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A little over four years ago, I left the C-suite to begin the next chapter in my life. During my first few months, I had the opportunity to do some serious soul searching and self discovery. Like many of you, I have a passion for learning. I initially focused much of my reading around increasing my knowledge of what makes a great vs. mediocre leader. You know, things like humility, drive, vision, character, servant’s heart and excellent communicator.
Not too long into it, I had an ah hah moment. While I thought I had strong communication skills, it occurred to me that if I wanted to take things to another level there was one major area that I needed to improve. I learned about the incredible power of storytelling and how using stories was a part of the secret sauce for the best of the best.
I’m still not great at storytelling, but am getting better. The more I tell my clients how they can incorporate and benefit from it, the more I tend to use it.
Last week, Jeff and I received a copy of a storytelling whitepaper entitled Bold Brands Drive Revenue with Storytelling. It was written by NCM Fathom who helps major brands convey their messages through events at their national network of movie cinemas . The storytelling topic always catches my eye and this is one of the better short reads I’ve come across on the topic.
Here’s an excerpt taken from whitepaper that jumped off the page for me:
Good Stories Compel People to Change
- The way we feel. Stories demand an emotional investment.
- The way we think. Stories pique and hold interest.
- The way we act. Stories bring energy to the message.
- The way we behave. Stories cause us to take action.
DNA of a Great Story
Things around us are changing at a rapid pace and storytelling is a great tool to help accelerate and enable change.
A great story will include these elements:
- Real people like your members, attendees or exhibitors.
Don’t just look for those in leadership positions. - A difficult problem or challenge.
What are the top three issues impacting your attendees’ business success? What are the real reasons members don’t register or exhibitors decline to show their wares? Are the challenges different for each of your primary segments? Consider stories for each. - How did participating in your events help them solve their problem?
Details are important. Err on the side of brevity. - A powerful emotional connection.
This is what really makes your story have an impact or even go viral. Work hard to find that emotional hook. Stories that have a strong emotional ending are usually the ones that have the greatest impact.
Putting the four elements of a great story into practice.
Associations that adopt storytelling will have a process and culture for collecting and sharing the best stories.
- They’ll make sure that their staff, board and committees antennas are always up looking for that “killer story.” (Seeking real people.)
- They will ask open ended questions searching for a deeper understanding of attendance benefits. (Understanding a difficult problem or challenge.)
- They might seek out attendees or exhibitors that were on the fence, attended anyway, and are ecstatic they did. (How participating in your event helped the attendee solve their problem.)
- Their culture will encourage the use of Flip or digital cameras to capture the emotion. (Providing the emotional connection.)
Much like target marketing, you want your stories to be as relevant as possible. Segmenting your audience and doing your push distribution to only those that it aligns with is critical. If it’s a great story, those that connect with it most, will spread it for you.
Has storytelling had a positive impact on your organization or your life? When you think about the best leaders and their traits, is storytelling one of the skills that made them special? Got any cool stories or storytelling ideas to share?
America has a love-hate-relationship with American Idol.
We boo the negative naysayer and painfully honest founder and judge Simon Cowell. Although we often secretly agree with what he has to say.
We applaud the effervescent Ellen DeGeneres when she says she likes a finalist and compares them to an unripe banana. Although we know she is struggling to find something positive to say when a singer does a poor job.
The entire process of finding the next American Idol is very similar to the process of finding the right speakers for your conference. It takes an extraordinary amount of time. And it can be extremely frustrating as you often have to review a lot of losers before you find a winner.
So how do you identify a winning speaker and know that your audience will agree. Let’s take some tips from the American Idol Playbook to see how those judges sift through the bad and mediocre performers to find the outstanding gems and diamonds in the rough.
1) American Idol judges say: You’re a bit indulgent, aren’t you?
You know these speakers. They’re the ones that are over-the top, selfish and pleasure-seekers. They are there to serve as a mouth piece for their company, their books, and their products. They have the famous bright white speaker smile and handshake.
Speaker selection takeaway: You want a speaker that is transparent and that provides a presentation that is content-rich with relevant information that will help your audience succeed, not one that is clearly there to sell their books.
2) American Idol judges say: That was completely forgettable.
Quickly, can you name one highpoint from the last keynote presenter you heard? Probably not.
But how can we forget, “Yes, we can.” Or “Ask not what you can do for your country.” Those are memorable.
Speaker selection takeaway: Find a speaker that has a memorable presentation that arouses the brain and uses some good adult learning techniques such as repetition, audience participation and storytelling.
3) American Idol judges say: That sounded like a random act of copy cat Karaoke.
It sounds all too familiar, like rehashed, refried, regifted déjà vu and in the end, it’s still just black beans. You might hear an attendee leave this presentation and say something like, “Frankly, we’ve heard better people outside of the subway station on their soapboxes.”
Speaker selection takeaway: Find a speaker that has a message that is unique, compelling and memorable not a carbon copy cookie cutter faux presenter.
4) American Idol judges say: That was very authentic and true to who you are as a performer.
How sincere is the speaker? Does their message feel like a slick, snake-charmer, potion carrying, slimy used car sales approach? Or can you tell by the way the presenter interacts with the audience that they are speaking from the heart, are genuine and the bona fide real thing?
Speaker selection takeaway: Find a speaker that is genuine, realistic, legitimate and sincerely honest. This is one that connects with the audience.
5) American Idol judges say: You have no charisma or stage presence
“I think you are amazingly…wait for it…wait for it…dreadful. I don’t think another human being on the planet will ever sound or act like you.” Ouch! Honest and to the point.
Can you imagine the American Idol judges saying, “Wow, those words were so good, even though you didn’t sing them with much meaning and you couldn’t connect to your audience, you’ll be the next American Idol for sure. America will love you.”
Not! They probably would tell the candidate, you can’t make it on stage but obviously you’re a good song writer, so go write songs.
Speaker selection takeaway: Find a presenter that has great delivery and communication skills such as good eye-contact, appropriate gestures, and correct body language.
Need more help understanding good delivery presentation skills when selecting a speaker? Start with CommCoach: An Online Video and Speech Resource by Professor Corinne Weisgerber for tips on what to seek in a speaker with good delivery.
6) American Idol judges say: Yo Dog, I like you. I like your smile and your look. Unfortunately, that wasn’t very good for me.
We’ve all seen the judges struggling with something positive to say about these finalists. Their looks are attractive and they dress trendy. Unfortunately, it stops there. The judges remind them that it’s a singing competition and in the end, the audience won’t vote for them just based on looks.
Speaker selection takeaway: Choose a speaker that has a memorable message that hits it out of the ballpark. Your attendees want more than just a message that is a bag of air and looks good on stage.
In Conclusion
Ultimately, on American Idol it’s all about viewers picking up the phone or texting their vote for a finalist. For your conference, it’s about your attendees voting by picking up the evaluation and letting you know that they feel as if they got their money’s worth…and returning to next year’s event.
If your attendees are like the ones at my conferences or events, they will complete an evaluation if the speaker is outstanding or painfully terrible. If the speaker is really bad, and I mean really bad, you’ll hear about it for sure.
If the speaker is mediocre or average without much depth to their message, the attendees usually won’t take the time to complete the evaluation. They walk away with a “So what, apathetic attitude.” They weren’t moved to tell you how they feel or what they learned. You didn’t move your audience to vote.
So heed some advice from the American Idol judges to move your attendees to vote, return to the next show and find the winning American Idol Conference Speaker.
What other American Idol speaker takeaways would you add to the list? Share them with us.
Consider your association’s education and conference content.
Does it resemble a vibrant, youthful, buzzing community, like the always open 24-7 New York City? Or does it resemble an old ghost town with dust and tumbleweeds, a city stuck in the past refusing to change with the times?
Now let’s take that further. So, which do you prefer for your association to provide at your next annual meeting and programs?
- Content from the “Good Old Days” – featuring sessions and stories from the best of times from past conferences and events, where nothing ever changes, is predictable and always stays the same, the mediocre, status quo average content
or
- Content that features what’s “Now, New, Next” – cutting edge, innovative, fresh content that is unpredictable and full of surprise and that you need in order to keep your business out in front of the competition
Which type of conference content will cause you to commit your time, energy and dollars for registration, travel, lodging and expenses? A conference stuck in the past or one with vibrancy and new life?
Better yet, what type of content will attract more people to your annual conference? What type of sessions will get your attendees talking? Content which is familiar, safe, common and successful from the past? Or content which leads you to the front lines where the action is, the frontier of success and showcases what’s coming down the pike?
So how would you describe your association’s conference content? Is it New York City or a Western Ghost Town?
Consider New York City for a moment. Amazingly, improbably, New York City works.
Vast throngs get from here to there, earn a living, find food, push baby strollers, play softball, bake wonderful breads, walk along at different paces, and, except for occasional outbursts, do so peaceably.
No one factor makes it happen. But one seems critical: this city allows the mighty to fall. Everything can be changed: buildings torn down or renovated, enterprises relocated, vistas altered, land filled, land emptied, streets and neighborhoods given new character, cultural icons like Madison Square Garden moved, Times Square reborn, The Plaza converted to condos.
By allowing even the mightiest to fall, New York City remains alive. Yesterday doesn’t rule today. The dead don’t control the living.
History buffs lament the losses, and former residents seeking nostalgia will find few wafts of yesteryear. But that’s life. That is what it takes for life to happen. Yes, some new buildings and venues are grotesque. But they must die of their own weight, not because the nostalgic prevented them from happening.
Civilizations, institutions and people worry about losing their history, not giving their history its due. As a history buff, I know Santayana’s famous saying about needing to learn from history. The greater danger, however, is losing the future. If New York City couldn’t allow itself to change, if yesterday’s mighty were given control of tomorrow’s needs, the city would die.
Meetings and event organizers are at this very crossroads. Protectionists of the way things were always done, look backward, seeking unalterable truths to make today more certain, less dangerous. Others keep waging the same association and conference wars, as if nothing had changed since they first embraced this or that cause. Today’s association boards often resist change that would welcome tomorrow’s growth. They cling to old ways, old science, old properties, and think themselves righteous for protecting the past.
People want and deserve living bread, living water, living hope, not museum tours and old-school posturing. The mighty do fall, and then life moves on. Conference organizers must embrace the new, try different room formats, pick innovative fresh presentation concepts, and embrace new ideas and ways to deliver content. Associations can’t continue to lament the way things used to be done, better times of the past and let the old dead processes control today’s living.
So is your association conference content a sign of the way things have always been done, protecting the past as the ghosts of yesteryear haunt the conference headquarter halls? Or is your association conference content providing nourishment, new ways, new ideas, new perspectives and what’s coming next? Is your content attractive to the next generation or only those from the past?
Why say all this? Because tough times require a tough reliance and devotion to moving forward and not backwards.
How would you describe your association and its education endeavors? What can you do to help your favorite association move forward? How can you help them become more cutting edge?
Dear Association X (insert your association name here):
I have been a member of your association for several years. I am writing this open letter to you about your annual conference and event speakers, and how they map to my professional development needs.
For the past several years, I have attended your annual meetings and listened to your speakers. I have walked into your general sessions and listened attentively to your choice of keynote speakers. I have sat there and wondered why you chose that speaker and what you were trying to convey, especially if it was the opening general session or luncheon speaker.
And, I’m still perplexed.
I don’t understand why you have paid five- and six-digit fees to secure marquee names like Nancy Brinker, Jeff Corwin, Bill Cosby, Nancy Grace, Jay Leno, Collin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Barbara Walters or any other famous person. We can turn on the TV or click on a website and watch these people any time. Unless they have something specific to say to my job, my industry and my work, I don’t want to hear them. And your insistence to use them only repels me from attending these sessions.
So why do you keep hiring speakers for your general sessions that are not relevant to my professional life? Do you actually think that a big name famous person helps convince my boss that the company should pay for my attendance to your event? Do you really believe the bull from that the speaker bureau representative that the marquee name will put butts in chairs?
So does that marquee name cause me to want to pay for your registration fee? NO! Actually, it causes me to question whether you really know me, my wants and needs. It makes me wonder if you understand your members and our work at all.
OK, I agree that some sports figures will put butts in chairs. And some politicians will too. So when you put a big name like Sarah Palin or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on your agenda for a general session, you will attract an audience. And you will also divide your audience because your speaker cannot speak to the industry without taking political sides. So you attract half of your membership and distance the other half. Is that worth it?
Yes, I understand that you’ve negotiated a great discounted rate with the speaker’s agency. And yes, I understand that your intentions are to motivate and inspire me. And yes, I get that the speaker may have a worthy cause such as the environment.
But seriously, what does their “universal message for the masses” have to do with my professional and personal life? Will it help me do my job better? Is there relevant practical information provided in their speech? Is it memorable? Are their takeaways I can apply immediately?
Or is their message another moving moment of cotton-candy fluff? Is it a message that tugs on my heart strings, get’s my emotions going and I promptly forget as I walk out of the room?
And when you pick four or five professional speakers that talk about “universal messages” and don’t customize anything for your audience, I feel like you’ve made a deal with the speaker bureau to showcase speakers so others will hire them. If I wanted to go to a speaker’s showcase, I would. If I wanted to attend a day of “Motivational Messages,” I would.
And why do you allow speaker selection by committee or board members? Why do you crowdsource the speakers? Why do you continue to take speaker proposals and only select speakers from those proposals?
Do you pick the conference location and venue by committee? Do you pick your AV team and food and beverage by committee?
Of course you don’t! You allow the experts, those skilled in hotel contracts and negotiations to secure your venue. You depend upon your meetings professional to work with the local venue’s chefs or catering managers to choose the right food and beverage for your audience. You hire an AV company that has expertise, great equipment and strong opinions on how to make your event shine.
So why do you insist on allowing the content, the meat, the main product of your conference to be chosen by committee and board members? Oh yeah, it’s political and those people think they know best. But does that serve us, your members?
Don’t you think you should allow experts in education, speaking and training to choose your content and meat? Don’t you think you should allow those that are skilled in finding speakers that understand the neuroscience of presentations help guide your content? Don’t you want people who have experience with adult education helping design your general sessions?
Sure you do.
So, stop it. Stop the madness now. Stop choosing marquee names unless they have something specific for our industry. Only bring us a big name if they are willing to customize their canned speech for the conference’s theme and the industry. Stop fooling yourself that a motivational message from a speaker of a feel-good cause is the right thing to do. It isn’t! It only works if the audience profession is related to that issue.
Of course you should still offer a call for speaker proposals. Sure you should still take suggestions from your speaker’s bureau rep. Absolutely, you should allow your annual conference committee to have input and score speaker proposals. And yes, you should crowdsource topics–not speakers–topics. And you should leave the final content and speaker decisions to a team of experts, not the Board, the committee or even the Association executive.
Just remember, as the association, it’s your job to get out in front of the industry and lead us. It’s your job to show us what’s new and next, not what’s now and yesteryear. It’s your job to lead me, your member to new ideas and better ways of business. It’s your job to bring us relevant, timely, current information. It’s your job to secure experts at molding the conference content.
If you don’t, I’ll stop going to your conference. And, I’m not the only one that will stop. Many of my association friends will too. We’ll say you’ve become status quo and not connected with your members.
We’ll use the “I” word. We’ll say you’ve become irrelevant.
And as my association friend Jeff De Cagna says, “What could be a clearer indication of your irrelevance than the announcement (and subsequent debate) of your own relevance?”
Signed,
Your dues-paying member.
Can your conference content boogie?
Is its SPH (Sessions Per Hour), similar to BPM, contagious, and trance-like making everyone want to sway to its beat? Does your content have an infectious swing and shuffle rhythm that makes the heart beat faster, toes tap and the booty shake more? Does it have a rockabilly, blues, boogie-woogie wow factor? Does everyone suddenly jump up and get their groove on and once the content ends the crowd asks for more?
Or is your conference content like the Acid Rock with long instrumental presenter monologues that few in the room find enticing? Or maybe your conference content creates a lot of attendee headbangers–those of us banging our heads in frustration saying, “Why, why, why?” Maybe your heavy metal content creates a subculture of alienation as attendees wonder if they are in the right room, right convention center or right city.
So how would you define your conference content? Boogielicious or headbanging? Maybe country twang?
Now, which type of content would you prefer to hear at your next conference? Boogielicous or headbanging?
All music analogies aside, why do you really attend a conference anyway? Say the first thing that comes to your mind out loud.
What did you say? Networking? Education? To get new leads? The tradeshow? To see what’s new? To get out of the office? Because I’ve always attended? To get more business? To dance the night away? To party like it’s 1999?
If you’re an industry supplier or vendor, you probably said networking, to get new leads, get more business or retain current customers. Yet, if you’re not an industry supplier, you probably said education and networking.
Think about your annual conference meeting. What makes someone decide that they want to attend your event? Unless your attendees are executives, they have to get approval to attend your event from a shrinking professional development budget. They don’t have an endless training budget to become a professional attendee and register for every event that knocks on their cubicle.
So how do they get approval? What process do they have to follow? Do they submit a list of receptions, parties and networking sessions to their boss and say, “We have to be present at these events?” Do they list the marquee name keynote presenters? Do they give their boss a brochure with the city skyline featured on the front cover? Do they submit a list of what worked at last year’s event like, smooth registration process, nice venue, no lines, great food, awesome entertainment and opportunity to party?
No. They submit a list of the education opportunities and content that they and the company can benefit from if they attend. They talk with their superior about what they can learn from the event and how they can apply it to their job. Remember, I’m talking about non-supplier attendees here, not suppliers who might submit a list of attendees of buyers and influencers.
Once they submit a conference request, their boss asks a set of questions before making a decision. Questions like:
A. Can you get this content online for free or cheaper than the registration fee?
B. Are these speakers and their content relevant to your job?
C. Is there enough content there to justify the company paying for your ground transportation, airfare, lodging and expenses in addition to the conference registration fee?
D. Is this conference known for providing cutting-edge, new, next-type content or just status quo content?
E. Will our competition be there?
F. Can you read a book about this and learn more, faster and cheaper?
G. Will you learn enough that you can share with the rest of the staff and help us all do our job better?
As conference organizers, we often forget that one of the main motivating factors for potential attendees to register is the content. Not necessarily the speakers, although speakers with reputations for delivering home run sessions, will help and get people up to groove to it riffs. And speakers and panels with a history of delivering poor presentations will hurt and cause more head thrashing. Just like a great rock-and-roll song sung by poor performers–remember William Hung–will cause the entire song to suffer, so will sessions delivered by poor presenters.
Ultimately, it’s about the heart and soul of any top conference country song–the content. To paraphrase Tammy Wynette, content is still standing by its man!
So, how boogielicous is your conference content? Does it appeal to potential attendee and cause them to want to do the boot scootin’ boogie and say “Great Balls Of Fire?” Or does it repel a potential attendee who says, “You really aint got me going,” because it’s a poor foreign Karaoke-experience of headbangers and metalheads.
So how do you make your conference content more boogielicous? Share your ideas.
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