Adrian Segar
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segar.com
Adrian Segar
@segar.com
300 followers 23 following 3.5K posts
I design & facilitate conferences that ➠ what folks want/need
🔸 Author of 3 meeting design books
🔸 ❤️ 2 🎤🕺🏻🧘‍♂️
🔸 Recovering academic
🔸 @ASegar@mastodon.social
🔸 Marlboro, VT, USA; Work globally
🔸 Everything about me: conferencesthatwork.com
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segar.com
Clay Shirky and my mission

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/un...

#mission #ClayShirky #GoodProcess
photograph of Clay Shirky
November 26, 2025 at 5:02 PM
segar.com
It's time to demystify the unconference. We know how to create them. Clients want them. Build unconferences into your event planning future.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#meetings #unconferences #EventDesign #events #eventprofs
demystify unconference: photograph of a shaft of light entering a mysterious, ornate, ancient room carved out of rock. Photo attribution: Flickr user stuckincustoms
November 26, 2025 at 3:30 PM
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Five lessons event planners can learn from the iPad launch. Here's why Apple sold 300,000 iPads on the first day of the iPad launch.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/un...

#meetings #marketing #SethGodin #iPadLaunch #success #eventprofs
Seth Godin's blog illustration: the top of his head
November 26, 2025 at 2:03 PM
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Disasters & over-the-top production can make conferences memorable, but they score poorly on ROI. Instead, give attendees an environment to share stories.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#meetings #EventDesign #stories #eventprofs
make conferences memorable: a photograph of people around a campfire with a man telling a story. Photo attribution: Flickr user dpnsan
November 26, 2025 at 12:30 PM
segar.com
The meeting industry's biggest dirty secret is so embarrassing, we don't even talk about it in private.

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#meetings #EventDesign #secrets #evaluation #EventOutcomes #NPS #ROI #eventprofs
Illustration of a group of people crowded around a table. Two people sit at the table, which holds a giant padlock.
November 26, 2025 at 12:30 AM
segar.com
How can we build the right conference? Perhaps we can learn from the building industry's boom and bust cycle between 2005 and 2009.

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#meetings #building #SpecHomes #bubble #events #eventprofs
the right conference: Photograph of the framed structures of spec homes on a building lot surrounded by chain-link fence. Image attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thetruthabout/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
November 25, 2025 at 11:01 PM
segar.com
How can we minimize vendor pitches during conference sessions? You'll find that moving to a peer conference format does the trick!

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/un...

#meetings #vendors #suppliers #TradeShows #pitches #events #eventprofs
minimize vendor pitches: photograph of a conference audience with one attendee raising their hand to ask a question
November 25, 2025 at 9:30 PM
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At traditional meetings, attendee status is static. You can improve your meetings by making attendee status a real-time construct.

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#EventDesign #status #eventprofs #assnchat
A two column table contrasting the differences between pre-determined attendee status and real-time attendee status at events. Pre-determined attendee status —Assigned before the event. —Based on role and hierarchy. —Publicly communicated by the event program. —Controlled by organizers or a program committee. —Implies passive participation from “lower-status” attendees. —Reinforces pre-determined hierarchical divisions. Real-time attendee status —Changes dynamically during the event. —Based on participant contributions and engagement. —Event design minimizes assumptions about status. —Fluid and can change throughout the meeting. —Empowers attendees to influence discussions. —Reflects a more inclusive and participatory environment.
November 25, 2025 at 8:01 PM
segar.com
What do Anguilla supermarkets have in common with the future of conferences? Read on to find out!

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#meetings #EventDesign #future #ParticipantDrivenConferences #Anguilla #supermarkets #eventprofs
future of conferences: photograph of supermarket shelves
November 25, 2025 at 6:30 PM
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How I use small ritual moments—hand-washing, bells, Pomodoro—to anchor attention, deepen presence, and convert ordinary life into purposeful practice.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/li...

#Rituals #Presence #MindfulWork #Mindfulness #Productivity
Hands of a person performing Jewish ritual handwashing at a sink. Source: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/709805 CC0 Public Domain: Free for personal and commercial use
November 25, 2025 at 5:03 PM
segar.com
Trapped in a giant trash compactor? When things look hopeless, Han Solo shows you always have a choice in how you look at life's problems.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/fa...

#FacilitatingChange #LifeLessons #choice #StarWars
You always have a choice: screenshot from the Star Wars movie scene in the garbage compactor
November 25, 2025 at 3:30 PM
segar.com
How does group size impact process design? It affects the tension between intimacy (going deep) and discovery (uncovering possibilities).

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/de...

#meetings #EventDesign #GroupWork #GroupSize #IntimacyVersusDiscovery #TheThreeQuestions #facilitation #eventprofs
November 25, 2025 at 2:04 PM
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It’s useful to distinguish between three different categories of learning: factual information acquisition, problem-solving, and building a process toolkit

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/le...

#learning #training #InformationAcquisition #ProblemSolving #ProcessToolkit
three key kinds of learning: an illustration of a computer keyboard with the shift key replaced by a green "learn" key. Photo attribution: Flickr user jakerust
November 25, 2025 at 12:30 PM
segar.com
In this issue of "Dear Adrian" I answer the question: Is there a way to crowdsource a conference program before an event?

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#meetings #EventDesign #events #crowdsourcing #eventprofs
Photograph of Adrian Segar holding his granddaughter in an indoor playhouse. She is waving at the camera.
November 25, 2025 at 12:30 AM
segar.com
A critique of Cisco meeting room designs that try to satisfy in-person and remote participants, but inadvertently privilege the latter.

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#meetings #hybrid #Cisco #EventTech #eventprofs
Diagram of a Cisco Redesigned Conference Room. A triangular conference table has chairs arranged along the two long edges. A screen and camera face the short edge. The diagram includes dimensions.
November 24, 2025 at 11:01 PM
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How is the rise of online changing your events? People don't have to be present in person to listen to a session lecture anymore! And…

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#meetings #EventDesign #RiseOfOnline #connection #content #eventprofs
the rise of online: a photograph of a set of Encyclopaedia Britannica housed in a wood bookcase
November 24, 2025 at 9:30 PM
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Can meetings where no one says a word exhibit significantly different interpersonal dynamics? After my third silent meditation retreat, I say: Yes they can!

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#meetings #EventDesign #SilentRetreat #meditation #InterpersonalDynamics #eventprofs
The interpersonal dynamics of silent retreats: a photograph of a group of people silently meditating, sitting indoors, on the floor
November 24, 2025 at 8:02 PM
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Although it's a huge challenge these days, you have one big advantage when starting a conference from scratch.

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#meetings #EventDesign #InauguralConference #advantages #eventprofs
starting a conference: A group of people wearing name badges gather excitedly in a large hall
November 24, 2025 at 6:30 PM
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How can we encourage attendees to take the risk to try something new? By having them do something new together in a safe environment.

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#facilitation #FacilitatingChange #GroupWork #safety #RiskyLearning
How to get attendees to risk doing something new at your event: a photograph of a sign on a beach that says "ATTENTION BEYOND THIS POINT YOU MAY ENCOUNTER NUDE BATHERS"
November 24, 2025 at 5:04 PM
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I am the second sort of escapologist

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#facilitation #TwoKinds #FacilitatorAsEscapologist
the second sort of escapologist: a photograph of a man upside down in a closed vertical glass case full of water. Image: Andrew Basso, The Escapologist. Photo Credit: Joan Marcus
November 24, 2025 at 3:30 PM
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How I use small ritual moments—hand-washing, bells, Pomodoro—to anchor attention, deepen presence, and convert ordinary life into purposeful practice.

#newpost #Rituals #Presence #MindfulWork #Mindfulness #Productivity

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/li...
Hands of a person performing Jewish ritual handwashing at a sink. Source: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/709805 CC0 Public Domain: Free for personal and commercial use
November 24, 2025 at 2:00 PM
segar.com
After years of trying many tools, here are my two favorite free easy ways to create graphics for blog posts and presentations

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/te...

#graphics #free #easy #tools #keynote #canva #NounProject #OmniGraffle
free easy ways to create graphics: a screenshot of using Keynote with icons from the Noun Project to create a graphic
November 24, 2025 at 12:30 PM
segar.com
Why we should be calling traditional conferences "unconferences", reserving the word "conference" for participant-driven event designs.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#meetings #EventDesign #unconference #conference #eventprofs
November 24, 2025 at 12:30 AM
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How are group culture and event leadership interlinked? Organic leadership can create an event environment that empowers people.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/le...

#leadership #meetings #events #culture #influence #eventprofs
Group culture and event leadership: photograph of a group of three Playmobile model firefighters facing each other. Photo attribution: Flickr user bdld
November 23, 2025 at 11:00 PM
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At MGM Resorts, 80% of group business is 100 rooms or fewer at peak, and 62% is 50 rooms or fewer. Most meetings are small meetings!

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#hospitality #meetings #size #SmallVersusLarge #events #conferences #eventprofs #assnchat
Photograph of two tiny vehicles parked in one parking space. Photo attribution: Flickr user caribb.
November 23, 2025 at 9:30 PM