Why are case studies at conferences often so dull?
Filed under: Conferences & presentations
This is something I was idly thinking about today, and I scribbled down some notes that I thought I would share. First off, I think it’s because people aren’t putting themselves in the shoes of their audience when they are presenting, and considering how (and what) to share that would be of interest.
Then I thought about the sorts of questions I think the presenters should be trying to answer.
Typically, what they cover pretty well (and this is the dull bit):
- Who are we?
- What is our environment?
- What have we done?
- Why have we done it?
A little better perhaps:
- What worked?
- What didn’t work?
- What would I do again?
- What would I definitely avoid if given the choice?
What I would really like to see answered though is:
- What techniques or approaches were used?
- What advice can I give to others thinking of doing the same thing?
- What were the hardest issues to resolve?
- What was the most unique or unusual thing I have done?
- What am I most excited about regarding the project?
But perhaps it all boils down to:
- What is the purpose of standing here giving this talk?
- What can I give to my audience?