Tag Archive: general sessions

Three Guaranteed Ways To Kill Your General Session Attendees

Tweet Is your general session like bug repellant only repelling attendees and attracting crickets? Is it a sure-fire way to keep attendees in their hotel beds? Here are three fail-safe strategies that are guaranteed to kill your general sessions and create the walking dead! 1. Be A Chest-Thumping Legacy Gorilla Male gorillas beat their chests…

Why Conference General Sessions Should Be More Like The Olympics

Tweet The 2012 London Olympics were an interesting diversion from U.S. politics, the scorching heat and a questionable economy. They captivated our attention as we rooted for our countries, the underdog and individuals that had overcome great odds. Even when an athlete from another part of the world broke some amazing record, we united with…

Why You Should Not Hire A Speaker That Will Alienate Part Of Your Audience

Tweet Learning is a fragile thing. It is a biological process that happens in the brain. Provide the wrong stimulus and the brain responds by shutting down the learning process and instead protecting the human body. In order for people to learn something, their basic needs have to be met first. They must feel like…

Why Risky Conference Speakers Can Lead To Failed Learning

Tweet What do well-informed town halls and WWE’s “Friday Night SmackDown” have in common? A lot more than you would think. In 2009, both Friday Night SmackDown and healthcare town halls were sold out. Both witnessed a staged, well-rehearsed, public feud that was more about sensationalism than fact. During those healthcare town halls, two opposing…

Why Do We Start Conferences With General Sessions?

Tweet Most conferences kickoff with an opening general session. Why? What’s the point? What’s the purpose of a general session? Back To Presentation Basics What’ the purpose of a speaker for any presentation? Nancy Duarte, author of Resonate says it best, Presentations are most commonly delivered to persuade an audience to change their minds or…