I find first of all those people who are involved in running the event, they definitely need to be there earlier. In some cases it makes sense they'd be there 30 minutes before. And then once everything is good then inviting people to join the event that decided to come a little earlier and maybe have some nice music playing or some quotes going by on the screen. Or maybe it's just a good opportunity to engage people,. Find out where they're from and invite them to have their camera on and share a little bit before the kind of official event begins.
Tim Stringer: Technically Simple
Tim Stringer is a coach, consultant, and trainer and the founder of Technically Simple. He provides productivity, technology and workflow coaching, consulting and training to people and organizations, large and small, all over the planet.
His technology specializations include Asana, Daylite, OmniFocus, and Trello. He supports many people in productivity though his website LearnOmniFocus.com -- and also through the Holistic Productivity approach that he developed after coming face-to-face with cancer back in 2008. Tim consults to leaders and organizations on how to use Zoom effectively and recently launched a new course: Leading Effective Zoom Events.
In this conversation, Tim and I overview some of the common mistakes of online events, how online can produce even better results than in-person, and ways to engage people quickly. Plus, we review some of the key technology that will support your organization’s outreach efforts.
Key Points
It’s often a mistake to assume that you’ll be able to lead online events with the same planning and design for in-person events.
Opening a meeting early and using the five-minute rule to begin with icebreakers, breakouts, polls, or reactions will help engage people in the event quickly.
For events with many people or higher visibility for your organization, have a dedicated technology co-pilot so that hosts and speakers can stay focused on being present.
Virtual lounges (with a dedicated host), spotlight and multi-spotlight, practice sessions, and preassigned breakouts can all help the technology disappear and the human connections to take center stage.
Some organizations are discovering they are more successful with online events than past in-person ones. Many have had such a positive experience that they plan to continue leveraging virtual events after the pandemic.
Resources Mentioned
Leading Effective Zoom Events by Tim Stringer
Recommended Practices for Engaging Online Events (PDF download)
Related Episodes
Serve Others Through Marketing, with Seth Godin (episode 381)
How to Create Meaningful Gatherings, with Priya Parker (episode 395)
How to Run an Online Meeting, with Bonni Stachowiak (episode 472)
Discover More
Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.
