You might have noticed that my last newsletter was in November. I won’t go into details although I could name a few, ranging from facilitating and moderating the hell out of heaps of workshops during the last couple of months, as well as traveling through Japan to gain a little insight into Japanese culture and hospitality. In other words: exciting times.
Importantly, I also took some time out to reflect the newsletter and where it should be headed in 2018. I’m undecided as yet, but am thinking of focusing even more on facilitation, interactive formats and tools instead of events and large-scale conferences. I’d therefore love to hear your feedback and what you would like to read about in the future!

In this edition, I want to kick things off by sharing some thoughts about potential changes that facilitators and experience designers might have to face in 2018 (and beyond). I also want to share an interactive learning format that I am supporting this year. 

Did you know that you can read all past newsletter editions here? 

The quote above is from the Mega Maker podcast hosted by Justin Jackson. It resonated strongly as I got thinking about some of the challenges that experience designers, event managers and facilitators will have to face: Justin Jackson observes, in his business (mainly digital products and services), that people are getting tired of social media and being sold to, and that more and more conversations that matter are happening in closed chats or personal encounters.

I think that this has strong implications for almost any business, and especially events and other learning formats. During the past years almost everyone in the experiences design business came to realize that content is overrated, since it is easier than ever to get and consume it. But maybe—as a result of a sheer content overload—we have come to a point where content is not only overstated, but even adversarial? 

Have you ever wondered, for example, whether your budget can accommodate the big-name speakers you wanted to hire for your conference? Are you still thinking about your social media strategy? Is your stagnating Facebook audience giving you a headache? Are you unsure about whether you should make the jump to Instagram or Snapchat, or start a newsletter? Maybe these are not the right questions to be asking yourself right now.

Maybe, as a format designer or event organizer, you should instead be thinking about how to create formats that really connect people, help them share and join their ideas, and challenge them to spark creativity—this, instead of simply delivering content or passive inspiration? 

As I leave you with answers and maybe new questions to ponder, I’ll continue to do the same this year and will share my thoughts with all of you via this newsletter. It would be even more fun if we could do this together, so let me know what you’re thinking about these days and what answers and questions you’ve found so far.



 

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION CLUB

There are countless courses, classes and workshops on the topic of digital transformation. One format I’d like to highlight in the jungle of formats out there is the Digital Transformation Club (DTC) hosted by the Good School. It is aimed at executives who want to drive digital transformation forward in their businesses. The DTC is designed as an intense peer-to-peer learning program that is packed with face-to-face time with digital transformation experts  and strives to empower exchange between its participants. 

I’ll be moderating the upcoming module titled People and Organizations from February 21 – 23, 2018. Check out the format and sign up for the club below.

If you have any questions or suggestions for topics that should be covered please drop me an e-mail!

You know people who might be interested in this Newsletter? Feel free to forward this e-mail or share the sign up link. 

Thank you!
Yours, Claudia