Dandelions for the WOMBAT: Yvonne’s Top 10 Weeds that Need Pulling before the next show

10. Spotty wi-fi. Come on, now. Wi-fi should be available, it should be included in the conference cost, and it should work. We’re Internet savvy folks – we want working wi-fi!

9. Fun trip my foot! All the promotion about Coronado Springs and all the fun we were going to have at dinner the first night…was hype. The resort was a resort, nothing special. The weather was great, but…dinner was…dinner, outdoors. The fun was in meeting new folks, which we would have done regardless.

8. Lame hand-outs. I understand the conference planners were trying to be nice…but, black and white prints of color powerpoints, in type so small you need a magnifying glass to read it…just doesn’t cut it. Leave them out next time. We’ll download them online when they're posted, thanks.

7. BAD powerpoint presentations! I only saw a couple…but, obviously, those who had the nerve to make their audience sit through slide after slide of bulleted points…AND then had to READ them out loud, need to go to powerpoint school. Check out Cliff Akinson’s blog for reference sake.

6. The lame luncheon workshop. I heard a lot of people say afterwards that they just kept chatting. WOMMA, if your feedback form says this was time well spent – someone is lying. Personally, I felt as if you were picking my brain…stealing some of my creativity, for free. JMHO

5. Too much to absorb in too short of a time! We’re not robots…give us a break! The rush here and rush there and try to fit as much as possible in the shortest amount of time leaves one feeling frazzled and worn out. Where’s the benefit in that??

4. Where was the new FEMALE executive director? I wanted to see her front and center. She needed to be out front pressing palms. I’ve heard enough about her, for gosh sakes, now I want to see her, and I want to interview her. Where is she? Or, does she really exist? Hmmm?

3. No moderators at the panel discussions. Moderators are a great tool to help move the discussion along and make sure the audience is engaged. Yeah, engaged! That was what this was all about…wasn’t it? Let me see, "Don’t interrupt me. Engage me." Yeah, I’m pretty sure I heard that while I was there. Moderators could have helped create that engagement.

2. Speaker rooms where the presenters and speakers could escape for awhile to practice or review their presentation. Professionals would have used it sparingly – others might have hidden in there until after they went live. It could have been a great resource for the less-practiced speakers to ask help or advice from the more experienced ones.

1. Not enough audience interaction – because you didn’t plan enough time for Q&A. It wasn’t the speakers or the presenters faults…it was the organizers fault! Puh-lease! The Q & A is THE best part of the event. Say, you should talk to Matt Homann over at the [non]billable hour. He and Dennis Kennedy know how to run a conference where everybody wins. They’ll set you straight. I hear they're available to help plan your next event in the open space style.

That's all, folks. A good conference, that I know will continue to get better and better, cause those of us who support WOMMA will make it so!