Well, the pandemic that was supposed to last a couple of weeks has dragged on through the Spring, Summer and Fall. Nearly 10 months since stay at home orders were issued, what have we learned about virtual meetings and engagement? Pre-Recorded Is Giving Way to Live Early in the pandemic, meeting planners pivoted to Zoom […]
Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Techsy Talk Global Conference. One of the best sessions was called “The Road Ahead: Industry Landscape for 2021” by Howard Givner of the Event Leadership Institute. Howard provided an overview of the meetings and conference landscape, covering the latest news related to vaccines, state COVID regulations, […]
I’m attending and speaking during the techsytalk GLOBAL conference this week. Liz King Caruso, the organizer, ran a poll on the first day and asked attendees if they were on Team Live or Team Pre-Recorded. Turns out 100% of the attendees voted Team Live. And yet… I attended a couple of conferences last week where […]
Since July of this year, we’ve had the honor of hosting 9 virtual meetings. It’s been a season of learning because the meetings landscape keeps changing and attendee expectations have shifted dramatically since the pandemic began. Here are some of the things we’ve learned: Good communication is key! Even though it feels like we’ve been […]
A couple of years ago, I posted this: An Executive Director’s Guide to Getting the Most Out of Your Next Conference. I quoted my friend and client Carol Neuvelt, Executive Director of NAEM, who tells her staff and members to make sure they do this during a conference: 1) Learn something 2) Participate in the […]
I’m attending a lot of conferences these days. I’m also helping clients plan and execute a lot of conferences. All of them online, of course. One of the biggest questions being asked by meeting planners is: Should my educational sessions be live or pre-recorded? Live streamed at a certain time or available on demand? Pre-recorded […]
Imagine this. A person (or company) has made the decision to join your organization. What happens afterward? Does she get a giant welcome packet that she won’t read? Does the packet contain current or outdated information? Does he get nothing for a few weeks while you process the application and add him to lists? Does […]
As the world of work continues to transition from physical to virtual, the same is happening to conferences, trade shows, and meetings. There are platforms to choose, new or different program formats to consider, and on and on. But the biggest question on everyone’s mind is: how much should I charge for my virtual conference? […]
All Spring, one client conference after another was cancelled or rescheduled. A few clients converted their conferences to a series of Zoom meetings. With some states opening up, is there a chance that conferences will come back in the Fall, if not the summer? For organizations that have conferences coming up, should you wait or […]
There’s no question that this COVID-19 pandemic is proving to be a test of leadership. As a CEO of Matrix Group, I have responsibilities to my employees, my clients, my clients’ customers, my employees’ families, and certainly our own family. Many of you know that I’m a member of Vistage, which is the world’s largest […]