Let’s Get Tactical #19NTC

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I’ll be at the 2019 Nonprofit Technology Conference in Portland, OR from March 12-15, 2019 and in addition to a presenting a session on creating data driven culture, I’ll be hosting one of NTC’s new tactical sessions.

Tactical sessions are shorter sessions, 30-minutes each, are designed to be deep dives into practical, immediately actionable tips and tricks.

If that sounds like a lot like what ArtsHacker.com is all about, you’d be on the right track which is why I am all kinds of stoked about being part of the program for its inaugural year.

Here’s NTC’s official description:

30-minute format

Unlike the regular educational sessions, tactical sessions are only 30 minutes (not 75 mins). This means the focus on practical takeaways needs to be extremely tight to ensure attendees still get the tips and tools they need to better accomplish their missions.

Presented twice

To make sure that tactical session presenters get equal time to share their expertise with the community as the regular session presenters, each session selected will be run twice. They will run back-to-back (with a 15-minute transition time between) in the same breakout time slot with no need to change rooms.

This also addresses the challenge attendees face of “too much good content.” Can’t decide which awesome tactical session to attend? Not a problem. You’ll get a second chance to select from the agenda without a time machine or a clone maker.

Solo presenter

At NTEN, we put a lot of work into ensuring sessions represent a wide range of voices and perspectives. We also understand the delicate balance that comes between that and making sure those voices don’t get diluted by a lack of time to share their expertise.

For this reason, we are allowing—actually, encouraging—the 30-minute tactical sessions to have just one presenter (or two at most). Too many presenters will dilute the tight format.

Fast, fun, and full of content

The spirit of these sessions should be lively and fast-paced—and still deliver on the promise of making attendees better at their work. Their place on the schedule right after lunch on the second day means you’ll need to keep it moving to keep everyone attentive.

Think of it as speed-dating for your conference brain, but on sessions that you pre-selected by voting. Already, so much better than dating!

And unlike our other educational content, tactical sessions don’t need to be tool agnostic. In fact, referring folks to great tools is encouraged. Just keep in mind that the broader the topic, the most interest you’ll have from the community. Make sure to keep it practical and useful, not “sales-y.” Remember you’re not trying to sell anything—you’re sharing your best tips and tools with the community.