Rethinking the Speaker Relationship

Speaker giving a talk on corporate Business Conference. Audience at the conference hall. Business and Entrepreneurship event.We've written here about what shows without speakers might look like and how realistic it is for the future of events. The dynamics of a peer interaction-driven show are appealing on many levels, however, there is still a real need for subject matter experts to be a feature of many events.

Speakers fill many roles at a conference. Some play a motivational role energizing an audience to make changes personally, professionally, and globally. Others open minds in a way that impacts how people receive more technical or logistical material at the event. And then there are our true subject matter experts--they have been there, done that and are sharing what they've learned with the audience so mistakes can be avoided and successes repeated. Still other speakers work as facilitators to get conversations started at the event and beyond. They keep a group on topic while pushing the conversation forward.[Tweet "Rethinking the speaker relationship: Guiding principles in working with speakers. #GovEventsBlog"]

No matter which type(s) of speakers an event uses, it is important to recognize the value of their role and support them accordingly. We've pulled together a couple of thoughts on what should be some guiding principles in working with speakers. Continue reading

2017 Government Events Outlook

Each year we look ahead and take our best (educated) guesses on what the federal market can expect from events in the coming year. With so many unknowns around the incoming administration, 2017 may be a difficult year for predictions. While the administration does not affect events directly, it does affect those who attend them.

We've dusted off our crystal ball once again. Here is our look at Government Events in 2017:[Tweet "Here is our look at Government Events in 2017. #GovEventsBlog"]

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The UnConference

Much like Alice learned when happening upon the unbirthday party in Wonderland, everyone wins when events become inclusive - it's more about the group than one single person. This idea, as fantastical as it sounds, is truly making its way into the event world. We wrote earlier this year about events without speakers as well as how streaming technologies are allowing attendees to broadcast event content themselves. But these are isolated tactics. What might a complete unconference look like?[Tweet "What might a complete unconference look like? #GovEventsBlog"]

We may get our answer this May when the American Society for Association Executives (ASAE) launches their new program, Xperience Design Project (XDP). This program replaces the association's long running and wildly popular Springtime conference. This event ran like a typical tradeshow with keynote speakers, break-out sessions, and a trade show floor, but organizers found that attendees were ready for something different. Continue reading

The Show Without a Speaker

It may seem revolutionary, but imagine an event without any big name speakers, no keynote, or any session led by a single speaker. What would attendees do? How would they learn? Likely, there would be a lot of collaboration among the attendees, as well as ad hoc discussions and demonstrations. While it's not realistic to cut out speakers completely, there is something to be said for limiting their place in the agenda, and we may be more ready for it than you'd think.[Tweet "The show without a speaker... What would attendees do? #GovEventsBlog"]

Today when we make a purchase online - anything from a car to a new pair of shoes to a new shampoo -  many of us scroll first to the comments and ratings of previous buyers. Peer review has become a powerful part of the decision making process. Incorporating this type of "experience sharing" into events is a great way to extend how we are making many decisions in life. Continue reading

Going Big

When it comes to booking big name speakers, Strata +Hadoop World scored what was probably the biggest win of the 2015 conference year. President Obama appeared via video to talk about the critical role open data should play in innovating government service to citizens.  The President also introduced DJ Patel, the new data scientist for the federal government. This appearance underlies that data is big (not just Big Data).

New positions are being created throughout government focused solely on data. The new Federal Chief Data Scientist and Chief Data Officer roles are being created in agencies across the government. The addition of data to c-suite roles shows that data is serious business.[Tweet "The addition of data to c-suite roles shows that data is serious business. #GovEventsBlog"]

According to the President and Patel, data science is a team sport - meaning that working together is key to utilizing all of the data that the government has opened to industry and the public.[Tweet "Data science is a team sport...Working together is key #GovEventsBlog"] We are being challenged by the administration to find ways to apply this data to everyday life. How can organizations and event professionals incorporate this call for collaboration into our everyday efforts? Perhaps we can look at adding a session or even just a talking point to all of our events or gatherings where attendees can brainstorm on what data exists that could be used to meet a challenge being faced within that community. This ad hoc collaboration around data could provide a unique experience for attendees and perhaps result in the next big (data) thing.