Here is my new 2018 showreel of my conference hosting and moderating work.
I thought it would be painful to get this collated and edited. It was.
Can you imagine watching over four hours of your own and others public speaking and deciding which bits are good, whilst trying not to get upset at the bits you hate.
What I was not expecting was that this whole process turned into an extraordinary opportunity to reflect and learn again from a decade of experience.
So this is what I now understand about my role as a conference host, public speaking and conferences in general:
1. The audience are the real clients of the moderator. If they are engaged then the conference is working.
2. Senior staff on stage might sometimes be under a bit of pressure, but they look good when they answer questions.
3. Only the moderator has the right (and the duty!) to keep things on time. That may mean asking the CEO to hurry up.
4. Audiences are very generous if you are obviously “live” and not pre-scripted. That goes for the moderator and for all the speakers too…so take a risk, go off script and tell your story!
5. Humour and a quick wit can really help move a conference forward even when the going gets bumpy
and
Perhaps the going SHOULD get bumpy….
Conferences can cost hundreds of thousands to put on. Is there really a better time to deal with difficult issues than when everyone has taken the time and trouble to gather in one place? So let’s celebrate success AND deal with tough questions.
The new technologies to allow real-time LIVE questions from the delegates such as Sli.do can be initially alarming. But the results are (so far) ALWAYS worth it – because they increase engagement and allow conferences to sort out problems LIVE in the room.
Thank you, and have a great conference!
This video is thanks to the exemplary storytelling skills of Bespoke Reels. Thank you Charlie!