Creating Engaging Learning Experiences: Lessons from Live Training

The effectiveness of online educational content for small business owners isn’t just about the logistics of good delivery but the psychology of engagement and authenticity. We recently had a chat with Breanne Dyck, co-founder of the Visionary CEO Academy, and she talked about why she prefers live sessions over prerecorded videos for her events and how embracing the imperfection of being live trumps the glossy exterior of pre-scripted recordings.

It's all part of a deliberate strategy rooted in her blend of coaching and consulting, aptly coined "coach-sulting”, where the human touch is most important. By embracing imperfection, she’s disarming intimidation and fostering genuine connections and uses it to shape a community where vulnerability is celebrated, not shunned.

In the midst of this authenticity, Breanne doesn't lose sight of the endgame: outcomes! Drawing from her background in education, she emphasizes the importance of outcome-driven learning experiences, where every interaction is a tool for guiding people to make new and different choices.

As she aptly puts it, "Teaching isn't about what you can tell someone, it's about what they understand." And understanding, at its core, is a deeply human experience.

Read our full interview with Breanne Dyck below and you can find out more about the Visionary CEO Academy here.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Community Management, Emotional Labor and Building Better Professional Relationships

Tara McMullin is a wordsmith, podcast maestro, and creative mind deeply entrenched in the realm of understanding the present and future of work. Tara sat down with us to discuss, among other things, community management, emotional labor, our relationship with work and how these intertwine to influence how we connect as human beings.

Making Space for Dance and Connection at Events

We explore how to make events engaging, energizing and profitable. We revisit our conversation with the amazing Jordan Hayles, examining the transformational power of community events and how we can make sure attendees leave an event transformed. We talk about considering the full humanity of attendees, creating moments of inclusiveness, and breaking away from the ideologies of capitalism to build truly meaningful experiences. Then, we explore the delicate balance of providing structure and guidance without forcing engagement, and how to foster an atmosphere that encourages people to take risks.

PodcastNessa JimenezJanuary 26, 2024attendee experience, community engagement, event strategy, dance, Jordan Hayles

Using Dance to Create Connection at events with Jordan Hayles

Get ready to move and groove with Jordan Hayles! In our chat with Jordan, she passionately shares her journey to becoming a dance ambassador, and the power she believes movement holds in connecting people. She gives us insight into how she incorporates movement into conferences, bringing energy, engagement, and excitement to the event. You'll learn about her unique ability to fill people's hearts with music and dance and how it helps bring out the best in everyone.

PodcastNessa JimenezJanuary 23, 2024audience engagement, attendee experience, dance, community engagement

Shifting Priorities and Event Engagement

After our conversation with master improviser Gary Hirsch we sit down to discuss our biggest takeaways and how we can use that to create better community experiences.

Some of the topics we touch on this episode:

how event dynamics have dramatically shifted in the post-pandemic world
how evolving priorities have affected interaction with events and how that is shaping event logistics
how online events have paved the way for synchronous social engagement, a feature often missing in traditional in-person events

PodcastNessa JimenezJanuary 19, 2024event engagement, event strategy, community engagement

Surprising and delighting audiences with Jedd Chang

This week we sit down with Jedd Chang to explore successful events, emphasizing effective attendee communication and the power of a well-managed experience. Drawing from his firsthand experiences including at the World Domination Summit, Jedd walks us through elevating the front-of-house experience while exposing common customer service pitfalls in the industry. We also dive into the concept of 'surprise and delight' within event experiences. Even small, purposeful actions can inject genuine joy into attendees' journeys, and add to the overall experience.

"A good attendee experience is making sure that all attendees are seen and heard and feel valued." - Jedd Chang

PodcastNessa JimenezDecember 12, 2023attendee experience, attendee journey, community engagement

Building communities that work

What separates a community from an audience? How about the role of in-person events in fostering rich, meaningful connections? Inspired by our enlightening conversation with Emily Thompson, co-founder of Being Boss, we try to answer these questions and more. It's all about building a community that's more than just about content consumption or product purchasing.

PodcastNessa JimenezNovember 21, 2023community management, community engagement, community building

Building Thriving Communities with Emily Thompson

We are super excited to have the amazing Emily Thompson join us on Make it Kickass. She's a real pro when it comes to building online communities. Emily is the co-founder and host of Being Boss and the big boss at Almanac Supply Company. She's got this incredible knack for turning online connections into real-life connections.

So, hop on board as we go on a journey with Emily. We'll talk about her first real-world trip with her online community in New Orleans and all the awesome lessons she's picked up from hosting events. 🎉

PodcastNessa JimenezNovember 14, 2023community engagement, community building, event hosting

Engaging Events: Where Business Meets Fun and Human Connections

Our conversation with Breanne Dyck from Visionary CEO Academy got us thinking: why are business events so afraid of fun? So this episode we chatted about creating experiences that hit all five senses and how adding some fun can be the element that’s missing for building strong connections in remote teams. And, of course, we dived into the important role of understanding your audience's context to make any event more engaging, entertaining, and, you guessed it, FUN! 😄

Decoding the Future of Work and Events through Community Engagement

After chatting it up with Tara McMullin, we, Isaac and Nessa sit down to reflect on the "people first" way of working and planning events. We deeply believe in the importance of context and moving beyond just numbers to measure success and why a good old conversation can give you way more insight than those boring anonymous forms. Tune in to discover how brands and events can totally rock in a world that's constantly changing.

PodcastNessa JimenezOctober 24, 2023community engagement, community management

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