Session Prep Note Process

About two or three years ago, I was heading back to the airport after one of our shows in a shuttle with one of our attendees. She had loved the show -- good thing, or it may have been a long van ride! In particular, she said she appreciated that all the speakers seemed to have presentations that flowed together rather than overlapped and that no one was too salesy.

It was cool that she thought it was something that happened naturally, but there's a lot of work behind the scenes to reach that goal of good information, rather than presentations that can sound like commercials or which overlap too much.

For a new session, I ask each speaker to give me a sense of what they'd cover on the session topic. I then sit down and look at all the information and try to assemble a panel where there's little overlap and the presentations complement each other.

All this flows into a session "prep note" that the speakers get. It outlines who will cover what, along with their allocated time. It's proven really useful in keeping everything on target.

It's not always perfect, of course. With some sessions, there can be some inevitable overlap. You also get the occasional speaker that seems to have ignored the prep note entirely. If that happen, evolution kicks in. They don't get asked back.

The prep note also gives speakers a variety of speaking tips, as you can see here. No sales pitches, no planted questions, being forthcoming, showing rather than telling -- these are all things we want speakers to do. And the very vast majority do, making me and the attendees very happy.

I'm working through the prep note process now for the next show. As I finalize many of the sessions in this way, I'll be telling you about them as a preview of what the show will offer.