Nick Gold, MD and founder of Speakers Corner, outlines his vision of a new virtual world as part of our Changing Times series of industry views on the unfolding coronavirus outbreak.
We are great, the events and meetings industry. We have some of the most creative minds, people who come up with mindblowing ideas to fulfil their clients' briefs in ways that go beyond anything imagined by the clients, delivering experiences which consistently exceed expectations from the smallest meeting to the largest conference.
And now, it’s a whole new way of working with no security or understanding of what the future likes and if the new normal will be how it was previously, how it is now or something in between. A world where remote working is the absolute requirement for everyone has meant the role of the virtual environment has exploded to the consciousness of the business world. The concept of a virtual meeting or video conference is no longer seen as something different but has swiftly become ‘the normal’. We all have our opinions about what happens post this surreal social distancing phase of our lives but no‐one really has any true idea.
But here is my one observation for us in the conference and meetings game, the discussion of moving the conference or meeting online is one where it appears to be a technologybased discussion – should we use Zoom? Ring Central? Webex?...something else? The answer from an event organiser’s point of view should be, that this is the last requirement and should never be the starting place. The solution for delivering can only be identified once we have understood what we are trying to achieve.
Whole different scenario
Trying to replicate a physical face to face meeting online is something which is never going to deliver. Conversation and networking is not something that flows freely, the discussion is very linear where only one person can speak at once and everyone has to be sure that person has finished (and no‐one else is going to speak) before they jump in to deliver their point of view. This changes the whole dynamic of a conversation and puts even more emphasis on identifying the question that is to be answered in that video conference at the start rather than it be a freewheeling ‘ideas’ based session.
If someone is delivering a presentation or a speech, whether this be an internal meeting or an external speaker delivering a virtual keynote, both for the speaker as well as for the audience, the dynamic and the energy of the virtual world is a whole different scenario to that physical meeting.
Can the delegates watching the speaker really stay focussed for that length of time staring at a screen? Can the speaker maintain that energy even when they don’t have the physical room and delegates feeding back energy and vibes? What is the ideal length for a speaker to deliver their keynote and maintain the attention of the audience? How best can the Q&A be held and who is moderating the questions? How are slides being displayed? Handouts being delivered?
All questions that would naturally be addressed in a physical event as part of the norm but yet how much have we actually been discussing them when we start planning our virtual event.
We have an opportunity
I suppose at this stage of this new world, and I fully appreciate we are all still very much in reaction mode, we are trying to replicate what we know and feel comfortable with through the virtual environment.
But that is not why we are great, that is not what makes the event industry such a special place to be part of. We should see this an opportunity, we should see this as a chance to do what we are best at, we should be creative, we should build from ground up rather than trying to replicate that which we know already.
We have an opportunity here to take a new widespread communication tool, that of the online platform and create meetings and events that are created to maximise the impact of the virtual world. We can use digital content, online speakers, virtual conversations and hackathon ideas in order to deliver value to customers digitally which they had never thought was possible online or offline.
We need to turn our thoughts towards how we can use this new way of working to create conferences, meetings and events which will continue to deliver content and value to clients exceeding their expectations.
Read the rest of the series:
Changing Times: Optimism the keyword for TEN6 Creative
Changing Times: ‘When this blows over we’ll have one hell of a party!’
Changing Times: IMEX America ‘full steam ahead,’ says Bauer
Changing Times: We are all in this together, says ABPCO
Changing Times: "I'm four months pregnant and I've been let go"
Changing Times: "It's not just back to normal after this"
M&IT editor Paul Harvey is a journalist with more than 15 years of experience. He began his career in the local press, working for various titles across the north. Since joining M&IT in 2013, he has become a trusted and respected voice in the sector, championing event professionals and reporting on all aspects of the events industry for the brand.
