Do it Different

All progress occurs because people dare to be different.
 - Harry Millner

The Unconference. Speed Networking. PowerPoint-free presentations. All very cool trends in the conference industry right now. But I've got some new ideas.

While the Unconference is about 20 years old, it's just now gaining mainstream popularity, and more so with the rise of user-generated content. This format allows attendees to show to an event where there has been no agenda-setting. The attendees decide what they want to talk about and who should do the talking. The challenge with this, of course, falls on the meeting logistics organizer - you have NO idea hoe many people may end up in each breakout session. You have no idea if A/V will be needed, or just flipcharts. You have no idea how long each session will go! But the attendees love it!

Speed networking is about four years old and involves timed networking. It can be in a table setting where a sponsor or key stakeholder stays in one place and groups of people move from table to table, or in a 1x1 setting where people rotate around and get intimate time with each other. Either way, this method has been great for facilitating movement among attendees.

PowerPoint-free presentations, a la the TED conferences, are making a huge comeback. The focus is the speaker and their ability to craft a story. While it certainly saves money on graphic designers and PowerPoint experts, a lot more effort must go into writing the presentation. When done right, this is overwhelmingly powerful. When done wrong, it falls completely flat.

But what else could we do to change the way meetings and events happen?

Poken is fun - your social business card - but at $20 a pop, not the most cost-effective means of helping people engage with other.

What if you had a registration desk that wasn't a registration desk? What if there was no barrier between you and your attendees? What if they sat in a lounge and were waited on by your event staff?

What if you actually implemented Dr. Paul Radde's seating plan ideas? No one would really be able to pinpoint why the meeting was so much more comfortable, but it will be.

What if your centerpieces were really worth talking about and not just candles or cut flowers that are given to nursing homes at the end of the meeting? We've seen cool stuff like live goldfish, but what if you had an actual amazing cake? or what if the centerpiece is the appetizer? or an Edible Arrangement? or a bouquet of real money that you give away at the end of the night (think $20 worth of $1 bills - You'd spend $20 on the flowers anyway).

Now THAT would create a buzz.