Vol. 19, Issue 1, March 29, 2021
What a year this has been! As we all look back on the twists and turns, and on the positive side, the silver linings, of these last twelve months, we’ve learned and discovered many unexpected things about each other and our work.
I was talking with a client the other day, and she was sharing some of the silver linings of working from home (her daughter had just wandered into her space and we were introduced).
She said her daughter now knows (and cares about) her co-workers, in a way she would never have when work took her Mom to an office setting.
We know each other’s pets, hobbies, and interests based on what we have seen in each other’s virtual backgrounds. As we await late arrivals to a virtual meeting, a bit of dead airtime sometimes gives us time to kibitz a bit with others.
I now know some of my clients’ faces, because we’re having introductory meetings with our speakers on Zoom, instead of faceless phone calls. And I have to say that when there are half a dozen of us on a call, it is a lot easier to know who is talking on screen than when talking on the phone.
I don’t know if it’s the video aspect of this — and I suspect it is — but I’m noticing a sense of people being more real. Not necessarily a dip into too casual a connection (i.e. beyond the jokes about not wearing pants), but an uptick in authenticity. After all, we all got thrown into the virtual world pool together.
While we all long for perfection, I’ve consistently felt that all of us – clients, attendees and speakers – have been tolerant of technical challenges or glitches —the incessant “Unmute, you’re on mute!” being the least of them.
We plan and we rehearse, and we do our best. And our best includes truly being flexible and in the moment when the plan is interrupted.
And so here are a few of my observations, for one, from the speaker world – chances taken, lessons learned, horizons broadened.
Off the Record . . .
Ever been caught with your camera on when you thought it was off? More than one news anchor or celebrity has been caught with a hot mic and said something (subsequently re-broadcast to the world) that wasn’t meant for primetime.
But, hey, let’s get real. Working from home, with family (and sometimes pets) in the background, we’ve all got stuff going on when we’re getting ready for a meeting, whether it’s noise in an adjacent room, last minute requests, or the doorbell delivery person!
Why not have some fun with it? That’s what Kay Frances did to grab everyone’s attention before a presentation. She was addressing a Women’s Heart Health Virtual Event for Baylor, Scott and White Hospitals.
In the introduction to the meeting, Kay pretended she didn’t know that she was live and did a comedy bit bickering with her family — in the familiar way that families do — talking off camera to some phantom entities. Making fun of the situation — and herself — I think set her up for success with the audience. See what I mean in this short video.
I think you’d have to admit she grabs your attention, sets the stage, and primes the audience for an expectation of something different than a boring Zoom webinar. She also does promotional videos for client events, where she is interviewed by her character, Polly Podcaster. Using a lot of self-deprecating humor and poking fun at herself as the keynote speaker, she does a great job of making everyone want to join in the fun.
Out of her Comfort Zone, into the Unknown Zone
Talk about getting out of your comfort zone — Kelly Swanson has admitted that she’s enjoying doing what she didn’t know she could do and loving it.
Kelly was hired to emcee a virtual event with 1200 people. She traveled to a studio and spent three days popping up on the stage and performing to screens with 1200 faces.
“There was a moving background behind me with floating emojis, and screens on each side with chat threads rolling. A sound tech played music, audience laughter, and clapping,” she reported. “It was AMAZING. I never realized how much fun virtual can be. It was the closest thing to a live audience that I’ve felt in the virtual realm.
You can see what that stage and 1200 faces on screens looks like in this short video clip:
“It was way out of my comfort zone — obviously. And being an emcee requires an entirely different set of skills than delivering a keynote or workshop. I couldn’t have a script. I only had five minutes, ten at most, per appearance, and I also had to cover the housekeeping announcements they gave me on the teleprompter. I totally had to trust myself and the audience – and just PLAY. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
Lessons Learned:
- I can be funny without a script.
- I don’t have to try so hard to be funny — but to just play and have fun with my audience.
- Be fully present with my audience and react to them – even when I can’t hear their laughter.
- Humor and motivation still work on a computer screen even though you can’t feel the energy like you can with a live audience.
- Finally, it taught me to say YES more, to the things that scare me, even wearing an ugly Cinderella dress!
Virtual Comedy? Making the Best of It . . .
Right from the get-go, many comedians responded to the loss of live shows, with dismay. They couldn’t imagine doing stand-up without an audience. Then reality hit. There really were no live audiences, and there wouldn’t be any for quite some time.
You want to work? You improvise. They got busy, created their stage, grabbed the mic, and leaned in. Not everybody did, but many did.
For comedian and cancer survivor Mack Dryden, it was a little like getting back on a horse again. He had lots of experience working in front of the camera; he just hadn’t exercised it in a good long time.
He’s performed on dozens of TV shows, including several appearances on “The Tonight Show”; but the experience that best prepared him for this Brave New Virtual World was taping 125 half-hour episodes of the syndicated TV show “Comedy Break with Mack & Jamie” without a studio audience.
Mack met the incredibly difficult challenge of producing five half-hour sketch shows every week for 23 weeks. There was no time to wrangle busloads of Hollywood tourists in and out of the studio. He had to learn how to bring his A-Game to every performance while working to a glass lens in a silent sound stage to an empty audience — a skill that sets him apart in this age of convening in cyberspace.
Today, he’s finding the virtual format allows him to do a great deal of fun, visual customization for clients, putting funny slides and videos into his clean comedy act. He puts clients at ease from the very start, allowing them to relax because they’re in the hands of a pro who won’t embarrass them with inappropriate material.
To see samples of his video customization, check out this video.
Please get in touch with us if we can help you bring some laughter, levity, and joy to your group.
barbara@speakwellbeing.com or 503-699-5031
My Silver Linings – Nia with old friends
One of my favorite silver linings of the Pandemic has been getting to dance Nia with my original Nia teacher and dear friend, Winalee Zeeb, broadcasting via Zoom from Lansing, Michigan.
I push back the sofa and the ottoman in the living room, throw back the rugs, set up the Apple TV for broadcast from my computer, and open the dance floor several times a week.
We always have a little confab before and after, and that little social aspect has helped soften the blow of isolation. While people can attend from around the globe — Winalee has taught internationally — I also get to dance and re-connect with my Michigan Nia community from twenty-two years ago and that is as uplifting as dancing.
Silver linings — find them where you can. They’ll be your happy memories from this difficult time. Until next time, take care of yourself for your well being and those you love.
Yours truly,
Barbara
For Your Well Being is published with the intention of bringing you insider speaker reports, exclusive stories about special events around the country, meeting planner tips, and fun stuff from the worlds of health and well being. Be well and be in the know!
The Speak Well Being Group is a specialized speakers bureau, focusing on health and wellness for all types of organizations that want to foster health and well being for their employees, members, clients, and in their communities.
We hand select our speakers, and they are not only experts in their fields, they inspire and motivate attendees. Our ultimate goal is to make a positive difference in their lives — a sense of well being, ease, and hope — and likely enjoy some laughter and levity along the way.
Finding the perfect keynote speaker for your special event or conference is my personal passion, not just once, but year after year. It brings me great joy to know that your audience was delighted and moved by the speaker we selected together. I’m committed to making the process easy, pleasant and fun
