What do a drummer and re-inventor of the conference model have in common? They’ve taken an old theme (or song) and made if fresh and relevant for today.
Went to a concert last night featuring an acoustic set with the drummer from Bad Company and Free, Simon Kirke. He played keyboards and guitar and had a great voice – with no drums or percussion on stage. What got me thinking though was the new arrangements for some old favorites – and how a key support player (the drummer) had some great ideas on retuning and redefining songs. They were still recognisable, but brighter. Different. Wonderful. Surprising.
Last week, Richard Saul Wurman, the inventor of the TED conference came out with a new breed of conference – “like a dinner party with a hundred of the world’s greatest minds having a conversation, two at a time”. The plan is to give two people a topic on the fly and see where the conversation goes. These conversations will be recorded then disseminated in a paid app. Who wouldn’t want to be a fly on that wall?
There are some other new conference models mentioned in the article – including an alternative to the “Sage on Stage” (love that expression!).
Take a look at your exhibition, conference or event. Out of ideas to freshen it up? It’s hard to constantly re-invent or re-invigorate the wheel. How about going to your operations and customer service staff for ideas? Give them a forum to brainstorm without senior management or bosses, see what comes out and then try using those suggestions!
Like Simon Kirke the drummer who is so much more, they may have some amazing ideas on tweaking the old, tired formula.
(Special thanks to David Audrain, CEM and Paul Woodward for sharing the link to the Fast Company article).
– Stephanie Selesnick is President of International Trade Information, a Los Angeles-based international exhibition management and conference company founded in 1972. Reach her at stephanie@intltradeinfo.com and follow her on Twitter @StephSelesnick.
Re-published with permission from Expo Magazine.
Any comments? Email cmw@mashmedia.net
