Keeping your meeting-goers involved means keeping your attendance numbers up
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Jeff Hurt
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by Tyler Davidson
Anyone who’s fidgeted their way through a boring conference lecture—in actuality, probably just about everyone—knows the value of attendee engagement to the retention of knowledge, and the Internet Age is just exacerbating the need.
Call it “short attention-span theater.” Everyone’s had a role on that stage, but many people who work in the meetings and conventions industry are trying to ride to the rescue by improving the attendee experience.
“Audiences are demanding it,” contends Jeff Hurt, executive vice president of education and engagement for Velvet Chainsaw Consulting, which helps companies and associations improve the content and engagement at their annual meetings, conferences, education and events. “Sociologists call today’s culture the participatory culture, as the Internet has changed the way we operate. We control how long and fast we do things, and if it doesn’t hold our attention, we click out of it and go on to something else.”
The next time you’re at a conference just look around at all of the people tooling about on mobile devices. That’s a case-in-point for the increasing inability of humans to sit still and sponge up knowledge passively.
In fact, Hurt says that the typical human attention span is about 10 minutes, and that the first 30 seconds is critical to creating that “what’s in it for me” moment to even begin to keep them engaged. Then, he says, the next four minutes represents the next significant attention threshold.
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Upcoming Webinar
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Free On-Demand Webinar
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CVBs: Negotiating for Services
Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012
The top trendsetting CVBs are setting a new standard of service for meeting planners. By participating in this webinar you’ll learn what the most-innovative CVBs offer, often for free, to secure your business and help you negotiate a budget-friendly event at local facilities.
Join Meetings Focus and top industry educator Bonnie Wallsh, CMP, CMM, to get a veteran planner’s perspective on the best and brightest CVB services that are available to drive your attendance, save money on your next meeting or event, and make you look like a hero to your boss or client.
Participants will learn the following:
- How CVBs help secure the best room rates and dates in a destination
- How you can access myriad free services, such as site inspections and marketing offered by CVBs
- How you can make sure your RFPs go only to the properties that fit your meeting or event
- How CVBs help you execute successful meetings and events
- How you can use a CVB to be your liaison to city government departments
- How CVBs can help with your annual meeting’s rotation
- How to overcome the misconceptions that you may have about CVBs
Earn CEUs: This webinar is worth up to .1 point toward the initial CMP application and up to 1 point toward recertification through the Convention Industry Council.
Register today!
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Going Global: Experts Reveal Their International Meetings Secrets
Original Air Date:
October 9, 2012
The future of business is on a path toward globalization, so now is the time to learn about planning meetings on the international stage. And while corporations are expanding their horizons, so are associations, joining an incentive segment that has had a foothold abroad for decades.
Join Meetings Focus, Cvent and industry gurus for this free one-hour broadcast from IMEX America, where some of the most respected international meetings experts will gather to share their knowledge—from success stories to potential pitfalls—about taking your programs overseas.
Among other tips of the trade, participants will learn the following:
- How contracts and negotiating differ from North America
- Resources you can tap before you go
- Who to partner with, and how to make sure you can trust them with your group
- Cultural do’s and don’ts
- The most common pitfalls to avoid
- Developing a communication strategy, with delegates and suppliers
- Building a timeline to ensure success
Watch today!
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