With COVID-infection rates dropping, associations and organizations are starting to gather together again at conferences. As your group starts to consider future events, should you hire an industry-specific speaker to keynote your conference or an external speaker who doesn’t work in your industry?
There are pros and cons to both choices. (You knew I was going to say that, didn’t you?)
If you choose an industry-specific keynote speaker, you’ll likely be working with someone you already know. They may even already be planning to come to your conference anyway!
In order to break out of the rut of “the way we’ve always done things,” we need to gather ideas from people outside of our own industries.
The pros of choosing an industry-specific keynote speaker are:
Relevant knowledge of industry keywords, acronyms, and issues
Case-studies from only organizations in the industry
The possibility of saving money, as many association members will present pro bono for organizations of which they are a member
If your organization and industry are in a stable position with very little change on the horizon, selecting a member of your group to deliver the keynote speech could be a smart decision.
But…
If your field has been facing uncertainty (like almost all fields have in the wake of COVID), it’s smart to consider bringing in someone from outside of your industry. Research shows that input from diverse fields helps increase creative problem-solving abilities. Diverse experiences and opinions leads to thought-provoking conversation and innovative ideas. When everyone at the table shares the same background, our choices and options can tend to stay close to status quo.
In order to break out of the rut of “the way we’ve always done things,” we need to gather ideas from people outside of our own industries.
Additionally, people are getting excited to come back to live events. They don’t want to see what they’ve seen dozens of times before. They want energy and interaction and excitement.
So…
The pros of choosing an external speaker in 2021 are:
Your industry needs an outside perspective.
“The way we’ve always done it” is becoming obsolete, and you need to underscore that with a fresh voice
External speakers are professionals at crafting a participative (but safe!) experience that will bring the energy your people are craving
If your event will be hybrid, an external speaker will have the ability to engage both the in-person audience and the home audience at the same time, so no one will feel left out of the experience
For your post-COVID conferences, you’ll have lots of options (isn’t that a great feeling, after the year+ we’ve had?) To keep your attendees engaged and ready to move forward, consider a blend of industry-specific speakers and professional keynote speakers.
Courtney Clark is the luckiest unlucky person in the world! At age 26, she beat cancer. But five years later, doctors told her that a routine scan of her brain showed an aneurysm that was about to rupture! What would you do? Courtney realized as she laid in bed that she had a choice to make on how to move forward! Now she teaches others how to make that same choice too, no matter the situation! Call 888-766-3155 to book Courtney for your next event.
Please do not judge me for doing this, but I want to tell you an absolutely true story about a judge. She works out at my friend’s gym, and if you did not know what she did for a living, you would think she was either a stand-up comedian or the head of a puppy dog raincoat company. What I am trying to say is that she is super funny and super nice. On the bench she handles huge cases and she can be tough as nails, but in real-life, she is very human, a mom and a humanitarian.
Pre-Pandemic, she was working out on the elliptical machine in the gym in her usual baggy T-shirt and colorful, mismatched Target or Walmart Yoga pants when, according to my friend, two youngish women came into the cardio area in “gazillion dollar” workout outfits having an incredibly loud conversation. They got on the elliptical machines to either side of the judge and continued their convo on who knows what.
Finally, the judge turned to one and said, “Please, would you mind lowering your voices a little?” They said something stupid and judgmental, something about her staying home and doing the dishes, and then more personally, about her raggedy outfit, or some such nonsense, and stormed out of the cardio area. A clear example of speaking their mind, not their truth, which is done with clarity, sincerity, and respect. I cannot help but think it would have been more effective to say, “Yes, we are a bit loud. As we were looking forward to connecting while working out, would you be open to trading places so we could be side by side?” Oh well.
We fast forward to a major trial, a case easily involving hundreds of millions of dollars. The same two young women, both lawyers, came into the courtroom dressed all “lawyerly,” with several senior partners. Announced by the bailiff, our judge walks onto the bench in her black robe. According to the judge, the two women turned shades of red never before recorded. In fact, they kept their heads down in embarrassment, refusing to make eye contact.
Do You Judge?
We have become a terribly judgmental society. In an interview for Harper’s Bazaar in July 2020, Dr. Jane Caro, the woman who runs the U.K.’s prestigious Mental Health Foundation noted:
“[Judgment is] all connected to our need as human beings to feel OK about ourselves, and if we don’t feel OK or insecure about whether we’re OK, it’s a defence mechanism to put the focus onto others. So, ‘I will judge you first because it serves as a defence against my fear that I will be judged. I don’t want to feel that feeling of shame that I’m not OK.’”
In a time when we should all be more kind and loving, there is a lot of unhealthy judgment going on; we seem to want to shame others before they shame us. I suppose the two young lawyers from the story above, needed to take the focus off themselves and their own insecurities. They were individually self-doubting; together they might have felt they could conquer their fears by mocking others.
We all judge and deep down, I believe we not only recognize it, but feel badly about it. To that end, I would like to offer 3 strategies to judge less and connect more.
We need to recognize our own judgment. Our judgments and biases are like walls we put up to protect us. We carry those walls around with us, and that is a pretty heavy burden. There are numerous videos on YouTube shaming shoppers for their clothing, shaming people (primarily women) for being heavy or even mocking individuals for falling and tripping. If we recognize, and then get past our own judgments, we might come up with reasons as to why someone might be poorly dressed, or weigh too much or may have taken a serious fall.
Catch yourself in the act of judgment and change the narrative. It is called compassion. Believe it or not, we can practice compassion and get better at it. I do not for a minute believe you are not a compassionate person, only that sometimes you might get so wrapped up in your own life, you are very compassionate toward some, and judgmental toward those you don’t know. For example, it is very easy for those of us who have means and have learned to “eat healthy,” to mock someone who must eat “old” bread, unhealthy foods and distressed canned goods. Not to depress anyone, but it is estimated that annually, about 5 million Americans eat pet food. My compassionate side understands that some of that consumption was not done as a party joke.
Judge too much? Try a new perspective. There are incalculable benefits to seeing the world through someone else’s eyes. Expanding horizons may be scary but I believe in the goodness of the human heart. It was the author William James who said: “We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.” And it is true. Maybe you’d like to think of it as not judging someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. Trying a new perspective carries two “warnings”: it requires us to really listen to another’s heartfelt story with our hearts, and to understand that the person whom you were taught to judge could become your best friend.
To remind myself, I keep a note that states: Before you assume, learn the facts. Before you judge, understand why. Before you hurt someone, feel. Before you speak, think.
We connect more by judging less. It is a simple truth that far too many have forgotten. It is a lesson much too valuable to not teach the children in your life as well.
Colette Carlson is a human behavior expert and CPAE Hall of Fame Motivational Keynote Speaker who inspires organizations and individuals to connect and communicate in real and relevant ways. With wit, humor, and sincerity, each of Colette’s experiences weaves together real-life lessons on genuine connection and the tools to leverage those connections for personal and professional success. Call 888-766-3155 to book Colette for your next event.
Ready Player One! This book, the movie, has taken over the zeitgeist of popular culture in the world of gamification. The movie focuses on a dystopian future where the majority of people are living out their lives in hopes that it will unlock the keys of this virtual reality that is called the”Oasis.” The only the incentive and hope these people have is unlocking the game that will give them ownership of the Oasis and become rich beyond their wildest dreams. The idea of this advanced gaming technology and the prospect of riches is quite appealing to the current millennial generation. There are now gaming leagues where people are paid to play video games competitively. I grew up during the gaming evolution starting with an Atari system then upgrading to a Nintendo then to a Super Nintendo and it goes on and on.
Gaming is a part of our everyday lives whether we know it or not. With my apple watch I have daily health goals that help me reach three goals represented by rings. Movement, exercise and standing. When I reach those goals the rings spark and complete the circle on my watch. Then if I complete my daily goals along with weekly and monthly goals I get virtual medals. Yes as silly as it sounds I want those virtual medals because I am gamer. This has gamified my daily exercise routine to inspire and incentivize me to accomplish my health goals. Even when answering my emails and yelp inquiries is a game for me. If I can get my email inbox to zero is an accomplishment. On yelp when I receive sales lead there are statistics that show me how fast I respond and the percentage of people I respond to. I am proud to say I have an average response rate of 40 minutes at 100% inquiries responded to. It’s silly but this statistic has challenged me to improve. There are even apps that gamify your daily tasks along with saving money. Habitica takes simple tasks like brushing your teeth and rewards you for recording your progress. Qaptial will have you save money and put money towards rewarding vacations or that bike you’ve been wanting to get.
There is gamification everywhere in the business world and we just don’t recognize it. Athletes are the ultimate competitors and they are constantly looking at their statistics as bar they want to raise. For example in baseball, pitchers want to lower their ERA (earned run average) and hitters want to raise their batting average. They are constantly working at their position to become the best. Linkedin ranks the power of your profile with a ranking. I’ve worked on getting my profile to “all star” level but that’s not enough. Linkedin even gives you analytics for the posts you share. Sure this gives you insight who are you reaching and how effective your posts are. But this is a form of gamification which I call “Leveling Up”. With any type of video game you can gain experience points which helps your character get closer to mastery level. Linkedin is doing the same thing. It is incentivizing you to engage with potential contacts and buyers. It challenges you to get more connect with more contacts and increase your influence with your posts. Once you have reached mastery you now have to level up by paying for premium features that will give you access to more features, more connections, and more sales. They tell you that you can “unlock the power of linkedin” with four different levels of paid upgrades which gives you more access. Hmm, this sounds like a challenge and a game that I must win!
Competition brings out the gamer in all of us. By creating healthy and fun competition in the workplace can drive results. Not everyone competes in the same way. Some like the idea of competing again each other and some rather compete with themselves. Introducing gamification into your workplace can be a fun idea and can improve production and event morale with your company culture. But the key is letting your people participate organically and autonomously. In my market there is are organizations that have corporate games that let companies compete against each other in sports related environments. But remember like in high school not everybody was an athlete but we had “mathletes” who competed in different forum. I competed in debate which was competitive speaking. The idea that I could win a debate competition was compelling and exciting. If you decide to introduce competition and gamification into your workplace understand everyone competes in different ways.
Gamification is trending everywhere in pop culture. Prime time and day time game shows are more popular than ever. Gaming is now on all our smart phones. I remember the days with my old flip phone staying up late playing “snake” of all games. Now there are games of every type on our phones. My favorite is “HQ” which is a live game show hosted by comedian Scott Rogowsky. This game is played twice daily live in the afternoon and the evening. The winning pot of money is shared with the users who answer all 12 or 15 questions correctly. You only have 10 seconds to answer the multiple choice questions and if you make it all the way to the end you could share $2000 or $25,000. I have never made it to the end but I have friends who have shared in the winnings and he took home .85 cents. But what is great about this game people are playing this in boardroom. They gather together and crowdsource the answers or split up their guesses if they don’t know the correct answer. Then if one person wins it all they split the pot.
Gamification is all around us and we don’t even realize it. Everyday you may have the opportunity to compete and be rewarded for your efforts. You can implement ideas like this in your personal life or with your team to drive productivity, sales and employee engagement. I challenge you today to take gamification to the next level with your business so you can be a workplace all star!
“Breathe life into Your Party”, by booking the High-energy Speaker Rob Ferre for your next event! As a Corporate Keynote, Workshop, or Seminar Speaker Rob entertains his audience with experiences that will inspire you! He founded his company, Life of the Party Entertainment, in the family entertainment capital of the world, Orlando Florida; where he learned the value of proper training and education while he worked for Disney, Universal Studios, and Nickelodeon. Call 888-766-3155 to book Rob for your next event!
People for whom your competitors would do anything to hire!
❓ “Greg, why should we do that – they’ll take all of our talent!”❓
If that’s your concern, you’re not alone.
The most commonly cited reason for under-investing in training & development is: we’re worried they’ll leave.
But with research showing that:
▪️ Most employees will “boomerang” once in their career (return to a previous employer after voluntarily departing), and ▪️ Most workers will have between 9-11 jobs in their career…
It makes good business sense to produce poachable people.
Create a place so compelling to work, grow and make an impact that when they do see the grass isn’t greener they come running back.
Word will get out about the investment you make in your people and your talent management department will be overflowing with candidates.
And the ones who do leave, and don’t come back, will be ambassadors for your brand.
When they’re asked about their time with you they’ll say things like “Yeah, the culture wasn’t for me but BOY do they invest in their people” 😍
TL;DR: Produce Poachable People – it’s good for business.
Gregory Offner is the “Man with a Million Dollar Voice” having recently undergone 14 surgeries needed to repair and rebuild his vocal cords! Greg has become an expert at Disruption having gone through this experience that nearly left him mute, wondering if he would ever speak or sing again in public, and what would be the next career path if these surgeries failed! This also ignited the critical spark needed to transform his work from a “personal curiosity” to a “professional mission” – to help individuals and organizations identify the “one change that can change everything!” Call 888-766-3155 to book Greg for your next event.
In most teams I visit, inevitably there are a handful of stressed-out workhorses putting in seventy-hour weeks while other employees appear relatively happy-go-lucky, enjoying much lighter workloads.
Let’s face it, some employees are driven intrinsically to impress and take on more and more, and managers tend to over-rely on these people because they are so willing. These employees end up doing disproportionately heavy lifting until—often—it becomes too much and they burn out.
Whether you are an individual contributor, a manager or an entrepreneur, it takes guts to be able to say “No, I realistically can’t get that done on time with everything else I have on my plate.” It even takes courage to say “Maybe” when so many of us worry our jobs are constantly on the line.
In our new book Anxiety at Work, Dr. Rita McGrath of Columbia Business School offered a metaphor for taking on more when you are already feeling overwhelmed: “Your day is a truck, and each hour is a box on the truck,” she said. “When someone delegates to you, be clear to them that a box will have to come off the truck to fit the new one. There are consequences. When it comes to overload, we are not terrific at articulating to each other what our priorities are and what we are working on.”
Pushing back on assignments that will overwhelm us can especially ratchet up anxiety for lower-power people, underrepresented minorities, and younger workers. “It’s almost a disloyal thing to say I’m really overloaded, and this will push me over the edge,” said McGrath. “It’s important for managers to make it okay to have that dialogue; and for leaders to remember that the more senior they are, the more their suggestions are commands.”
McGrath recalls being a PhD student at Wharton. She was busy running a research center, managing undergrads, and completing her own studies, all while commuting an hour each way and raising two kids under the age of four. “I showed up one day and the head of our center introduced me to a visiting scholar from Singapore. He wanted me to escort the professor around for the day. I asked for a word in the next room, and I told him that if he thought that was the best use of my time, I’d do it; but I made him aware of all the things that would not get done that day. His eyes got wide, and he admitted he had no idea.”
McGrath had the courage to speak up to her department chair and have an open dialogue about priorities because trust existed in the relationship. But what about those who feel they just can’t say no to the boss?
There is an acronym I’m hearing lately: GEPO, which stands for “good enough, push on.” GEPO can remind us not to bog ourselves down looking for perfect results, but to focus on delivering a satisfactory service or product and moving on the to the next project. Remember that perfect is the enemy of getting things done.
What about entrepreneurs in this discussion? Small business owners often have a habit of being blown off course by potential revenue sources that don’t quite fit their model or they can be seduced by the latest fads. Lisa Nirell, chief energy officer of EnergizeGrowth, says many entrepreneurs fall into the “Shiny penny syndrome.” As a small business owner herself, she admits she’s not immune: “I love the idea of looking busy, launching new ideas, and putting them in my to-do list—my piggy bank.”
Nirell explained, “On any sidewalk, pennies are the easiest to find; even though they are virtually worthless. Many business owners treat new opportunities the same way. They may have no clue whether the opportunity is going to generate any return on investment, but they love the excitement of finding that shiny penny!”
While Nirell does suggest allowing some flex time in our daily schedules to explore new opportunities, she advises her clients to focus on what they do best and ask themselves (before picking up that penny): “How will this either advance or hurt the fulfillment of our company’s and my personal purpose and vision?”
Meet Adrian Gostick, Global Workplace Expert and Thought Leader in the Fields of Corporate Culture, Leadership, and Engagement! Adrian is the founder of The Culture Works, a global training company along with his partner, Chester Elton! They have co-authored over 14 books together, many of which are #1 best-sellers, and have sold over 1.5 million copies! Their company in 2020 was recognized by Global Gurus as the #2 World’s Best Culture Development Programs. Call 888-766-3155 to book Adrian for your next event!
In the past year and a half, employees have gotten really good at working from home. Even though, some managers still find it challenging to inspire their teams when they don’t see them daily.
This week I had a chance to interview Robert Glazer, author of the new book,How to Thrive in the Virtual Workplace. He says part of managing remote employees is setting clear expectations and consistently tracking employee outcomes. Managers and leaders who regularly connect with their direct reports make them feel valued. Bob points to gratitude as key to connecting with our remote workforce and provides three easy steps.
Make Gratitude Focused on Accomplishments
With many organizations working remotely, employees can feel their colleagues or boss don’t notice their hard work. It’s more important now than ever to over-communicate. Consistently expressing gratitude, publicly and privately, helps address this pain point.
Bob says it’s crucial to show gratitude right away. The best leaders are fast to thank and credit others, and one of my favorite ways is to send a simple handwritten note of thanks. I guarantee this will make your team feel appreciated.
And for those employees who like to be publicly recognized, highlight someone who’s made an extra effort during a team huddle or on a group message board. Bob said, “When you’re sharing your team or department’s wins with your greater organization, take care to thank your team members by name who helped move the company forward (not just a generic ‘thanks to my team’).”
Check-In with Gratitude
Of course, you don’t need to reserve gratitude for big wins. Bob suggests regularly reaching out to others in your organization—colleagues, teammates, even your manager—and letting them know why you’re grateful to work with them. You don’t need a reason to tell the people you work with that you appreciate them. These small check-ins will strengthen the bonds within your team, especially while working from home.
An extra benefit of being grateful for your teammates is that it’s an excellent way to energize ourselves. We all face challenging days, weeks, and even months at work. Many of us have faced some of the most challenging work experiences of our lives in the past year. But when we can ground ourselves in gratitude for our colleagues, we will find it easier to keep pushing forward, even when things go wrong.
Create Gratitude Buffers
When working remotely, the lack of a commute can be a double-edged sword, says Bob. While no one likes sitting in traffic or cramming onto public transit, commuting helps us separate our work and home lives.
He suggests remote employees create a similar effect with a buffer at the beginning and end of the day. He said, “It’s helpful to start the day with a morning routine that helps you ease into the day, rather than jumping on your work email as soon as you get out of bed. And having a clear shutdown routine at the end of the day will help you transition out of work mode and into your home life”.
The consistent thread running through these buffers is to practice gratitude. Bob recommends starting a gratitude journal and writing down three to five things you are grateful for at the beginning and end of the workday. Not only will doing this help you signify when it is time to start and stop working, but it will also help you begin and end your day with a positive mindset, which is crucial for effective leadership.
Let’s face it, remote work is an adjustment, especially if you’re leading others. Building more gratitude into your life and leadership will help you thrive and inspire others.
Whether you’re planning a small executive retreat or searching for a dynamic keynote speaker for your annual conference, Chester Elton gives you a highly sought-after New York Times best-selling author and business strategist, who brings energy, substance, and real-world experience to your stage! One of today’s most influential voices in workplace trends, Chester Elton has spent two decades helping clients engage their employees to execute on strategy, vision, and values. To book Chester for your next event, call 888-766-3155.
Dysfunction is prevalent across many organizations and so management responds with an increase in training.
Yet holding team-building activities when management is in flux, standards are declining and behaviors are eroding is akin to selling life insurance policies as the Titanic is sinking — meaningless.
What makes a team is defined by a common purpose, and if there is no common purpose, then teamwork is superfluous. When lack of focus is endemic, the responsibility falls at the feet of those in charge.
Building teams is a perennial effort in organizations — so much so that when we use the term “team building,” many employees roll their eyes. They also do a mental checklist of all the team building exercises they have experienced — “radioactive contamination” exercises, trust falls, whitewater-rafting trips and backyard ropes courses.
Dysfunction stems from lack of trust. The way to build trust is through commitment that emerges from listening to employees to determine the problems.
Members of dysfunctional teams live lives of daily misery because their ability to make improvements is disregarded by their bosses, who know only how to make things worse.
Savvy managers challenge individuals to solve problems and empower them to put those remedies into action.
Meet John Baldoni, a Global Leadership Expert who helps people use their Purpose to achieve Positive results! Mixed with stories of great men and women, and leavened with light-hearted humor, John shares down-to-earth practical advice that individuals can apply immediately! He blends his passion for leadership with genuine enthusiasm for helping people achieve their leadership ambitions. Call 888-766-3155 to book John for your next event!
Do you know what to pitch the media when? Did you know there is actually a process and a timeline? I made the mistake pitching my product for Gift Guide’s in November not knowing that the Gift Guides of national publications close in June of that year. Who is thinking holidays in June? That being said, it’s important to know when to pitch. National magazines are at least 4 months out. That means if you want to pitch a story about summer entertaining, you have to send that in February/March. A Back-to-School story needs to be sent to a national publication in April/May.
Regional publications are two months out so that summer story would need be sent in April/May and the Back-to-School would be June/July. Timing is critical when pitching the media. You need to give them what they’re working on. Remember, we’re always trying to get the “yes!” You want to make it as easy as possible.
Here’s a little trick to give you “insider information” on what the publications are covering. Check out their editorial calendars to see what will be in the magazine. This is used mainly to secure advertisers so the advertisers know they are in line with the editorial content but for those of us pitching the media, it’s a great way to learn about what content they are looking for. Here’s a video I did all about using editorial calendars to pitch.
High Energy Speaker, Serial Entrepreneur, Award-Winning Inventor, Best-selling Author, and DIY-PR Strategist, Christina Daves helps her audiences “Get Visible!” Christina offers real stories on how to reach your goals using simple, yet proven, tactics that have catapulted her businesses, and helped a host of others achieve success. Christina’s energy is infectious and her passion and perseverance ignite the audience with actionable lessons they can incorporate into their businesses the very next day. Book Christina Daves today: https://bit.ly/33P0dMW
I will be honest, never thought as the CEO of Remarkable! A Speakers Bureau I would be saying or writing this post; but virtual is here to stay! Especially in the event services industry, of which I have been a part of for longer than many of you reading this have been alive!
Virtual communication is not going away! Speakers, celebrities, entertainers, and music artists are seeing the advantages of this fast-growing technology and embracing it.
Remember or heard about when computers were first introduced in Corporate America? Many executives and leaders thought it would not last, and they would soon be back to using paper and fax machines. Sounds like stone age living, doesn’t it? At least I did grow up with color television and movies!
Once everyone experienced what computers could offer, they embraced it, trained hard, and saw the advantages of the technology. It became a reality for the best future!
A few years later the same situation happened with cellular technology. The corporate executives who created the technology, and brought it to the marketplace began to think, it was too expensive, not everyone would want it or be able to afford it. After all, who would want to see pictures on a phone? They sold the technology, thinking they would be going back to landlines and leasing telephones and cellular would soon just fade away!
The early models of cell phones were expensive, big, bulky, heavy, carried in a bag, or installed in a car; but they sold well! The needs of customers changed and cellular was advancing and people saw the need to accept and embrace it! Think of things today, could you live without your cell phone or computer?
In 2008 when the recession hit remember what happened to the events industry? No longer were events seen as a necessity, but as a luxury that companies, associations, universities, and nonprofits could no longer afford or justify hosting. It was the end of a successful career for some speakers.
But what about those who did not quit? It was a time of learning what clients and audiences really wanted and how it could be presented in a more engaging and value based experience that people would be willing to pay for. Gone were the lectures, podiums, and marketing and your presence on social media became important! Many of you reading this were a product of those times, and until March of 2020 everything had recovered and was going well!
Now comes the Virtual World created out of necessity and developing fast! Everyone thought it was only going to be temporary, and would soon be going back to just like it was in February 2020!
One of our speakers, Award-winning Kenyon Salo was just like you in thinking it would not be long before audiences would be so excited about being back with others and learning in-person, and we would be going back soon to like it used to be. As time passed, he realized that he needed to venture into seeing what doing virtual professionally was all about!
Once Kenyon learned what it would take, he and his team expanded and now he shares: “Live events will bring you virtual events, & virtual events will bring you live events.” But to be a major player in our industry you are going to need to do both professionally to have your message heard!
Others also saw the technology was expanding quickly, the workplace was changing, and they wanted to meet the needs of new audiences all over the world, as travel was being impacted too; and still make the income they and their families counted on. They also had the vision to see that even when they were able to appear in-person it was not going to be the same.
There would still be a virtual audience and not only would you need to be a speaker, entertainer, and music artist for the in-person audience you were going to need the technical skills to either do virtual by itself, and also handle the new hybrid events being created, which combined both.
You might be wondering, how did this happen? What is driving companies, associations, universities, nonprofits, and the entertainment world to embrace virtual and create hybrid events for the audiences of today?
Here is what we found:
Cost– with a large majority of the workforce working from home, (and many will not be returning to offices), the cost savings has been such that virtual is seen as the solution to business recovery.
Time– virtual saves time attending in-person events and being away from work and personal time.
Productivity– studies show that working remotely located is proving to be more productive than ever, so that is where a large percentage of the workforce will be doing everything including meetings, conventions and conferences, virtually.
Travel– virtual saves time, expenses, safety requirements, for the attendees, planners, and for speakers, entertainers, and music artists. A lot of global travel is so restricted that virtual is proving to be the best investment for the world to be involved in.
Safety– with the extra cost of having to provide so many more health and safety requirements, virtual is the answer.
Fear– it will take a long time for a lot of audiences to feel safe, no matter what venues and planners do to attract the large numbers we have seen in the past. Virtual will be the answer for them and our industry.
Technology rapid advances– the virtual technology, unlike the computer and cellular technology, is doing such quick innovations that it makes it easier to host, and attend virtual events vs in-person. However we know, it is much harder to learn to do virtual vs in-person, there is an investment to doing virtual professionally and successfully, and the learning curve is much shorter and always changing!
Now the choice is yours! Are you going to embrace the technology of virtual and do what it will take to include virtual in your total offerings as a speaker, entertainer, and music artist, and be the best at it, or not? Here at Remarkable! A Speakers Bureau, we know Virtual is here to stay, and we are ready to “Book Outside the Box!”
Sue Falcone, CEO of Remarkable! A Speakers Bureau is a visionary and has some BIG News coming soon for her bureau! She features here Kenyon Salo who is a Top International Motivational and Inspirational Keynote Speaker, Corporate Trainer, Emcee, and Facilitator. He is a high-energy speaker with the elements of a James Bond character and Master of Virtual and Hybrid Events! Kenyon takes the stage carrying confidence, paying close attention to detail, dominating technology, dressing to kill, and always striving to connect deeply with his audiences. He stays cool under pressure while bringing attendees through an immersive experience of what it means to live a Bucket List Life. Call Sue and her staff at 888-766-3155 to book Kenyon for your next event.
The robots are coming. Wait! They are already here! 5G and quantum computing is already here. We keep warning people that the sky is falling and we need to be more creative in order to prepare for the tech advancements on the horizon. We need to retool our workforce and properly prepare our students to be ‘more creative’.
But what does it mean to ‘be more creative’?
How?
What does that even look like in our day-to-day life?
To most people, this is an abstract concept, which increases the likelihood of confusion. Confusion leads to inaction. This discourages people from taking the needed steps to improve their own creative courageous thinking. This will, in turn, affect their organizations and leave them wide open for disruption.
I left my job in June to take on this imperative task with helping people bring more creative strategies into their own lives and subsequently, into their organizations.
Since I’ve taught creative geniuses my entire career, and somehow, despite being in a conforming culture and creativity stripping systems, I held on to my own creative thinking abilities throughout my childhood and well into my adulthood.
I held onto my curiosity. I held onto my courage. Now, with implementing the most current research (and creating my own), I am position well to teach others how to reclaim these basic qualities that were present at birth.
This is what I do and what I love.
In our exciting trainings, we take the top research from the ‘13 Thinking Tools of the Highly Creative People’ along with my own creative courageous curriculum and teach practical steps that people can immediately apply to increase their creative idea production and courage.
Since I have a solid background in teaching arts training at the university level, we also look at the power of artistic creativity and explore how problem solving through various mediums such as dance, music, theater and visuals, can improve your creative thinking abilities in many skill areas, like observation, perspective, metaphorical thinking, to name a few. This in turn increases innovative thinking in non-arts disciplines such as business, science, marketing and general problem solving.
The tech is here. There’s no avoiding it. It will be our human quality of creativity, curiosity and courage that will position us to incorporate tech for the advancement of mankind and not be crushed by it.
It’s time to reawaken our creativity, not only to prepare for the future workforce but also to ensure a life well lived.
Let’s get America back to its creative genius!
Genein Letford is an award-winning global speaker, educator, podcaster, best-selling author, and corporate trainer on creative thinking and intercultural creativity. She is the founder of CAFFE Strategies, and has inspired and led many to reconnect to their creative abilities in order to produce innovative ideas for the workspace of today. Call 888-766-3155 to book Genein for your next Virtual, In-Person, or Hybrid Event.
