Admit it.
You snuck AT LEAST a peek at Oprah’s interview with Harry and Meghan on Monday night.
It was quite compelling TV and, as always, I was watching it with my Events Industry Hat on to see if there was anything we could learn from it.
I found three lessons that I’d like to share:
1. THE TREMENDOUS POWER OF PRIVATE PEOPLE BEING PUBLIC
At the beginning of the interview Oprah and Meghan made clear that the former royals had no idea of what the questions were going to be.
Whether you believe that to have been the case is a matter of debate … but it doesn’t change how compelling the interview turned out to be.
And the main reason for this is something we should remember for our corporate events:
IMPORTANT PEOPLE OPENING UP MAKES PEOPLE WANT TO LISTEN.
Now, the chances we would ever have to deal with a royal family when organising our events are slim.
But we do sometimes have to feature in the speaking program someone who is treated as though they are royalty. Usually that would be a CEO, other senior executive, politician or celebrity.
It is to the benefit of our event (and the delegates) to have this person open up to some degree, too.
How effective would it be to have this personinterviewed by someone who asks the occasional question that, if not unexpected by the interviewee, is certainly unexpected by the delegates?
But, alas, what we normally end up with is a presentation comrised almost entirely of a predictable collection of words and messages … so carefully manicured to not reveal anything that it often isn’t even written by the person who delivers it.
It pays to let them off their leash occasionally. Let reality shine on the stage for a moment.
If you think that sounds too risky then let me tell you a quick tale.
A number of years’ ago I was MC an event for the entire staff of a very large insurance company. I was to start proceedings by welcoming everyone then sitting down on some tub chairs away from the lectern to have a chat with the CEO.
We had lined up a few questions in advance that he would address and I thought I would ask him on the day about something a bit more personal he might be comfortable to share.
Well … he was running late … so I didn’t see him until he came to stage for his interview. I asked him what I thought was a safe, almost throw-away, personal question: “Welcome, Tony. How’s your day been so far?”
He replied, “Well, I had to rush my wife to the hospital this morning because she developed Deep Vein Thrombosis”
There was a shocked silence from the crowd.
He reassured us that all was fine … but the fact that he had shared this information had some significant consequences:
a) It showed the audience their CEO was honest and respected them enough to trust them with this personal news,
b) It enabled the audience to see their leader as HUMAN first and CEO second, and
c) The delegates listened to every word he said after that with a new level of care.
If you’re a PCO reading this … or better still, a CEO … please try this at your next conference.
2. YOUR CHOICE OF FACILITATOR REALLY MATTERS
Sure, we’re talking about Oprah, here. One of the best in the world at her craft.
Celebrity interview royalty, you might say … and that’s true.
But … and here’s my point … she’s not ACTUAL royalty. You don’t need your facilitator to come from the same background as the people they are interviewing.
Oprah did a great job as interviewer because, well, she’s a wonderful interviewer. She does thorough research. She brings warmth and personality. She’s a good listener. Not because she’s ever been a princess.
Remember this for the interviews and panels you organise at your events … as on many occasions organisers use someone from within the industry to play the role of interviewer or facilitator … without paying enough attention to their skills in those areas.
That can be unfair to that person … as well as to the delegates.
A professional facilitator can do all the research necessary AND has the added advantage of being an outsider, so can ask things from a fresh perspective … that maybe an insider couldn’t ask … in the same way that Oprah could ask very different questions of, and get very different answers from, Harry and Meghan, compared to what would have happened if a member of the Royal Family had conducted the interview instead.
If there is an insider who you feel could contribute valuable thoughts to a discussion … invite them to be a participant. Just don’t burden someone with a task they may not be equipped to handle well.
It is the external expert that can make your interviews and panels as memorable and productive as they possibly can be.
3. MEGHAN WAS A WONDERFUL COMMUNICATOR
“Yes”, you might be thinking, “That’s because she’s a trained actor who had a starring role in an incredibly popular TV Series”.
But it actually doesn’t matter HOW she came to be such a wonderful presenter. The fact that she WAS so easy to listen had an enormous impact on the total quality of the interview.
This begs the important events industry question: How good are you (or your CEO or various executive) at communicating into a microphone? Or, as is more often the case nowadays, a camera?
If you’re spending tens of thousands of dollars on putting an event together … and then spend ZERO on the presentation skills of the speakers … how does that make any sense?
It doesn’t cost much to offer your speakers a one-hour session with a presentation skills coach so they can ask questions, get tips and be made to feel more confident and polished.
IN CONCLUSION
So, in summary, the Harry and Meghan interview emphasised three important lessons for us in the corporate events industry:
1. The more you can have your senior speakers appear to the audience as PEOPLE rather than POSITIONS, the LESS PREDICTABLE the content, the better the event will be.
2. Use a skilled facilitator for panels and interviews … one who is not afraid of doing the necessary research , rather than an expert in an issue who might struggle to be an interviewer
3. Invest in your people’s presentation skills.
And, possibly a fourth lesson was imparted, too:
Even if you marry a prince, there’s no guarantee life will be a fairy tale.