So you are looking over the conference schedule and reading through all the amazing information you are going to receive in Saturday’s sessions. You are wondering whether it is worth the added time and expense to attend a half-day or full-day session on Friday. Here are my top five reasons for attending intensives in addition to the Saturday sessions.

Intensives are offered in areas where 90 minutes just isn’t enough to go in depth on a topic. For example, take Sociocracy. Jerry Koch-Gonzalez, co-founder of Sociocracy for All is offering two presentations, one on Saturday that is 90 minutes, one on Friday that is 7 hours. You might notice that the shorter Saturday session is titled “A Taste of . . . “ It will be a great session introducing the basics of sociocracy and I’m betting you will take a few tidbits home with you. If, on the other hand, you want some real tools to put to use in your community, the 7 hour intensive is a much better bet. With that much time, Jerry can demonstrate methods, explain the reasoning for different tools, guide you through the core pieces of the method. (Naturally he also offers even more in depth programs outside of conferences, but that is another blog post altogether.)
Intensives tend to be smaller groups with more opportunities to ask questions. You’ll get to know the presenter better, and vice versa which allows presenters to tailor their material, when appropriate, to the communities represented.

Intensives are a great opportunity to get to know other people at the conference. Spending a half day or whole day with a small group pretty much sets you up to have 15 or 20 more friends to see at sessions on Saturday.

Meeting other people is one of the best parts of conference, but also potentially the most overwhelming.

Getting a jump start on knowing who’s there can make Saturday even richer.

Intensives, like conferences in general, are one of the least expensive ways to learn from cohousing professionals. Bringing a consultant to you community can easily cost $5000 or more. Compared to that, adding another day to your conference is a great deal.

Most of all, intensives are fun and informative. Come spend the day with us, you’ll be glad you did!

One final note: For this conference, space is limited in our intensives, so be sure to register early for best selection. We look forward to seeing you there.