A user experience conference you won’t have to pack your trunk for.
- May 27, 8am – 6pm, Nitschke Technology Commercialization Complex, University of Toledo (1510 North Westwood Ave, Toledo, Ohio 43606). Hosted by LaunchPad Incubation.
- $30 = 8 speakers on the topics of Listening, Facilitation, Negotiation & Leadership + Networking + Breakfast + Lunch
- Buy tickets: uxtr-peopleskills.eventbrite.com
What can I expect from the conference?
- Gather in an innovative space to listen to experts present live, over the internet.
- Parking will not be a problem! A free parking lot is adjacent to the building.
- Learn about listening, facilitation, negotiation and leadership: the people skills you need to supplement your design expertise.
- Spend the day learning about user experience with some of the most creative people in the region.
- Get other work done during the day, since it is socially acceptable to multi-task when the speaker is not in the room. Use the LaunchPad Incubation coworking space if you really want to be productive.
- Pay only $30 (if you do this on your own: $179), with breakfast and lunch included, thanks to many wonderful sponsors.
- Go back to work the next day and help your company/clients compete. Watch recordings afterwards to get even more out of the talks.
Who is speaking and what are they going to talk about?
How to negotiate the best deals, where both parties win
- Attorney Michelle Katz, legal advisor to start up companies, will explain how to play to your own strengths and understand who you are negotiating with.
- Harry Max, former VP of Product and Design at Rackspace, will discuss take-aways from Michelle’s presentation and add his own perspective on the role of negotiation in UX.
How to facilitate in ways that transform your meetings and organizations
- David Sibbet, founder of The Grove Consultants International, will present lessons gleaned from facilitating some of Silicon Valley’s most important meetings.
- Kevin M. Hoffman, author of the forthcoming Meeting Design, will offer commentary on David’s presentation and add UX-specific stories of his own.
How to listen more effectively to your colleagues and customers
- Julian Treasure, former drummer and author of Sound Business, will describe how conscious listening can help us become people that others love speaking to.
- Steve Portigal, author of Interviewing Users, will comment on Julian’s presentation and offer additional guidance to help us become better listeners.
How leaders come from all levels, using new approaches
- Jennifer Pahlka, founder and Executive Director of Code for America, will share lessons learned from her non-traditional path to leading in a variety of different settings.
- Kim Goodwin, author of Designing for the Digital Age, will comment on Jennifer’s presentation and offer leadership guidance of her own, acquired in her years managing Cooper.
Learn more about the speakers at the Rosenfeld Media event page.
Who should attend?
Because of the broad coverage of user experience and connecting it to the people skills that many of us need to be successful, the conference will be valuable for people in a wide variety of design, business, and technical roles.
- Visual & interaction designers, information architects, user researchers, usability specialists, creative directors, content strategists
- Business analysts, product/service managers, digital strategists, marketing directors, communications officers, customer experience managers
- Front-end developers, mobile app programmers, IT architects, software engineers, Chief Information Officers
What is the schedule for the day?
- 8:00am: Doors open for checking in, breakfast (provided) and networking
- 9:00am: Welcoming, sponsor and community announcements
- 10:00am: Virtual speakers on Negotiation: Michelle Katz & Harry Max
- 11:45am: Virtual speakers on Facilitation: David Sibbet & Kevin M. Hoffman
- 1:15pm: Lunch (provided)
- 2:15pm: Virtual speakers on Listening: Julian Treasure & Steve Portigal
- 4:00pm: Virtual speakers on Leadership: Jennifer Pahlka & Kim Goodwin
- 5:30pm: Closing remarks, possibly with a social event afterwards
Why is this too good to be true?
Generous contributions from local companies and organizations who understand the value of user experience make this event possible! Sponsors are covering the majority of the costs for the program and meals.
- Host: LaunchPad Incubation
- Global content providers: Rosenfeld Media & Environment for Humans
- Spoke
- Agile Oasis Technologies
- UT Center for Creative Instruction
- Thread Marketing Group
- Hanson
- Toledo Museum of Art
- First Solar
- Toledo Web Professionals
- Seed Coworking
- AIGA Toledo
- Black Kite Coffee
- Balance Grille