A day in the life……

Making a case for role-rotation. An all-day role rotation. On every platform.

For better hybrid events.

We all heard about job rotation. In a company, people from cleaning and sales, procurement and security, catering and traffic – you name it - change responsibilities for a day and get a better understanding of the challenges, perks, needs and gains of  a certain role within an organization.

How would this translate to events? Given the fact that we have organizers AND delegates in the same “company”? And, to make it even more challenging: given the fact that we have participants online?

I know that organizers participate in events as delegates and that delegates can be caterers in their day-to-day job – but that is not what I mean. I mean a deliberate change of roles for a day. For a specific new stakeholder group: the hybrid event organizers. 

Do we really know how a virtual delegate spends its “event day”? 

The thing is: we don’t see them at the event. So how can we “get” their involvement? I think that there is still a gap we need to close.

How can we close it? By stepping in the shoes of our virtual attendees. Totally. Change places. Learn about their knowledge of programs and tech. Their workload and anticipation. Their knowledge and expectations about virtual events…and invite them to step into our shoes.

So if you would participate virtually instead of organize.. realistically? Take it from someone who’s been there:

- you are working partly during the event and missing some sessions

- you often do not know beforehand which platform you will be required to have

- you will miss the first moments because of tech hick-ups – yours.

- you will not know beforehand which gaming aspect is used and what you need to do for it. ( Let alone how much time you are required to spend on it)

- you will not know beforehand who else is participating and how to get to know them

Would that change your perspective?  Working away and stopping to dowload programs, finding a way to follow a schedule that requires an all day involvement in between meetings and lunch?  Would it make you design "light" hybrids?  

I'd love to hear....

Show and tell –a junior conference?

guess what David´s talk was about...

To start with: in The Netherlands there is no such thing as “show and tell” that American schools have; we are not taught to speak in public. So when we do, it is a big occasion. It is a once- in –a-year kind of thing.

The past few weeks all children in my son’s class (he is 11) we assigned a “spreekbeurt”, a Dutch word that literally means a “turn to speak”.

The rules for this class assignment were simple: talk in front of the class for 15 minutes, chose a subject that is a bit more complicated that “my cat”, have five research questions that include some history of the subject,  make a visual presentation in Powerpoint, and use your own words,  preferably refraining from written notecards (as we Dutch would call, spiekbriefjes).

I could not shake the idea that for them it was comparable to speaking at a conference.  Being a bit anxious,  checking your facts over and over again, trying out  several versions of your Powerpoint (best stay safe, there might not be a good connection for a Prezi). And then, at last, standing in front of your peers, connecting with them.

The funny thing is, as my son returned from school with his remarks about the presentations, he sounded like the content of some of the conference blogs I read:

Do not read your Powerpoint sentence by sentence: it kills your story. And try to use as little text as possible.

If you are not teaching your peers anything new,  you are merely filling time. Be critical.

No matter how nervous you are, own your story and tell it form the heart: authenticity works and your passion will shine through.

Do not stand still. Move around and engage all of your audience by asking questions during your talk; do not forget the people in the back of the room.

Have humor, make a joke, wake up tour audience every five minutes or so: their attention span is not that big and they will remember that they laughed.

It’s all about experience: If you talk about ”911” and you know an ambulance driver, let him drive it to the school and show the real thing.

Engage your audience: share your story, don’t just tell it. Encourage questions and ask them.

Give a speaker immediate feedback and share it with the group : learning points are not just  for the speaker.

Nice tips, thank you class 7b! Sounds like good advice for me, too. I wish I could be more often in this classroom, I would probably  pick up some great tips for my day-to-day work routine as well. I wonder what we would learn if we could let them stage  a trade show J

Engaging all senses – virtually

Hybrid visitors, virtual participans, online attendees… is seems that more and more events are in need of connecting  their audiences in other ways than classic face to face encounters.

A new kind of events in need of a new kind of meeting perception?

Sure.  

Not in the least because an online attendee has a different experience of an event: some of the senses that “make” the event are lost. What about smell, taste, touch? Is a virtual attendee resticted to vision and hearing?  Are we missing out?

Some days ago I participated in a brainstorm about the senses for virtual attendees. A brainstorm that was mainly virtual in itself: we used Google Hangouts to connect  event professionals from different countries .The summary is on youtube and blogs, but there was one discussion in particular that  sparked my imagination.

We were talking about the loss of some senses for virtual attendees and came up with the “Virtual Handshake”. A way to make you feel welcome in the event.  Anyone used someting like that before? A toolkit with components of all senses, partly  send to you via oldfashioned mail, to give you an extra “feel”of  an event?

Message in a bottle?

Just imagine. You are attending an event online, and you have your “Virtual handshake”. The kit has a pen of the venue, napkin, USB,  maybe some Catalist Ranch style goodies or so,  all stuff that an attendee uses at the venue. 

And then the kit has an online  part as well; including an instruction how to get the screen the way you want it, how to give speakers a virtual handshake (would love to see some alternatives to the smileys ), how to engage with the other attendees (explain Hangouts!!), choice of break music, suggestions for snacks and drinks…… all sent to you well before the event starts.  

How would that change your participation? Feel more included and make you stay online longer? Give a sense of belonging? Have a better experience?  Engage all senses?

Would love to try it one out some time!

Five things I learned from design and craftmanship

Back in the 80's I was an art history intern at a great London museum: The Victoria & Albert Museum. My focus was in the applied arts, and I loved being with the furniture department, learning about the way people decorated their homes through the ages, and the craftsmanship that was put in all these objects. Art with a purpose, so to speak. 

The best days, however, were outside the museum, visiting the many stately homes in the greater London area. Every weekend I was at some great building, experiencing a history in objects and stories.

I thought about this the other day, when I was rearranging some of my old books. Now that I am researching exhibitions, conferences and events, can I still learn from studies in architecture and design? Yes I can, and not only because "meeting architecture" and "event design" are part of my scope. Think about it:

-       Every room has a purpose

In stately homes it is easy to find your way. From the entrance to the main room a long corridor shows you a sequence of halls and chambers, each with its own décor. As a visitor you know exactly where you are supposed to go. But it never is boring: there is a logic that still leaves room for surprise and involvement. The folly in the garden, the mirrored room. So how about an exhibition layout? Can it be clear and surprise at the same time?

-       The need of a great architect

Well that’s obvious: a well designed conference, a successful trade show – they need a good architect who can build a gathering  just like a building in wood, stone or any other material. With eye for detail, engaging all involved (builder, painter, carpenter), communicating a clear vision. Including, naturally, his clients. All working together.

-       Add on, but keep identity

Most stately homes have been there for centuries. They saw later additions, were enlarged, had new wings built. Different in style sometimes, but always blending in with the old, original house. To keep them up to date, keep them relevant to the households. Even if a house was only lived in during the summer or winter. Events need that maintenance, too. Adding new (virtual) components, and keeping the brand alive after and before the actual event.

-       Show and tell

The best paintings and statues, the most interesting collections of silver or china, were always on display in the stately homes. Works commissioned by famous artists telling the story of the people that lived there.  A “show and tell” to impress. Events do this all the time. Sharing stories, and engaging an audience – using different platforms or formats. 

-       Partnerships

Most stately homes are situated in large, landscaped parks. Their location was chosen carefully and the surroundings make the houses stand out even more. Dramatic backdrops, sometimes. Great impact. Client, architect and landscape architect working together. Reminds me of collaboration between conference, venue, host city: stakeholders working together, all in their own expertise. Achieving great things when they collaborate.

When they build the best event possible. A special place to be.