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
🔸 @[email protected]
🔸 Marlboro, VT, USA; Work globally
🔸 Everything about me: conferencesthatwork.com
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segar.com
Almost all attendees prefer a real-time, interactive, relevant conference experience to a traditional, broadcast-heavy event!

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

#meetings #broadcast #Olympics #NBC #streaming #EventDesign #events #eventprofs
canned or live content: screenshot of tweet from @NormanChad "In effort to realize record profits from Rio 2016, NBC to become first network to air more than 60 minutes of commercials in a single hour."
November 30, 2025 at 12:30 AM
segar.com
I love creating something beautiful with others. And I hope you are lucky enough to be able to experience such connectedness in your life.

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

#singing #choir #music #connection
creating something beautiful with others: photograph of Brattleboro Concert Choir members singing
November 29, 2025 at 11:00 PM
segar.com
Here are six principles shared by Margaret Wheatley that she has "learned to emphasize" before beginning a conversation

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

#conversation #principles #listening
principles of conversation: photograph of two women having a conversation. One is standing on the street, the other looks at her out of a window. Image attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/soylentgreen23/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
November 29, 2025 at 9:30 PM
segar.com
How I use small ritual moments—hand-washing, bells, Pomodoro—to anchor attention, deepen presence, and convert ordinary life into purposeful practice.

#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 29, 2025 at 8:01 PM
segar.com
How can groups make decisions? First, publicly discover the degree of consensus on a proposal by using Roman voting.

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

#facilitation #GroupWork #testing #consensus #HandVoting #RomanVoting
Testing consensus using Roman voting: a black-and-white photograph of a racehorse jockey displaying both thumbs up. Photo attribution: Flickr user vegaseddie.
November 29, 2025 at 6:30 PM
segar.com
We spend a lot of time talking about problems, effects, and causes. Sadly, we fixate on problems' effects rather than focus on their causes.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/so...

#ClimateEmergency #COVID #wars #problems #effects #causes #solutions
An illustration of London's Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament partially submerged by rising waters. The caption reads "Everybody talks about the climate, but nobody does anything about it."
November 29, 2025 at 5:01 PM
segar.com
Conferences need to be flexible! Keep them healthy and strong by incorporating participant-driven and participation-rich meeting formats.

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

#meetings #MeetingDesign #learning #flexibility #events #eventprofs
conferences need to be flexible: photograph of a woman gymnast dressed in black balancing on her hands with her body and legs parallel to the floor
November 29, 2025 at 3:30 PM
segar.com
We'll all get a lot more out of our events when we practice wirearchy, not hierarchy. I encourage you to join me.

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

#meetings #EventDesign #hierarchy #wirearchy #eventprofs #events
A photograph of birds on a wire and a lamppost.
November 29, 2025 at 2:01 PM
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Taking time to publicly recognize the people who made your event possible is an easy thing to do and the right thing to do.

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

#events #ThankingPeople #acknowledgement #appreciations #eventprofs #assnchat
publicly recognize people: a photograph of Apple's Tim Cook on stage, grinning and stretching out his hands toward the audience
November 29, 2025 at 12:30 PM
segar.com
Freeman's Trends Report Q4 2024 is a must-read to discover if you're doing what's needed to improve your events for your attendees

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

#eventprofs #EventTrends #EventDesign #AttendeeExperience #FutureOfEvents #leadership
Freeman 2024 Event Organizer Trends Report We’ve calibrated our research and confirmed our hypothesis: many organizers are operating on outdated definitions of attendee and exhibitor value. The good news? We’re here to help you speak the same language as your stakeholders and overcome the obstacles that prevent progress. This report is your playbook for embracing shifts, equipping you with the insights and strategies to make change now. Fall 2024 Freeman Syndicated Survey of Event Organizers. Copyright Freeman 2024
November 29, 2025 at 12:30 AM
segar.com
How can we build connection and engagement with the people with whom we work? By giving up control over the choices they're offered.

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

#meetings #EventDesign #GivingUpControl #choices #connection #engagement #eventprofs
build connection and engagement: photograph of a square yellow plastic sign clamped to a wire mesh fence. The pink sign says "CONTROLLED AREA" with a radioactivity symbol underneath.
November 28, 2025 at 11:00 PM
segar.com
How can you support a community online? Here's what I've learned from the many online meetings I've designed & facilitated.

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

#meetings #online #LessonsLearned #preparation #agreements #BreakoutRooms #tips #eventprofs #assnchat
Adrian Segar facilitating a small Zoom meeting to support a community online
November 28, 2025 at 9:30 PM
segar.com
If you want to be successful in the long term, don't confuse your product with your business. Love what you do, not what you create!

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

#FacilitatingChange #business #growth #FallingInLove #trap
Don't confuse product with business: Comparison of Microsoft's (MSFT) stock price (red) over time with Apple's (AAPL) in blue
November 28, 2025 at 8:00 PM
segar.com
All too often, clients who are planning an event don't spend enough time making hard but important event choices.

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

#meetings #choices #MeetingDesign #clients
Event choices: a group of people sitting around a computer share very different ideas on an upcoming event
November 28, 2025 at 6:30 PM
segar.com
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 #newpost
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 28, 2025 at 5:04 PM
segar.com
Here's a powerful way to use visualization techniques to help meeting design clients figure out what they really want and need

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

#meetings #EventDesign #ClientWork #visualization #drawing #eventprofs
help meeting design clients figure out what they really want and need: a client drawing of how they visualize their conference and the change it will create
November 28, 2025 at 3:30 PM
segar.com
Should you self-publish your book? My experiences, thoughts, and suggestions for authors on deciding whether to self-publish.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ma...

#writing #publishing #marketing #thoughts #tips #suggestions #experiences
self-publish your book: photograph of an author signing books for a line of readers
November 28, 2025 at 2:02 PM
segar.com
While I don't believe in traditional reincarnation, I have, more than once, experienced reincarnation in this life. Perhaps you have as well?

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

#reincarnation #curiosity #meditation #playfulness
Images of reincarnation copyrighted to Himalayan Academy Publications, Kapaa, Kauai, Hawaii. Licensed for Wikipedia under Creative Commons and requires attribution when reproduced, CC BY-SA 2.5
November 28, 2025 at 12:30 PM
segar.com
What can meeting designers learn from religious services? Here are five religious meeting design features that can improve any meeting.

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

#meetings #EventDesign #Anguilla #ChurchService #lessons #emotions #experiences #eventprofs
Photograph of an Anguillan church service courtesy of The Anguillan
November 28, 2025 at 12:30 AM
segar.com
RIP, Conference Curator! The fantasy of the conference curator is dead. Instead, let conference attendees choose conference content.

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

#meetings #EventDesign #curation #myth #ParticipantDrivenEvents #eventprofs
RIP Conference Curator: photograph of two people walking in a high-ceiling art museum with large paintings on the walls
November 27, 2025 at 11:01 PM
segar.com
How do you recognize someone leaving an organization for their service to an organization at a meeting that they can't attend in person?

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

#meetings #GivingThanks #online #acknowledgments #events #eventprofs
recognize someone for their service: photograph of Nancy Price, one of the three founders of edACCESS
November 27, 2025 at 9:30 PM
segar.com
Here are my suggestions on how to handle three kinds of metaphorical holes: assholes, potholes, and black holes.

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

#assholes #blackholes #potholes #obsession #advice
An image of a donkey, facing away from the viewer, near a giant water-filled pothole in a desolate landscape with a black hole rotating in the sky.
November 27, 2025 at 8:01 PM
segar.com
To sell to members of a tribe you must be part of the tribe. Suppliers and vendors: instead of marketing to me, join my tribe!

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ma...

#meetings #marketing #selling #TradeShows #tribes #eventprofs
join my tribe: Image of the cover of Seth Godin's book "Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us"
November 27, 2025 at 6:30 PM
segar.com
An example of successful viral work: I share what happens when the audience can't stop talking about what they just experienced.

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

#meetings #EventDesign #ViralWork #example #TheSolutionRoom #eventprofs #assnchat
November 27, 2025 at 5:03 PM
segar.com
To end a conference, stop trying to dream up some spectacle you hope convinces attendees to stay to the end. There are better alternatives!

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

#meetings #ending #closure #spective #events #eventprofs
end a conference: A photograph of a large sign hanging from an overhead beam that says "FINNISH". Image attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilike/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
November 27, 2025 at 3:30 PM