Are practical sessions like managing money and preparing for college a good choice for this group?
They are a home run. Gen Y wants things that they can do now, and for many teens college, money, jobs, etc., are very much on their minds because it is a transition phase and transitions are scary. The more you can make an event applicable to where they are in their lives, the more value they will feel they get out of it. What do you think of meeting planners incorporating current events into the session topics and discussions? I think they should. Gen Y is the most connected generation ever. We get all the news in the world to our phone anytime. And if a current event is big enough, we’ll want to talk about it. How important is it for young people to have speakers their own age? It’s really important, but it is not the only thing because all ages can be effective with youth audiences. But I certainly think there are some initial barriers that are broken down when they see that someone is in a similar life place. There are speakers who are three times my age who I think are phenomenal.
