Aileen Lem's List: ideas that engage

• 1.  Pass out index cards to each student  (or audience member)
• 2.  Set your watch or a timer for 90 seconds. 
• 3.  Tell students/participants to write down three things
• three most important "take-aways" from the week's readings
• three greatest fears about not keeping up in a digital age
• three things they most look for in a new employee that they hope will one day become a leader in their company
• three things they think every student today needs to thrive in the 21st century
• three responses to something important
• 4. Set that watch or timer again.   Ask them to turn to someone they didn't walk in with, and, in the next 90 seconds, look at the six things on their cards, discuss them, and, together, decide on what is the  single most important thing and circle that one thing.
• 5.  As a bonus, on special occasions, in a smaller group of say 30 or 40 or less, I then have them look at the circled answers and come up with the ONE best answer together---the room bursts with excited conversation when I do this. 
• 6.  Finally:  I lead a discussion on the difference between the student's individual experience and their collective ones.
• Think-Pair-Share

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• Give people time to breathe.
• Hit the right balance of inspiration and practicality.
• Be VERY careful about letting sponsors speak.
• Reconsider the temptation for multiple tracks.
• Put your attendees on stage.
• Give people a useful framework for networking.
• Could you let people group together by interest, or use some sort of "smart badge" technology to let people more easily connect?
• Make recapping the event easier.
• "top ten lessons" blog post

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• think critically about the source before we think critically about the content. And we need to think critically about the type of information we're consuming.
• We need to think critically about the source before we think critically about the content. And we need to think critically about the type of information we're consuming.
• TIME suggests that when you force yourself to look for these smaller details by drawing out a scene you teach yourself to differentiate between seeing and observing. Doing so can help you decide where and what is worth your attention.

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• root cause of organizational dysfunction is often distance — the distance between leaders who communicate in a top-down fashion and employees who develop a sense of estrangement from those leaders.
• To narrow the distance that makes real communication impossible, leaders must learn to exhibit a more intimate presence within their company.
• 1. To learn more, listen better.
• 2. To have a big impact, meet in a small group.
• 3. To build trust, show trust.
• 4. To be a better communicator, be who you are.

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• using the power of organizational conversation to drive their company forward. For these leaders, internal communication isn't just an HR function. It's an engine of value that boosts employee engagement and improves strategic alignment.
• an engine of value that boosts employee engagement and improves strategic alignment.
• 1. Close the gap between you and your employees.
• 2. Promote two-way dialogue within your company.
• 3. Engage employees in the work of telling the company story.
• 4. Pursue a clear agenda.

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