Session Preparation

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Preparing for Your Session

Looking for tips and guidelines to get ready for your Learning 2023 Conference session? Check out these answers to some commonly-asked speaker questions:
What should I know about the audience for Learning 2023?

Learning 2023 attendees represent learning leadership at all levels of their organizations. Attendees include learning, training, and education professionals from around the globe, all of whom are exploring proven practices that can be applied to modern learning strategies. Many attend Learning 2023 to meet and share ideas and experiences with their peers and learn best practices and strategies that have worked for others. Attendees tend to appreciate sessions that:

  • Are conversational and collaborative
  • Are built around the context of learning leadership
  • Go beyond theory to focus on strategy and proven practices

What do I need to do before building my session?

The description is critical. It’s one of the main ways that people decide which sessions to attend. You’ll want to make sure the session you create fully matches the details of the description we have posted.

Be sure to review your session description once it’s posted on the conference website.

Reviewing your session description can serve as a refresher on the talking points you’ve committed to; it’s also your opportunity to ensure that the description still matches your goals for the session after we’ve edited your proposal to align the description with Guild standards.

Want to request a minor edit to your description to increase its accuracy, such as an additional tool to be shared or revised details about case study results?

  • Copy and paste your session description from the website to a Word document.
  • Turn on “track changes” and make your edits.
  • Send the edited Word file to: programs@LearningGuild.com
  • Be sure to send any suggested changes no later than September 5.
We cannot accept major edits that alter the theme or goal of your session. If you have questions, please reach out to the programming team at programs@LearningGuild.com.
What kind of session do attendees expect?

First and foremost, attendees expect a session that fits your title, session description, and assigned session format.

Attendees prefer sessions that are collaborative and interactive. We recommend that you build in thoughtful audience participation opportunities. These might include audience questions, discussions, exercises, working through case studies in small groups, polls, and games.

Be creative, use your imagination, and make your session one that you would want to attend!

Should I create additional resources?

While it’s not required, you might want to consider sharing your slide deck and creating practical resource materials for your audience. This is a great way to enhance attendees’ experience and help them apply your content when they return to work. You can also share materials for attendees to use during the presentation.

Examples:

  • Your slide deck
  • A short summary of the key points from your presentation
  • Checklists and/or action plans
  • Job aids or tools
  • A list of recommended websites, articles, books, media, and more on your topic

Note: Your session presentation and supplemental materials should not include promotional material of any kind. They also may not include links that ask attendees to provide personal contact information in order to gain access to the materials.

I have additional questions. Who should I reach out to?
We want your session to be a success and will help you in any way we can. If you need any additional assistance getting ready for your talk, please contact the Learning 2023 program manager, Pam Hogle, or a member of the programming team. Reach us by email at programs@LearningGuild.com.