CONFERENCES
On requiring experienced presenters to rehearse
There’s a small controversy brewing behind the scenes at conferences because of this trend to require speakers to rehearse their talk via video conference prior to the event.
read moreCommunicating Using the Numbers 1, 2, 3, and more
The human brain reacts differently to lists of different sizes. When we align what we say with what the human brain expects, we are more effective communicators.
read moreTom's Rules for Conference Organizing
These opinions have been developed from 3 decades of attending and organizing conferences. This advice applies whether a conference non-profit or for-profit, all-volunteer or professionally run, community-driven or commercial.
Time is precious. A bad conference wastes people’s time. As as conference organizers you owe it to the attendees to make sure their time was well-spent.
read moreHow to fix a conference? Rehearse Your Speakers
(Are you a speaker? Read this instead.)
The single biggest thing you can do to improve your conference’s content is to require all speakers rehearse their presentation two weeks prior to the conference, via video conference, with someone that has not seen the talk before. Everything else is spinning your wheels.
read moreThe Naming of Talks and Papers
I’m reviewing a LOT of talk proposals, draft papers, draft chapters, etc. I’ve noticed that people’s titles tend to rarely be plainspoken descriptions of the topic.
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