The conference format hasn't really changed much... ever.
Is this because it's fit for purpose or because nobody has really asked the attendees what they think?
At the next weeLearning (a free South West based Learning & Technology social that I help run) We'll be using design thinking to try and re-imagine the the conference experience (find out more here). But to do this effectively we need to know why you go to conferences or why you don't?
We'd love to hear about your experiences and opinions.
Replies
Hi Sam
You have got me thinking that conferences and even internal company get togethers could do a lot more to actually understand their customers needs. I go to a number of conferences (mostly not HR related) and really I am only there to learn what's new and network with new or existing contacts. Yet I do end up spending quite a bit of time hanging around at talks that turn out to be irrelevant, or just vaguely looking around at stalls to see who is there. I am sure there are ways of making the experience more interactive prior to the event.
Luke
Hi Sam,
I think it's just a personal confidence thing but I am sure there are a lot of people out there like me!
h
Hi Sam
My thoughts are similar to Hayleys. I don't personally enjoy attending big conferences. I just find them daunting and I just feel invisible.
Recently I attended the Yammer on Tour event and their approach was interesting. They set up a temporary network for everyone attending and encouraged people to get to know each other before the event. As a result many people made plans to link up at the event and for someone like me who genrally finds myself attending these events solo, i felt as though I knew many of the people there. In some respects this is how I met Mike! Mike delivered a presenation at Learning Live 2012 which I attended via web conference. Mike left his twitter details and I decided to follow him . I then met Mike at the Learning Technologies exhibition this year (I didn't know he was going to be there) but I remember the sense of comfort meeting someone I knew and we had a conversation about some recent tweets.
The cost is also a prohibitive factor and I am starting to question the value of spending the cash when most of the presenters upload their presentations on social networks shortly afterwards.
Anyway, just a few thoughts Sam.
Great thoughts, thanks Lorna and Hayley - I think when you don't know anyone at a conference the "networking opportunities" can feel a bit too much like the school playground when no one wants to play with you. Which is not a great feeling, especially when you're paying a grand for the privilege!
Great analogy Sam!
A further thought Ive had in the shower - yes my best thinking seems to happen in there for some reason!
Last year I attended an event which was a mixture of one to one meeting with exhibitors arrnaged by the organisers in line with your areas of interests and round table discussions across a variety of topics. I really enjoyed the table discussions which were very informal and the ones I attended had no more than 20 people. I felt the intimate environment gave rise to some healthy discussions and I shared more information than I would normally as well as learning loads from others. I haven't been to an unconference event, so not sure they work in the same way. But if they do, then given the choice, this is what I would prefer..
Toodle pip, must go to work now..
It could help ppl connect prior to conferences and get people talking about what they're looking for, what they've done etc
Hi Sam,
Good question, I've had a great experience of conferences and I'm only doing what I'm doing now because I attended Learning Technologies conference in 2008. It opened my eyes to lots of different thinking and introduced me to new ideas ,tools and people in our industry. I also attended in 2009 and again it really opened my eyes to what learning is and how we can better support learning in our organisations.
You have got to go and do something with what you learn though, you can attend lots of conferences but if you don't do anything differently or put in to practice what you learn then I'd question the value of attending:
Having attended a few now I would attend a conference to:
I have to admit though the last 2 years I've not been to many main stream conferences where I've paid for a ticket for as I think it links back to my first point around having to put things in to practice and try things and get good at them or at least change what you're doing. otherwise it's always ideas and talking about things instead of putting them in to action.
I have really enjoyed the unconference format (world cafe or open space) recently through @LnDConnect and this is a much smaller and intimate affair focusing on what matters most to the attendees who create the agenda on the day. I really like this and think it caters more to my needs now and where I am in terms of my own development.
Obviously now I'm attending conferences as a supplier for DPG plc and have been lucky enough to cut my teeth presenting so I guess I'm trying to provide the value to others that I got from the first few conferences I attended. Its important to ask people what there are interested in and for conference organisers to do everything in their power to make it interesting and engaging.
I've been to a fair few exhibitions (HRD & LAS) and like the variety I've seen and the efforts made to get people talking through tweet ups and social corners, speed networking and other things to get people talking. Sometimes the conference format is too descriptive and not free flowing or engineered around people connecting and instead focuses on people listening in lecture format. Perhaps there needs to be a bit of both involved?
Hope this helps
Great stuff thanks Mike!
Hi Sam
In my old role I used to have to go to a lot of these events.
I found them quite daunting for the networking parts to be honest which does put me off, maybe that's more me than the conference's design!
For many conferences the learning to be had is great, I like a mix between case studies and theory but the most effective ones I have seen are the 'hands on' sessions where people bring in, for example, their strategy, and the session is centered around improving it.
Cost is, of course a barrier and when you see people being made redundant in your organisation and cost cutting measures, it can feel too extravagant to request a £500-1000 expenditure. Which is why clear take aways and outcomes are crucial for me.
Thanks Hayley, I think conference organisers could definitely put more thought into making the networking side of things less intimidating. Why did you find it daunting?
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