FIVE STEPS TO CREATING A POWERFUL, ENGAGING POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

Creating a presentation is easier if you’re familiar with the topic. What if you aren’t? What if you’re creating an all-new presentation? That’s the situation I’ve been in when preparing my talk for The Global Change Initiative on how to profit from doing what’s right.

This five-step process helps. It also works if you’re familiar with a topic.

1. Create An Outline

You may already have many ideas. A mind map helps you capture and organize them. I especially like iThoughts HD for the iPad. I haven’t found a comparable choice for Android.
When your mind map is with you, you can capture fresh thoughts as they strike you (provided you’re not driving!).

With your mind map, you can brainstorm.

As with a speech, a presentation has a beginning (hook), middle (details) and ending (call to action). As your ideas gel, you can arrange your points in a suitable structure with branches and sub-branches. Your presentation is now taking shape.

You may have too much content. That’s fine since you don’t need to use it all.

2. Collect Information

Once you’ve got your outline (and perhaps while you’re creating it), look for information. You can add links to your mind map. That’s what I used to do. Now I’ve started using Evernote to capture web pages. There’s an excellent plugin for your Chrome web browser. Evernote lets you categorize the information, which is very useful. The free plan is a great way to start.

You’ll likely have too much information. That’s fine because it’s organized and might prove to be useful as your presentation evolves.

3. Draft A PowerPoint Presentation With Bullets

Yeah, we know about death by bullet points but they are helpful in drafting a presentation. They’ll be removed later. Bullets are quick to create. The slides are easy to move around to create a good flow.

4. Replace Bullets With Visuals

Bullet points are boring. You won’t win an audience that’s snoring. Now’s the time to add images and move the bullet points to your speaker notes.

Finding the right visuals takes time but isn’t your audience worth the investment? I generally get free photos at everystockphoto.com and often use screenshots taken with Snagit. I also use Snagit to resize the images (e.g., to 960x540).

5. Refine

This part can be the most time-consuming. You’ll see what works and make adjustments. This is the phase where you work on your speaker notes and how you’ll transition between slides (visually and with your words).

It’s tough to remove a visual or segment you like. I’ll put them at the end of the slide deck in a section called Outtakes. That lessens the pain and preserves the content in case you find a need (perhaps for another presentation).

Do record yourself to check the timing. Listening to the playback helps you remember your content.

Bonus

We can’t be objective about our own presentations. Practice in front of a test audience, if possible. A Toastmasters club is ideal since the members know how to give feedback. If that’s not possible, ask for feedback on segments from people whose input you value. 

Links

• How to prepare, promote and practice a brand-new presentation
• Five presentation tips from Seth Godin
• Five presentation tips from Steve Jobs
• Five presentation tips from Bruce Springsteen
• Make your presentation better than a TED Talk
• Three permanent fears for presenters

PS How about recording your presentation and posting it on YouTube? That’s a nice memento for your digital tapestry.

THE GLOBAL CHANGE INITIATIVE = STIMULATE + INNOVATE + ACTIVATE

Words like “global change” sound good but what lasting results are possible? We’ll find out at The Global Change Initiative, which takes place at Toronto City Hall May 30 – Jun 1, 2014.

The Curator

Dev Ramsumair is leading the initiative. He has an impressive background and vast connections. For instance, here’s what Paul McCartney told him:

“I’m going to give you one piece of advice for the rest of your life: You need to go somewhere where there’s just wheat and trees and you’re going to be forced to create something that no one’s ever seen.” — Entrenomics interview

The Global Change Initiative looks like a result. I’m glad we won’t be meeting in wheat fields! Dev’s enthusiasm and energy are contagious.  He’s doing much of the work himself. Normally an event of this scale would require longer preparation and a larger team. 

We’ve yet to meet but have chatted on the phone. I got introduced by peer mentor Carol Roberts of Stellar By Choice Consulting. She’s a speaker. I got selected too. I’m talking about a win/win: how social justice (doing what’s ‘right’) boosts profits.

The Supporters

The supporters already announced are quite diverse.
Besides the City of Toronto, MaRS and the Centre for Social Innovation, there are surprises like UNESCO and Reddit. And the Avenue Q puppets. How is that range even possible?

The Format

As with many other events, you’ll find multiple speakers for variety. The difference is that they aren’t crunched into an exhausting single day. The Global Change Initiative takes place over three evenings and two days. That allows more time for mingling and thinking — and a greater commitment on the part of the delegates.

The Reach

How do you reach the people around the world who aren’t attending?

Many events have live tweeting. The Global Change Initiative has support from news sharing site reddit (“the front page of the Internet”). You may be familiar with the reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) where guests have included Peter Dinklage, Barack Obama and Harrison Ford.

I knew reddit was big but didn’t know the scale. According to Alexa, it’s the 60th most popular website in the world. In the last month, reddit had 114.9 million unique visitors  from 190 countries who viewed 5.4 billion pages (see current stats). I’ve opened an account.

The Vision

The goal of The Global Change Initiative isn’t just to create a stimulating event where life returns to normal by the time you get home. The goal is to create global change. When communities, businesses, institutions and governments collaborate, imagine the possibilities.

Links

• Reflections on The Global Change Initiative (new)
• website: globalchange.ca
• Reddit AMA: How a weird Internet thing became a mainstream delight (The Atlantic, Jan 2014)
• Two clever examples of golden marketing at a live event
• How not to organize an event
• Why bother seeing a speaker live?

PS There’s nothing wrong with local change either.

TWO CLEVER EXAMPLES OF GOLDEN MARKETING AT A LIVE EVENT

How do you make an event memorable? Tweets are fine but they vanish fast. Photos make nice reminders but who sees them afterwards? Recordings help. Novelty does too.

Here's what happened at a RUBAA Business Alumni Exchange. RUBAA is the Ryerson University Business Alumni Association. They were raising money for the RUBAA / Ken Jones Student Bursary.

Two speakers spoke for 10-15 minutes each. They didn't take audience questions but did stay to chat afterwards. They each brought great gifts.

Cyndi Culp

Cyndi Culp (1979) spoke about her squiggly ride to a position she's held for 19 years: CFO of Lindt & Sprungli (Canada). The company has grown from 10 employees to 500.

Cyndi brought boxes of Lindt gourmet truffles for everyone. What’s not to like? I took mine home unopened, which my family liked.

Related: Mitch Joel’s 8 keys to getting a job today

Ian Ball

Ian Ball (2004) is President of McEwen Mining. His career path was squiggly too (see mining’s golden boy).

Ian didn't give us gold but brought a 400 ounce bar. That's about 25 pounds and worth about $525,000 (US) based on today’s price. Photo op!
We were allowed to have a photo of us holding the gold under the careful supervision of three guards. Normally at events you ask someone to take your photo with your smartphone in questionable lighting. Not here. There was proper lighting and a professional photographer.

There's more. We each got a high quality colour print in a sleeve on the spot. The sleeve was branded for McEwen Mining. The background was too. Who’s going throw that photo away? No one. Who’s going to spread the story? Everyone.

Remarkable

When you go to many events, they blur together and fade away.

Organizing an event is expensive in time and perhaps money. How do you create a lasting memory that even non-attendees can enjoy?

Links

• Three tips to master networking events
• Creating the perfect networking event
• How not to organize an event
• Ditch the sponsors at your events
• Mitch Joel’s 8 keys to getting a job today

PS At events, talk to the speakers. I talked to Cyndi before her speech and Ian afterward.

5 STEPS TO PERSONAL BRANDING SUCCESS FROM DAN PINK (@danielpink)

Pink. Yes. Just like the color.
— Dan Pink, Six word stories can say lots

When did you discover Daniel Pink? My introduction came from reading A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future a few years ago.

Have you noticed Dan’s solid, non-trendy approach to personal branding?  Let’s explore the steps.

1. Have A Solid Core

It’s easy to torture data to draw sensational but false conclusions. What’s flawed? What’s out-dated? What’s left out? What’s misinterpreted?

Dan uses research carefully. He even calls himself a “fan of double-blind studies” on his Twitter profile. His tweets and newsletter show the quality of content he’s reading. Two other Dan’s inspire similar confidence: Kahneman and Ariely.

Starting from a solid foundation, Dan Pink finds original and believable things to say.

Q: How good are you at detecting and telling the truth?

2. Publish Content

You need to create and publish original content to sustain a personal brand. The best ways depend on you and your market. Your approach can change. You don’t have to use all platforms. You don’t even have to be consistent (but consistency helps).

Blogging

Dan writes well but stopped blogging. Perhaps the format didn’t suit his schedule.

“We’re going to shutter the blog and instead expand and deepen our collection of videos, articles, and guides on working smarter and living better”. 
— Dan Pink, Jul 17, 2013

Podcasting

Dan has a series of audio interviews called Office Hours. Episodes used to be live but are now pre-recorded. That gives more flexibility for his guests and him. The frequency varies. There’s usually a new recording every month or two.

I recently stopped podcasting after 250 episodes to focus on creating short videos, including interviews.

Public Speaking

Dan does lots of speaking. I’ve seen him twice. His messages are simple, clear and memorable. Since he's honed his content, Dan has time to engage the audience and add a surprising amount of humor.

You might not do  much public speaking but can create video in the comfort of your office.

Webcasts

Advance purchasers of To Sell Is Human were invited to a special New Year’s Day 2013 webcast (slides with a voiceover). The surprise? Dan didn't say much about his book. Maybe he wanted us to read it.

Dan talked mainly about about other things on his mind: books, apps like iDoneThis (which I now use daily) and gadgets (e.g., a bluetooth wireless speakerphone). He reminded us that he doesn’t use affiliate links when making recommendations.

Dan’s approach works because he’s interesting and credible. We want to know what he’s found for us.

3. Build A List

Dan uses a newsletter as his primary way to stay in touch with his followers. That’s a lasting gift with wide appeal. Dan’s frequency is irregular and the content irreverent. You never know what you’ll get or when. Dan’s personality oozes through each issue. Before subscribing, you can look at his latest issue.

Q: Do you have a newsletter with personality? [I use a similar approach to Dan but make all past issues accessible and publish monthly.]

4. Remain Accessible

Dan is easy to contact. He doesn’t post his phone number but his website lets you email him. You’re not forced to use a web form either.

“During the month of February, I will be dealing with a bunch of travel that will make it difficult for me to respond to email. If you need to reach me urgently this month, please go here …”
When Dan travels, he uses Awayfind to screen his emails. If you think yours is urgent, you fill out a form and he gets notified. This process manages our expectations, which strengthens his brand. He looks like he’s in control.

Q: Is your contact information prominently displayed? [My sites show phone numbers (local, toll-free), an email address and a way to book a meeting. No hunting required.]

5. Be Different

People of Dan's calibre rarely allow their live presentations to be recorded and posted. Dan doesn’t seem to mind. Here’s a recording for each recent book:

• A Whole New Mind (Feb 2009, TC Williams High School)
• Drive (Aug 2012, Forum Network)
• To Sell Is Human (Jul 2013, Behind The Brand)

What does he lose? He reaches more people, which extends his brand. He’s still worth seeing live because that experience is different than reading a book or watching a recording.

Q: What makes you different? Where is this visible? [I blog and post live recordings — both unusual for an actuary.]

Yogi Berra said “You can observe a lot just by watching.” Dan Pink makes a worthy model.

Links

• You need to read Dan Pink’s To Sell Is Human
• To Sell Is Human resources (UinvitedU on Pinterest)
• Blogs vs newsletters: which is better for you?
• Picking the best medium for your message
• Your digital tapestry is your legacy
• Rediscovering email newsletters

PS Add generosity to Dan’s brand characteristics. He kindly donated books for Money 50/50.

DITCH THE SPONSORS AT YOUR EVENTS

Here a sponsor. There a sponsor. Everywhere a sponsor, sponsor ...

Sponsors bring gifts but take compromises. In effect, you’re selling (or renting) them your audience. Who wins?

When attendees cover the costs, you know who you’re serving. You have much more flexibility, though less money. 

A Word From Our Sponsor

Sponsors want attention. That might mean the likes of

• mentions on PowerPoint slides that loop during breaks
• mentions at the microphone by the host
• mentions on the handouts, signage and event promotional material
• a few minutes at the microphone for an infomercial

These interruptions are small, common and perhaps even expected. That doesn't make them welcome.

Attendees pay a much higher price if a sponsor gets a speaking spot. The speaker and content might be good. but now you’ve lost an opportunity for great.

Self-censorship

Sponsors influence the topics presented. For instance, would a bank support a talk about the pitfalls in mortgage life insurance or other products they sell? A subtle form of self-censorship takes place when you make your event sponsor-friendly. You might not even realize that you’re compromising. The result is less for your attendees, which may reduce the audience size and satisfaction.

Prudence

When attendees fund the costs, you need to be more careful about expenses to keep ticket prices low. That’s good. Constraints encourage creativity which helps set you apart. For example, maybe you reduce the catering costs by picking a venue which allows you to bring in your own refreshments.

Speed

Without sponsors, you make decisions faster since you don’t need their approval. You get to focus on what's best for your attendees rather than on what the sponsors want for their investment.

Stand Out

Recently, I saw an event model that looked interesting. You attend for free and donate what you think the event is worth to pre-selected charities. That looks fair, even worthy. A closer review showed three catches for attendees:

1. Lots of sponsors
2. Sponsors as speakers
3. Presentations promoting what the sponsors sold

The result is that attendees pay a very high price since the event is designed for the sponsors.

How often do you see events without sponsors? You stand out if you don’t have any and say why.

Links

• Should you get a sponsor for your event?
• Are your events free or pay-at-the-door?
• How to find a free venue for your event
• Four clever ways to slash no-shows at your free event
• image courtesy of Paul Moore

PS Here’s an example of a no-sponsor event.

HOW NOT TO ORGANIZE AN EVENT

With an electromagnet, you press a button and get immediate attraction. If speakers are the magnet, filling seats can’t be difficult. Or so I thought.

There are standard ways to organize events. You have a catchy title. You show the benefits of attending. You have early bird specials. You send lots of reminders. You get sponsors. You might even have affiliates.

I knew better.
I ignored the rules.
I learned lots of things that don’t work.

The Experiment

Money 50/50: Insider Advice for Today’s Topsy-Turvy Times had:

• a proper venue with nice refreshments (University of Toronto)
• excellent, credible speakers (each with large followings)
• a topic of universal importance (money)
• a novel format (30 minute segments: 15 minute talk + 15 minute Q&A)
• lots of interaction (Q&A and networking)
• no sponsors (tickets priced to cover the costs)

That’s not enough to fill seats. I was advised to pick a smaller venue with 50 seats. Since I knew better, I got room for 100 to meet the anticipated demand and spread the fixed costs.

Own Network

I thought I could easily fill the seats with people in my network who support my initiatives and the cause of objective financial education. The idea was that they’d attend and invite their friends. The math works:

• 100 attendees = 10 (core group) x 5 (their friends) x 2 (the friends of friends)

That’s before any promotion by the speakers or other parties. Might need a bigger room!

I got the core group but they weren’t very successful in inviting their friends. That’s not their fault. There wasn’t much time and the invitation content focused on the speakers without mentioning the topics. November seems like an overly busy month too.

Its better to treat second level connections as strangers and make the event description compelling. That then helps the core group invite others.

Next Time

Here’s the strategy for next time:

1. Have more lead time: select a date two months away
2. Confirm the venue first: last time I had the speakers first and their schedules made getting a venue more challenging
3. Gather supporters now: ask a core group to confirm they’re attending and will bring one or more friends
4. Crowdsource: get help from the core group on the title, descriptions, content
5. Select speakers: they now fit the event rather than having the event fit around them
6. Market extensively: encourage everyone involved to help spread the word

Debatable

Some matters will not be resolved easily. For instance, do you make the event free, low price or charge a premium price? There are pros and cons to each. I'm still concerned about the compromises from having sponsors. The biggest fixed cost is the room and audio visual equipment.

If there is a way to get the facilities free, the big remaining cost is refreshments. For a free event, its possible to skip the refreshments all together but that cheapens the experience. There may be some way to get food sponsors who don’t want special favors such as time at the podium. I'll explore but am still tempted to charge to cover costs. Paying shows commitment. Attendees will want to get their money's worth, which means showing up. At least that's the theory.

The main lesson is to pay heed to what works. It’s okay to break the rules, but understand those rules first.

Links

• Four clever ways to slash no-shows at your free event
• How to find a free venue for your event
• Case study: how to launch a new brand
• Why bother seeing a speaker live?
• Creating the perfect networking event
• image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

PS If you’d like to experience the next Money 50/50 event, join the mailing list.

FOUR CLEVER WAYS TO SLASH NO-SHOWS AT YOUR FREE EVENT

When you're organizing a free event, how do you get the people who register to show up?

That’s tough since  there’s rarely a penalty for registering or skipping. Both are easy to do (or not). Incentives guide behavior and “free” messes them up.

There's no such thing as a free event. Even if attendees don't pay with money, they pay with time. Since time is precious, not going is cheaper.

Here are four ways to deal with no-shows.

The “Will You” Strategy

The fourth universal principle of influence is Consistency. We tend to behave in ways that match what we did in the past, especially when others can see us.

A restaurant reduced no-shows from 30% to 10% by adding two words to their confirmations. When making reservations, guests were asked “Will you please call if you have to change or cancel your reservation?”

Your registration form could have an extra question: “Will you please email if you are unable to attend?”

Your event reminder emails can have a similar message. Isn’t this making cancellation too easy? Perhaps, but you’ll get a better sense of how many are attending. That’s valuable too.  By encouraging cancellations, you’re implying there’s demand for the seats. Scarcity is another universal principal of influence.

The Public Commitment

We’re more likely to do what we say in public. Eventbrite lets your Facebook contacts know that you're attending. Meetup does too. Others may even attend because of you. Now cancelling is tougher.

Eventbrite lets organizers show the names of the registrants. That may also help get more registrations and higher attendance. 

Refundable Deposits

Since people are loss averse, you can use the power of money as an incentive. Although your event is free, you can charge a deposit to reserve a (general admission) seat and give a refund to those who show up. The no-shows are then the only ones who pay. That seems fair.

The penalties may not be enough to cover the costs for refreshments. You could ask attendees if they would like to donate their deposit to help fund the event. That gives attendees an opportunity to help if they are willing and able. As an extension, you could ask for donations to get money from people who support the cause but can't participate.

Overbooking

“… it is our policy to overbook. In case of a full program, your reservation may not guarantee admission. Unclaimed reservations will be released to standby customers ten minutes prior to the start of the program. We recommend that you arrive early.” --- Toronto Public Library Appel Salon

As you hold similar events, you'll get a sense of how many people don't show up. You can then overbook and encourage people show up early to save their spot. For a popular event, you may have to turn people away. The rejected ones won’t be happy, but they have an incentive to arrive earlier in the future.

Links

• Are your events free or pay-at-the-door?
• How to find a free venue for your event
• Should you get a sponsor for your event?
• Dealing with dropping attendance
• Event planning showdown: Meetup or Eventbrite?
• image courtesy of Dmitry Goygel-Sokol

PS Maybe you make tickets available in pairs?

REFLECTIONS ON #TEDxTORONTO 2013

When you face border guards, be careful about what you say because you may not get in.

The delegates for TEDxToronto get selected through an undisclosed process. Perhaps that’s why the Twitter stream at #TEDxToronto overflows with praise even for the weaker elements. Besides, the hard-working TEDxToronto team consists of volunteers.

It’s tough to give genuine feedback. What if you think the hosts were better last year and that next year you'd prefer David Newland over Maestro Fresh Wes?

Overall

The purpose of a geography-based TEDx event is to highlight local speakers and encourage discussions. The real magic happens in the halls during the breaks and afterwards. There was lots of discussion at TEDxToronto, which is a solid sign of success.

Perfect

Over the past five years, TEDxToronto has found things that work. Here's what doesn't need to be changed:

• the venue: Koerner Hall in the Royal Conservatory of Music has three floors and feels just right. Last year's Sony Centre allowed more attendees (about 1,300) but didn't feel special. For some reason, conversations where more difficult to start. This time, there was more congestion, which made bumping into random interesting delegates easier. For instance, I spoke to Brian Goldman whose 2010 TEDxToronto Talk on the mistakes doctors make is well worth watching.
• the delegates: last year, I talked to several people who didn't even know what TEDx was. One had never even seen a video on TED.com! Why were they there? This time, I met many first-timers who were eager to attend.
• the printed program: last year we got program and notebook separately. This time, both are combined. There’s space to write beside the speaker's bio. The thick covers reduce flex. The only challenge is the lack of lighting in the hall. Maybe next year we can get pens with a soft glow at their tips?
• the ambassadors: some returning delegates were ambassadors and got special black name cards. They were to start conversations and answer questions. This was my 7th TEDx event (third TEDxToronto) and I got selected. Normally I'd talk to fewer delegates longer. Given the role, I spoke to more delegates for shorter periods. The biggest "mistake" I saw delegates make was huddling with colleagues and talking about work. Split up and talk to strangers!
• the timing: the doors opened at 9:30 AM for registration, coffee and mingling. The talks started at 11 AM. This gap was ideal — a nice, relaxing way to start the day.

The Speakers

The speakers were well prepared and spoke about topics they cared about. Some of that passion transferred to the audience.

Overall, the speakers were a tad depressing. I kept waiting for happy, inspiring outcomes. Here are examples of downers:

• failing to get a prisoner of conscience out of prison (try selling that to Hollywood)
• a suicide survivor (I wanted to know about the man who made the choice to stop him from jumping from an overpass, and how he’ll raise his 5-day old daughter)
• challenges facing aboriginal people
• violence against women in video games
• dying children

These topics are difficult to discuss, which makes them easy to forget in our busy lives. The speaker selectors made brave choices but I would have preferred more good news.

Show us

Telling doesn’t work as well as showing. Some speakers lost the opportunity to make a bigger impact.

• a blanket with embedded sensors is interesting but we only saw slides. Why not a live demo? Imagine the drama if someone is under the blanket onstage and we don’t know why until the end of the talk when we see the actual sensor readings.
• three inventors from Thalmic Labs showed how the Myo gesture-controlled armband tracks electrical patterns emitted by our bodies. We also saw the previously silent man in the middle fly a model helicopter using the armband.
• Rosie the hospital robot: Dr. Ivar Mendez controlled mobile robots in three locations across North America (Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and California).
• Steve Mann wore what we might mistake as Google Glass. Could we have been shown what he sees in real time? Steve was thought-provoking though, contrasting surveillance (done to us) with sousveillance (we have the cameras).
• Matthew Good created live music and told a story which felt more genuine than rehearsed. A nice way to end the day.

You can't top the anticipation of a genuine live demonstration. The speaker makes the choice to show more courage by taking more risk.

Which One?

There are now lots of TEDx events around the world (see calendar).  While each is different, there is also overlap. For instance, Toronto has three TEDxWomen events over two days in December.

Despite the choice, TEDxToronto stands out because of the volunteers, delegates and amazing videos.

Links

• 5 highlights from TEDxToronto 2013 (blogTO, Sep 30, 2013)
• Why TED and TEDx are so incredibly appealing (Forbes, Jun 2012)
• How TEDxToronto has changed
• Speak up: do you say what needs to be said?
• Comparing TEDIBYork and TEDxToronto
• Why bother seeing a speaker live?
• Dealing with dropping attendance
• From TED to TEDx to TEDxToronto
• Money 50/50: The perfect live event to master your money

PS I’m looking forward to seeing what changes next year … if I get in.

HOW TO FIND A FREE VENUE FOR YOUR EVENT

When you’re running a non-business event, finding a free venue is a challenge. We’re using Toronto as the example but the ideas apply elsewhere too.

You’d think you could get free space at taxpayer-funded locations like libraries or community centres. Unfortunately, the nice ones often charge user fees. In Toronto, nonprofit and charitable groups can get free space if sponsored by a city councillor.

If your group doesn’t qualify, you can meet at a coffee shop but you’re not guaranteed seating. Some locations are large or have a separate room. Just don’t count on getting a whiteboard, privacy or silence.

You might get space in a restaurant or bar if your group makes minimum purchases. I was once invited to debate in a semi-private restaurant room on a slow evening. The attendance was great (50+) but there was a party at tables nearby and we didn’t have microphones. Good for the restaurant. Not so good for us.

Corporate Space

You might be able to get free space at an ING DIRECT Cafe (might change now that Scotiabank bought them).

“The Thompson Block as well as the ING DIRECT Café space are available at no charge to community groups for public meetings and events every day of the week.”

What if you’re not a community group? What if you want to hold regular meetings?

Nontraditional Ideas

Can you meet in the evening? There’s lots of space in cafeterias and food courts outside of lunch time. I wouldn’t pick the mall food court but a nonprofit like a university, college or hospital may work. If they’re large, they are likely relatively quiet.

Maybe you can commandeer a study room or lecture hall at a university or college. Again, evenings are best. Unless they check ID or have overzealous security, this might work. Advertising the location may be a problem. The gathering group could attract questions.

If you don’t want to be a trespasser, the safer option is to pay for reserved space. You don’t need to ask for permission. You’ve got a guaranteed spot.

Affordable

If you’re part of a real nonprofit, you may be able to get lower rates. For instance, the Toronto Public Library rents rooms starting at

• $20.40/hour for nonprofit groups
• $122.40/hour for commercial use

If you’re an insider or can connect with insiders, you might get lower rates (or even free space). For instance, the University of Toronto rents rooms starting at

• $8/hour for internal groups including audio-visual equipment (seats 80)
• $26/hour for external groups plus audio visual equipment (seats 25)

Ryerson University has a history of hosting many free community-based events like Podcamp Toronto. However, their normal rates look pricey (minimum half-day plus setup fee).

Example

I’ve been looking for a proper spot for a campus for Krypton Community College (see a genuine innovation in free lifelong education). Here “proper” means a room with tables, a whiteboard and a door.

Overall, the University of Toronto looks like the best place after work. The classrooms are affordable (under $10 a week based on 10 attendees). There’s subway access (north/south and west/east lines). Parking is plentiful and relatively cheap. The environment feels right. There’s lots of space outside the room. Perfect.

Picking the right venue helps attract the right people. Maybe they're the ones willing to pay for the room?

Links

• Make your presentation better than a TED Talk
• Five presentation lessons from Seth Godin
• Add webinars to your marketing mix
• Three permanent fears for presenters
• Are your events free or pay at the door?
• Eventbrite: how to organize events like Harvard and IBM

PS Do you know of amazing free or low cost venues?

WHY BOTHER SEEING A SPEAKER LIVE?

I’m more likely to watch a movie on a tiny tablet than on the big screen in a movieplex. Thanks Netflix. The experience is different but the convenience and flexibility more than make up for the small screen. No travel time. No parking hassles. No lining up.

I’m more likely to see a speaker for free online than live at a venue. This is scary because I’m a speaker too and want people to see me in person. I’m also starting a term as area governor for six Toastmasters clubs in west Toronto. These speakers need audiences too.

Quiet And Decisive

The nature of professional speaking seems to be changing.

Consider Susan Cain, author of Quiet. I’ve seen her TED Talk about introverts, listened to the audiobook and read interviews. She has a free live video chat on June 5th through Goodreads. I’ve got no strong desire to see her live in person. That’s not because I’m an introvert (though I am). It’s because I’ve already had enough.

Decisive is the new book by the Heath brothers. I saw Chip at Rotman last week. I already watched Dan's book launch webinar (see the WRAP on Decisive) and listened to Chris Brogan’s interview. Dan Pink interviewed both brothers on Office Hours.  That's enough. I’ve got the book. My next step is to read it and apply the lessons.

What’s Missing

In a live audience, I want interaction instead of a canned speech. Here’s a formula with appeal. I want to see speakers who show their contact information and reply to sensible emails.

I want to see speakers who have built a community (not a sales funnel). For instance Seth Godin started noncommercial Linchpin Sessions and Icarus Sessions to help us meet the like-minded locally in 1,000+ cities. I’ve found great connections there.

All-Day Speaker Events

There are day-long events with speaker after speaker. You get a big name or two and filler. Examples for Toronto are

• The Art of Marketing (Jun 5, 2013; $449+): Biz Stone, Seth Godin, Jonah Berger, Charles Duhigg, David Usher
• A Passion for Life (Jul 24, 2013; $329+): Tony Robbins, Robert Greene, Chip Heath, Loretta LaRoche, Joe Plumeri, Desiree Rogers

I’ve attended several times in the past but am not going this time.

Local Heroes

You can see local speakers at local TEDx events. This is often better because you can also forge relationships with people in your community. That’s often the real value. The schedule has frequent long breaks to allow interaction.

Cheaper Options

Sometimes speakers are in major cities for low cost events. For instance, Rotman attracts many speakers. Last week Chip Heath. Next week, Mitch Joel. The admission price is roughly the list price of the book — and you get a copy of the book. It’s as is the speaker is free, as in a webinar or interview. Plus, you often get to talk to the speaker.

One + None

I’d rather see one speaker for longer.

For instance, Tony Robbins is excellent live. You can see him for five hours in Calgary for $289+.

You can see Seth Godin for a full day of Q&A in New York for $955+. In 2010, I attended The Linchpin Session, in which Seth presented in the morning and did Q&A in the afternoon.

What Still Works

If I can’t talk to the speaker, I’m not interested. If the speaker doesn’t provide contact information afterwards, count me out. If there isn’t a good chunk of time for Q&A, I’ll stay at home.

I still like attending live events in the audience or on stage. I’m much more selective and demanding, though. Do you feel the same way?

Links

• Make your presentation better than a TED Talk
• Would you pay to see this speaker?
• Dealing with dropping attendance
• Building trust before meeting in person
• Fixing what’s wrong with conferences and networking
• How to get your audience’s contact details
• Add webinars to your marketing mix
• Where free beats paid
• image courtesy of clarita

PS Who’s the last speaker you saw live and in person?

ADD WEBINARS TO YOUR MARKETING MIX

If you only make presentations in person, you face limitations

• time: travel, parking, setup (shorter online)
• geography: you can’t be in two places at once (you can online)
• audience: members from different firms may avoid going to the same event (how would they know online?)
• facilities: sometimes squishy, with obstructed views, poor acoustics (you control the environment online)
• health: do you want to catch or give the flu? (online attendees can watch without worries)
• weather: adds uncertainty (online you can continue with those available and have a “rain date” for the ones who can’t attend)
• cost: no room rentals, screen rentals or refreshments

Webinars look like an ideal addition to your in-person events. I haven't been a fan because too many are boring or salesy. That's not a criticism of webinars but how they’re used. Webinars are a quick, low cost way to extend your reach. Here's what you need:

• a compelling presentation
• an engaging voice
• basic technology

The Presentation

When you're speaking live, you have the advantage of your physical presence. When you're remote, your slides become more important. Are they simple and engaging? Do they build by element or do you show everything at once? If you use a video clip, will your audience be able to see and hear it properly? Are you telling stories?

Tip: Practice, ideally with someone watching remotely.

The Voice

When you're not on camera, your audience only sees your slides and hears your voice. Think radio. You need more energy than usual. Try speaking a little faster (or a little slower if you normally talk fast). Enunciate clearly. Sit straight in your chair. Breathe deeply and regularly.

You need to adjust for time lags in transmission and reception. Some animations may be too fast for your audience to see. Some words may cut out as happens with mobile phone calls.

Tip: Record yourself and watch the playback. Repeat until you're comfortable with the results. Now get others to watch. What do they think?

The Technology

You'll want a fast, reliable Internet connection and a high quality microphone. If your mobile phone can create an Internet hotspot, you have a Plan B.

You'll find many services which let you host webinars from your web browser. Here's what's ideal.

• a well-featured always-free version: lets you experiment (likely ad-supported)
• recording capability: lets you practice, allows replays
• webcam option: lets you appear on the screen at least part of the time (much more engaging)
• fixed web address: looks more professional than having “no fixed address”
• registration which captures contact details: lets you stay in touch with your audience, including those who were unable to attend
• monthly plans: saves money since you may not have events every month
• option to charge: you may want to sell tickets

For some reason, most paid plans only allow 25 attendees. That may be realistic but doesn't seem like much.

I was considering join.me ($20/mo for 25 attendees) but it lacks basics like recording and webcam support. I'm currently investigating AnyMeeting ($18/mo for 25 attendees, $70/mo for 200 attendees). The free ad-supported version allows 200 attendees. I'm impressed so far.

When's your next webinar?

Links

• Murphy’s laws vs six presentations in a row
• How presenters under-deliver (and what to do)
• Make your presentation better than a TED Talk
• Three tips to add impact to your content
• Case study: would you pay to see this speaker?
• Fixing what’s wrong with conferences and networking
• You need to read To Sell Is Human
• image courtesy of Scott Maxwell

PS If you think you have to be physically present to achieve your call to action, maybe you can strengthen your content and delivery.

ARE YOUR EVENTS FREE OR PAY-AT-THE-DOOR?

Big business can afford to host free events and advertise them. They often have their own facilities. If not, they have the budgets to rent space and provide refreshments.

You may not.

A free-to-attend event is not free to run. If you don't have a good estimate of how many will show up, life gets stressful.

Estimates

You can use an event organizing system like Meetup or Eventbrite to collect RSVPs (LinkedIn Events shutdown last month). You still won't have a good idea of how many will really attend. If you host events regularly, you'll develop estimates. Perhaps 70% attend. If your room holds 70, you can overbook and allow 100 registrations. Airlines and hotels have mastered this process.

But

The difficulty arises with newer or less frequent events. Attendance might fluctuate even if you registrations are relatively constant. As an organizer, the waiting gets nerve-wracking. If you have free speakers, it's unfair to them if the attendance is low.

I’ve organized events. My most embarrassing experience was with THE Social Media Workshop in 2011. The speakers were excellent. Since members prepaid for the year, they could attend for free. Yet attendance was low. The speakers say they forgive you --- the right people attended. Maybe that's true but low attendance is embarrassing just the same.

The Solution

You've probably guessed the solution: charge in advance. You then get solid facts. If you're going to be disappointed, you might as well find out early. Even a small ticket price boosts the commitment level. Otherwise, excuses like the weather get in the way.

You could have different prices:

• early bird: limited quantity, limited time [could be 2 for 1, rather than a discount]
• regular: ending 1-2 days before the event
• at the door: have a surcharge to entice pre-purchases

You then encourage early registrations --- a nice way to reduce stress. Eventbrite and Meetup let you show how many have registered and how many tickets remain. There are costs for using those services but peace of mind has value too. You could boost prices, to offset the service charges.
If you don't sell enough tickets, you have advance notice to cancel or reschedule.

Cachet

Free events raise suspicions. What are the organizers selling? Even if the answer is nothing, you may get too few of the right people (and too many of the wrong).

Besides increasing commitment, charging increases the perceived value. The ticket price needn't be high. If you're not aiming to make a profit, you could use the money for catering or donations. You could even give refunds at the door.

If you're worried that paying attendees will expect a better event, good. You'll now have even more reasons to give attendees value.

Refund Policies

If you cancel the event, you'd give refunds. If a registrant cancels, do you refund the ticket price? Maybe not. Make the ticket transferrable instead. That way you maintain attendance numbers. Isn't that what you want?

Why Bother?

Why are you organizing events in the first place? Maybe you team up with other organizers to create bigger happenings. Isn’t that a win for all?

Links

• Should you get a sponsor for your event?
• Event planning showdown: Meetup, Eventbrite or proprietary?
• Marketing lessons from the NMA Philanthropic Workshop at Schulich
• Fixing what’s wrong with conferences
• Flubs in a seminar with a $500,000 ticket
• image courtesy of Kevin Abbott

PS If you're creating a big special event, you can use Picatic, crowdsourcing for events. Besides collecting money, you’ll gauge interest early.

WHY ENTER COMPETITIONS OF SKILL

Putting yourself on display helps you overcome the #2 fear which Napoleon Hill identified: the fear of criticism.

During the year, you'll have opportunities to earn recognition for your business and yourself.

There are business excellence awards and speaking opportunities. Even TEDx events may require you to apply.

At the Toronto Small Business Summit,  The Globe and Mail is offering the opportunity to get featured on the Report on Small Business website. Here’s how.

Waiting To Get Chosen

It's nice if someone else nominates you (accept the gesture). Nominating yourself may look a tad underhanded. However, if you don't tell your story, you may find that you get ignored. That's worse.
If you tell your story, you get to use your words.

Good Odds

Entering a competition takes more effort than clicking a Like button. This small effort is big enough to deter entrants. You put the odds on your side just by entering. Answer the qualifying questions well and you're among the elite. You may only face a handful of opponents.

Better Odds

When applying, read the questions carefully and think about your answers before replying. Perhaps draft your replies in a word processor and review them.

The questions are often simple but deep. The Globe and Mail is asking why your business deserves coverage. In particular,

1. What makes your business unique?
2. What challenges does it face, and which ones has it overcome?
3. What can other small businesses take away from your experiences?

Developing answers is a worthwhile exercise for any business and for you personally.

Objectivity

We're always judged but not always fairly. When we evaluate ourselves, we can convince ourselves of greatness that others don’t see.

In a competition, the evaluation is objective. The judges are trained. Attempts are made to reduce biases. The resulting feedback is very valuable.

Improving Your Skills

During the process, you use different communication skills.

• written: to qualify
• verbal: if interviewed (at the Small Business Summit, the five finalists pitch to the panel of judges in front of a live audience)

Maybe you feel you're worthy of winning but don't feel you have the skills to express yourself. A free private mentor or paid coach can help. You would likely benefit from Toastmasters if you find the right club. That’s also an ideal place to get lots of feedback and learn by watching other members.

Marketing Strategy

If the award warrants, develop a strategy to market your nomination. The stages might be nominee, finalist and winner. Even if you don't win, you're still among illustrious company. As a minimum, show your placement on LinkedIn.

Bonuses

Regardless of what happens, you're getting known by a larger group, including the judges. You may make valuable connections (though I'd wait until afterwards before connecting on LinkedIn and/or meeting again).

After you go through the process, you'll get a better understanding of how you differ from the winner. Make changes and get ready for the next competition.

Links

• Apply to pitch our media panel at Toronto Small Business Summit (The Globe and Mail, Nov 2, 2012)
• Are you a visionary?
• Why be a nominee?
• What matters more than winning?
• image courtesy of dtcreations

PS When did you compete last? When will you compete next?

REVIEWING THE SMB EXCHANGE

“The SMB Exchange looks like an excellent initiative with lasting benefits. I’m looking forward to attending and participating.” — me

The quote shows my thinking three months before the first-ever SMB Exchange. Did the Toronto Board of Trade deliver an event that melded learning and networking?

Yes, exceeding my overall expectations.

Kudos to Ravi Nayak (Director, Membership Services), Alison Morin (Marketing Intern), Jeffery Veffer (Director, Product Innovation) and the others involved.

What Worked

The SMB Exchange sold out (say 150 people?). Extending the introductory pricing probably helped. Sometimes "sell out" means reducing the number of tickets and arranging the seating to fill the space. That didn't look like the case here.

Some people left after the keynotes by Peter Oliver (partner at Oliver & Bonacini) and Rick Segal (CEO and co-founder of Fixmo). Their loss. The breakout sessions were full enough without feeling congested.

Variety

We were assigned to different tables in the main room for:

1. the keynotes
2. the morning case study
3. the lunch case study

Changing tables is great for networking and discussions. The three breakout sessions had unassigned seating. As usual, I sat in the front row.

When I spoke to Ravi afterwards, he pointed out that seeing one person three times in a day has more impact than seeing them once at three separate events. I hadn't thought of that but agree.

Case Studies

Case studies made the SMB Exchange special. We talked about our own issues twice during the day. We got nice, spiral bound workbooks with all the case studies submitted. That’s an opportunity to review the challenges facing attendees we didn’t meet.

Diamond Seating

The seating for the breakout sessions was arranged in a way I've never seen before. Picture an open diamond-shaped space in the middle of the room with rows of seats around it. This structure encouraged discussions. You were continually looking at everyone except anyone behind you.

I expected the speakers to walk around like caged animals. That happened in the first session but other speakers sat down at one end of the diamond, which made them harder to see and harder to hear. Speaking tip: Stand up. You’ll sound better and look better.

No PowerPoint

No one used PowerPoint, which was refreshing and allowed the non-theatre-style seating.

Discussions

There was plenty of time for discussions, though less than I expected. When attendees asked questions, the speakers tended to answer. The moderators could have invited more audience participation and asked fewer questions themselves.

Pitch-free

While the speakers did mention their businesses. I didn’t feel they were trying to sell us anything. That’s refreshing.

Ideas For Improvement

As usual, there was some room for improvement.

Expand The Workbooks

Our workbooks were filled with case studies but didn't show the breakout sessions, session summaries or speaker bios. I found the two streams confusing and selected sessions based on the content. We were allowed to go to whatever we wanted.

As pre-work, we were asked to send in (i) an elevator pitch and (ii) a case study. Both could be combined by starting the case study with an elevator pitch.

Train The Facilitators

There's a knack to facilitating. The key is to stay in control. That means keeping track of the time with a watch to ensure that everyone gets their allotment. Otherwise, the people at the end lose out.

Capture The Memories

There was an opportunity to take lots of photos and shoot lots of video. I like putting as much as possible online but that might be too extreme for the privacy-conscious. As a minimum, a roving photographer and videographer could nab content for a summary. That's great for memories and future marketing.

Video is the ideal way to capture testimonials from the attendees onsite. Just edit out the bad ones. There was an email survey afterwards but the results were not made public.

Tips For Attendees

You get more from learning events like the SMB Exchange if you

1. Do the pre-work (which is about you and your business)
2. Bring lots of business cards. They’re cheap and take little space in your bag
3. Prepare one question (or more) per session in advance. If it's not answered, ask it.
4. Take notes (which means bringing pen and paper)
5. Participate (which also encourages other attendees to seek you out)

What happens after an event? Often little. The SMB Exchange has a special website to help us stay in touch (SMBexchange.ca). It’s free and currently open to non-attendees. There’s not much activity since there are few members.

I’m looking forward to next time.

Links

• Fixing what’s wrong with conferences and networking at the SMB Exchange
• The Toronto Board of Trade: reasons to join (old) and reasons to leave (new)
• Creating your 10 second commercial
• Building trust with LinkedIn: your 30 day action plan
• Three networking nuggets from Donna Messer

PS The breaks could be longer but that would mean staying longer too.

BUILDING TRUST WITH LINKEDIN: YOUR 30 DAY ACTION PLAN

At the end of 2011, I said I was sick of social media and planned to write about other topics instead. I've lapsed occasionally because I keep getting requests for help. I recently spoke to advisors at an Advocis Peel Halton event on Social Media and Branding.

I spoke about building trust with LinkedIn and presented this 30 day action plan with three segments:

1. Your past experience
2. Your ongoing generosity
3. Your current relevance

You can do everything yourself but may get better results with help.

Past Experience

Your past experience helps establish your credentials from studying and work experience.

Credible testimonials are the best way to show that you had the skill to do what you did. You especially want testimonials from clients. You can also get them from colleagues and others but these are not as relevant to potential clients. Action: Get three or more testimonials. 

Your LinkedIn Profile tells the world about you. An incomplete or poorly completed Profile says you don’t care. How does that bring you clients? LinkedIn guides you through the process of building your Profile. You can make changes gradually and make revisions later if you're not happy. Pay particular attention to your Summary. This is your infomercial. Use the first person ("I") and write the way you talk. The rest can use third person. Make your content simple to understand. Big words and long sentences rarely impress. Action: Complete your Profile to 100%.

Ongoing Generosity

Giving changes you and invokes reciprocity, the #1 universal principle of influence . Giving valuable information online costs you nothing but adds to your digital tapestry and creates a stronger first impression on visitors.

Action: Give at least five testimonials. If you won't go on the record to say nice things about others, how can you expect to get testimonials? Do not give/get testimonials from the same people. If you recommend me and I recommend you, we both lose credibility. A reader can easily think we're biased and ignore both of us. Doubt grows very easily and is tough to erase.

Giving testimonials is also a nice way to nudge or remind others to give you testimonials. You’re leading by your virtuous deeds.

Since a testimonial is static, you need signs of ongoing generosity too. To say up-to-date, you probably read information regularly. Some of the content will be relevant to your LinkedIn connections. Action: Post two or more updates every week. Posting an update takes mere minutes. Because updates take very little effort, nothing magical happens. If you’re consistent, your connections start noticing you. If your updates are useful, they start paying more attention to them (and you).

Current Relevance

Just because you have solid past experience and post updates doesn’t show that you can do the work today. Times change. Have you updated your skills? You may be an expert in Blackberries but that’s less relevant when Android and iOS rule.

To show that your brain still works, answer questions. Action: Participate in Groups. Avoid Groups loaded with your competitors. They are not going to buy from you. Focus on the Groups your clients visit. By participating, you’ll start to become known. Your answers get seen by people who aren’t even your connections. Maybe they will want to hire you or connect with you.

Creating original content changes you from a parrot to a pundit. Creating content like blog a post is time consuming. Within LinkedIn, there’s a hybrid solution. When you post a link to show ongoing generosity, also add content to show your thinking. You’ve got lots of options. Maybe you supplement the article, point out weaknesses or interpret. Action: Create original content.

Presentation

Here’s my full live presentation.
You can also get the slide deck and other resources.

Links

• The essential way to show your skills and expertise (new)
• What is your trust score?
• Paul Nazareth on LinkedIn and social media (Dec 2011); includes a video
• Are you a parrot or a pundit?
• Are you sick of social media too?
• How to apply consistent persistent generosity
• Five steps to freshen your group’s online appeal
• How the LinkedIn/Twitter split helps you
• The three biggest mistakes your clients make
• Tips to modernize your website

PS Every step in the action plan is free.