Looking to make your meetings stand out from the crowd? Break free from the meeting mold by trying a few of these engaging tactics from consultant Ava Diamond, writing at Meetings & Conventions.

Don’t just rely on traditional keynote speakers and panelists, she suggests—instead, give rapid-fire presentations a shot. Shake things up a bit by giving several speakers 10 minutes or less to provide their perspectives on the same topic.

In order to boost attendee interaction, Diamond suggests  introducing campfire sessions where group members share stories and experiences. And you could take it a step further by encouraging table groups to become teams that “work together at times throughout the day to integrate learning, engage in discussions, and work on projects or case scenarios.”

Beyond SMART Goals

There is no straightforward technique to make goal setting easier. https://t.co/27uDoXvGJg

— Harvard Business Review (@HarvardBiz) April 5, 2017

There’s a good chance that your goal-setting philosophy is not incorporating the academic findings of top experts.

Harvard Business Review blogger Dick Grote sums up some of the findings of two researchers: “Set specific, difficult goals with tight deadlines. Don’t be too concerned about whether the goal is jointly set by the individual and manager together, or whether the boss just hands the subordinate the list of goals he expects the subordinate to achieve together with a tough due date. Let everybody know what your goals are.”

Grote points out that many organizations aren’t incorporating this academically backed advice into their own methods and instead are using more common techniques like SMART goals, cascading goals, and percentage weights.

Other Links of Note

Do you really need an app for that? Know Your Own Bone assesses whether cultural organizations should create mobile applications.

Leverage content. Eventbrite shares six types of content that may drive new event registrations.

Effective websites. The Overit blog shares five areas to think through before you build or revamp your association’s website.

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