Archive For: communication

Some Tips, A Resource and A Question

Life seems to be a little more full on than usual. We face different risks every day and the risks are stronger, stranger and scarier that we have been faced with for a long time! So to help, here are some tips, a resource and a question to help you.

Some Tips

1) Be kind. As shops, business and states start to open up. Please be kind. To those running the place, the other patrons and even yourself. It is a weird world now and usual rules don’t apply

2) Get Better at Video. Our world has been transformed and video is a thing, now more than ever. Julian Mather is a legend at using your smart phone to make things look awesome. If you want to communicate better over video just using your phone, he is the one to turn to. He has a free course here and then offers a more sophisticated course for a fee.
(I rarely take on affiliates but I am an affiliate of his because I am such a fan of his work. So be aware that should you choose to pay him, I would get a commission)

3) Have Fun. The Minister for Fun once told me, “If it’s not Fun – don’t do it. If you have to do it, Make it Fun!”
So no matter how distanced we have to be, you can always add a bit of fun.

A Resource

Here is a three minute ish video I created for one of Australia’s premier online events company RedBack Connect.

It covers some of the key things you need to do to present powerfully online.
You Won’t Believe Number 5! (He says in a click bait kind of way!)

A Question

How can I help you? With all that is going on right now, what do you need?

If you need to connect, come to our What’s Up Wednesdays for an informal chat and connection
If you need some coaching to really boost your online presenting skills, get in touch and let’s talk.
If you need a burst of inspiration, check out this cover of the Foo Fighter’s Times Like These.
If you want to have your own Online Event but don’t know how to get started, get in touch and let’s talk.
If you have been homeschooling kids and you need a resource to help you and the kids, this song really provides what you need.

If you need anything else, get in touch and we will see what we can do.

Next Time

Ok. So next time should be on a Monday, but we will see how that goes.

Take care of yourself, those you love, those who love you and, of course, wash your hands!

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!

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.

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.

“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.

“Thank you for flying our airline today. If you need a rental car, show your boarding pass for a discount. We hope you have a pleasant day and we look forward to seeing you again when next you fly.”

If you fly then you know this kind of announcement that they say shortly after you land. In this case, after my flight to Sydney on the weekend, it was said with the excitement of sloth playing chess.

With out thinking I said out loud (in what I thought was a soft voice), “obviously he doesn’t give a sh*t.” 10 people all around be burst out laughing.

We have all experienced this kind of communication. It could be your child saying how sorry they are (when you know they really aren’t), the person at the fast food place asking if you want fries with that just after you placed your order for fries, or the cold caller asking, “Do you have life insurance?”

Don’t get me wrong. it’ can be hard saying the same thing over and over (and over and over…) again like it is the first time. Or maybe you have had something in your life that has momentarily taken away your joy. Continually following a process or script in a way that makes it fresh can be a challenge.

But as displayed by my 10 new friends on that flight, WE KNOW WHEN YOU DON’T CARE!

So how can you show you care when saying the same thing over and over?

Here are a few ideas:

Use a number of slight variants of the same kind of text to keep it fresh for you
Add some unexpected descriptors to the statement
Smile
Remember that while it may be your 20th time today, it is your customers first time
Add some humour
Put some changing emphasis on different syllables

The whole process is showing your customer, team, or prospect that you care. If your communication does not have that underlying emotion you have just wasted an opportunity.

How do you show people you care when you communicate?

If you need further help with communication for you and your team, get in touch.

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