3 ways to liven up your conference sessions
According to the MIT Sloan Management Review, over the past few years we have seen a real explosion in information and data. In our hyper-connected world, it can feel so much harder to stay focused, so much demands our attention.
The truth is that we no longer have patience for pointless content. We are looking for shorter, condensed and more visual information that we can make sense of quickly. Spending a lot of time multi-screening or using social media in our digital world does reduce the chance of focusing on one task for a long time. But that is most likely the case when we experience something as repetitive or boring. So it's not so much that attention spans are dwindling. In fact, the shortening attention span statistic we mentioned at the start of this blog is actually a myth. It is more accurate to say that we just have less patience for the pointless. Not only that, recent studies show that human attention is actually becoming more efficient.
In a world of hyper-saturation, we are training up to better process and deal with information. We tune out of the irrelevant, repetitive and boring. You have to work harder to grab and hold your customers' interests.
So what would you like your delegates to do in your conference sessions? Tune in and absorb, talk about what they learn after the event, or tune out and check emails (or Facebook or Instagram)? It is hard enough to get people to events these days. Let's give delegates content that holds their interest, that is substantial, rewarding, and likely to be remembered and passed on. Here are a 3 things to think about.
Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group, says conference sessions have typically been between 45 and 60 minutes long. In studies carried out last year, over 80% of people surveyed said they thought 20-30 minutes was long enough. So one thing we can immediatiely put in place is shorter sessions, and we see how successful TED has been at this. TED Talks have taken the world by storm. Starting out as a conference for Tech, Entertainment and Design back in 1984, today TED is a nonprofit whose misison is to 'spread ideas'. They cover all topics, from science to business to global issues, in more than 100 languages, in the form of short, powerful talks of 18 minutes or less.
If the worlds most inspired thinkers can share their ideas in less than 20 minutes, what's stopping your speakers?
Further tapping this demand for synthesized and visual information, is Pechakucha. If you havent heard of PechaKucha, it's described as the art of concise presentations.
PechaKucha 20x20 is a simple presentation format where you show 20 images, each for 20 seconds. The images advance automatically and you talk along to the images. So there's no time for long and winding explanations, or text- heavy slides that most delegates cannot read. It was invented by 2 architects, because, architects talk too much!
Ask yourself this question: what do you want delegates to share from the event? What memorable outputs are created? We are focusing here on learnings, or insights, and trying to tap into the power of pass it on. Will delegates talk to their colleagues, friends and family about a special gala dinner, or a golf day, or an amazing stand on the exhibition floor? What if they were spreading ideas that inspired them?
It seems that delegates have grown tired of conferencing formats that serve yesterday's business world. We all want to spend our precious time smartly. What can you change to inspire delegates at your next conference?