General Sessions...
Bastian’s Blog
February 23, 2007
General Sessions, Major Events, Private Parties and Corporal Punishment
I think we can all agree that getting people together is, in principle, a good thing. People need people, and as Ms. Streisand continues to remind us on her seemingly never-ending farewell tours, “People who need people / are the luckiest people in the world.”
A group of people sitting down -- in one room, everyone facing the same direction -- is a powerful way to communicate. It also acts as a stunning visual metaphor for the desired outcome of the meeting: Unity and a shared vision.
It’s our job to get the most out of the time our audiences spend in that room, to ensure that the annual sales meeting doesn’t turn into a catered version of the Bataan Death March.
That means paying attention to the obvious things (“Hey, we’ve got a four hour meeting with no breaks. Maybe that’s not a good idea.”) as well as to the more subtle elements (“Are we using music throughout the meeting to change the mood? Are we varying the look of the set via lighting? Are we creating a logical and emotional flow to the event that will capture the audience’s attention and sweep them along?”).
Producing events is about creating experiences. And the fact is, your audience is going to have an experience whether you create it or not.
The successful meetings are the ones where every element of that experience is planned ahead of time and nothing is left to chance.
A recent example: In our hectic world today, getting people to focus on the task at hand is tough, particularly when they don’t have enough hands to handle all the tasks. When people attend a meeting out of town, work doesn’t stop back at home. The widgets still need to get produced, sold and distributed.
So, when one of our clients gathered two hundred of their top sales people in one room, they recognized that the world was not going to stop turning during their general and breakout sessions. But they also realized that the audience needed to focus -- they needed to pay attention and absorb the information.
In short, they needed to get off their cell phones / Blackberries / lap tops, face front and listen up.
So the meeting planners struck a deal with the audience: They provided frequent, scheduled breaks throughout the day, designed specifically to give the audience members enough time to call clients, answer e-mails and generally keep their businesses running.
In return, audience members were charged with giving their complete attention during the meeting. Anyone caught not paying attention (i.e., sneaking a peek at their Blackberry, ducking into the hall to use their cell phone, surfing the Net on their lap top) was fined a dollar for each offense. And, to help promote networking, anyone caught not wearing their nametag was fined five dollars.
In keeping with this event’s general “sports” theme, the fines were issued by a floating corps of whistle-blowing referees, who threw a flag down in front of offenders and collected the fines on the spot.
The result: More focus on the information being presented, happier audience members (who actually had time during the day to conduct business), and a nice chunk of change for a local charity.
That’s what you call a win-win-win.
Kling-tastic!
Bastian’s Blog
January 31, 2007
Kling-tastic!
Just got back from a big show in Orlando and I think I’ve coined a new word – Kling-tastic!
That’s because we had a chance to work with storyteller Kevin Kling, and no other word in my lexicon comes close to describing the feeling he creates in a room.
We’ve done a lot of high-tech, high-energy, high-power opening events at meetings before. However, you’d be surprised at the impact it has when the lights come up and there’s a lone guy on-stage and he starts telling the audience a story.
I’m not saying you could hear a pin drop, but I will say that he had them at “Hello, my name is Kevin Kling and I’m from Minneapolis, Minnesota.” And he never let them go after that.
His stories were simple, funny, involving … and what was really cool was how all subsequent speakers at the event referenced key points from Kevin’s stories.
I know we’ll be seeing more of Kevin on our stages in the future and I’m sure that our clients will all come to the same conclusion: He’s Kling-tastic!
Paneling Your Meeting Is Easier than Paneling Your Basement
Is it just me, or are panels becoming more popular?
Seems like every meeting I attend these days features a panel of some sort. It might be sales people talking about new products, customers talking about new needs, or experts talking about new solutions to old problems or old solutions to new problems.
When it comes to panels, I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Which has prompted me to jot down a short list of Dos and Don’ts for your next panel.
DO
Rehearse. Really, it won’t hurt and it will improve the content and delivery of your panel presentation ten-fold. And I’m not just talking content here. Yes, that’s important, and you should certainly spend the bulk of your rehearsal time on who’s saying what. But don’t stop there. Rehearse how people are being introduced, how they’re getting on stage, how are people being miked (are they wearing lavs or sharing a hand-held?), and how you’re segueing to the next part of the agenda. (If you want to see the definition of awkward, watch a panel group try to scramble off-stage when they have no idea where to go or what’s happening next. It would be funny if it weren’t so painful.)
DON’T
Just say no. This is a panel, not a recording of "We Are The World." Keep your panel size reasonable. A 30-minute panel session with fifteen on-stage participants will be a waste of time for twelve of those people, as well as for a large percentage of your audience. I’ve seen panels where there appeared to be more people on stage than in the audience. While that may be of interest to the people at the Guinness Book, it’s not going to make for an effective panel discussion.
DO
Prime the pump. If you’re going to take questions from the audience, have a couple questions (and a couple ringers to ask those questions) in your hip pocket, just to get things started. Giving people the opportunity to jot down questions ahead of time is another smart way to keep your panel busy during Q&A and to keep your audience engaged.
DON’T
Don’t invite the wrong people to your panel party. If they don’t have credibility on the topic or something germane to add to the conversation, they shouldn’t be on-stage. And make sure that you’re not making a statement (or a mis-statement) with your choice of participants. I once saw a panel on Diversity that consisted of six middle-aged white guys. The only thing diverse about them were their ties, and not by much.
DO
Provide a moderating influence (i.e., bring a host). A moderator is the oil that keeps your panel engine humming smoothly. It’s the syrup on your pancakes. It’s the yin to your panel’s yang. A good moderator can ask questions, create segues, provide detours away from sensitive subjects, diffuse conflict, offer follow-up thoughts and still keep one eye on the clock. A good moderator is worth his/her weight in gold. Make the investment.
So, whether you’re creating your own version of Meet the Press or The View, make sure that you’re getting the most out of your panel. They’re a great, interactive and cost-effective way to provide information and multiple viewpoints to your audience.
Now. Who can help me panel my basement?
