Posts for tag: Conferences

Top 6 Conference Cringers and One Sure Way to Avoid Embarrassment

We’ve been hosting and delivering conferences since the 1990s. Thankfully the stories below, whilst all true, didn’t happen on our watch. They do however serve to remind us of the importance of impeccable planning and expecting the unexpected.

…

Tips for Successful Conference Q & A

Conference Question and Answer slots can go one of two ways, there’s either deathly silence or they become adversarial battles between the audience and top brass.

Here are some tips to manage the discussion and make it a pleasant and productive session for all concerned:…

An Invitation to Tea at the Ritz

During November, January and February we will be hosting a series of discussions over afternoon tea at some of the country’s finest hotels.

A very civilised meeting

What better way to spend half a mid-week afternoon than informally discussing the emerging developments in your area of work, whilst enjoying delicious savouries and cakes….

7 Deadly Speaker Sins

We’ve all sat in presentations and found our mind wandering, or worse given a presentation and lost our audience part way through.

Don't lose your presentation audience. Learn how from these deadly speaker sins...

Here are 7 little known subtle but dreadful gaffs to avoid:…

Upbeat Conference Activity

Overcome the graveyard shift and inject some energy into your next meeting with one of our body percussion workshops.

In as little as 15 minutes our percussion experts can bring energy and rhythm to a conference, a great session opener or post lunch energiser.

Top 10 Conference Cock-ups

After 20 years of supporting conferences, we’ve heard some tales that will send shivers up a conference organiser’s spine. Here are a few we can share – there are several more that we can’t.

Don't be left red faced at your own conference - Take note of the mistakes made by others, below, and avoid embarrassment.

1. Theme
If an event has the word ‘annual’ in the title there’s a high chance it shouldn’t be happening at all. …

The Case for Experiential Learning – 5 ways we learn better by doing than listening

For years practical activities have been used in team building to help people get to know each other ‘off the job’. In management development case studies and role plays are used to turn theories into experience.

Fresh Tracks offer a range of Team Building activities which can help your employees get to know each other better

Experiential learning is more acceptable now than at any time in the past as participants have become less fearful of leaving the security of the classroom, relishing the opportunity to take a break from the monotony of the lectures.  …

Gold Medallist TV Presenter Also Hosts Conferences

In this blog we’d like to introduce you to our good friend, Gold Medallist and Paralympic TV presenter Giles Long.

…

Creating Captivating Conferences

I expect we have all at one time or another sat in a conference feeling bored. As our attention drifts from the indistinct slides and the speaker’s monotone soliloquy to the comfort or otherwise of our seat.

Don't let your conference be a waste of money

We begin to ponder whether the vast sums spent on such events will generate a worthwhile return. All too often expense and time come before imagination and courage. By this we mean that a little time spent thinking creatively about how your event will be sure to engage, inspire and motivate your audience will not only save money but, more importantly, extinguish boredom….

Ten reasons why meetings fail

Meetings can take up a large portion of anyone’s working day and for many of us, demands on time in the office are already high. So in an ideal world every meeting should count, with specific objectives and results making the time invested worthwhile. 

Allowing conflict to get out of control = chaos

All too often though, meetings – even during and afterwards – are perceived as a waste of time by those invited. This can usually be attributed to a lack of understanding about what the meeting was for. To avoid the sense that it was all worthless, here is a list of ten reasons why meetings can fail for you to use as a checklist when planning your next meeting:

1.      No agenda = no purpose
2.      No advance communication = surprising behaviours/responses
3.      Not encouraging participation = no interaction
4.      No time management = cost to organisation – time is money
5.      Allowing conflict to get out of control = chaos
6.      Not reaching consensus = waste of time and company resources
7.      Allowing sub meetings = no focus or direction
8.      Not controlling difficult behaviour = everyone becoming difficult
9.      Not summarising actions = misunderstanding of next steps
10.  Not motivational = attendees leave feeling flat and despondent

This list is based on an article written by Nuggets of Learning and Development.