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We had the incredible opportunity to attend the American Public Health Association 2024 annual conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center. It was an exhilarating experience, connecting with passionate public health professionals from across the nation and beyond! Our mission was clear: to transform our booth from a mere backdrop into a dynamic hub of interaction and inspiration amidst a bustling exhibition floor. We were eager to showcase how our innovative tools and facilitation expertise could elevate the conference experience for every participant. Here are some of the components to our success at APHA 2024!
We sent out an email to all conference participants inviting them to our booth. In addition to the planned activities, the invitation was to add to our trends analysis using The Wave.
We used our sticky wall for The Wave and asked, “What trends, paradigms, and approaches are happening in the field of public health?” Not only is the wall a visual attention grabber, but in our case, we used it to inform our presentation.
We signed up to give a presentation, and instead of presenting why facilitation skills matter, we demonstrated what it feels like to center the wisdom in the room. We then facilitated a focused conversation about the results of the conference’s Wave. The bonus was that we had the results typed up and available to hand out to people who attended the presentation. Having documentation typed up and available the next day is something we have learned makes a massive difference in the participants’ experiences. Having documentation ready for the next step in a process elevates engagement because people see early on that their work is valued.
Our booth had our Insights wheel, and people who stopped by could do a quick Insights questionnaire to start understanding their Insights color. We took healthy snacks (little mandarin oranges) to stand out from all the candy. We also had a raffle for a facilitator starter kit, which included a sticky wall, adhesive, command strips, markers, pens, and a box of fidgets.
If you will be an exhibitor at a conference, we encourage you to consider how you can leverage your facilitator toolbelt and tips from the training room to create engaging spaces.
