Live Events - Rumble A/V Consulting

Story matters in public speaking. Here are Inc’s. 5 great ways to engage your audience

From Inc.com

If you include a story in your next presentation, consider five strategic ways to make that story matter.

1. Pick stories that prove, illustrate, or at least introduce your point.

In the context of a presentation, a story doesn’t justify its own existence. Used most advantageously, the story is a powerful vehicle through which a meaningful point travels. Your goal is to make the story relevant, not just riveting.

Any true story can help propel a point–like a moment from your childhood, an eye-opening incident from your professional history, or an event you witnessed at a business location–but the key is connecting the interesting moment to an imperative message.

For example, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has been known to talk about an accident that left his father unable to work when Howard was a child and how that drives his interest in caring for Starbucks employees. Likewise, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh tells stories about his early days at the company, during which he recognized the value of building a corporate culture.

Both of these stories are deliberately designed to convey an important message or make a positive impression–not just to delight an audience or make the speaker more relatable.

2. Use language that explicitly connects your story to your point.

The work of making your story relevant doesn’t happen during the telling of the story; it happens after you tell the story, with critical connector lines like these:

“This story illustrates why we must…”

“This case study exemplifies the importance of…”

“This event proves what’s possible if we…”

“This moment was pivotal in developing my appreciation for…”

These phrases put the story’s point in virtual neon for the audience. Without these connectors, the story lacks a clear purpose.

At the end of the day–or a presentation–an audience that remembers your story but not your point is left with something amusing but not valuable. But an audience that remembers your point–even if they forget the story–is gifted with inspiring insight.

The best TED Talks are filled with stories–they virtually require it–but if you watch carefully, you’ll spot these connector lines (“here’s why I told you that story”) expressed in various ways.

You can find the other three items at inc.com.

Here’s a great article from one of my go-to resources for Live Events, Social tables. They focus on “Connecting the hospitality industry through effortless group management solutions that create successful face-to-face events.”

If you’re in the world of Live Events and Even Technology and haven’t visited this site, do yourself a favor and check it out today.

I’m going to break this article into a three-part series because the 15 steps are too much information to absorb in a single sitting. I found it easier to digest in chunks. Below is round one of three. Also, what’s below are excerpts from the actual article. If you want to experience the full paper, please head over to socialtables.com to read 15 Audience Engagement Strategies That Actually Work.

Introduction:

Audience engagement plays a significant role in the success of any event. Whether in-person or online, event organizers want attendees to pay attention and participate. In fact, more than 80% of marketing professionals believe that audience engagement is a key indicator of an event’s success. Expert event planners and organizers understand that choosing the right audience engagement strategies can make or break an event.

1. Understand your audience.

Surprise, surprise: Getting to know event attendees is one of the most helpful audience engagement strategies event organizers can utilize. Having a thorough understanding of your audience — who they are and what they care about — can help event planners anticipate audience needs and create an event catered to their interests. By doing so, you’ll help ensure that attendees are excited about the event’s content, which can lead to increased engagement…

2. Determine which metrics you will use to measure engagement.

Before an event, determine which audience engagement strategies you’ll employ and which metrics you’ll use to measure success. Put the proper measurement protocols and procedures in place ahead of time to accurately track audience engagement throughout the event.

There are a variety of KPIs event planners can use to measure audience engagement before, during, and after an event. These include:

Live participation. Pay attention to how the audience is responding in real-time at in-person events. Planners can also use live chats or polling to measure engagement at in-person, virtual, or hybrid events.
Audience retention. Track retention levels to see how many audience members attend virtual and hybrid events… Retention measures how long individuals are viewing your content or are active in your virtual event room. A sudden decline in audience retention could indicate that attendees disliked event content…

3. Incorporate the use of a mobile event app.

Beneficial for both event planners and audience members, mobile apps can be used to streamline communication, provide valuable insights, and promote event engagement. Choose a mobile event app that allows organizers to easily communicate with event attendees quickly… Invite attendees to opt-in for push notifications to receive agenda updates, session reminders, parking alerts, or other pertinent information.

4. Encourage attendees to “choose their own adventure!”

Customizable session paths give your audience the choice to attend the sessions they’re interested in and skip the ones they’re not. This event style can also help promote engagement by encouraging participants to choose event sessions and topics they’re passionate about and eliminating the fear of missing out on back-to-back events…

5. Choose the right speakers.

Pacing, enunciation, tone, and cadence are just as important as substance, so look for confident and experienced speakers and presenters. Find a keynote speaker who is enthusiastic, charismatic, and credible. They should be viewed as reliable experts on the topic of discussion and should excel when interacting with a crowd…

7 Inexpensive Video Switchers For Streaming

Recently, a client asked me to review a few inexpensive portable video switcher solutions for live streaming. The requirements are under $1,000, easy to use, and standalone, meaning no additional equipment is necessary for features like video playback and generating graphics.

There are plenty of these solutions on the market, but I found this article from VideStream contains most of the information I need.

It’s packed with details about 7 systems that I wanted to share with my audience.

“Live streaming gives brands the power to connect with the masses. Studies have shown that more people actively engage with live video than most other content formats.”

“One of the best ways to improve the overall quality of your stream is with a video switcher. In this post, we’ll cover the best video switchers for live streaming and reveal why this simple tool is so important for live streaming success.”

Many applications came to mind after reading this article about LG’s new Transparent OLED Displays on MyTechDecisions.com. Too many to list, but here are a few examples from LG.

LG Display unveiled its first proprietary Transparent OLED back in 2019. Since then the company’s Transparent displays have been used in mixed spaces outside the home such as malls, museums, and subways.

“According to a recent study by leading global consulting firm the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the global transparent OLED display market is predicted to expand continuously at a compound annual growth rate of 116% over this decade, reaching a total value of around $2.7 billion by 2025 and $10 billion by 2030.”

Those are big numbers!

Elizabeth Segran at Fast Company wrote a great article about why BEAUTYCOUNTER, the socially conscious cosmetic company, is live-streaming everything inside its new store.

“Outside the store on Abbot Kinney, there’s a large sign that lights up when a live recording is happening, much like an old-fashion radio studio. Inside, the front part of the store is traditional retail, but in the back, there’s a stage equipped with professional lighting and audio equipment. Throughout the day, Beautycounter’s employees will live-stream themselves on a platform called Bambuser, which will be broadcast on Beautycounter’s website. If a customer sees a product they like, they’ll be able to click to see the product page.”

This is brilliant. You can read the full article over at Fast Company.

This is a beautiful set. The amount of work involved to move one big show out and another big show in must have been Herculean.

The network is using Studio 1A, normally home to “Today” as is election headquarters — similar to how it was used for convention and debate coverage earlier in the election cycle.

Them there’s AV.

Like for those broadcasts, the main anchor desk is set up against the 40 foot curved LED video wall installed in 2018 as part of a studio refresh that eliminated the one on one interview and sofa areas that had long been part of the set.

You can get the rest of the nerdy bits at NewscastStudio.com.

Now that’s a lot of display.

From Rave Pubs.

Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America just introduced today the new 120” class (diagonal) 8M-B120C 8K Ultra-HD Professional LCD display. The 8K monitor packs in 33 million pixels, four times more than a 4K panel, and is aimed at applications like corporate lobbies, showrooms, museums and video production.

Rave has all of the techie details. Click below for more info.

Here are four other lessons from Inc. 5000 companies that are wining and dining clients virtually.

1. Send care packages in advance.

Before the age of Covid-19, client meetings were generally casual affairs for Stefanie Hill, who runs the San Francisco office of IT management consulting firm Pariveda, an 11-time Inc. 5000 company (No. 4,791 in 2019). “As in ‘Let’s go grab a cup of coffee,’ or ‘Let’s go grab a glass of wine,'” she says.

Hill is still picking up the wine tab–only now she plans ahead. For two recent client meetings, she headed to the post office in advance and shipped wine to the clients’ homes, along with wine glasses etched with the Pariveda logo. This touch createda way for her to match what they were drinking and leave them with a Covid-era keepsake. For a recent morning discussion with counterparts from Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, she mailed fresh coffee from Brandywine Coffee Roasters and Pariveda mugs. “We actually found a blend called ‘Social Distancing,'” Hill says.

2. Add the element of surprise.

For many remote workers, the Zoom window has become a constant presence on computer desktops. To liven up video calls, Kristen Liggett, group account director at Agency EA, an experiential marketing agency based in Chicago (No. 2,127 on the Inc. 5000), is telling clients to expect a delivery one hour before their meeting–but won’t say what. En route: a bottle of rosé and assorted cheeses and snacks from a nearby gourmet market.

“Who doesn’t love a surprise?” says Liggett. “And it adds a layer of fun rather than expectation,” she adds.

1. Room to spare

Gone are the days when two teams of five players gathered in a room to battle each other on the video game frontier. With some of the biggest esports live events recording attendance levels of more than 100,000 people, the venue must be large enough to house a crowd. A venue that’s too small will make the players feel uncomfortable—no one wants a spectator to infiltrate their personal space during tense moments of play.

Common esports venue types that meet varying size needs:

Dedicated esports venues
Movie theaters
Convention centers

2. A centralized location

You know venue location is one of the most important factors when it comes to event turnout. Don’t select a site that’s off the beaten path. After all, a substantial portion of your players and spectators probably don’t have driving licenses and will rely on parental drop-offs or public transportation. Some parents might even be wary of hauling their kids to a far-flung venue, let alone leaving them there for a day-long tournament.

3. The necessary licensing

Video games fall under the same copyright protection as other audiovisual works. Creators and publishers have the right to approve (or disapprove) the use of their games in public tournaments. Because of the rising popularity of these events, however, most publishers sell licenses to esports tournament organizers and third-party leagues—after all, it’s a source of revenue and an opportunity to promote their games.

Adding Virtual As An Aspect Of Your Show, Booth, Event, Conference Has Massive Benefits For facilitators.

You are not limited by location. Your audience is now global. This means your experience can happen at any time and from anywhere. You may invite as many people as you want from wherever you want, so think about how to make this work for your brand most effectively. Is there a market you wish you could expand to but haven’t been able to get a foothold on the ground as of yet? This may be an opportunity for introducing your business or product to a completely new – and diverse – crowd.
Your stage is as big as you want to be, with all the bells and whistles you desire. Say you always wanted lasers and dry ice as your intro but couldn’t make it work with your budget – here you go. Dazzle them with theatrics onscreen.
Your entire event may be recorded and replayed by your audience at their convenience. This is a huge bonus, as we are all tight on time. Given both professional and personal constrictions, having the ease of “attending” when it’s convenient instead of when it’s actually happening may allow for new attendees and admirers you would not have gained otherwise. Additionally, you might add gated forms to collect data and begin a long-term nurture marketing campaign.

Story matters in public speaking. Here are Inc’s. 5 great ways to engage your audience

1. Pick stories that prove, illustrate, or at least introduce your point.

2. Use language that explicitly connects your story to your point.

Audience Engagement: Strategies That Work

1. Understand your audience.

2. Determine which metrics you will use to measure engagement.

3. Incorporate the use of a mobile event app.

4. Encourage attendees to “choose their own adventure!”

5. Choose the right speakers.

7 Inexpensive Video Switchers For Streaming

Game Changer: LG Transparent Displays For Commercial Facilities

Bridging the gap between shopping online and in-store at Beautycounter

Meet the Press – NBC debuts election headquarters

A 120″ 8K LCD from Sharp