I had the pleasure of meeting Stephanie Selsnick of International Trade Information, Inc, who is an international trade show expert when we both spoke on a panel about member engagement. My ears perked up when she said the conference business is “show business.”
Over the years I have been involved in a lot of conference planning and never once did I consider it to be show business. Association conferences are about professional development and networking but, these only get to the value of the meeting. What about the experience? That’s where show business comes in. Show business produces wonder, surprise, pageantry, and fun, all of which are engaging. Wake your attendee members’ senses up by sprinkling in a bit of show business flare.
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