Warwick Merry | Warwick Merry CSP CVP

We Have Changed the World Forever

We did it!
We did what they said couldn’t be done.
It has changed things forever!

So often before the lockdown, business and people would say to me, “Oh no face to face is so much better. We will never go online”

Then there was the lock down.

It is amazing how quickly things will change when they have to. While my personal belief is that we are not out of the woods yet when it comes to minimising the harm from COVID19, it seems to me that Online Sessions are here forever.

People have found how easy it is to connect, communicate, sell, entertain, care, and grow with an online experience. Yes, there are different elements of the online experience that are exhausting or take extra effort, but we will get used to it. We will adapt. We will adopt. It will become our new normal.

We did it with trains! In Victorian times, it was believed that Train Travel could cause instant insanity. Turns out, this isn’t the case!

While it won’t replace face to face meetings completely, it has changed us forever. I know for a fact it has changed my business forever – mostly in a good way.

So how do we embrace it? How do we change our interactions to take advantage of it’s benefits? How do we deal with the many different tools to use?

The secret is to not go alone.

I know I have learnt so much from those around me.
I have learnt some of the key issues can be easily dealt with regardless of the technology.
I have learnt that there are secrets to each platform to get the most out of it.

The world has changed forever – I believe for the better.

My renewed mission is to Get Events Online. From large conferences down to small team and family gathers. It means I won’t have to travel as much. It means I get to spend more time with my loved ones. It means I get to have a global presence while staying at home.

When it comes to events, the world has changed forever and I, for one, am glad!

PS Let me know if you need help changing to Online Events in your world!

How can you give your Zoom Sessions Zest?
How can you make your Webex Sessions Wonderful?
How can you Get Your Goto Sessions Groovy?

It is not just Eventprofs and Conference crews who are running online events. In the current world order, online sessions are the new norm. We are running them for family, friends, oh and work too!

But there is a big difference to just “jumping online” and running an Awesome event! More of my clients are asking me to produce the whole sessions, technically as well as the content, because they know they need to take it up a notch.

From my experience, here are the 5 Key Elements you MUST get right (in no order of importance):

1) Timing

Face to face or online, it doesn’t matter. You must get the timing right. Stick to time, honour those who turned up on time, and keep to the run sheet. For online events, it is even better to make your 1 hr speakers 40 mins. Faster is better and you don’t need the extra time for the physicality you had on stage.

It seems that with online events, you can achieve your goals faster. If you allocate an hour to a meeting, it will take an hour. Change it to 45 minutes. You will keep peoples attention, give yourself a break between items and achieve more if you condense it.

2) Get Your Audio Right

I don’t care if I can’t see you fully but if your sound is bad, I will disconnect from the call. Tweak the room, tweak the mic, tweak the settings but get the sound right.

More often than not, it is the room and not the microphone. If you have polished floor boards, bare walls or lots of windows, you will get a stack of echo. Often a big run, some bedding hung on cupboard doors, changing rooms or simply using your ear buds will make a big difference.

Be aware, asking “what microphone should I use” is like asking what dog should I pat. They all have their good points and they all have a different purpose. While there are plenty of good value microphones out there, not everyone one of them will suit your set up or how you want to use it.

3) Make it Interactive

You are competing with Facebook and Email. Only by getting people to do things, play more, poll, or respond will you keep their attention and keep them awake.

Be creative and use the features of the system you are using. Try polling, breakout rooms, changing your name, turning camera on and off, random items on peoples desks. You will be amazed at what you can do.

4) No Dead Air

Dead Air is when there is nothing happening. This can be visual but is usually more audio based. When people join a meeting if nothing is happening they may think it is their system, they may tune out or they may even think things aren’t starting yet so go and make a drink.

During the session Dead Air may indicate the speaker has a problem, has their internet cut out, has MY internet cut out, do I need to log out and in again?

Dead air will kill the session. Channel your inner DJ. When the session is starting welcome people as they come online. It is like you are hosting a dinner party. Welcome and introduce them. If you don’t know them just welcome them. Ask an innocuous question like what is their favourite hot drink.

This works on bigger events too and trains people how to use the chat box. Getting people active straight away helps break the ice and make your event more enjoyable.

5) Have Fun

The Minister for Fun once said to me, “If it is not fun, don’t do it. If you have to do it, make it fun.” This is particularly true of online sessions.

Too many of them are unnecessarily dry and boring. Too many of them send you to sleep. Too many of them make you wish you had skipped it and just watched the recording.

Online is the new normal. Add some simple fun elements and your sessions will be sought after. You will stand out.

Need some help? Get in touch and I will work with you to make your next online session AWESOME!

Even Australians can get in on this holy day of Jedi Worship!

But to be serious, it is always good to look for a laugh, wherever you can find it!
Particularly with all that is/isn’t going on at the moment.

We have come a long way since the lockdown. With all the discussions I am having with friends and business colleagues, a bit of excitement and possibility is starting to grow. We can now see possibilities for the future – maybe not light sabre weilding kangaroos, but still, some good possibilities.

But there are risks too.

We can’t risk forgetting those who have be hurt and are continuing to hurt due to the lock down.
We can’t risk putting people in harms way unnecessarily.
We can’t risk building a possible future on a foundation of others suffering.

So as we look at our possible futures, it is important that we stay in today, look for the great stuff around us and keep our sense of humour strong!

May the 4th be with us all!

Are you looking for the secret of Webex sessions?

How about how to deliver fantastic Goto Webinar courses?

Why not the tips and tricks of Zoom sessions?

The fantastic news is it is not about the technology. In fact is has NEVER been about the technology. Let’s face it, there are a stack of technologies available and I am sure there are plenty more in the pipeline.

In fact, here are some of the technologies currently available:

Goto Meeting
Goto Webinar
CyberLink U Meeting
Zoom Meeting
Zoom Webinar
Bluejeans
Google Hangouts Meet
Google Hangouts
Lifesize
Skype
FreeConference
Cisco Webex Meeting
Facetime

There is no way you will be able to master all of these. The rate of change of this technology is vast. New features are included all the time. And the good news is, you don’t have to.

The great news is that it is not about the technology.

It is not even about you!

It is AAAALLLLLL about the audience.

So keep them busy. Keep them engaged. Keep them on the edge of their seats. Here are some ways to deliver fabulous and effective presentations:

Lots of slides: My average is one per second – (a slide with 4 points becomes 4 slides)

Make it interactive: polls, questions, responses in the chat, favourite coffee, biggest problems – fun questions.

Make it fun: Even if you are presenting academic delight – find a way to make it fun

Give more energy: one of the biggest things is you don’t have the audience of the crowd to energise the room. It is all you. So use voice tone variations, pacing differences and even movement. I will lean into the camera and whisper!

Ask better questions: Make the audience actual think and reflect. Token questions just don’t cut it.

Just a few ideas to help you perform better online.

If you need any further help, get in touch and we can make your next online session stand out!

Who is the best online presenter in Australia?
Who is the best online host in Australia?
How can I tell who is the best?

Now that the world has moved to online events and meetings, people are looking for who is the best, most effective, and best value for money online speaker.

Some traditional speakers or managers are struggling with the transition to online. They are just doing the same old thing but online. This simply doesn’t work.

Our engagement techniques are different. We can’t just treat the camera as if it is the person in the room and present to it. Our attention spans are shorter. Our presence is more intense. So things have shifted.

Your position at the event is different. If you are sitting up the back of the room in a meeting or in the crowd at a conference, there is a level on anonymity FOR THE SPEAKER or MANAGER! Now you are UP FRONT AND CENTRE!

People watching you on the screen, be it laptop, desktop, mobile or tablet, see you all under the microscope. So you have to be able to connect with them.

The energy in the room is different. In a physical room the people are bringing energy to the room. In a virtual room, it is just you! So you have to channel your inner Radio DJ. Essentially hold the entire energy of the conversation rather than just feel like you are talking into space.

You gotta make it fun. That doesn’t mean you have to be a stand up comedian but making a session fun is the best way to engage people. A simple smile on their face makes them pay attention to what is going on. You can also be professional as you are having fun – so don’t think that your whole organisation has regraded into chaos just because you are adding the fun!

So when you are looking for people to present or host (naturally I would recommend my good self!) make sure they have a history of presenting online. Make sure they have adapted their style to presenting online and just aren’t doing the same old same old. Make sure they have the energy you are after.

So as well as seeing a promotional video, I would highly recommend you connect with them online and see how they are one on one.

So who do you think is the best online presenter or host in Australia?

Please get in touch if I can help you or your event.

What a strange world we now live in.

There are a lot of people in pain. Financial pain, pain from kids needing home school, pain from elderly parents who just won’t stay home, pain from spending as much time as you have been with all of your immediate family, pain of not having enough alone time, pain from not seeing or spending time with friends, pain of illness or even death of key people in your life… all sorts of pain.

The world has irrevocably changed for us.

We will never go back to how it was and I suspect we will horde toilet rolls for a long time to come!

So make sure you take the time to take the time.

Your kids won’t be schooled like they used to. Home schooling is different. Home schooling under lockdown is even more different. So teach them lessons they won’t get at school. Have fun with them. Play stupid games. Take the time to show them how important they are to you.

Take the time to look after yourself. Take time out in the bath. Sit on the balcony with a book. Put a do not disturb sign on your door and just spend some time with yourself.

Take the time to connect. My gorgeous wife and I are having quite a few Digital Drinks Parties. My friends 13 year old sent me a message the other day saying she missed seeing us. So tonight we are having a Digital Drinks Party. We have the technology so why wouldn’t we use it.

Take the time to potter around the place. Maybe you have a few odd jobs on the To Do list. It may be a good time to do that. Or not!

Whatever you do, you know as well as I “Life as Usual” has changed. It is more “Life as Unusual”. So take the time to consider your life. What do you want to change, what will you keep, what will you tweak.

I don’t think you need to be massively productive. I think it is important to process what is happening for you. To reach out to friends. To ask for help if you need it. To offer help if you can.

Whatever you choose to do, take the time to take the time. It’s important!

PS If you need some help taking time out, head over to Wednesday with Warwick and check out the free sessions where you can focus on you and connect with others.

tired overworked businesswoman at office covering her face with hands, business content,business concept and selective focus.

What are the biggest mistakes people make on Webinars?

How can you avoid the virtual meeting errors others make?

How can you make your online presentation more engaging or just BETTER?

With Corona Virus/COIVD-19 there has been a stampede to get online. Get meetings, conferences, presentations and just catchups all online. You can use Facebook Live, Zoom, GOTO Webinar or whatever technology you want. But it is not the technology that matters!

I have been chatting with my colleagues and asking them what are the biggest mistakes you have seen presenting on line. If we can short cut our learning process and not make these mistakes ourselves, we will be more effective.

Many of these issues are reflected in face to face meetings and events as well, so they will not come as a surprise.

So here is what NOT to do:

Ignore the Timing

If you say start at 3pm then start on time. Maybe give a minute or two but get started on time. Also end on time. If you announce a 1 hour meeting, run it for one hour. If you need to go over, ask permission or allow it to be optional.

Have a Long Time

When running an online meeting, the distractions are magnified. So many people have the meeting running while they are doing something else (I am on a webinar as I write this.) So don’t waffle on. Less is best. If it used to be a one hour meeting, make it 30 minutes. You won’t hold their attention so don’t expect to.

Be Boring

You have to channel your inner radio host. If you are the manager, you have to get people engaged. This means start the meeting early and start chatting. How are we feeling, what’s your favourite coffee, who’s wearing pants!?!? Whatever, start with a bit of fun. Remember, the only thing worse than being boring is dead air (see next one).

Dead Air

On radio, dead air is almost forbidden. Nothing is worse. In fact, many radio stations have built in that if there is dead air for a short period, a message kicks in. So saying, “We are just going to wait for the others to join us” and paauuuuuuse is a killer. You have to learn how to Waffle Relevantly.”

Go Slowly

Our ability to consume has increased – it has had to with the bombardment of media out there. So speed up. Talk a little faster than conversationally, only use pauses for effect, use more slides and change them rapidly, and give more energy. You will get higher engagement when you are able to convey information in this way.

Have No Idea About The Tech

I get the technology is new. I get you have a lot on. But you need to be comfortable with it. Run a practice session. Spend time inviting people on and off as guest presenters. Watch other videos on how to use the system. But if it becomes horribly apparent that you don’t know what you are doing, we will tune out. Even if you know your stuff, you got to know how to share it.

Try and Do It All Yourself

There is so much to do when hosting an online event. Particularly if it is with a large number of people. So don’t try and do it all yourself. Have someone else manage the chat or the Q&A or the technology. Free yourself up so you can focus on the people on the session. If you are having multiple speakers, you MUST have an event host. (Naturally I would suggest me!!) Someone has to be in control of what is happening.

Have Rubbish Audio

In the online world, Audio is far more important than Video. Get it right. Don’t use the laptop microphone. Have a decent microphone either in the webcam, external to the system or even a lapel microphone. You MUST get the audio right. People will often turn off the video if the video is bad, but still listen. But if it is hard to listen or even hurts to listen, they will leave.

Camera Angle Showing Nasal Hair

How many online sessions have you been on where you are looking up the persons nose or their face is too close to the screen or they are miles away and you can’t see them. It is easy to prop up your camera and get a decent framing on you. Prop it on a box of paper, use a tripod, I have even seen people put their laptop on the ironing board. Get the camera angle right so it is not a distraction.

Make Assumptions on Who is On the Call

Many of my female friends are telling me they are tired of being referred to as “guys”. Other assumptions are also being made. As an MC I am getting more requests to not refer to “ladies and gentlemen”. So it pays to be aware of who is on the call. Pick a collective term that applies to them all. Being inclusive is what this online process is all about.

Try to Be Someone They Are Not

Due to the intimacy of this kind of broadcasting, you cannot pretend to be something you aren’t. Be authentic. Be real. If you make a mistake, go with it. We don’t want you to be perfect, but we do want you to be good. It you are too busy trying to prove how good you are then we lose some of the best value that you have. This leads into the next point.

IT’S. NOT. ABOUT. YOU.

The final point is the most important. Too often the presenter forgets it is not about them. It is allllll about the people on the call. Don’t waste time telling us how good you are. We don’t care. We are happy to hear a story about you if it has a learning for us. But give us something. An idea, a solution, some excitement, a laugh, some fun, some belonging, just give us something and make it about us.

There are so many more mistakes people make. I am sure you have your favourite! So how can you get better with your online presenting?

Contact me if I can help.

We live in interesting times.

For all my gregariousness and enthusiasm, I am conservative by nature. Not one for fads but open to scientific method, new ideas, and decisions made on facts.

In the last few weeks, most of my conference bookings have been cancelled, postponed or deferred to an online event (where I tend to excel!) And the more I read about COVID-19, the more seriously I take the recommendations from the health experts.

My focus is to stay alert but not alarmed. Not to panic but to be prepared.

Here is an excellent piece by one of Australia’s most eminent doctors, Doctor Norman Swan, broadcast the ABC. It is only 8 minutes and I recommend you watch it.

So my gorgeous wife and I have made the decision to send ourselves into exile, for the good of the realm. Some call it social distancing, but going into exile sounds more exotic.

It means we are cancelling a lot of our social engagements, minimising our contact with others and doing what we can to keep everyone safe.

One of the pieces I saw said to not approach our situation to prevent ourselves from catching this virus, but to assume we already have it and to act so that we don’t spread it to others.

There have been so many great stories of people and communities supporting each other and working together to get through a messy time in our lives. Let’s be part of that. Let’s focus on the WE and not the ME.

Just know, I am here for you. If you are also going into exile and get lonely, give me a call. Let’s chat. Let’s sing songs. Let’s have group calls with others. Let’s share ideas on cleaning our bums without toilet paper (oh so many ideas on that one!)

There is so much we can do. So let’s do it together.

See you in Exile!

What happens when the Expo or Tradeshow you are supposed to be at is still happening but you can’t fly?

How can you have a presence at the Expo when you can’t be present?

What can you do to show your product but not show your face?

There are plenty of options, and most of them do not include Holograms!

With many governments banning visitors from China, South Korea, Italy, Singapore and other countries, it can be a challenge to represent your brand and your company and the events that are still happening.

Sometimes, it is not the government banning the flights. Maybe it is your company, your family or you just aren’t willing to travel because you feel the risks are too high.

If you have already paid for exhibiting space, how do you take advantage of it all while not being on site?

Here are a few ideas:

1 – A Virtual Delegate

While you may not be able to get a robot or drone to carry around a table and be you at the event, it is very likely you could hire a local person to be virtually you. Have them wear a large name tag and image of you and carry the tablet around as you direct. You could then see the sessions, have the conversations and almost be there. All from the comfort and safety of your home or office.

2 A Virtual Product

Arrange with the expo or event organisers to have a smart tv or tv and tablet at your stand. You can show video, interactive website, 3D imagery of your product or service. Some remote printed posters or documentation can easily represent you.

3 A Virtual Presence

This is a combination of the first two. Set up your virtual product (or actual product if it is available locally) and then have your virtual representative on site to give the tablet to interested people so you can have decent conversations. As you are having conversations with people on the tablet, your virtual person can be booking further appointments.

4 Hybrid Convention Presence

With a Hybrid Convention, you can combine the Virtual Presence with the conference software and have meetings in break out room. Even delegate some of your teams to take the hybrid meetings while you do the live one.

5 Something Else

No doubt there are a plethora of other options available to you. These were some that came up in discussion today. Naturally each of these options is scalable. All you need is to add more members of your team or more onsite representatives with tablets to represent you.

What’s Next?

There is no doubt that face to face meetings are superior to virtual meetings. But the events industry is being disrupted by forces beyond our control. It is a great time to get creative and work WITH and AROUND our physical limitations.

If you are looking for some alternatives for your next event, expo or conference, get in touch and let’s talk about what may be possible.

Are you switching over to Virtual Events or Hybrid Events?
Is your Event likely to go Online?
Are you looking at a Plan B for your conference?

There are so many things that go into making a successful event. Ask any of the Eventprofs and PCO legends in your life and they will give you a huge list.

With the advent of COVID-19, so many of these events are going virtual or online and that just adds to the multitude of issues you need to consider. But there is one key thing you MUST get right.

That is, THE SOUND.

With the vast array of microphones that your speakers will be using, you need to make sure they work well. We can put up with dodgy video (in Australia I will often turn it off due to poor bandwidth) but the sound MUST be good.

Your laptop mic is not enough.

If you are a speaker and plan on doing more virtual work, spend the money and get some good sound gear. You won’t regret it and your audience will love you for it.

I am a big fan of the RODE products. The Wireless GO is a great option. It is wireless and gives you room to move. Often I use the RODE VideoMicMe as it is a shot gun mic and the less that one metre distances means the pick up is good, the background noise is minimised and I have freedom to move.

How good is your sound and audio?
Get in touch if you need some pointers or further help on your next online event.

What to Do When Your Event Cancels

Covid-19/The Corona Virus has disrupted the events sector when it wasn’t quite ready for it. Not just the corporate event industry either. Cancellations are happening all over the world.

Quickbooks 2020 in London was cancelled with very little notice. One of my speaker colleagues had flow all the way there from Australia only to be cancelled the day before.

Japan has shut most schools for a month. Some say it is to stabilise the outbreak as much as possible prior to the olympics.

Universities are rapidly looking for ways to reach out to their students without having them on campus. What was going to be future technology implementations have become urgent projects.

And most recently, Italy has shut down. Minimal movement EVERYWHERE!

So how do you continue to engage your team, marketplace, suppliers, associations, and all those in your circle of influence under the global influence of COVID-19?

Virtual Presentations For Virtual and Hybrid Events.

Never has it been easier or more affordable to present to large number of people using the technology you already possess. While you can upgrade to professional AV equipment, in most instances your phone or your computer has you covered.

Here are some key tips for presenting online:

No dead air. From my time on radio, nothing kills you like dead air. If the audience don’t know what is going on they tune out. You have to be talking with them at all times. Pauses are great, but dead air is a killer.
You are On Before You Are On. If you are running a session, get a host to come on 5 minutes before start time to start chatting with people. Some people will always be early. They can warm up the crowd for you and start to build their energy.
Don’t Do It Alone. Having a second person to look at the chat comments, do the intro, put up polls, change the visuals allows you to focus on your message. After awhile you may build the skill for a solo effort but don’t start that way. A tech team or someone like me can really help here.
Talk WITH Them and not TO Them. It is easier for you to stand there and spout your message. But the audience will be asleep or looking at emails (or even FaceBook). Get them doing something. Ask for suggestions, feedback, thoughts, polls, coffee orders – anything so that they are part of the session. This is more important virtually than face to face as they will not get the synergy from the people around them. They need you to connect them.
Give the audience something. Having some form of collateral will help them stay engaged and follow along. This is more than copies of your slides. It may be key points, summaries, an infographic, polling info, statistics, reference material or a pdf with space for them to write their notes on what’s next.
Start Now. Too many people are waiting until they HAVE to do virtual presentations. Like all skills, practice makes perfect. The sooner you start, the more practice you will have at it and the better you will get. So start now.

Virtual presentations are here to stay. For a place as geographically dispersed population like Australia, it can’t come quick enough. With the rise and rise of video popularity and consumption, you have to embrace this and get better FAST!

So whether you call it remote presenting, virtual presenting, online presenting, hybrid conference or a virtual event, the key question is the same, how do I keep my online audience engaged throughout my presentation. The tips above are a good place to start!

Warwick is running a 30 minute power session on Powerful Presentations Online on Thursday 19 March 2020.
Find out the details here.

Shakespeare famously said, “If Music be the food of love, play on!”

I have so many amazingly talented friends in the music industry and it is an industry in which it is harder and harder to earn a living from. Streaming has massively increased the availability of music, but slashed the earning potential of artists.

For those of us in the Event and Conference industry, the most important way to protect the “food of love” is to pay your annual music license. In Australia, this is through One Music.

Having paid my Gold License, not only do I feel like James Bond (licensed to thrill) but also at any event I host, any music can be streamed or played off digital device/cd and you will have a warm fuzzy feeling knowing your music is legal and licensed.

If you are an EventProf, do you know if your speakers are all licensed? Sometimes a venue license isn’t enough.

Happy to chat with you on basic music license topics, but One Music is the best source.

Show how much you love the music at your next event and make sure it is licensed.

PS For those of you NOT in the event industry, make sure you buy your friends CD, throw a few bucks at the busker, and support your friends in ALL their artistic endeavours. Arts of all kinds certainly makes this world a far better place to live in.

So often I see leaders and managers telling their subordinates what to do, and then complain that they have no initiative. You have probably seen it yourself or even heard people say, “I don’t have time to show them what to do. It is easier to just do it myself.”

Unfortunately, this is a short term strategy that leads to frustration, overwhelm and exhaustion. Whether it is showing them how to do pivot tables in a spreadsheet, how to use the new extruder, or getting them to take more responsibility for leadership decisions, if you are taking command of the situation they will never completely buy in or take ownership.

The best way for them to learn the new skill or step up into a leadership role is to take complete ownership of the situation/problem. It takes longer, requires more effort in the short term, and it will build a more functional and responsible team.

So next time, try this instead:

Tell them the outcome you are aiming for
Show them the guidelines they will be operating within and any restrictions they have
Start asking questions and let them lead the way. For example, what would you start with, who should get involved, what is the first checkpoint
When they start making mistakes, don’t tell them. Instead, ask more questions. For example, what do you think will happen if you go down this path, does the result you are getting make sense, what about the impact on this department?
Keep asking questions to guide them as THEY take the lead, THEY take responsibility.
Praise their outcome and efforts.

It takes an investment of your time, but the investment is all up front and you are rewarded with an engaged, decisive and responsible team member. Using your influence and leadership, you are building stronger and better teams and individuals.

Surely that is worth the investment?

“How can I get them to do what I want?”
“Why won’t they listen?
“But I already told them!”

I have heard managers and team leaders (and parents) say this on many occasions. Also Presidents of Associations, chairs of committee and sales people just trying to get across the message. Often the message is a good one (even a great one) but you just can’t get the response, excitement or engagement you want.

Usually this means it is not the message, but how you choose to get it across.

Years ago when I worked at the now defunct EDS, on several different occasions I got my annual pay rise by being stopped in the hallway by my manager and having them hand me a post it note with the new amount and percentage increase written on it.

Yeeeeaaaah…. that’s not the best way to do it.

So often people send emails or texts rather than having a conversation with the person. Phil Collins famously broke up with his ex-wife by sending her a fax. People tell their boss they can’t come into work because they are sick using some kind of messaging app.

THE MODALITY COUNTS!

Face to Face, Video Call, Phone Call, Text Message, Email or via a third party. Whatever your modality, it makes a difference.

If you are not getting your message across, if you are not inspiring the troops, if you are not connecting with others, if the kids seem out of control, maybe you should consider your modality as well as your message?

It’s not you, it is how you do it that makes all the difference.

Warwick Merry speaking at a conference in front of a packed audience

One of the guests on my podcast recently mentioned how he thought everyone needed to be a good speaker. I have been mulling over his comment and decided that, no, I don’t think everyone does need to be a good speaker.

While I agree with the intent behind his comment, I don’t agree with the modality. Let me explain. His thought is that if you can’t talk about who you are, what you do and how you add value then you may as well not do what you do as no one will discover you.

In the same way that there is little difference between someone who can’t read and someone who chooses not to, if you cannot communicate your thoughts and ideas, have you really had them?

Where I disagree with his thesis is that I don’t believe you need to be a speaker. Many introverts I know never speak but they get their message across (often better than introverts!)

I don’t think you need to be a good speaker but you do need to be a good communicator. You need to be able to convey your ideas in a manner that others can digest, understand and act upon.

Whether it is written, spoken, sung or done in sign language, the ability to communicate your thoughts, desires and ideas is important.

How well do you communicate?
What is your preferred modality?
How can you get better at it?

If I can help, please get in touch.

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