The allure of the networking hour, with an emphasis on the open bar, is generally enough to keep conference attendees in their seats until the end of the day.
But on occasion, conference speakers can leave their audience longing for their desks.
Last month, one annual industry conference featured a panel with three speakers in a strikingly similar line up to the previous year. It soon became apparent to everyone that instead of an engaging discussion, the speakers would be repeating, almost verbatim, their talking points from the previous year.
After the first speaker read his PowerPoint aloud, bullet point by bullet point, attendees began making their escapes, running straight back to their offices.
As for the networking session? It was the emptiest open bar I’ve ever been to!