Why Q&A should be the format for conferences

Why Q&A Should Be the Future of All Conferences

December 11, 2013

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As I fly to Le Web, I can't help but think about how excited I am to be doing a Q&A session with Loïc (the founder of the conference) instead of a keynote with a Powerpoint. What I don't think people realize is that the value proposition of a conference is becoming less and less about the content, and more about the access and engagement. In a world where we have Slideshare, and YouTube, and social media, it's extremely easy to simply consume someone's content. No longer do you have to physically go to an event to hear someone's point of view, or be exposed to their way of thinking, or engage in debates about a shared genre. There ends up being a supply and demand issue in which the value becomes diluted because of the wealth of content out there and the ease of accessing it.
To me, the value proposition of a conference is actually meeting people in the halls, and networking. Meeting at breakfast, hanging out backstage, talking at the after party, and having drinks at the pubs is where I find absolutely priceless amounts of value when I travel to these things.
On top of that, a good conference still wants to produce fresh content, and what is the best way to do that? It's being exposed to fresh thoughts from the audience in the form of questions. Honestly, if I lived in a 2014 world where Q&A sessions weren't deemed "lazy" by the audience, I would do them for absolutely every single event I was ever invited to. And I'm excited for people to catch up. I'm excited for a 2017 world where I can roll into a conference, everybody has already watched one (or five) of my keynotes online, and i can go directly into producing FRESH content by interacting with the audience in Q&A.
So coming back to the theme of this year's Le Web, and talking about preparing for the future, I see us heading toward a world that values access and real engagement. I look forward to the way it changes conferences like this one to focus away from Powerpoint questions and toward human interaction and networking.
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Will I see you at Le Web? Tweet me @GaryVee and let me know!
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