Why being open to listening to both sides of the Israel-Palestine debate is so important.
HOW TO PUT THE 'FUN' INTO A CORPORATE 'FUN'CTION.
THE QUEEN AND THE EVENTS INDUSTRY
Let me be clear: As an Australian, I am no monarchist. I voted ‘Yes’ for a republic in 1999, primarily because I believe any system of government that has the word ‘pub’ in it is a better fit for Australia, but also because I liked to think that any children I might have (and I now have three) could one day become the Head of State of our great land.
However, I am a great lover of traditions, and I am full of respect for the way Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II devoted so many decades to continuing the fascinating story (and traditions) of her own family.
Whilst she had what would appear to have been a very privileged existence, her life was hardly her own, and from all accounts she carried out every single one of her duties and attended every single one of her royal engagements, with extraordinary grace.
I’ve thought about her life from an events industry perspective, and I don’t think I’m wrong in concluding that she attended more events and met more people than any other person in all human history.
For this reason, I absolutely applaud her, and I put together a special Grin & Tonic as not only a dedication, but an illustration of what an incredible, unique life she led.
You can watch it here. It’s only a few minutes.
And it is worth us remembering that she had a cheeky sense of humour, and so it’s not hard to imagine that, at least occasionally at some of the thousands of events she attended, she probably thought to herself, “One wishes the organisers had had the courage to do things a little differently to the norm”.
Unfortunately, there were protocols in place that dictated what needed to happen and how it needed to happen. There was little opportunity to make an event stand out to her (which is ironic, as the mere fact she was AT an event made it stand out for everyone else.
The delegates at our events are special, but they are NOT royalty, so there are few protocols that need to be followed. And challenging those that DO exist is important every so often.
Our opportunity as event organisers is to create events where the environments are fresh, creative, inspiring and, most importantly, different.
Whilst they are WORK events, they need to transport delegates away from their work environments and mindsets and allow them to access the mental freedoms they have when away from the office or shop.
So, whilst the senior management should be treated with respect, there are opportunities to deal with them differently at a conference (ever had a session where the CEO is interviewed about themselves, introducing their human side to their people, who may only be familiar with their profesional one?
They need to dress differently to work. They need to speak to people they don't speak to at work. They need their emotions tapped into differently to how they are tapped into at work. This all helps them THINK differently to how they think at work.
And they also need to feel the conference has something different about it, too. They need to feel more involved in sessions than last year. They need to see a different format to last year. If, at the previous conference, they sat in a room and the first session was: CEO/Chair speaks, followed by presentations from three other senior manager (or a sponsor), then you need to change that up.
In particular, from an educational point of view, if their work is very serious in nature (like the Queen's), they need to be allowed to laugh (as it is widely reported she did, away from the cameras).
If you aim to create a conference that would delight the Queen in how different it was, then your event will be fit for a King.
Darren Isenberg is one of Australia’s most booked and re-booked Corporate MC’s and Presenters. He also speaks to groups on how to improve their Positive Influence and the Presentation Skills.
You can learn more about him by heading to www.dipresents.com.au or by asking his kids. But don’t talk to his mother. She still has no idea … but thinks he’s great at whatever it is anyway.
WHY I’M A FANN OF A FINN HAVING FUNN.
PUBLIC SPEAKING MADE ALBAN-EASY
3 PRESENTING TIPS TO TAKE AWAY FROM ANTHONY ALBANESE’S OPENING TRAIN WRECK … ER … PRESS CONFERENC
Imagine, at the beginning of the Australian National Safety Council Conference, the Association’s Chair tripping on the stairs on the way up to the lectern, breaking an ankle in the process.
That’s kind of how Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese began his election campaign.
In his quest to convince voters he and his party didn’t deserve the perception of being economic numbats, he totally gave the impression of being an economic numbat.
For those who don’t have their fingers on the pulse of Australian Politics … ie. international readers or members of the United Australia Party … Mr Albanese (pronounced ‘Al-Ban-Easy’) was asked if he knew two of the most basic economic indicators: the current level of interest rates and the current rate of unemployment.
In a nutshell, despite the Government repeating these figures a lot lately, he got them both wrong, showing he had a low rate of interest in interest rates, and such a shaky grasp of the current unemployment rate that he strongly risks personally increasing that figure after the campaign is over.
It was worst nightmare stuff, only made survivable by the fact that his opponent, Scott Morrison, is highly likely to stage his own train wreck moments in the coming days.
But, like in all disasters, there are opportunities to learn, and here’s what anyone who steps up to a microphone should keep in mind.
LESSON 1) DON’T ONLY PREPARE WHAT YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT
Everyone knows that preparation is important before public speaking, but even more important is knowing WHAT to prepare.
Most speakers focus almost entirely on preparing “The Information I Want My Audience To Know” … and that’s a mistake.
You also need to spend some time preparing at least a little bit in these two areas:
1. “The Information My Audience Wants To Know About The Topic”
Which is looking at the topic from THEIR perspective, not yours, and
2. “The Information My Audience Wants To Know I Know”:
This is all about maintaining your credibility and connecting with your audience.
For you to truly engage with an audience they have to believe and trust you, so it’s important that you know and correctly use:
- jargon important to them and their industry
- the correct pronunciation of people, product and process names
- basics numbers and statistics relevant to them.
It was in this area that Albanese fell down.
LESSON 2) IF YOU STUFF UP, ‘FESS UP
As mentioned in the previous point, a connection with an audience depends on factors such as trust and honesty.
If you’re speaking at an event and someone asks you a question that you don’t know the answer to, the BEST thing you can do at that moment is be honest and say, “I don’t know the answer to that”.
And if, like Albanese, you are asked a question you SHOULD know the answer to, and it would seem too embarrassing to just say, “I don’t know the answer to that”, here’s what should be done.
Still be honest.
Just say, “You know, I SHOULD know the answer to that, but I can’t think of it right now”.
It won’t make all the awkwardness of the moment disappear, but it will leave you with some integrity intact, which can be very handy in the recovery phase.
3) WHAT TO DO NEXT?
There is a famous scene in Fawlty Towers where John Cleese’s character, Basil Fawlty, is SO embarrassed after a series of his stuff-ups, that he tries to fold himself up into his own jacket.
Whilst our own instincts are to run away and hide when we’ve made a fool of ourselves … it’s important to remember that, if we disappear, or if we pretend that nothing has happened … we won’t get to have an influence on the fallout.
And, if WE don’t get to influence the fallout, then someone else will (and they’re likely to be FAR less worried about the effect on you than you would be).
YOU need to be the one to approach the awkward, clumsy elephant that you brought into the room, and address it.
Using a little humour at your own expense is a good way to begin.
If I was Anthony Albanese, I would have begin my next press conference by saying:
“Ladies and gentlemen, the unemployment rate is 4%. Interest rates are at 0.1%. Inflation is at 3.5%. GDP growth was 4% from the previous year. The price of petrol is $1.89 a litre. Milk is $2.39 for two litres. Bread is about $3 for a normal loaf but you can pay up to $7 or $8 for specialised gluten-free, low-GI organic bread … but if you’re buying that, you’re probably going to vote Greens. The point is, I’ve been trying to do my homework!!”
It wouldn’t have made people forget his howler. But humour focuses a light on a person’s positive attributes … their humanity, their relatability … and throws a shadow on the negatives.
And it is always harder for someone to make fun of something about you, that you’ve already made fun of yourself. This is definitely the time to unleash some humour at your own expense.
I only wish I could give you some great examples of how … but I don’t think I’m any good at being self-deprecating.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
Preparing more completely is the best way to avoid embarrassing on-stage moments.
But if you find that you’ve stuffed up, there’s two tactics to turn to:
1. Be Honest at the time, and
2. Take Control of Your Recovery by Addressing the Elephant and Using Humour.
Darren Isenberg is one of Australia’s most booked and re-booked Corporate MC’s and Presenters. He also speaks to groups on how to improve their Positive Influence and the Presentation Skills.
You can learn more about him by heading to www.dipresents.com.au or by asking his kids. But don’t talk to his mother. She still has no idea … but thinks he’s great at what it is anyway.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR EVENT A HIT ... WITHOUT THE HITTING
So, I tuned in to watch the Academy Awards yesterday and The Jerry Springer Show broke out.
You’ve probably either seen the footage or, at the very least, heard or read about it … but the event that’s supposed to celebrate stars, celebrity and cinema is dealing with the fallout from a hit that nobody saw coming.
Especially Chris Rock.
It’s a reminder … and a pretty dramatic one, at that … that even at the most meticulously planned events, things can go wrong.
And that, whilst we’d like to think that our professionalism and expertise can handle the situation when they do, it should be our professionalism and expertise that prevents as many of them from happening in the first place.
If someone was to make a movie about this issue, it would be called Event Management vs Risk Management: The Reckoning.
Event Management and Risk Management do need to live side-by-side but, generally speaking, they don’t like each other because they are such opposites.
There’s three main reasons for this:
1. Firstly, Event Management, on the whole, is about MAXIMISING POSITIVE OUTCOMES, whilst Risk Management is about MINIMISING NEGATIVE OUTCOMES.
2. Secondly, the number of positive outcomes an event can tolerate is limitless. No-one has ever had to plan what might happen if everybody at an event enjoyed themselves a lot more than expected!
But the number of negative outcomes that can be tolerated at an event has always been a more constricting number. Zero.
3. And, finally, Event Planners design events that are based on the premise that everything they’ve planned is 100% going to happen. Risk Management deals with things that are 99% UNLIKELY to ever happen.
But, whilst there are plenty of differences between Event Management and Risk managent, I'll let you in on a secret little connection that they have: you know that wonderful tingly feeling we get when we’re working on a live event … which we like to call adrenaline, which we've missed for two years in the pandemic? About 50% of that joyous, addictive buzz is actually caused by the possibility that, at any moment, something could go terribly, terribly wrong!
Of course, to be a successful event organiser, you need to minimise the chance of that happening and, last year at ICCA’s inaugural Canada Congress I interviewed US lawyer and risk management expert Steven Adelman and he shared a terrific outline of how best to manage risk. I’ll share that with you now:
Step 1. Gather Smart People and Event Stakeholders
Anybody who understands and cares about the risk profile of the event.
Step 2. Answer The Question “What Could Go Wrong At My Event?”
Step 3. Triage the Risk
Identify those things that carry the MOST REASONABLY FORESEEABLE RISKS.
Step 4. Identify Your Tools
What means do you have available to mitigate those risks?
Steven says this systematic method makes you as prepared as possible for the most likely glitches. Which brings us back to this year’s Academy Awards and what can we learn?
DID THEY CHOOSE THE WRONG MC?
Definitely not. Primarily because Chris Rock wasn’t the MC. That role was shared by Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall and they did a great job in a difficult gig.
Chris Rock was just announcing the Award for Best Documentary.
But his performance is a great reminder that ANYONE you allow to come to stage or to have access to a microphone becomes a REPRESENTATIVE OF YOUR EVENT.
When you’re making your “What Could Go Wrong?” List, as suggested by Steven Adelman, you should consider ALL the people who are likely to speak at your event, and how they may or may not affect the audience.
I would hope that very few would be considered likely to offend delegates (though stand-up comedians, as Chris Rock proved, are always high-risk, especially in our current age of wokeness, inclusivity and sensitivity).
But I would suggest that almost as detrimental to an event is someone being on stage for 20, 30 or 40 minutes who bores your audience (especially if your audience has paid for the privilege).
So, according to Steve Adelman's Risk Mitigation Playbook, you need to identify what tools you have at your disposal to reduce the risk of a bored audience.
These should include:
a presentation skills session for your speakers
Using a professional wordsmith to write an important speech or go over an existing one to insert personality and engagement?
Have someone turn your PowerPoint slides into an engaging support for your speech
These can be relatively inexpensive ways of reducing the risk of creating a bored audience … or boredience, as I like to refer to them.
WHAT ELSE CAN WE LEARN FROM THE SMITH SLAP?
1. THE HIGHLY UNEXPECTED EVENT DOES HAPPEN.
As if we needed reminding of this after all these years of pandemic!
2. EXPERIENCE COUNTS
Whilst people have been critical of Chris Rock’s comments in the lead-up to the slap, his reaction AFTERWARDS was far more professional and fitting.
His EXPERIENCE as a stage performer showed as he put the show first, and his own predicament second.
He’s no hero, of course, but he took a few seconds and, instead of seeking revenge or escalating the incident in any other way, he made a couple of brief comments then moved on so that the impact on the rest of the show was minimised.
If something unexpected was to happen at your event … and something unexpected WILL happen at some stage … do you have someone who can handle it and salvage the moment?
It reminds me of a black-tie Awards Night I MC’d where part of the makeshift stage folded in on itself as two award winners were having their photos taken.
There was an audible gasp from the crowd as the winners disappeared from view. I honestly didn’t immediately know what had happened, or what I was going to do about it to salvage the mood of the evening, but when I walked across to check they were okay and helped them back on stage I got a feeling of clarity I had never felt before.
I strode calmly back to the lectern and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m happy to say they’re ok. It was just a stage they were going through”.
The audience laughed and knew that it was ok to do so. And you could feel the tension and worry that had filled the air, disappear.
3. EVENT ORGANISERS MAY ORGANISE BALLS, BUT DO THEY HAVE THEM?
Will Smith walked up to another human being, hit him, then sat back down, almost as if nothing had happened. Not only that, but a little while later, he walked back on stage, this time to accept an award of his own.
Is it just me or does something seem not right about this?
Sure, Chris Rock’s joke was in very poor taste. And Will Smith was totally within his rights to be offended. But there is a hierarchy of unacceptable behaviour, and physical violence always rates worse than offensive words (in my book, anyway).
By allowing Will Smith to remain in the room after committing what was, technically speaking, a crime, the Academy raised a whole lot of questions about its level of ethics, morality and even its safety priorities.
Event organisers would do well to figure out where they stand on these sorts of matters BEFORE they ever happen.
Of course, they can’t guarantee that everyone is going to love everything they hear … but they need to know what they will do if someone says or does something outrageously inappropriate on stage.
Especially if it means going head-to-head with an industry heavyweight. Or the CEO of your client.
Where is your line? Have you ever thought about what would have to happen to make you want to get someone off stage? Or out of the conference room?
And how would you actually make it happen? I've had to remove someone from the stage only once in my career as an MC ... and it's not easy or pleasant.
I know it seems like an extremely unlikely circumstance but, as I'm trying to stress in this article, these days you can’t rule out ANYTHING as impossible.
Except, perhaps, Chris Rock being on Will Smith’s Christmas Card list.
Darren Isenberg is one of Australia’s most booked and re-booked Corporate MC’s and Presenters. He also speaks to groups on how to improve their Positive Influence and the Presentation Skills.
You can learn more about him by heading to www.dipresents.com.au or by asking his kids. But don’t talk to his mother. She still has no idea … but thinks he’s great at whatever it is anyway.
WHEN IT COMES TO CORPORATE EDUCATION, IT IS TIME TO 'DO DIFFERENT'.
4 VALUABLE EVENT INDUSTRY LESSONS SERVED UP AT THIS YEAR’S AUSTRALIAN OPEN
My Dad once told me, “Darren, never fall in love with a tennis player. Love means nothing to them”.
He also once told me, “Darren, please stop making up stories about me telling you things that I never actually said”.
But, whilst I learnt a lot from fictional conversations with my father, I’m also always on the lookout for lessons in other parts of my life. And, over the past fortnight, I found the Australian Open tennis tournament offered some key takeaways for all of us in the events industry.
Here are the Top 4:
1. SHOULD ROWDY CROWDS BE ALLOWED?
Famously, in Daniil Medvedev’s second-round match against Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, the crowd’s behaviour was either fantastically energising or incredibly boorish and rude – depending on where you stood on traditional tennis-watching etiquette (or which player you were supporting).
But it also offered an incredibly important lesson for us in the events industry: All audiences react to what they’re watching … and sometimes those reactions are nice … and sometimes they’re not.
Interestingly, conference audiences are amongst the world’s best at concealing these reactions. Whether they think the speaker is changing their world or wasting their time, they sit politely silent throughout.
Now, is that entirely a good thing? I don’t think it 100% is.
Of course, I don’t want to walk onto a stage at a conference and have the audience boo me as soon as I start speaking. I can get that reaction at home.
Corporate audiences NEVER really tell you when they’re bored or not learning. I guarantee they are not engaged a lot more than we’d be comfortable admitting. They’re just experts at hiding it.
To minimise these moments of disengagement, try ensure that:
You include opportunities for your audience to be happy, positive and interact with each other throughout your agenda (preferably NOT at the end of the day, when there is no longer a need to refresh them).
Your speakers are briefed accurately (including given guidance on what NOT to cover) and well-trained in their presentation and PowerPoint skills
You employ a variety of education-delivery techniques throughout the program (ie. interspersing panels, presentations, interviews, video pieces etc)
2. WHEN THE SPECIAL K’S ACT LIKE FROOT LOOPS CAN THINGS BE JUST RIGHT?
Yes. Yes. I apologise for the breakfast-themed wordplay in the title of this point. But I can’t help it. I’m a cereal punner.
The ‘Special K’s … a/k/a renegade Aussies Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis … claimed the Men’s Doubles Title, which was a fantastic result, but along the way, they rankled feathers with their on and off-court behaviour.
Yet, here’s the interesting thing: For the first time in decades, Australians were now paying attention to the Men’s Doubles Competition. Considering this was happening while Ash Barty was making her historic run, it’s even more remarkable.
The Special K’s sometimes rude and antagonistic behaviour is NOT the full reason they created such engagement with tennis fans.
It was mainly because they were DIFFERENT. Yes, they were outrageous … but they were noticeable … and, therefore, memorable.
There were many other teams in the tournament who were also outstanding … they just weren’t standing out.
In our world of work, it is important to not only be outstanding. In the events industry, in particular, we need to make our events, our conference atmospheres, our programs and our speakers stand out as well.
There are many ways you can make things stand out (apart from being rude, like the Special Ks).
What are you doing to make the conference experience you provide your delegates, sponsors and speakers STAND OUT?
3. HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY YOUR CHAMPIONS?
In case you have been INCREDIBLY self-isolated over the past fortnight, I should tell you that Ash Barty won the Women’s Singles Title … the first time an Australian had done so since before the Sony Walkman, Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall or The Muppet Movie existed.
Watching her throughout the tournament … and particularly in the final … it was a great reminder that, to be a champion, you don’t need to be the biggest, the loudest, the brashest or even the strongest.
You just need to be able to deliver the goods, every time, without exception. Especially when the pressure is on.
Interestingly, Ash Barty would never tell anyone that she was a champion. We only know she is by paying attention to her results.
Other players are noisier … talk themselves up more … and probably have more followers on Instagram. But, despite telling us they are great, they’re simply not as good as Ash.
So, this begs the third question: Who are your industry champions - the providers who are dependable, drama-free and darned good – and how are you discovering and selecting them?
Are you basing it on the noise they make or the results they produce?
More importantly, are YOU an industry champion to anyone?
4. DO WE REALLY NEED THE RICHARD DJOKOVIC’S OF THE WORLD?
Prior to the Australian Open commencing, there was a lot of controversy about Men’s World Number One, Richard Djokovic.
What?
His name’s Novak?
Oh. My mistake. It’s just that he really seems like he’s a Dick to me.
There were grave concerns at the time that Novak being a No-Show would lessen the tournament.
But his absence became less of an issue as the event actually got underway.
His would-be first round opponent – fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic - had his best Grand Slam tournament result ever, reaching the fourth round and winning more than 10% of his career prizemoney in the process.
By the time Rafa Nadal and Daniil Medvedev completed their classic five-set final, I doubt very few people cared that Novak wasn’t there.
So, what is the business-related point of this rant?
Most of the people we deal with in our work world are reasonable folk, with many of them being even better than that. But, every so often, we do come across a Dick. And sometimes they’re a VIP, like Djokovic.
We pander to them because we worry about what life would be like if we didn’t.
So, here’s my advice. Don’t.
Don’t put up with the Dicks of the world. There’s plenty of Toms and Harrys (and Rachels and Kirstys) who will fill their place beautifully.
Just like the 2022 Australian Open went beautifully without Djokovic, your business will likely be better without any Dicks.
Well, that’s Game, Set and Match for this article. It’s time for me to take my racquet and ball and go home. Thanks so much for reading this tennis-related serve on the … er … net.
Darren Isenberg is one of Australia’s most booked and re-booked Corporate MC’s and Presenters. He also speaks to groups on how to improve their Positive Influence and the Presentation Skills.
You can learn more about him by heading to www.dipresents.com.au or by asking his kids. But don’t talk to his mother. She still has no idea … but thinks he’s great at what it is anyway.
8 Ways To Bring That Live Conference Feel To Your Next Virtual Event
So, we’re in lockdown again. Our lives, and our events, are all back online.
Although I note that Madonna is planning a live tour of Australia later this year. This may not excite everyone, but I think it’s fantastic news.
Not only does it mean there are still signs of hope in the live events industry, but it ALSO means, given her age and the demographics of her audience, this ‘Like A Vaccine’ Tour provides the government with a great opportunity to use up the extra Astra Zeneca doses they’ve been left with by offering a “Buy Your Tix, Receive Your Pricks” deal.
And Madonna’s isn’t the only tour being planned.
Kiss is hoping to tour. So is Adele. And so are Guns ‘N Roses, Alanis Morrisette, Harry Styles and … on the local front … Jimmy Barnes, the Hoodoo Gurus, Richard Clapton, The Angels and Crowded House are as well.
My reason for mentioning these possible upcoming tours is to make this point:
If you’re a fan of any of these performers … and their tours go ahead … you have a choice of two vastly different ways you can listen to their music, each offering vastly different experiences.
The first is to buy tickets, get dressed in whatever makes you feel emotionally connected to that artist (in the case of Madonna fans, you can bring those pointy bras out from the top of your wardrobes) and head excitedly to a venue buzzing with vibrancy and sound and light to share an amazing sensory experience with a multitude of others.
The second is to stay home and stream their music on Spotify.
And there you have, in a nutshell, the essential difference between attending a LIVE conference and a VIRTUAL one.
They both offer the same content … but the live one also brings atmosphere, adrenaline and total sensory stimulation … while streaming on a device at home offers you, at best, a sense of being temporarily unaware of interruptions from your partner / children / pets / liquor cabinet.
Live events tend to be virile, while virtual events are, by their nature, more sterile.
Given that we’ll be running virtual events for some time to come, I thought I’d offer some helpful tips on how you can inject into your next one some of the elements delegates really appreciate about live events.
In this article, I will present the first four ideas. Next week, I will discuss the final four ideas.
HOW TO RE-CREATE GREAT ELEMENTS OF LIVE EVENTS AT OUR ONLINE EVENTS
1. ACKNOWLEDGE THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Which is the fact that there IS no elephant in the room. Or people.
Your delegates are likely to be at home, dressed down … feeling isolated from each other. Acknowledge it. Embrace it, even.
Engage the delegates with some fun ‘hands up’ questions in the event welcome, even though you know that they know you can’t see them.
Ask them to type into the chat feed “Pants” or “No Pants”, to indicate their current status.
You can’t make an event feel ‘REAL’ if you’re not being real about what’s going on. Make your delegates feel like the event knows they are there.
2. NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES
Networking is a huge feature of live conferencing. However, it’s not an easy thing to replicate online.
It is often ‘addressed at a virtual conference by having the MC say: “Reach out to fellow delegates by sending them a direct message on the conference platform”.
And that’s it.
There are various ways you can include networking in your virtual agenda, but my favourite is to build 10-minute Networking Slots into the actual program … but always BETWEEN speakers (not next to a break … or some people will view it as merely extra break time).
In those times you send delegates to different rooms (with around 5-10 other people, ideally). You can theme the rooms with a discussion topic or leave it a blank canvas. You can have a sponsor in each room.
Of course, there’s nothing to stop someone from walking away from their computer while this session runs, but … and this is an important but: the people that DO engage do so because networking is an important part of their conference experience.
There’s an enormous difference between there being SOME networking and NO networking at a virtual conference. Including these slots in the program is a no (or low)-cost way of re-creating an important part of the live conference experience.
3. LEARNING FROM PEERS IS WITHOUT PEER
Learning through delegate interaction (such as panel discussions, group break-outs etc) is definitely the best way of ensuring quality learning is achieved at a conference.
It is also often the most mentally engaging part of a live conference program … so it is important to try and provide it in a Virtual Conference program.
The more that delegates hear from, learn from and discuss with their peers, the more they will feel like they are actually part of the event, not just logging in as a passive observer.
And there’s two simple ways to provide this experience.
The first is ensuring delegates and their peers participate in the program through being involved in panels, appearing in brief self-shot video pieces sharing an opinion or a solution to something or submitting ‘shout-outs’ to colleagues for work well done.
The second is placing ‘Delegate Discussion Time’ deliberately in the agenda.
This entails that, after key sessions in the conference, you send the delegates to smaller breakout rooms for 10-15 minutes to discuss with each other what they just heard.
A few of those sessions throughout the day really solidify peoples' learning and give the event a highly interactive and real feel.
4. GET DELEGATES ON SCREEN AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE
For delegates sitting at home, logged in to an online conference, it’s hard to imagine that they are sharing the experience with possibly hundreds of other people.
Unless you show them on the screen.
This is a screen shot from a recording of the wonderful British TV show Mock The Week. There is currently no live studio audience (which, as you can imagine, stifles the vibrancy of the atmosphere) so they regularly show these sorts of screens, so that viewers are reminded that they are sharing the experience with many others.
If you see vibrant signs of life on the screen, you can forget for the moment that you are alone, disconnected and possibly dressed just in your undies.
5. MAKE THE BREAK TIMES COMPELLING
Breaks at a live conference are exciting. There’s people. There’s exhibition booths. There’s scones.
Breaks at a virtual conference, however, are an open invitation to a delegate to leave and disconnect from the event.
So, give people a reason to stay on or return to the screen as soon as possible. Here’s a few tips for conference breaks. I’ll start with a couple of DON’T’s then give you some tips on what you should DO instead:
THE DON’Ts
1. DON’T have a scroll through of sponsor slides. … there’s certainly ways to give your sponsors recognition WITHOUT having them bore your delegates.
2. DON’T play sponsor videos. When people have a choice between watching a piece of corporate fluff or having three extra minutes of freedom … AND they know that no-one can see whether they’re there or not … they’re gone.
THE DO’s
1. Captivating Visuals:
For example
- show brief (one-minute) video interviews with people from their industry or organisation.
- ask a set of fun trivia questions (possibly even tailor-made to the event/industry/client)
- play catchy video pieces … like this one (just click here):
I have a whole library of reels like this specifically designed to grab delegate’s attention and give the event some personality.
2. Absorbing Activities:
For example:
A live trivia quiz
A Music quiz
Creating random smaller groups to either have conversations on fun topics or work-related issues
However, keep in mind that these activities are happening in people’s break times, when they have a genuine need to be doing other things, too. So make these activities drop-in / drop-out in nature.
And don’t forget you can give sponsors some positive recognition by attaching their names to these items.
Breaks at live conferences are more fun and engaging than breaks at home … so make it your aim to bring some of that fun and engagement to your online event breaks.
6. UPSKILL YOUR SPEAKERS
At a live conference there’s many ways a speaker can engage the audience. For example, they can get them to interact with their neighbours, respond to a question, stand and do something physical. There’s many options.
Online, speakers are more restricted … AND it is harder to keep people’s attention. But there ARE things they can do to better engage the delegates.
So, at the VERY least in your briefings to your (non-professional) speakers, send them some tips on online presenting (If anyone would like, I’m happy to share a handout I’ve made).
If you can gather some speakers for one hour Zoom call, to go through some tips on how to engage an online audience, that’s not a bad idea.
If you want to re-create a bit of that live event experience, your speakers’ ability to engage delegates is an important starting point.
7. CONFERENCE GIFTS / HAMPERS
Delegates get a refreshing buzz at a live conference because attending one takes you away from the familiar.
Sitting at your usual desk, surrounded by your usual mess, is not likely to have your virtual delegate feeling that same tingly sense of anticipation.
But there are ways through which you can provide them with a bit of a buzz. That wonderfully refreshing sense that their day is going to be a bit different to normal.
I’m talking about the sending of a Conference Hamper. Or Conference Survival Box.
Often these packages involve food and beverage delights (which are always appreciated … and there’s some great examples here https://www.hamperswithbite.com.au/work-from-home-hampers) but the truth is they also provide an opportunity to bring your virtual conference a tad more to life.
The hamper could contain items that speakers can refer to, items that delegates need to use during a presentation or information that will help them participate in a discussion.
Or it could simply be filled with snacks and the Conference MC tells people, “Ok. It’s time now for us to delve into our Conference Hampers and find the Kit Kat bar. Except you lactose intolerants, of course, who should look for your packet of dried prunes”.
There is a certain feeling of ‘being included’ when things that are being said on screen relate directly to what is happening at home.
These options often do come with a price tag that requires a generous sponsor … but surely the thought of being the brand that delivered to everyone’s home this wonderfully positive feeling is intriguing to some?
Here’s some items you can send out that truly do delight delegates:
1. Vouchers:
For things like UberEats (to order their conference lunch), Fitness Classes, Private Lessons in Interesting Skill Areas, Online Personality Tests.
2. Screen cleaner
Remember many people are watching on a touch-screen device)
3. A “Working From Home” T-Shirt / Cap, with small conference logo.
4. Water Bottle / Portable Coffee Mug but with funny COVID slogan on it
5. A personalised message thanking people for attending the event from a celebrity.
The website www.cameo.com gives you access to available famous people and their fees. I found this idea on https://blog.bizzabo.com/virtual-gift-ideas which seems to have some great ideas on it.
Imagine if all the delegates at a legal conference received a ‘Thanks for Attending’ video on their phone from Harvey Spector from Suits?
6. Of course, don’t underestimate the value of including anything that someone’s kids will like. Or, more to the point, that will keep them occupied so they don’t interrupt while you’re tuned into the conference sessions! (It can work for partners, too!)
8. CAN I SUGGEST USING AN MC?
I’ve probably picked up more new clients for my MCing during the past 12 months than in any of the past five years.
The reason is that organisations that have never considered using an MC in the past have realised that, moving their conferences or events online makes them less engaging experiences for delegates. And online delivery is also a format many organisations have limited experience with.
A professional MC can bring atmosphere, audience engagement, online experience and a safe pair of hands when things don’t go quite according to plan. These are all things that help bridge that gap between what a live event WAS, and a virtual event IS.
IN CONCLUSION
So, best of luck bringing to your online events whatever wonderful elements of live events that you can. I hope I’ve provided some simple ideas for you to consider.
After all, don’t we all want our online delegates to feel some of the buzz they feel when attending a live event … even if they’re at home in their underpants?
Darren Isenberg is one of Australia’s most booked and re-booked Corporate MC’s and Presenters. He also speaks to groups on how to improve their Positive Influence and the Presentation Skills.
You can learn more about him by heading to www.dipresents.com.au or by asking his kids. But don’t talk to his mother. She still has no idea … but thinks he’s great at whatever it is anyway.
LET’S SHARE A POSITIVE PHOTO FROM THE PANDEMIC. HERE’S MINE
LET’S SHARE A POSITIVE PHOTO FROM THE PANDEMIC. HERE’S MINE
I’m in the throes of putting together a show reel of my Virtual MCing.
Yes, it is a little bit later than ideal … but marketing is not my strong point … which is something with which, sadly, my lecturers and tutors at UNSW seemed to agree when I was undertaking my Marketing degree.
I just seem to always find ways to procrastinate when I’m embarking on a major marketing mission.
But, in the process of creating this reel, I was sifting through footage and photos and came across this one … and it immediately made me feel wonderful and warm:
It is a photo, taken in my home studio, of my laptop screen during an online medical conference I was MCing.
On the screen are myself and four people far more skilled and important-to-society than me … highly-qualified medical people, situated around the world, in Australia, the US and Hong Kong.
But they are doing something you don’t see often at serious conferences like medical symposia: they are smiling. Like, REALLY happy. Even a little excited.
Look at them again, closer up:
This photo makes me feel REALLY good? And I feel a little bit guilty about that, because it is a photo that was only possible because of the tragedy of the coronavirus pandemic.
But it is a photo that will serve as a reminder that:
a) In some ways, the pandemic made people think more positively:
Yes, I realise that in future history text books, in the Chapter on The Great Pandemic of the 2020s, we are more likely to see a photo of people fighting over toilet paper than we are of conference speakers smiling, but I want to remember how, in general, people started to become grateful for things they had always taken for granted.
Like (as this photo shows) simply being together, even if it was only in a virtual way.
I strongly suspect that, if these four presenters had gathered at a real-live conference and been asked to be in a photo, they would have smiled … but the sparkle and enthusiasm would not have been at quite the same level.
The pandemic made us grateful for ANYTHING that brought us together. Even things that we had previously found annoying.
In the future, those people studying The Great Pandemic of the 2020s will be SO used to doing so many things in an on-line format that they won’t be able to appreciate how amazing it was that the world adapted to Zoom (and other online platforms) so quickly and comprehensively.
But, the truth is, prior to 2020, for most of us, the prospect of a virtual meeting or an on-line conference was very-much dreaded.
They were clunky. We were thrown by the occasional sound delays and cuts, and the quality of the vision was so sketchy you couldn’t help thinking you were auditioning someone for the Blair Witch Project (look it up, youngsters!).
But when the pandemic hit, we quickly embraced Zoom and all its relatives. We forgave it its faults and focused instead on its amazingness.
And isn’t THAT the best way to approach anything?
Think of the things we MOST complain about on a day-to-day basis … our internet connection … our mobile phone … our car … even our partners!
Why is it we focus on the things that go wrong with them rather than on the amazing things they do the 98% rest of the time??
During the pandemic, we certainly didn’t become perfect as people, but we did get better at appreciating things for a while. And hopefully this photo will always remind me of that.
b) In some ways, the pandemic made it EASIER for people to get together
Prior to the pandemic, the logistics and cost of getting a speaker from Des Moines, Iowa and another from Hong Kong to share a stage with speakers from Australia would be tremendous. Often prohibitive.
But isolation ironically made it easier for geographically dispersed people to come together.
This photo will always remind me that the pandemic made it easier to tap into an entire planet’s worth of talent and knowledge. And we all benefited from that.
Later this year I will be MCing an event in Canada. From my garage. For a client who is situated in the US and has wanted to use me for years but never had the budget to bring me over from Australia.
Who or what has the pandemic made it more possible for you to do?
c) In some ways, the pandemic made people more open to new ideas
The final reason I love this photo and what it represents (and I’ve written about this in previous articles) is that, without the pandemic, I wouldn’t be in that photo.
Prior to the coronavirus, medical conferences very rarely used an MC … but once COVID hit and changed our worlds, I found myself working at quite a few (because they felt that, being new to a virtual format, they could benefit from having an experienced presenter on hand for proceedings).
How many times during the pandemic did you find yourself doing or trying something for the very first time? What would it have taken for you to do it or try it if there had been no pandemic?
Personally, I have become a more regular blogger and much better at creating videos.
Which reminds me. I still have to finish that show reel!
Curse my procrastination!!!