with this guide on how you can implement the right tech for your event with the most return on investment.