Laura Speaks

After this many years in the industry, Laura knows things. Things including this, that and the other thing. Things she wants to share with you.

General

Take CTRL: Microsoft & Other Tips to Squeeze the Most Out of Your Workday
Your email and office inbox are bursting at the seams, and you spend hours in front of the computer creating reports. The last thing you need is advice on another system to be more productive. You don’t need to be told to make a “to do” list; your life is a “to do” list. What you need are hacks, ways to shave time off your work day to either get more done or get it done quicker. This session is a rapid fire of Outlook, Word and Excel tips and tricks that are guaranteed to save you time and work more efficiently.

Presenter’s Primer: A Behind the Scenes Look at Crafting Presentations that Work (3-hour workshop)
Most professionals never receive formal training in designing and delivering effective and impactful presentations. However, your success as a presenter could be critical to your career path or your ability to establish yourself, and, your organization as an industry leader. Unfortunately, too many presenter messages end up sounding to attendees like Charlie Brown’s teacher, regardless of the presenter’s expertise or best intentions. How do you inspire learning? This is not a public speaking workshop – it’s about everything that needs to happen before you even open your mouth. Explore alternative presentation formats, audience engagement ideas and adult learning principals to help design sessions that are focused on learning, not lecturing. We address use of visuals, technology, and provide tips and tricks on using PowerPoint effectively. We discuss why session descriptions matter, what makes one compelling, how to write learning objectives, and how a stellar session title could be the difference between a full and empty room. And, because your outcomes are important too, we also focus on ways to capitalize on your role as a conference presenter.

Hook, Line and Sinker: How Fishing Fundamentals can Help You Become a Master Marketer
Do you sometimes feel like a fish out of water when it comes to marketing? A successful fisherman knows the secret to their success is the right bait, a solid pole, a decent hook and to be in a stocked pond! The same could be said for successful marketing. Learn the questions to ask to create an effective and strategic marketing plan.

How to Plan a Successful Event Without Pulling Your Hair Out
You have a line of students outside the door, mounds of paperwork to process, and you just found out you were “volunteered” to put together a health fair, fundraiser, student/staff celebration or other event. Where do you start? What do you do? How do you ensure you are making a good investment of staff time and resources? Hear some of Kesselman-Jones’ best practice’s for effective and successful event planning and leave with tools to help guide you help make sure every day is a good hair day!

Meetings Industry

TAKE 5! Exploring Industry Trends, Tips & Hot Topics
The meetings industry has taken notice that traditional lecture formats are no longer the most effective way to stimulate learning. Experience one approach to presentations – integrating interaction and peer-to-peer sharing as we explore a variety of industry trends, tips & hot topics of interest to planners and suppliers alike. Topics, selected by participants through crowdsourcing, will be presented through video clips, articles and blogs. Then, participants will discuss, debate and brainstorm. Topics can range from food trends to meetings technology, online reviews to productivity tips. Take 5 from your hectic day and to take five new ideas back to your workplace.

Copyright or Copy wrong?
Internet trolls are out there… lurking in every corner of the World Wide Web, waiting to pounce with an email that you have used an image illegally – threatening fines or legal action. Do you have the knowledge to stop them in their tracks? This presentation provides practical information about copyright, plagiarism, public domain and busting some of the myths swirling around about legal rights and responsibilities in this digital age. You’ll get to test your copyright IQ and make sure you have the information available to mitigate risk for you, your client and your presenters.

Take CTRL: Tips and Tricks to Squeeze the Most out of your Workday
There is no question that meeting professionals are some of the most organized individuals in the world. We crunch tons of data, details and dilemmas. You don’t need to be told to make a “to do” list; you live and die by checklists. What we need are hacks; ways to shave time off our work day to either get more done or find more time for fun. This session offers a quick fire of Outlook, Word and Excel tips and tricks, examines best practices for handling email and managing your schedule and offers insight on some time-saving tech tools.