Show Production Institute

The Repeat Button

2011-09-18T19:42:00.000-07:00

Last week we posted about National Conferences.

As an event that repeats itself sometimes it's all too easy to run with a tried and (supposedly) true format.

Here comes the conference again....let's just hit the repeat button.

This can happen for any sort of event that is on high rotation on the event list.

Award nights. Christmas Parties. Team Building Days. Annual Conferences.

For associations, who run annual events that showcase and educate their industry, the event experience should be treated as a promotional and marketing tool.

And that's the key word.

Experience.

What did your conference delegates experience?

How will they describe the event they just attended?

Will they describe it as a conference or an 'experience'?

Before agendas to conferences I attend even land in my inbox, I can almost tell you what the structure and format will be.

Welcome Reception on Arrival Day.

Day One is normally made up of:

- Plenary
- Breakout sessions
- Team building sessions
- Exhibition
- Social event

Press repeat for Day TWO but just tack on a Gala Dinner to replace the casual, social event.

Give out an award or two.....Open Bar. Attractive table centrepiece.

Sore heads for the late networking breakfast on the final day followed by a Closing Plenary that is more whimper than winner......and everyone is on their way.

Sound familiar?

If we can get creative with the design of our event space, entertainment, technical elements and styling, why can't we get creative with the format and structure?

Why can't we walk the conference agenda path less travelled?

Take attendees out of their event comfort zone.

Make it memorable by turning the whole event into a conversation piece.

Thread a strong concept and brand through the entire event and play around with the agenda.

Get everyone talking.

You want everyone talking / tweeting / status updating about it while they're there and when they leave.

And then next time, people will sign up because they want to....not because they have to.

Is Your National Conference an Eye-Roller or an Eye-Opener?

2011-09-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

I was speaking to some spi clients this past week and we were talking about national conferences. There is something in the national conference air - there are quite a few on this month.

National conferences can go one way.....

Or the other......

It is a tight rope the in-house Event Manager or external Event Producer will walk as the stakeholders (especially the ones signing the cheques) start throwing around terms such as:

engagement
teamwork
one goal
one vision
inspiration
Ian Thorpe

...which is quickly followed up by these terms

return on investment
re-distribution of conference costs to local profit centres
economy class
BYO lunch

They have a point on the return on investment.

Generally, national conferences are big business. Food, beverage, accommodation, travel, transport, gifts, staging, audio visual...it all adds up.

And it means absolutely nothing if everyone is spending their time rolling their eyes, checking their watches waiting for the open bar to start up.

EYE ROLLER #1

The CEO should not be an automatic agenda item. Unless you have a CEO with the balls of Richard Branson, the smarts of Steve Jobs or the physical presence of Steve Ballmer, consider what the benefit of having the CEO up on stage actually will be.

You may find there is more benefit to the CEO being seen socialising and networking as part of the social program. Elevating him or her for an extended period of time up on a stage with a lectern between them and their team will only turn the psychological gap into a physical gap.

If he or she really wants to speak to their people, make sure the presentation is interesting, not behind a lectern and NO Powerpoint - or images only. Get them into the audience. Or consider a staged fireside chat approach instead of the traditional presentation approach.

EYE ROLLER #2

PowerPoints with tables.PowerPoints with graphs. PowerPoints with blah blah blah.....

Engage a Presentation Coach *spi waving* to oversee the creation of the physical and visual elements of a presentation. They can help your presenters with content, match the presentation to your event objectives, rehearsal and delivery.

Switch your audience on. Not off.

EYE ROLLER #3

Panel sessions can go bad. Very bad. Very quickly. Click here for some ideas on how to lift them up.

EYE OPENER #1

Book a Keynote Speaker who actually is REALLY REALLY REALLY good.

And you know what? They're few and far between. So do your research. Don't make the assumption that because someone has won a gold medal, held a trophy aloft or climbed a mountain that they are great presenters.

While there are some who combine these skills well, look for unique and individual storytellers - true storytellers - who will keep your audience engaged.

Work closely with Speakers Bureaus. Attend Speaker Showcase events to get a feel for what is new in the Speaker market. Ask to see your potential Keynote Speaker present at other events. Speaker showreels are great, but you can't capture the audience uptake from a showreel as well as you could at a live event.

EYE OPENER #2

The dramatic conference opener. An opening video is okay. You know the one....highlights of the year that was...made up of photos sent in by staff - at varying levels of resolution. Add in a couple of iMovie effex and bingo! An opening video.....that may look a little home-made.

Sorry - but unless that Opening Video looks more like a TVC, people will be yawning (regardless how loud you turn the audio up). Consider a scripted and produced opener. Get your audience talking about what they experienced.

And there is always a place for dancing Darth Vaders and StormTroopers.

EYE OPENER #3

Create a concept or theme that is threaded all the way through the National Conference.

We're not talking a Masquerade theme where everyone has to wear masks for 3 days .....or an Austin Powers theme, which means the 'Social Committee' have an excuse to make table centrepieces out of polystyrene and pipe cleaners.

We are talking a strong concept that emotionally and physically connects directly with the event objective. Link it to the whole purpose of the organisation coming together.

It can be subtle. It can be in-your-face. Whatever it is, it has to be consistent.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Beware. Be very aware.

Or be prepared for the backlash that is the post event evaluation form.

PENNY

10 Tips for Presenters who aren't usually Presenters

2011-09-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

There are plenty of fabulous professional presenters around.

There are also plenty of people who are asked to present because they're an expert in their field.

But here's the kicker.......they're probably not an expert presenter.

If that's you, then consider these Ten Tips before your next presentation.

1. Get to your presentation location with PLENTY of time to spare

Traffic, public transport, parking, getting lost once you're AT the venue....it can all contribute to you suffering from Pre-Presentation Anxiety. This condition can be debilitating and cause memory loss, shaking hands and the inability to operate ANYTHING technical.

2. Send your Presentation to the Event Manager prior to the event

This means they can upload it on to the main show laptop - this saves you lugging around your laptop. It also minimises the risk of you sticking a USB into the show laptop and having it corrupt everyone else's files....not a good look.

This also prevents the common condition known as the Event Manager stalk. Symptoms will manifest in your Event Manager in the form of multiple emails, high pitched voice mails and dobbing on you to your boss.

3. Don't look at the screen as though it's the first time you've ever SEEN your presentation

Even if it IS the first time you've seen it or run through it, don't point at the screen and say, "Oh, that picture is in there....wonder why I put that in there." followed by a long "uummmmmmmm" and the Awkward Event Pause.

The Awkward Event Pause thrives in an environment of beige walls and halogen light. It feeds on under-prepared presenters and low resolution images on PowerPoint slides.

4. Do not read directly from the slides

While your eyeline is focused on the laptop screen or worse....the screen behind you, you can't see your audience yawning, passing insulting notes around about you, picking their nose or tweeting about your ineffective presentation.

Eyes front and centre at all times.

5. Use images to support your key message

Make sure the images are engaging and high resolution.

Images like this are good:

Images/Tables like this are bad:

6. Tell them a story

Once upon a time there was a Presenter whose slides were boring, content was making people yawn, hiding behind a lectern. All of a sudden, he stepped out from behind the lectern and moved to the front of the stage.

The audience looked up and stopped yawning. The Presenter then started his next sentence with, "Let me tell you about something that happened to me....." and engaged them in a humourous but relevant first person case study.

Everybody laughed and cheered.

The End.

Get the picture?

7. Stick to the time you have been given

The Event Manager / Producer on this event usually has no fingernails. That's because they are always dealing with presenters who go well over time. These presenters come equipped with a presentation of over 743 slides for their 20 minute time slot.

These presenters will not be asked back.

8 Rehearse Rehearse Rehearse

Your own rehearsal. And make time to rehearse at the venue. It may mean a little extra time for you, but just turning up with your laptop or USB stick 5 minutes before your presentation is a surefire way to cause the facial twitch known widely in the industry as Event Manager Fake Smile.

They will greet you and smile. They will take your laptop / USB stick from you and smile. They will laugh merrily and wave away your apology about turning up so late and smile. They will then sit back down to watch your presentation and smile.

Or go back of house and start making a voodoo doll that looks a lot like you.

9. If the Facilitator or Stage Manager gives you a wind-up call...er...Wind It Up!

The wind-up call involves frantic manouvreing of arms in a windmill motion accompanied by a tap on their non existant watch face, a hint of a scowl followed by the Fake Smile mentioned earlier.

If they give you this cue, then think on your feet and finish the presentation up. This does not mean talking faster and going through all of the slides at world record pace. It means knowing your presentation and forwarding through to the key points and call to action you would be finishing up with.

Rehearsals minimise the risk of any Wind-Up injuries and the Facilitator rolling their eyes at the Event Manager behind you're back.

10. ASK if you are not sure of the best way to present

If presenting isn't your thing. If you think it's your thing, but you have realised you're not getting the response you need, consider bringing the experts in.

Like ..... us! spi offer presenter coaching - a great way to get some objective, experienced feedback on the quality and content of your presentation. A number of our clients - Telstra, Aussie Home Loans and Hewlett Packard - have done this for their events with great results.

It's all about Presenter Confidence and Audience Uptake - a known behaviour at successful events with symptoms that include an increase in return on investment and positive results on evaluation and feedback forms.

PENNY

Are your Presenters a Walking Talking Infomercial?

2011-08-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

Attending an event industry seminar recently, I was excited by the speaker list. A number of big guns from Australia and overseas.

A varied program with people talking about all different types of events.

Sounded exciting. So I signed up.

And then I got there.

And I was a little disappointed.

While some speakers completely hit the mark with interesting and interactive presentations, a number of speakers took it as an opportunity to promote their own organisation or event.

While I learnt more about their company, I felt they missed an opportunity to establish themselves as an expert in their field. They missed an opportunity to share their knowledge.

They missed the opportunity to engage and connect with their audience.

So as the person responsible for managing the event and the speakers, how does it reflect on you?

And what can you do to make your event a little less infomercial?

Start with briefing a speaker correctly. If you tell your presenter "it's a great opportunity to promote your product / service / event," then that's what they'll do.

A lot.

If you have your presenter on your agenda because they are doing it for free or at a lower speaker fee, you need to be very clear about the level of sales-speak or promotion they can engage in.

Speaker Agreements are useful to manage this too.

Be clear about what they can and can't do from a promotional perspective.

For example, will they be using their own branded slides or your event's slide templates?

Be clear with them in the Speaker Briefing process about content.

Hard sells are a no-go.

Engaging content that puts them and their business in a good light, AND educates or entertains the audience is the way to go.

Remind them that the best form of promotion is a fantastic, interactive presentation that gets the audience talking about them.

The 'me me me' approach to presenting is not functional.

And if your presenters use the 'But wait, there's more' approach, be prepared for them to chuck in a set of free steak knives at the end!

Memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Authentic? Not at all.

As the Event Manager, you are responsible for your attendees' experience.

As the Event Manager, you are responsible for the effect the presenters and their content have on your attendees.

As the Event Manager, it is YOUR reputation as well as the presenter's reputation that is affected.

So.......

1. Choose your presenters wisely
2. Brief them correctly
3. Create a Speaker Agreement
4. Schedule rehearsals

A little less infomercial.

A little more inspiration.

PENNY

The Event Manager Tap Dance

2011-08-22T21:06:00.000-07:00

It's busy in events. There is plenty happening. And the traditional busy season of October and November is just around the corner.

So there are a lot of corporate event managers in the final throes of planning and - that old chestnut - managing presenters.

And this is when the tap dancing starts - for you - as you tap dance around your presenters.

And this is why.....

1. They are high up in the organisation. Waaaay higher than you.

Can you ask the CEO to rewrite his speech because it's not on brief? The key is to briefing them correctly in the first place - talk event objectives. Make it clear what he or she should be covering. And bringing a third party Presenter Management team in helps up the ante. If you feel uncomfortable mentoring someone in a higher position than you through the presentation process, get someone else to do it.

2. They assume because they're a great manager, they're a great presenter.

Ummmmm....no. Famous last words. I have seen countless enigmatic, charismatic managers turn into a deer in headlights when they step on a stage. Presenter training and guidance around audience engagement techniques will help them take their personality on to the presenting platform AND get their key messages across.

3. They haven't sent you their presentation yet.

Once again, putting together a fantastic presenter brief will help you out here. Be clear with your presenters from the start. Give them timelines. Give them responsibilities. And build your relationship with them the same way you would a client. Speak to your presenters face to face or at least on the phone. If you have an email relationship, then expect a lot of emails back from them as they studiously avoid your requests for their PowerPoint.

4. They HAVE sent you their PowerPoint and it's a dog's breakfast.

And then you or your Presentation Designer end up fixing it up. And how do you suggest to them that the microscopic Excel Spreadsheets they have copied and pasted on to their slides is not quite the most effective way to engage an audience? Bringing in a Speaker Prep specialist can help with this and allows you to remain an objective onlooker.

And prevent the old death by PowerPoint......

5. You know you're going to get the Presentation the morning of the event.

This is so stressful for everyone involved. You. The technical team. And the Presenters themselves. A formal briefing process with timelines will help you manage this. Building rehearsals and a Speaker Preparation Session into your pre-event timeline will minimise the risk of this happening and give your presenters key feedback on their presentations. Usually people leave it to the last minute because they just don't know what to write. A useful brief will work wonders.

Or you could just call spi and we can do it for you.

Happy Busy Event Season!

When Good Panel Sessions Go Bad

2011-08-03T14:09:00.000-07:00

I was at conference on the weekend that ran a number of panel sessions.

Each segment of the conference had themed content. For example, Segment 1 was about technology. Segment 2 about design, Segment 3 about Marketing etc etc.

Which was fine.

2 speakers and a panel session was the way the agenda ran.

Which was also fine.

Mostly the speakers were good. Captivated the audience. Got them thinking. Got them jotting down notes.

And then they would throw to the panel session.....

And people would leave to go to the toilet, beat the queue at the coffee station or step outside to poke barb wire in their eyes. The panel sessions lost people. The audience became completely disengaged.

Here's what went wrong with 5 simple fixes to get it right:

PROBLEM
The 3 minute lull as the MC called the panelists up on stage and they wandered up from their seated positions in a large room, discussed on stage who was going to sit where and then finally sat.

SOLUTION
Get a stage manager and have them responsible for getting the panelists side of stage, instructed on exactly where to sit and what to do when they sit down.

PROBLEM
The 3 minute lull becomes a 5 minute lull as 1 AV Operator attaches lapel mics to 2 panelists because there wasn't enough desk top mics on the panel table.

SOLUTION
Spec your AV equipment correctly, or ask your production company to do it. There should be either 1 desk top mic per panelist. Or all panelists are mic'ed up BEFORE they get on stage. This is when a stage manager comes in handy again.

PROBLEM
The daggy long desk-like panel table with the daggy tablecloth that daggily hangs down in a triangle with daggy fold marks plain for all to see. Daggy. PLUS this set up doesn't allow for effective interaction between panelists or with the Facilitator.

SOLUTION
Get creative. Build an environment on stage that encourages interaction. Follow the leads of tv shows like The Gruen Transfer or The Panel or The View that have a curved panel table, allowing interaction. And it looks a bit snazzier too.

PROBLEM
The Facilitator is standing waaaaaaaay over the other side of the stage BEHIND the lectern and can't connect with the panelists or the audience.

SOLUTION
Drop the Facilitator onto the snazzy new panel table you have created on stage. This will improve the interaction and flow of questions.

PROBLEM
Everyone listening for the pin to drop in the room as there is 30 seconds of deathly silence while the ONE Q&A mic holder runs across the other side of the conference room to give the sole question asker the microphone.

SOLUTION
There are two ways to approach this. The first is to look at getting the Facilitator INTO the audience with a mic a la Jerry Springer style (but without the punch-ups and grown men wearing nappies). This allows the Facilitator to keep the conversation going as he or she is walking through the audience to get to the question-asker.

Or just make sure you have plenty of Q&A runners in the audience ensuring they get to the question askers as soon as possible. Have the runners look out for raised hands and be standing right next to them each time the Facilitator throws to the audience for questions.

Do these 5 simple things and watch your audience participate, engage and enjoy.

PENNY

Make Sure You Knock When There Is Somebody Home

2011-07-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

Opening the door

The integration of events into a broader communications program is now common practice, as is the use of social media around the event.

The event itself provides the reason for the conversation in the first place.

Anyone who has done business development knows what a useful tool this is.

But there is one communication opportunity that I think is commonly under-utilised and that is presented in the week post the event.

When is the door wide open?

Many forms of communication incrementally close the door on conversation with your audience.

An E-newsletter may be read at first but as time passes they pop up in the in box but are ignored - unless it's from spi and provides you with lots of interesting information.

The beauty of the live event is that the door to further conversation is thrown wide open…for a short and critical period of time.

In this period your event attendees will be attentive to any approach because they feel a sense of obligation. An obligation that is derived from our innate sense of protocol. If someone has hosted you at an event, you feel obliged to accept an approach post the event.

Don’t waste the opportunity

The critical seven days post the event should not, in my mind, be wasted with a thankyou for attending email.

If it is a marketing event, this is the time that the sales people should hit the phones – I guarantee they will have more success in getting through to prospects.

If it is an internal event, this is the time to drive home the call to action.

Whatever the purpose of the event make sure you have a plan to use those seven days effectively.

No point in having a smart, sassy, social media plan without some basic sales follow-up principles in place.

ROB

Is the Hashtag in your Event Arsenal?

2011-07-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought the humble hashtag would symbolise (pun intended) a new era in events?

And, as an event manager or producer, are you using it to it's full potential?

I attended a conference last week - high profile, higher profile speakers, a room full of influential event people, run by a global event organiser - no hashtag.

And I was surprised.

There were 200 people in the room.

Surely I wasn't the only one on Twitter. Surely I'm not the only one over 35 who understands the power of Twitter and the power of the hashtag?

So I made my own hashtag up and tweeted and waited and waited....nup. No one else in that room was on to it. And it surprised me.

Some other event industry events have picked up on it. There was some tweeting with the MEA hashtag happening at the national MEA conference in April. There was some tweeting for AIME too, but not enough to get it trending.

Aaaahhhhh, what of this 'trending' of which she speaks?

Trending on Twitter is the fastest and most cost effective way to get your event out into the Twitterverse. The more a hashtag is used, the higher up the trending list it goes - like this.

At the online launch of the newly branded Digital Parents website in May 2011, #digitalparents was trending in Australia within one hour. The website was being inundated with curious onlookers from Australia and overseas - talk about a smart (free) PR move.

How can you use hashtags at your event?

1. Launch your event

Blogopolis - a conference for Bloggers - is being held in Melbourne this Saturday 30 July. Tickets were on sale (and promptly sold out) months ago. Now bloggers love a good hashtag. And Nuffnang, the organisers of the event, had their hashtag out loud and proud at the launch of the selling of tickets.

We haven't even GOT to the event yet and there has been thousands of tweets using #nnb2011 already! Keep an eye out on Twitter this Saturday. I guarantee #nnb2011 will be trending by lunchtime.

2. The Hashtag is the new Holding Slide

Okay - so the event has started. Your MC is up talking about housekeeping, what a great event it is going to be blah blah blah blah......Post the hastag for your event up on the screen, surround it in flashing lights, put a spotlight on it. ENCOURAGE people to tweet at your event. It's free advertising. It is the online equivalent of word-of-mouth and we all know how important that is.

At an event I ran recently in Brisbane, I did exactly that - shouted my hashtag from the rooftops. When I got back to the office, I had five emails from potential punters in other cities who saw the event's hashtag on Twitter and wanted to know when we are running the event in other states. Bingo.

3. Use it or lose it

When people break up, they say 'It's not you. It's me." In the world of social media, if they break up with you (or your hashtag) they'll say, "It's not me. It's you."

Relationships must be two-way online. If you promote a hashtag for your event, but never respond or use it, people will un-like, un-follow, un-whatever you.

Appoint someone in charge of social media for the event. Be part of the conversation. Answer questions. Jump on negative feedback with solutions and contact. Tell people what's coming up and where. Be fun. You can be professional AND have a sense of humour. Give your event personality.

And if you're not sure where to start, seek out companies who specialise in this area and make it part of an overall marketing and PR campaign.

Someone like Felicity Zadro, from Zadro Communications, who loves a good tweet!

Felicity is presenting "Promoting Your Presenters Using Social Media" on Tuesday 16th August at the Sofitel Sydney. This is a hot topic for Event Managers and Producers. Register now and find out how to get more out of your social media.

#penny

Putting the Shoe on the Presenter's Foot

2011-07-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

Recently I was asked to present at two separate events within a week of each other.

As a Presenter and Facilitator, it was interesting to see the difference between the event management.

It really came down to who was organised and who wasn't.

The first event, I was Facilitating an all day session with multiple presenters. My event management contact had a full script to me 7 days prior to the event. I had a list of the presenters - nearly all their bios (she was still waiting on a couple of bios - see Rob's blog on Presenter Diversionary Tactics!). I had a list of the delegates attending.

Little things like housekeeping, the structure of the agenda, the show laptop being prepped and ready, all Presenter PPTs being hyper-linked ready to go, having an AV Operator in the room with us......all the little things had been taken into consideration by the Event Manager.

The result? A relaxed and confident Facilitator.

In other news.......another event I presented at had the opposite effect.

I was told 'You decide what you want to talk about - you're the expert.'

Well yes I AM the expert in this particular area, but I am NOT the expert on the attendees, their demographics, their job roles and the objectives of YOUR event. I needed guidance.

As a result, there was a sense of uneasiness that stayed with me from preparing the content right through to the delivery. I was questioning myself as a Presenter. Is this what they want to hear? Is this what my client wants me to speak about?

I just felt on edge, as though this was the fate that was just around the corner.

The event went fine - the feedback was great. But my Presenter experience was a little more stressful than the previous event where the Event Manager was ALL over it!

Now to put the shoe on the OTHER foot, I am event managing a workshop in August. I have two presenters and a panel session. All Presenters have been sent Presenter briefs on expected content, the demographic of the audience, the agenda and run of day and timelines around when I expect their presentation content.

This was followed up with a phone call from me reiterating these expectations and stepping through how I am using their name, brand and bio in the promotional material.

This was an extract from an email I got back from one of the Presenters after I went through this process:

"Very happy with the topic you've set, what's written on the web page and I love how professional you are with your events!"

This is a leading Presenter in her field - do you think she's going to work with me again? Absolutely.

Do you think she's going to keep her speaker fee at a reasonable level? Oooh yeah. (she better!)

The spi workshop running on Tuesday 9 August steps through the Presenter briefing process. Take the stress out of this part of co-ordinating an event. Places are limited so click here to book as soon as you can.

PENNY

Are your Presenters Guilty of Using Diversionary Tactics?

2011-07-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

I was recently conducting a session to prepare presenters for an upcoming conference when the subject of dress code was raised. It was interesting to observe that everyone was keen to give their input; you could say with more enthusiasm than with the discussion on content.

Really? Dress code?

The simple fact is that presenters will often look for any diversion rather than preparing because it is hard. Think about it. Presentations only really exist in the moment. It is impossible to create the nerves, anticipation and an audience of 100 people prior to the event.

How many times have you heard a presenter say ‘I won't say it like that on the day’ or ‘ I will be far more engaging on the day’ ?

The lack of ‘show environment’ can make the whole process seem ineffective. The result is spending thousands of dollars on an event and going into it without really knowing what the outcome will be.

What is the answer?

1. Create Pressure

Have senior managers and or other presenters sit in the rehearsals – and let presenters know in advance.

2. Circulate Assessment Criteria

Ensure all the elements for a good presentation such as a logical flow, concise language, audience interaction and a clear call to action are included in each presentation.

3. Circulate Evaluation Criteria with the Brief

The most effective evaluations relate directly to objectives. Rather than asking the audience to rate a presenter 1 to 10 on performance ( a 10 could mean they told good jokes ) consider asking questions around message retention. This allows the presenter to concentrate on delivering specific messages and serves to focus the mind when developing the content.

'What are 3 key messages you remember from John Smith's presentation?'

'What behaviours are you going to change in your workplace after listening to Susie's presentation on OHS?'

This makes the presenter more accountable and the measurement of your objectives more valid and meaningful.

Click here to register for the spi Managing Presenters workshop on 9 August.

ROB

It's That Time of Year

2011-07-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

We are fast approaching reporting season for Australian PLC’s, the only compulsory event on the calendar, and the only event with stringent guidelines around disclosure.

Most event professionals that I have spoken to consider the AGM one of the most boring events to deliver because of the set format.

I must admit that I disagree.

Events are the best medium for emotional communication as well as dealing with contentious issues. Both are vital components of the AGM.

Getting the Emotion Right

While the Executive team can deliver as many facts as they like, the audience are assessing them on an emotional level, primarily to answer one question...Are they the right people to be looking after my investment?

This assessment is applied to every touch point - the invitation, the venue and the environment created as well as the executive tone of voice.

A simple exercise that can bring clarity to how the event should be delivered is to consider how the audience currently feel about the company performance and how you would like them to feel.

With current feeling and desired feeling clearly stated you can then assess whether all touch points are a negative or positive to moving audience perception to where you want.

Dealing with Contentious Issues

The link in this week’s newsletter illustrates perfectly how a contentious issue can be turned into a positive.

The secret is preparation.

Once you have defined your current and desired feeling you can also anticipate the areas of contention and prepare your responses.

Turn a lynch mob into a standing ovation.

The Technicalities of an AGM

2011-07-11T20:44:00.000-07:00

AGMs are interesting in that they are one of the few types of events that have legal or regulatory requirements. These requirements dictate the production elements you should include for a successful AGM.

It is a regulatory requirement that all AGMs are recorded in some format and kept 'for public record'.

And while it's NOT a regulatory requirement for the shareholders to take a Board to task, this tends to be what happens.

So how do you as someone managing the event, make sure the production elements meet technical and legal requirements?

Write up a cue sheet. Our Manage Presenters workshop shows you how.

Start with strong audio. You want to make sure the audio record picks up EVERYTHING that is said at the AGM.

Make sure you have:

Individual microphones for the Board (who are normally seated up on stage - like ducks in a row during hunting season!)

Plenty of microphones in the audience. Make it a mix of handheld mics that can be controlled by Q&A runners and fixed mics in the audience, where shareholders can line up to ask about the fine print or their lack of dividends that year.
Put high quality mics on the lectern - and make it a double!

Webcasting and electronic voting are two trends that have reared their technical heads in recent years. Webcasting serves the purpose of creating a record of the event - make sure your Webcast package includes this.

And electronic voting provides a fast and concise way to step through the voting procedure (another heavily governed process).

Use a specialist supplier to co-ordinate these elements for you. They've done it plenty of times before and will know exactly what they are doing. You don't want to risk it with AGMs.

And then you can sit back and watch the ensuing melee, safe in the knowledge that you are covering off on any legal requirements.

Although, don't sit near the AV Operator's desk. It has been known to be stormed by angry shareholders trying to get their hands on the audio record (true story!).

PENNY

The CEO Presentation

2011-07-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

The All Staff meeting is not as common as it was prior to email, webcasting and all the other communications channels available today. This is hardly a surprise as it costs a truck load.

However, if done well, the benefits will far out weight the costs. To do it well you need complete commitment from the CEO – and to get this there are 3 steps.

Step One: Understanding the Power of the CEO

If the CEO can be the living and breathing embodiment of the brand then it is a quick transition to all staff becoming true brand advocates. I won’t even begin to scope the benefits of this for morale, motivation, retention, recruitment, PR etc etc etc

Step Two: The Value of the Live Event

You may not all be tennis fans but last weekend there was a fantastic men’s final at Wimbledon between Djokovic and Nadal. Compare watching this on TV by yourself to actually being there.

Which experience will stay with you the longest, which will you talk about for years to come?

The fact is the video message, newsletter or email received at the desk will never approach sitting amongst all your colleagues and having that shared experience.

Step Three: Connecting

In theory connecting is simple, not so in practice unless you change the approach to preparation.

CEO’s are no different from any other presenters in as much as they prepare by considering what they want to say when in fact you should be concentrating on what you need to say. A subtle but important difference!

Why? Because the outcome will be very different. When you concentrate on what you want to say you are thinking about yourself, when you concentrate on what you need to say you are thinking about the audience; and that is the game changer.

Concentrating on the audience is the secret to connecting.

Working out what the audience need to know is another matter…and to get a blatant plug in, we cover that off in our training session: Managing Presenters

Book before 15th July to take advantage of the Earlybird discount.

Click here to register.

ROB

The Bare Essentials

2011-07-02T04:19:00.000-07:00

Well, the MEA Essentials.........

I facilitated the day long MEA Essentials workshop at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre on Thursday 30 June.

Quite an impressive line-up of presenters, representing key organisations within the event industry.

With nine presenters to get through, including a quick site visit of Exhibition Hall 5 to ~~stickybeak~~ observe the set up of the Good Food and Wine Show, the pace was pretty snappy - perfect for an all day event.

This is a quick wrap-up of the key takeaways I got from each presenter:

Inge Garofani AMM
SPIRITED ENDEAVOURS

Inge's experience shone through in her presentation on Setting the Objectives of the Event and her insight into the skills you need to have as a Meetings or Event Manager.

While the slide displaying ALL of the potential stakeholders in an event seemed to stick in most people's minds, Inge made the point that the client who pays you is YOUR key stakeholder and to prioritise accordingly.

Her question about the legacy of the event got everyone thinking too. Think about it - what are the legacy of your events? What do YOU leave behind?

Katie Hall
NSW BAR ASSOCIATION

It was clear that Katie loves a good spreadsheet - a good thing seeing she was talking about budgeting. Some fantastic templates for people to use and a thorough approach to modeling and ROI. Always a crowd-pleaser.

Simon Shaw
BUSINESS EVENTS SYDNEY

Simon's presentation approach made us look within as he began with the 'legacy' question too. What are the outcomes of events? What is the purpose? What changes will that event make to the people in the room, to the people in the industry, to the people of the world, citing the calorie counters on McDonalds menus as an example of changes made from one particular event.

While Simon discussed Site Selection, he focused on having a clear understanding of the objectives and making sure the location suits those objectives.

Geoff Yallop
PAGES EXHIBITION

Specifically discussing outdoor exhibitions, Geoff stepped the group through the reasons why outdoor exhibitions work and the benefits associated with them. Accompanied with pictures of BIG man made structures, Geoff made an outdoor exhibition look easy......!

Dale King
SYDNEY CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE

Representing the venue and discussing Venue Operations, Dale gave us a look into SCEC's intranet and the importance of a consistent and methodical approach in such a large scale operation.

This aerial shot gives you an example of how big SCEC truly is.

One of the interesting things Dale brought up regarding the future was the use of cloud technology between suppliers and clients. Food for thought........and speaking of food, the fresh strawberries and coffee made to order were the hits of the day.

Andrew Thorne
STAGING CONNECTIONS

An entertaining presentation on Speaker Support and Production, Andrew made the technical sound simple. Andrew made the point about rehearsals and having an operator or Technical Director on your show being the difference between an okay show and a great show - he called it Show ASSURANCE (as opposed to insurance). Nice...

And he definitely won the unofficial PPT template competition of the day - such a great design that clearly impressed all the delegates.

Nicole Ray
BELLE LAIDE EVENTS

Fabulous pictures of beautifully themed events win the popular vote every time. Nicole's presentation on Themed Events was thoughtful and creative. While the case studies were great to focus on, her point about living and breathing the brief in everything you do with the event rang so true.

Theming trends to watch out for include Mexican, Great Gatsby styled events, colour blocking and making food part of the event.

And the whole 'Create parties in a party" concept sounds good to me. The more the merrier!

Jo Mahoney AMM, AFMEA
LEADING EDGE CONFERENCES

Tough gig coming in at the end of the day directly after afternoon tea. Good thing Jo was so full of energy and humour. A lively presentation on Administration and Onsite Management, the selection of images to give her key points focus were a masterstroke in late afternoon presentation delivery.

Loved some of her event jargon - "Conference Blues" (we've all been there)!

And her description of Event Managers being obsessive compulsive control neat freaks who are creatively frustrated? Spot on (we might have all been there at some point too!).

Martin Long
BLACK DUCK CONSULTING

The last presentation of the day is never an easy time slot, but Martin took it in his dapper, charismatic stride with great information on sponsorship. And while we got our history lesson (the Hardie-Ferodo 500!!! And who knew sponsorship went as far back as the Renaissance period?), we also got an insight into the approach to sponsorship today. Co-branding or logo slapping?

A wonderful event put together so seamlessly by Lisa Whelan from MEA, who is working on her own special event - due in August. ;-)

Thanks MEA - a great day to facilitate.....talk about teaching an old dog new tricks!

Penny

What's Missing from the Brief?

2011-06-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

Event owners generally do a good job of defining WHAT they want said at an event. But are often less specific on HOW they want it said.

For me, defining the emotion you want conveyed is as important as defining the content. I think it is missed because we trust that this element is automatically understood.

We all innately communicate on an emotional as well as factual level.

The simple act of saying hello is a case in point.

If you want to convey enthusiasm on meeting someone you smile and give them your full attention.

If you want to convey disinterest you mumble and look at your feet. The recipient will not be influenced by the factual ( saying hello ) but the emotion conveyed.

It is the same in corporate presentations.

Yes it can be obvious at times, but if you go through the process of defining the facts to be communicated as well as the emotions , you will be surprised at the subtly you can bring into your communication as well as the creativity.

All this will result in a communication that will influence the opinion of the audience.

And that is what an event professional wants.

The spi Manage Presenters and Entertainers Workshop is running on Tuesday 5 July and Tuesday 9 August at the Sofitel Sydney.

Click on the link to register:

http://showproductioninstitute.com/triple-eden-training/#managing-presenters

Rob

Breaking the Ice without Breaking a Sweat

2011-05-24T04:57:00.000-07:00

Icebreakers or Energisers are always tricky when you are a presenter.

Before you decide on what sort of Icebreaker you will use, consider:

audience demographic
amount of people you are presenting to
purpose of the presentation
how well you know your audience
how well they know each other
where your pres is sitting in the program

Icebreakers always run the risk of heading into cringe territory or your business presentation suddenly resembles a children's party.

Here are the three characteristics I find useful for an Icebreaker to have.

Impact.

Interest.

Interaction.

Steer clear of anything physical. Asking people to massage each other's shoulders or transfer balloons around the room using their left earlobe just doesn't cut the politically correct mustard anymore.

Rely on using activities that allow the audience to get to know a bit more about the presenter (you!) and each other. I like to break down the presenter / audience boundaries by presenting something interesting about myself in an interactive way.

For a smaller group, a simple way to do that is to ask everyone to write down a secret interesting fact (I like cats - boring!!) about themselves and include yourself in the group.

Collect the responses, making sure they have written their name on it and read them out to the group not giving away the identity of who the fact belongs to. The group writes down each fact and then have a go at working out which fact belongs to whom.

This relaxes everyone, there is usually a bit of laughter or oohing and aahing around REALLY interesting facts, and can be used to start up a conversation at break times.

"So you've auditioned for Australian Idol four times now, did you say?"

"How did you dance in the Dorothy the Dinosaur costume?"

"Was Kylie Minogue MAD when you accidentally tripped her over?"

See? Interesting conversation openers at morning tea break.

It's great from a presenter's perspective too, as you can find out more about your audience and refer to their experience in your own presentation.

I discovered an ex-air hostess who worked on Air Force One during the Clinton administration. Despite wanting to ask the obvious, I asked her about his leadership style and his persona as that was the area we were talking about at that particular training day.

Impact. Interest. Interaction.

For larger groups, put up three facts on the screen about yourself. One is correct. Two isn't. Ask them to shout out which one they think is correct. Use it to lead into your presentation.

Poking a bit of fun at yourself is always a good start if suited to your content and key points.

Or just popping an image up on screen and asking people to write down the first ten things they think of when they see that image - do it strategically and it can lead into your presentation content beautifully.

Use television shows for ideas - Spicks and Specks, Whose Line is it Anyway? They all have some great segments that you could play with and turn into an energiser or icebreaker for a group.

Just don't cross the line...if it feels a bit wishy washy or groan-worthy, it probably is.

What ones work for you?

Penny

Presenting the SMART way

2011-05-22T03:52:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favourite shows. It's smart, sassy, sarcastic and anything else starting with 's' that I can think of. And the next series starts soon. Can't wait.

Last month I presented at the MEA National Conference in Brisbane. And didn't realise until I got there that I was on the program directly after Dan Gregory from SMART - the 'fat one from the Gruen Transfer' - HIS WORDS, not mine!

Here is the program banner at the front of the room. Yikes!

So, I lined up to watch his presentation, putting myself through presenter torture, then thoroughly losing myself in his pres. As an ex stand up comedian and a current advertising genius, Dan's presentation was funny, feisty and full of great advice.

Responsible for campaigns such as Nando's - he was the one who put this banner up across the road from Pauline Hanson's electoral office.

This managed to stretch a $5000 advertising budget to nationwide media exposure. Genius.

His content was great, but it was the WAY he presented that made the difference.

He broke the ice by poking some fun at himself.

His presentation was full of images that supported his points.

He would move to the next slide beautifully as part of his script. Much higher impact and it came across as so polished and professional, yet his approach was informal and fun which made 45 minutes fly by.

Clearly rehearsed.

Confident in his content.

Confident in the theatrecraft elements he was using.

A thoroughly enjoyable presentation. He kept a full room of hardened event professional entertained, enthralled and enthusiastic.

If you ever see Dan on a conference program, get yourself along and pick up some great tips from a fantastic presenter.

And just quietly, anyone who can drop the phrases "arse antlers" and "urinal fly" into a presentation has my vote.

Dan Gregory

Dan graduated from University with a BA in Communications and went straight to work in Advertising. Within six months in the industry, he had won the top award for creativity in Australasia, an Award Pencil. In 2000, he headed overseas to work as a stand up comedian before coming home to Oz in 2003, when he co-founded the agency Kindred. Dan is now the Creative Director of SMART where his amazing brain and cracker charm is celebrated daily.

His current clients include: Coca-Cola, Unilever, News Ltd, Gourmet Garden, Horticulture Australia, NSW Government, Rail Corp, MX.http://www.smartinc.com.au/sydney_advertising_agency/

Penny
SPI

Presenter Preparation

2011-05-15T22:08:00.000-07:00

I think I have rehearsed 30 presenters this week, all of varying skills and abilities.

Whenever I go through this exercise it reminds me of the importance of delivering your presentation to a neutral party as part of your preparation.

I find that many presenters can articulate their message succinctly when asked to summarise their content but that clarity of message will be lost when they deliver the content end to end.

There are, I think, three main reasons why this is often the case;

1. Presenter personality change

2. Reluctance for repetition

3. Information overload

1. Presenter personality change

Anybody seen a lucid and capable communicator get up on stage and turn into a robot?

It is common and stems from a lack of clarity of purpose on stage.

A presenter can switch from presenting an argument or line of logic to filling the allotted speaker time.

2. Reluctance for repetition

All great communicators repeat key points a minimum of three times.

Repetition is good, in fact it is essential if you want your message to be remembered.

Contrary to many presenters opinion, it is not a sign that you do not have enough content to fill the time.

3. Information overload

A coherent argument will be replaced by just divulging as much information as possible.

This approach means you cannot be criticised for leaving anything out but the question always should be ‘what can the audience remember?’

The simple process of presenting to a third person and then asking them what they remember, what they got from the presentation, can ensure you hone your content into what is relevant.

You will end up delivering an argument and not an almanac.

And THAT will help keep the yawns to a minimum...

Rob

Are Your Presenters Doing You Proud?

2011-03-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

I was recently at AIME and listened with interest to the Business Events Forum 'What in the world are they thinking' where client representatives outlined their key objectives and issues with regard to events.

The measurement of ROI remains a hot topic. I was, however, a little disappointed that the focus on achieving ROI was on 'value for money'. This was interpreted by many of the event managers I spoke to as Do More For Less. I understand fully that our clients want to get the best price for any service.

My disappointment stems from the continued lack of decision around the importance of the content being delivered in achieving ROI. It's like we talk about putting on plays without ever discussing the impact the quality of the actors and script will have on the success of the production.

In the theatre context it is obvious that content delivery is vital.

In the business context the script is often left to the actors (presenters) who nominate themselves - not a great formula! At this point I have to declare my self interest as I am involved with the training and development fo presenters.

I do not believe you can divorce ROI from content and presenter performance.

Does anyone know of a presenter who has been 'removed' from the program or cut from the conference through poor performance?

Unlikely if they are an executive.

Does anyone run a proper rehearsal schedule for presenters that is strictly enforced at the most senior level?

Am I sounding like I am on a rant? Well I am....a bit.

But I do find it amazing that so much money can be committed to a communication, that the event teams and suppliers will work tirelessly to get the best 'value' from the available funds, and all this can be for nought if the presenters are poorly prepared and unengaging.

What can you do about this?

Interestingly, I spoke with a hypnotist who had recently worked with a presenter who had been labelled as one of the most boring ever! (and we all know there is some serious competition in this area). After a short session, the said presenter was turned into a 'would be' Anthony Robbins.

But if you can't get all of your presenters hypnoitised then at the very least you can do the following:

1. Appoint a presentation or content director. Ensure the role is clearly understood by all involved and that the person has the authority to get presenters to edit content and meet deadlines.

2. Circulate a speaker brief very early in the piece to ensure presenters understand what the objectives are and how the content has to be delivered to achieve those objectives - even point out how much their 40 minutes on stage is costing the company - that always brings 'focus'.

3. Get presenters to commit to at least three sessions pre event. The first to agree content. The second to review content and PowerPoint. The third to rehearse. Then a final rehearsal on site.

4. Provide a separate vision foldback screen for speaker notes - so the presenters don't use their 'to screen' presentation for this purpose.

The additional cost (if there is any) will be a fraction of the overall spend, but the increase on ROI will be significant.

Rob

Managing and Mentoring Presenters: 11 April @ Sofitel Sydney.

Book online

http://showproductioninstitute.com/triple-eden-training/#managing-presenters

Guest Blog: Creative Head Space Vs Creative Head Case

2011-02-27T16:37:00.000-08:00

This week Anthony Piggott and Manisha Lee from Fourwatt guest blog about finding your creative space.

The most common responses I get when people hear that I am an artist are "I wish I could do that" or "I wish I were creative" or "I don't have an artistic bone in my body".

These responses don't surprise me. Because even within the art world or the literary world, let alone any other world you're in, there is an enormous amount of pressure to be the next Picasso, or Hemingway....or Bill Gates.

It's not enough to simply create - regardless of the outcome, regardless of whether it is 'good' or 'bad', regardless of what you choose to do with it once it's done.

Which is ridiculous.

Because if you think about why it is that we draw (or want to draw) or paint, or sing, or dance, or write - it's really not because we're looking for the highest bidder - although it would be great if there were one - it's because we are drawn to do it.

It is a compulsion.

It is part of that quintessential human passion that we're looking to let loose and nurture and feed.

If there is great music playing, it feels wrong not to get up and dance. And most likely at that moment you are the best dancer on the floor - why? Not because of the six week salsa course you took three years ago, but because you are loving it!

Reconnecting to the process of art-making is essential to getting into your creative space. Forget results, forget Picasso. All you really need to do is give yourself the space to be as silly as you can possibly be.

Grab a canvas and some paints, and make a huge mess of a painting.

Sit down with a pen and write a stream of nonsense.

If possible, surround yourself with other creative-jammers and feed off each other's mess and silliness. If the idea of showing your work is too intimidating at the start, by all means keep it locked in the study until it gets to a point where you need to share it.

Because, I guarantee you that once you get the mess and silliness and streams of nonsense out, you will find yourself refining, and simplifying, and developing techniques until you create something that will be impossible for you not to share with others.

Creativity always craves an audience eventually. It's what I like to think of as the 'creative culture'. There's not enough of it around!

Malcolm Gladwell famously says it takes 10,000 hours to get really good at something. I'm inclined to believe in this theory - though of course there is such a thing as 'natural talent' - because I've seen first hand, people learn how to draw better, to sing better, to paint better with time and energy.

All this stuff really does happen.

Just give yourself the time and a space to do it, and most importantly: check your self-criticism in at the door before you enter.

There will be plenty of time for it later.

Manisha Lee and Anthony Piggott are co-founders of Fourwatt, an agency which advocates collective creation and aims to foster a culture of creativity.

Why Live Events Work

2011-02-12T19:24:00.000-08:00

I started in the event industry in what many have considered a golden age. Communications options where limited, so when it came to motivating staff, wooing clients, or celebrating success the automatic choice was the live event – and on a grand scale.

Times have changed; In the online world many alternatives exist for getting your message across at a fraction of the cost of the live event. As a result organisations are questioning the validity of their event programmes. They need to clearly understand the unique communications attributes of the live event and where it fits within their communications strategy.

The most quoted unique attribute of the live event is relationship building. I have spoken with many Marketing and HR Directors who will justify a programme on this attribute alone. You could argue social media sites are starting to achieve similar results, but it is difficult to see where the opportunity for quality and often haphazard social bonding comes into play with an online gathering. (I know the many valuable business relationships I have formed came about through non-business related conversations at the bar). However, relationship building is not the only compelling attribute unique to the live event. Less talked about, but in my mind equally compelling, is the dynamic of group behaviour.

Unfortunately, there is no research into group behaviour specific to events. However, there are volumes of research that can be applied to the way a group of people receive information in comparison to the individual. Concepts such as group think and crowd manipulation sound a little 1984ish, but the general conclusion is that people behave differently as a group.

So how is this useful to us in justifying events? Well, if we agree that the purpose of business communication is to influence opinion, purchasing decisions or inspire engagement with a brand then using the group think concept you could conclude that it is far easier to influence a group to your way of thinking than it is to influence the individual.

Group think studies reveal that members of a group try to minimise conflict and reach consensus without critically testing, analysing, and evaluating ideas [f1] . While this behaviour may be negative in some situations, it can be managed positively if you want to influence an audience to a specific way of thinking.

Another theory known as The Bandwagon Effect is also well documented and states ‘ the probability of any individual adopting an idea increases with the proportion who already have done so [f2] ’. The event is the perfect environment in which to create such behaviours. For proof just look to politics and the importance of town hall meetings in the Obama campaign to generate momentum for behavioural change and the influence the peoples forums had on voter behaviour in our own elections in Australia.

So, when you are next in a situation where you have to justify costs for a live event program or decide between various other mediums to communicate the message consider group behaviour.

The next step then is to ensure the content and delivery of your live event will take full advantage of the group dynamic and achieve the desired communications objectives….but that is a whole other theory…

rob vass

managing director

spi

Reference

(f1) Janis, Irving L. Victims of Groupthink. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1972

(f2) Andrew Colman, Oxford Dictionary of Psychology (Oxford: University, 2003)