NextStage Lectures and Presentations

• NextStage Research
• Usability Studies
• Gender and Age Based Buying Patterns
• Cultural Messaging Methods
• Viral techniques
• Wiki and Blog Studies
• Impact: The Use of Color in Direct Response Marketing and eBranding
• The Human Side of Online Marketing (the Emetrics Presentation, revised&updated)

NextStage Classes, Seminars and Trainings
Links open in separate window

• Half Day Class "Know How Someone Is Thinking in 10 Seconds Or Less"
• Half Day Class "Solving the Mystery of Audience Focused Web Design"
• Half Day Class "Mastering Push and Pull Writing" (the basis of the IMedia Headlines that Attact Attention column)
• Full Day Seminar "Know How Someone Is Thinking in 10 Seconds Or Less"
• Full Day Training "Using the 10 First Contact Marketing Messages"
• Full Day Training "Techniques of the Marketing Whisperer"
• Full Day Training "Audience Focused Optimization"
• Two Day Training "Audience Knowledgeable Design" (includes "Audience Focused Optimization" training)

Instructor Biographies

has authored 23 books and over 300 articles in five areas of expertise. His books have covered cultural anthropology, database technology and methods, information mechanics, language acquisition, learning and education theory, mathematics, network topologies, and psycholinguistic modeling. His articles have covered computer technology, cultural-knowledge modeling, equine management, knowledge studies and applications, library science, martial arts, myth and folklore, neurolinguistic, psychodynamic and psychosocial modeling, studies of group and tribal behavior, studies of social interactions in NYC and more. His knowledge and data designs have been used by Caltech, Citibank, DOD, IBM, NASA, Owens-Corning and Smith-Barney among others. He's been everything from butcher to truckdriver to Senior Knowledge Architect to Chief Research Scientist. Currently Carrabis is Chairman and Chief Research Officer of The NextStage Companie and a founder of KnowledgeNH and the NH Business Development Network. He was selected as a Senior Research Fellow and Advisory Board Member to the Society for New Communications Research, Director, Predictive Analytics and Senior Fellow, Center for Semantic Excellence and is a member of Scientists Without Borders. He's inventor and developer of Evolution Technology.

Roger Millen, PhD, was awarded his Doctorate at Purdue University and then trained extensively with NTL/IABS. He is a Certified Master Practitioner and Trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Processing, practices and teaches Ericksonian Hypnosis, and has been certified as a Trainer and Facilitator by several professional organizations, including ASTD, where he served as Coordinator, Facilitator, and Trainer in the Train-The-Trainer Program. He has been a regular presenter at the Interface Foundation in the Boston area since 1989 and has served on the faculties of Purdue, Columbia, and George Washington Universities as well as The Beijing College of Economics in China. Dr. Millen has lectured and presented seminars and workshops internationally. He is a long-time practitioner and teacher of t'ai chi chih, ch'i kung, and Taoism and has been a performing member of Boston Playback Theater, an improvisation company. He is currently the Director of The Consultancy For Change, an organization which facilitates personal, professional, and organizational growth through counseling, consulting, training, and development.

Janice MacMillan has been involved in international and business relations, specializing in HR solutions, for several years and has memberships in MALSC and CART, William Glasser Institute, CASLT and HRA of New Brunswick, Canada. She's been recognized for her interpersonal skills, coaching methods, delivery of quality training programs and services, and has extensive experience facilitating corporate and government trainings and meetings. Her resume includes several certifications from educational institutions and awards from clients which include NB Power, J.D. Irving, SWP Industries, Mount-Batten Properties, Aliant (NBTel), Cendant Canada Inc., New Brunswick Department of Transportation, NB Health Records Association, St. Joseph Hospital Foundation, Business Development Bank of Canada, Canadian Cancer Society and National Dairy Council. Programs developed and presented by MacMillan include Problem Solving & Decision Making, Time Management & Self Management, Presentation Skills, Team Building, Anger & Stress Management, Communication, Peer Coaching, Goal Setting & Life Skills, Quality Customer Service and Relationship Strategies.

Tom Connor, Sr. Economist has consulted to Fortune 500 companies, trade associations and government agencies. He has also had responsibilities in strategic planning, international marketing and program management with a major computer vendor. Throughout his experience with technology users, from large organizations to small businesses, there is always a challenge to choose the level of effort and sophistication applications need. Whether the choice be of forecasting methodology, the commitment of resources to ad hoc questions and reports, or the aesthetic look of a web site, users have to make decisions. With the huge increase of non-technical users as the Internet and other online technologies grow, communication and the emergence of techniques and methodologies that improve communication between message senders and message receivers is emerging as a new area. As online technologies change the way we communicate knowledge of the changes and the way we use them will grow - providing us with more choices and new opportunities.

Jonroy Connell, was a twice national champion rugby player (bet you can't tell, huh?) and graduated from UMass Lowell in Business Administration. He spent nine years in the construction industry where he became a highly sought after project manager and finally a high end real estate developer and agent with offices in MA, CA and NV.

Comments from Previous NextStage Class, Seminar and Lecture Participants

It was great to be actually "on location" (and is there any better location than NYC?) to watch real people. It's amazing when you actually take the time to look around you, what you can see.  So I love the idea of the "real world classroom"... this was a real treat and eye-opener. - NYC

As someone new to the company, I was anxious to receive any and all information that would help me achieve at my new position. Of all the tips and tricks that I learned, none proved more effective than the many I received from Mr. Carrabis in regards to the tone, inflection and proper nomenclature to be used in my pitch to the client. In fact, after one specific sitting with him I was able to improve my results 500%.
Beyond that, it is quite clear that in the short time that I’ve known Mr. Carrabis, his many realms of knowledge can be attributed to a wealth of open-eyed experiences in which he’s taken with him a level of understanding few people are capable of ever attaining. - Kenneth D., Burlington, MA

I am not exaggerating: everybody who has trained me has been excellent, but you are the best, really.
Your insistence on and expectation of the very best of someone is what is the most unique. - Mary M., Burlington, MA

I've worked with Joseph for three years and still find myself surprised by his truly unique perspective and insight. At the recent iMedia Brand Summit, his workshop was a big hit-- both enlightening and entertaining the participants. - Brad Berens, CCO and EIC, IMediaConnection

There were lots of great sessions but one that really got my attention was by Joseph Carrabis's session. I was not exactly sure what to expect from this session as it was not directly related to web analytics. Joseph is not a marketer he is a research scientist. It was interesting to learn something more than web analytics at eMetrics conference. His insights and views are something that a web analyst, marketing managers, site designers and anybody who has anything to do with site layout should be aware of. - Anil Batra on Web Analysis, Behavioral Targeting and Advertising

Joseph’s presentation was one of the most interesting. In other presentations, I look for the one thing that I can take back and apply right away. Joseph shared insights about how people’s brains are wired – nothing about web analytics just optimization for brains. His main point was that 85% of communication is non-verbal and we perceive things subconsciously that affect our consciousness.
...
Joseph ran out of time around slide 10. When he asked the audience what he should focus on, everyone yelled that we wanted it all….go over the time and continue. Joseph went an additional 30 Minutes over for an enjoyable hour and a half.
...
Everyone had similar reactions about the content. It was mind opening, new to me, crazy in a good way, and well received. If you get a chance to see Joseph speak, head for the room and pick a seat up front. - Dylan Lewis on Passionate Analyst

...I was captivated. ... Joseph comes across like Robin Williams as a professor ... He had five points to make, and after 50 minutes, had only covered the first two. He asked the crowd which of the final three we’d like him to cover, and everybody said “all of them! We’ll stay!” Keep in mind, this was the last session of the day and people were getting ready for Web Analytics Wednesday (read: free drinks). That’s how good he was - everyone stayed another 30 minutes. - Bob Page on bobpage.net

...Joseph Carrabis blew us all away with his insights into website usage and his optimization of the EMetrics Summit site. - Scott Baldwin on benry blog

...Joseph Carrabis was stunning. - IMedia Agency Summit '06

Carrabis' discussion provided fascinating insight to gender- and age-specific design principles-- a unique perspective that marketers should potentially explore more to learn more about the differences between women and men consumers and, ultimately, what makes them loyal customers. - IMedia Agency Summit '06

...I can tell you that the program was a hit. I think everyone was impressed with you and the presentation style you used for the audience and intrigued with the concepts... - Boston KM Forum

...a certifiable genius/whacko whose methods of kick-starting the creative juices are wild and wonderful. ...His approach to teaching is unique. - Jan M.

...the group was enthralled. - Jeanne M.

...it was fabulous...he's been a guest several times, always with huge success. He's such a fabulous teacher, and the taste we got of this new course left a bunch of us panting for more. - Jan I.

"...questions encouraged...very good at explaining different ways of learning the material." "Wonderfully articulate speaker, draws on a lot of different images to makes things clear to people of many backgrounds." "I found Joseph to be very profound and presented the material in a gentle, caring, accepting way." - Interface Students, Cambridge, MA

Joseph is very warm and inviting. My attention never strayed. Fascinating, exciting, peaceful. - Austin S, Pepperel, MA.

You will find Joseph to be kind, gentle, loving, expansive, open, clear, and very playful. - Keith P, Boston, MA

...it became very clear to me this weekend that I don't always rely on my own person [and] now I know how to open myself up to the power that lies within me. - Brenda M., St. John, NB, Canada

The workshop was a most powerful experience, and each one of us continues to feel the effects of that power. - Christine L., St. John, NB, Canada

The workshop was very powerful for me. I felt heard and accepted more than any other time before. - Jean-Paul D., Rothesay, NB, Canada

...someone whose insights or talent or generosity with their time turned out to make a big difference in the quality of my work. ... You were a real find...and I wanted you to know that I grateful to you... - Bedford, NH

The course intrigued me greatly. I learned about myself and a new approach to seeing things. - Nashua, NH

A MAGICAL TRIP! ... a phantasmagoric rollercoaster ride through our neural networks, showing us places we didn't know existed. And leaving us limp, giddy and exhilarated. ... push you to the wild fringe of your imagination and beyond. Race. Race. Race. Push your mind as far as it can go. MORE! We all wanted more. - Vienna, VA

Taking a class with Carrabis is rather like having the top of your skull surgically removed, turned around backwards and reattached. It's like trying to tell someone all the things you always believed were true, then finding those things sound silly even to you. It's like taking what you know and turning it inside out and upside down and backwards, and suddenly realizing it looks better that way. Taking a class with Carrabis will stretch your mind if your mind is capable of stretching without breaking. What are his methods? I can't tell you, because the methods used in our class probably won't be the ones he uses in yours. Carrabis suits the method to his current purpose, as far as I can tell, and you never know exactly what's going to happen until it already has, (believe me, I saw it time after time) you end all of a sudden with a clear understanding of something you didn't even know existed before you started. And it turns out to be something that's important to you! Amazing. What good does it do to tell you his methods are unorthodox? Probably not much. I attended every session, and if I were going to another tomorrow, I still wouldn't have the slightest idea what to expect. If this bugs you, I recommend not signing up. If you like to have things proceeding in an orderly, predictable 1-2-3 fashion and set out for you to memorize, this class is not likely to be your cup of tea (though setting those feelings aside and allowing yourself to grow would benefit you more than the average student, I suspect). This does not mean that class is chaos. There is always method to Carrabis' madness. And in line with that, I should warn you about something else: you've got to hang in there until the punch line. Some other things that Carrabis comes up with can seem absolutely dotty in the beginning. You may have the urge to throw up your hands, walk out and find somebody who makes sense. Some of the folks in the last class did that. They managed to miss some of the most mind blowing educational experiences they could have had. I suggest you give it time if it seems weird, pointless, confusing, or irrelevant in the beginning. I promise it will pay.
I should also warn you that the classes are very intense. I'm not sure why that is, but it's not by accident. Participation requires PARTICIPATION that will actually raise your blood pressure if you're not careful. Intense, but not serious. Carrabis has an offbeat sense of humor and laughs a lot at himself. Get a good night's sleep before, though. You must keep your bits awout you. And in connection with that, I'll promise you beforehand that you will never find him saying anything unkind about anyone, or getting involved in fights, or encouraging unkind words about others. If you like flaming people other than in gentle fun, keep it at the office. It's a very grown-up, very civilized class. What will it teach you? I don't know. It depends on what you are willing to learn. - Columbia, SC