Covid continues to disrupt business events, and we all know life in front of a screen is different to being in a live audience. And yet, too many events feel like we have shoehorned out traditional offline experience, online.
Here are 4 simple ideas to effectively engage the people you need to influence the most.
1. Push for “Active” Keynote Experiences
The cost of reproducing the emotional impact of a live keynote in the virtual environment is purview of Hollywood studios. There is a reason movies cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make – it’s hard to engage people in their own space.
As such, don’t overly rely on passive mono-directional keynote experiences, when you can have active, multi-directional ones.
- Embrace the connectivity risk of live delivery (consider asking for a prerecorded backup).
- Allow live chat and ask your presenter to interact in real-time.
- Embed client or executive drop-ins to comment on key ideas and apply to your specific context
- Allow for, and have the patience to wait for, questions. And consider putting those people live on screen to ask their question.
2. Facilitate don’t just dictate
Our clients and teams are still starving for connection to each other, and many of our leaders have struggled to connect and engage in the world of virtual delivery. Directly apply the insights from your external talent to your business through facilitated dialogue with your leaders. These loosely structured conversations will:
- Provide an opportunity to connect outside thought leadership with inside application.
- Lend 3rd Party credibility to your strategy.
- Create authentic dialogue and allow the real issues to be addressed head on.
3. Humanize our Leaders
2020 was hard, but 2021 has been even harder as the reality of supply chain issues, labor shortages and the need for even more rapid transformation becomes reality. The learning experiences we curate should focus on humanizing the leaders who are asking for so much from their teams, and who in many cases have never even met in person. No one should feel alone on this journey.
We humanize leaders by “under producing” and not “over scripting” their presentations, and by pushing them be more vulnerable and share the realities of their personal experiences as well. All leaders can speak fluently about the business, its challenges, and the ask of their teams. There is no reason to over script or over produce this. Keep it real. Keep it authentic. Keep it human.
4. Pull the “Red Thread”
We have been robbed of our hallways, bars and coffee conversations that allow us to connect dispirit ideas in our learning experiences so we can make sense of our path forward. Real behavior change can only happen when we connect the unknown with the known. When we can see ourselves thriving in the new proposed future. We need to invest in having world-class talent help us overcome content overload by threading the key ideas of the experience together throughout the virtual event, and constantly connect them back the practical realities of life back at work. We call this the “red thread”, and this requires more than just MC skills. They need to well researched, fluent in your industry language, and laser focused on the objectives of your event. Yes, these people do exist.
Peter Sheahan is best-selling and expert presenter and facilitator. He has delivered more than 3,000 keynotes and workshops and has been named one of the 25 most influential speakers in the world. His reputation is built on real world case studies and examples, deep research and customization, and his ability to engage with audiences of all levels in all formats. As a Founder and CEO of 3 global companies, Peter also knows firsthand the challenges of growing a business in disruptive times.