Call Warwick Now: 0408 592 158 - 0 items - $0.00
Archive For: communication
What’s the Best Way to Say Thank You?
I am very fortunate. Over the years I have received some lovely gifts to say thank you.
As a speaker it is very common to receive a bottle of wine (or two!) But as a non-drinker it was always a little disappointing (my wife and friends loved it though.) I have also received different vouchers from books stores, music stores and even cafes. And every time I was grateful for the gift.
But last week I was blown away!
I was given a thank you gift of 2.5kg of gourmet bacon! It was astounding.
Now I am not saying you should give bacon to say thank you. In fact for many, their religious/personal beliefs and lifestyle habits would mean they would be more offended than appreciated. What I am saying is match the gift to the person.
The person who gave me the gift knows I do go on a lot about bacon and I am a big fan. She also knows that I don’t drink and that chocolate is not really my friend. So when she wanted to thank me, she knew that for the same price as a really nice bottle of champagne, she could get 2.5kg of gourmet bacon delivered to my door.
So the best way to say thank you is with something that the recipient loves. Maybe they knit so would appreciate some special wool. Maybe they paint and some awesome coloured oils/water paints would be appreciated. Maybe they are into woodwork and so would appreciate a specific chisel.
A little bit of investigating, like their Facebook page, a conversation with their partner or even asking them directly, will give you some strong direction on what would be appreciated.
A general thank you is awesome but a targeted, specific thank you will make them feel extra special.
How will you be saying thank you?
How Getting Help, Helps Getting Good
I have a large awards event coming up with almost 200 people online.
It is really exciting! There will be video, slides, spotlighting of winners, spin the wheel prize games and a whole lot more. I know that everything the PCO and I have lined up is going to be fabulous. But I wanted to be sure!
That’s where my fabulous friends and colleagues came in.
You see, there was one thing I was going to do that I knew the theory of but I wanted to test it. To test it, I needed over a screen of people on Zoom – so over 26 people. I put the call out a couple of days before the Friday afternoon test and we were away.
People generously joined in knowing nothing about what I was trying to do. We tried a few different things and people all shared their thoughts and ideas and now I am concretely positive that what I want to do can be done.
Everyone then stayed on and swapped Zoom skills and ideas. It was a fantastic way for everyone to give a little and gain a lot. So a big thanks to everyone who jumped online. By giving a little help we all helped each other to get good, an Online Presenter Pro!
Where can you give a little help?
Let me know if you need a little help with your online events and presentations.
It Is Not As Obvious As You Think!
You could have knocked me over with a feather!
Last week I was talking with a couple of clients. They had used me before on several occasions and I thought they knew what I did, particularly with my shift to online event production and hosting. I was certain I had even talked about with them directly.
Both of them didn’t realise that I was producing events (pressing buttons, mixing audio and video, showing slide decks, highlighting speakers) as well as being the MC for that online event. Following these conversations I have booked two gigs with them.
I thought I was talking about events too much. If it is even possible, I was almost getting tired of my own voice! I was certain that I had mentioned what I am doing several times.
Still, they didn’t really know. Hence, here I am talking about it again.
What about for you? What do you do that your customer doesn’t know about? Maybe they only know you for ONE of your services or products. How can you share with them some of the successes that you have achieved for your other customers? How can you let them know you do more than what you are doing for them?
From personal experience, your clients are busy. They often don’t hear your message – not because they don’t care but because they are focussed on THEIR customer. So how can you make it easy for them to hear about what else you do?
Meanwhile, I will keep spreading the good word about Online Events. (He says, warming up to tell you what he does).
So if you need me, I will be here in my studio. With my four computers, two cameras, vision switcher, audio panel, sound panels and green screen. I will be running my weekly live stream on events (sign up to my YouTube channel to keep in touch WarwickMerry.tv) , sharing content on LinkedIn, and coaching people with their Online Presence.
Let me know if you need help with your next online event!
If you want your next online event or meeting to shine, get in touch with Warwick for some ideas or assistance on how to make it energetic and engaging.
Simply email Warwick [at@] WarwickMerry.com or call +61 408 592 158
How Do You Get Better?
I have to say, I have been pretty busy the last few months.
From producing online events (mini brag here – they have been in Singapore, UK, USA and later this week in Hawaii!) to helping other speakers get their studios sorted for online presentations to working with corporates to making their online meetings engaging and… worthwhile!
Some people have been asking how did I get to know all I do about this online presenting stuff and how they can get better.
I love what the philosopher Kierkegaard said, “Life has to be lived forwards but understood backwards.”
I have been fortunate enough to have some amazing life experiences. Radio DJ, singer, recording music, acting in theatrical productions, improv, stand up, story telling, author, content creator and of course event host and producer. Looking backward, I can understand that each of these elements has taught me something that helps me with my online work.
As you would expect, this puts me in a unique position right now.
I am continuing to learn and get better at what I do. In fact, keep your eye out for something new I have coming soon where I share some of these secrets!!
But for anyone to get better at anything, the key thing is … to do it more!
Wanna be a better singer? Sing more.
Wanna be a better writer? Write more.
Wanna be a better cook? Cook more.
So what do you want to get better at?
The One Thing You Need For Your Online Event To Wow
I was thrilled to host and speaker at a 2 day sales meeting for a client last week. At the end of the event, the delegates, the CEO and the organiser were all going WOW. It was all due to one thing!
Now online meetings and events are almost old fashioned! We have embraced the benefits of online, addressed some of it’s misgivings and the future clearly has online events as part of it.
In fact many of us now how online social events. In the past month I have had drinks sessions, dinner parties, improvised theatre performances, cabaret performances, and some music concerts all from the comfort of my own home. My nieces, nephews and close friends all study online regardless of whether it is secondary, tertiary or post grad.
But there is one thing that takes it from “Meh” to “WOW!”
That one thing is having the right event host! (Naturally I recommend me!)
My clients were thrilled that I lifted their event from the regular sales meeting to something memorable, special and fun.
My nieces and nephews happily tell me of the teachers that really bring the session to life rather than the same old – same old!
The right host is the glue that holds everything together. They build the energy when needed, make sure the technology behaves itself (and when it doesn’t, they deal with it), and ensure that the focus stays on the delegates as the main players in the event.
Whether it is me as the host, the teacher, your managers, you as the team leader, or someone else, what are you doing to make your delegates go “WOW!”
PS Warwick talked about this topic in more detail on the recent episode of the Get Events Online Live Stream. You can see the recording here.
I have a Severe Case of Kummerspeck
German is a fantastic language. It gives us wonderful words, that for the non-native German speakers, can sound harsh, guttural and slightly ridiculous.
But they express a situation so well.
Schadenfreude (which means getting pleasure from the pain of others) is the basis of so many tv series and YouTube channels. It is the guilty pleasure of many of us, myself included!
Zeitgeist means the mood of the culture or the spirit of the times and is now commonly used in English conversations.
But the word that best sums up what seems to be happening in my life and those around us is Kummerspeck. Literally this means Grief Bacon.
Many around me are talking about Corona Kilos added from excess eating during lock down or feeling out of control so eating over it. Surely this is grief bacon!
The pandemic has shattered our illusion of control and so we do what we can to feel more in control or to use the time we have as productively as possible. For me that means making cinnamon scrolls, brownies and other yummy treats and then giving most of what I made away.
The longer the pandemic goes on, the more of a challenge it will be for us. Personally, I suspect this pandemic will go until late 2021. There will continue to be rolling lock downs as we deal with trying to minimise the impact of the disease.
The Germans have a word for this too, Scheisse.
But in the mantra of 2020, “It is what it is”. So let’s continue on, grateful we are not dodging bullets, having bombs dropped on us, or suffering from something far worse than being forced to stay in our homes.
If you need to get out virtually, don’t forget to join my What’s Up Wednesday sessions that happen every Wednesday. Click here for more details. We just chat about what is going on and see what help everyone needs (and have a fair bit of fun along the way!)
Stay strong and love your Kummerspeck.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀?
So many events people and speakers are looking for amazing tech setups. Some have amazing looking setups like the ones in this image.
But never forget, you are alone in your room as your audience is alone in theirs. Having their pictures on the screen is meaningless if you are not engaging.
The best setup is a camera and a screen. That’s it. (and the camera can be a webcam, smartphone or even the one in your laptop.)
The difference is what you do with it.
You have to truly connect with the camera. Because the camera represents the people. You need to look at them.
It doesn’t matter your setup if you can’t connect or engage.
To many people try and create an online experience and end up making an Average TV Show. And an Average TV Show is just too easy to turn off.
Let go of the tech. Get better at presenting, engaging, playing, laughing, connecting, inspiring, energising and delighting those on the other side of the camera. That is the best setup you could ask for!
PS Need help with your set up or online engagement skills?
Get in touch.
What are the Holy Trinity of Video and Why Do They Matter?
When it comes to broadcasting – live or via a recording, there are three things you MUST get right.
It this episode of the Get Events Online show, Warwick talks about the consequences of not addressing this “Holy Trinity” and what you can do to make sure your videos shine.
Check out the episode and get in touch if you need some assistance with your next energetic and engaging online event.
How To Be An Influencer
Over the weekend, I made these Cinnamon Scrolls and without meaning to, I became an Influencer!
Now I am not saying there was a rush on cinnamon, but I do know that three other people made cinnamon scrolls and tagged me. That is certainly exerting some influence. Often that is all it takes. Just a nudge to two or three people and you can start something.
(By the way if you want to make these scrolls, the recipe is here.)
On a different front, I exerted even more influence.
Last week, Zoom released 5.2. While it has a few new, fun features, one really powerful feature is to be able to display your video overlaid on top of your presentation slides. When I read about it, I got a little excited (you can do it manually but this is easier).
I shot a short video showing how to do it and a few other fun things and then released it.
To date, that video has been seen on LinkedIn and Facebook about 10,000 times. It has generated some interesting responses, requests for help and a load of new connections.
In both of these examples, all I did was share something interesting, desired and put a funny, authentic twist on it. The key here is “desired”.
People were salivating over the cinnamon rolls and were excited about the new feature, especially in my network.
Could you do something similar?
What do you know of that is interesting, and desired that you can present with a funny, authentic twist?
PS You can watch that video here (now with the unintended joke at the end)
PPS The latest episode of the Get More Success Show is out.
This time I was thrilled to chat with Terry Brock. A technology journalist, speaker, humanitarian and all round nice guy. He is a man who LOVES cars, but doesn’t own one! Check the podcast for more.
How to Put Video in Front of Slides in Zoom
Zoom has released version 5.2
It has some great stuff like adjusting camera lighting and sound filtering. It has some fluffy stuff like filters. But it also has a cracking new feature.
You can now download your presentation and have the video footage of you broadcast over the top of the slides. (See the video for the visual.)
BUT
There are some caveats. Your audience MUST be running 5.2 to be able to see it. Your computer must be powerful enough to run virtual backgrounds.
So if you have an older computer or a low processing power one like a Mac Book Air, then you may struggle. See Zoom support page for their requirements.
So check out this 4 minutes of fun on how you can do it and what it looks like.
Reach out if you have any questions.
Why Strong Leadership is All About Focus
I am a big fan of The West Wing (the TV show not the present occupant). In particular, I loved how Jed Bartlet would always ask the question, “What’s Next?” He did what had to be done. Made tricky decisions and then moved on. What’s next?
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has just made a very big decision that has put the majority of our states population under curfew. It will also significantly impact our economy and more than likely people and businesses will suffer financially. It would have been a tough call to make.
To me it represents strong leadership. He and his team have looked at what is in the best interest of all of our people? Their decision means that we will all suffer a little bit so that a few don’t have to suffer a lot.
His focus is on a healthy, functioning Victoria and what is the safest, quickest and most cost effective way to get us there.
Not the most popular, the one that makes the most money, but the one that is in the best interest for us all.
To me, that is strong leadership.
Where is your focus?
What tough decisions do you need to act on?
What’s Next?
How To Deal With Being Out of Control
I was trying to get a shot with Winston the Wonder Poodle next to the almost blooming daffodils. I wanted him to look right down the barrel of the camera. As you can see, I failed. No matter what I said, promised, clicked, whistled, or did would get him where I wanted.
It feels like the same thing is happening in the world right now.
We are trying to get people to follow the rules and guidelines, yet they won’t. It is lock down in Melbourne and you are not allowed to have people visit, so one group of people decided to have a birthday party with 16 people. They got caught and now have over $26,000 in fines.
Another group of people lied about their prior whereabouts when entering Queensland and got fined $24,000. Some even tried to run from the car when they were being pursued.
So this poor behaviour means COVID19 case numbers are rising. More businesses are being locked down. Peoples lives are being put at risk. This means that they are even discussion a return to Level 4 lockdown in Melbourne.
Many people are feeling out of control, and rightly so.
So how do you deal with being out of control of so many important aspects of your life all at the one time?
One simple strategy is to be where your hands are. Our lack of control comes from thinking about the future and projecting how things will be in a time we are not even in yet.
Being where your hands are means considering, what can I do RIGHT NOW? What is my focus RIGHT NOW? What is one thing I can do RIGHT NOW that will benefit me, those around and me and move me closer to my goals.
Bringing that focus back to the here and now means you are not thinking about what could, should or would happen but on what IS happening.
I didn’t get the photo I wanted with Winston the Wonder Poodle, but I did get some fun shots. I could then move on and focus on the next thing on my list, which was to reward him for a good walk and then give him a big belly rub.
Now that made both of us happy!
The Secret to Successful and Powerful Online Sessions
Do you know how to get your online session attendees excited?
Can you make the audience laugh even if it is a serious or dry subject?
Can you make a recording of your presentation really POP?
There is one secret to successful and powerful online sessions, and so many people don’t know it.
This secret applies whether you are presenting online to thousands of people, having a virtual team meeting, or just catching up on Zoom with family and friends. Many people have HEARD the secret but then failed to take it on board. Truth be told, this same secret applies to face to face sessions, physical conferences as well as regular meetings.
That secret is this:
Your delegates and audience want the session to be done WITH them and not just TO them.
That means if you want to play a video of your presentation then get on the chat and engage with the audience as your video is playing. Add an extra dimension to your presentation.
That means if your are presenting, consider what you can do to get the delegates and audience involved. Simplistically, you can ask them questions and get responses in the chat. You could also use polling to ask them questions. Or maybe get everyone working on a Jamboard together.
There are hundreds of ways to make your session more inclusive and still support the theme and learning of what you are after. Find more ways to involve your audience or, quite simply, they will leave.
How will you make your next session something that is done WITH the audience and not just TO them?
Reach out if you need some help with it.
How Can You Have A Virtual Sticky Note Board?
How do you brainstorm with digital sticky notes?
How can everyone access the sticky notes?
Can you move them, comment on them and do it all – for free?
Everyone loves brainstorming with sticky notes or Post-It Notes ® but when we go online, how can we do it virtually?
This is a question loads of people have asked me. And there are some fantastic apps and programs that can help you do it.
I don’t know about you, but I am tired of paying $20 a month for this, $15 a month for that or $400 for an annual license. Surely there has to be a better, cheaper way for something you may not use a lot?
Well there is. It is called Google Jamboard and Laurie Brown showed it to me so I want to show it to you and show you how easy, effortless and FREE it is.
I got so excited that I recorded a video on how to use it when I was all bearded and horribly unprofessional, but in a COVID19 age, that boundary is shifting.
It is only 7 minutes, but I think it will shift your perspective on using sticky notes online.
Enjoy!
Have you read Warwick’s book yet? Click on the cover to discover how you can get some great bonuses
