Author: Brad Johnson

https://www.rohitbhargava.com/2020/04/how-to-present-a-virtual-keynote.html

Six weeks ago every event got cancelled, postponed or moved to virtual. Like many professional speakers, I started delivering my talks virtually. But taking a 45 minute talk and doing it over Zoom doesn’t work. It’s too long, tech gets in the way and it just feels boring.

I knew I had to get better at this.

So I started researching. At first it was YouTube videos. I watched a 34 minute overview on selecting the right cardioid microphone. I took notes from a masterclass from a Hollywood lighting pro on techniques like loop and butterfly lighting. I consumed hours of videos on acting techniques, professional studio setups, and product demos. I also asked for advice from some professionals in the entertainment business from my network and read what my friends and fellow speakers were sharing on social media.

And I started writing a book all about everything I was learning when it came to presenting virtually, working more effectively while remote and building trust with people without being in the same room (or perhaps without ever having met in real life. This week, I’m launching that book as a free download (get it here!) and throughout the process of writing and researching it, I kept presenting and experimenting.

Over the last three weeks I have learned a lot and gotten better. Though I’m continuing to do presentations and getting better at virtual storytelling, I thought I’d share some of the biggest things that I have learned which will help you get better faster, and perhaps skip watching hours of YouTube videos in order to do it.

1. Don’t fear the tech.

I realized over the past month that I have been completely spoiled at events by working with a professional AV crew. At home, it’s just me. And when faced with complex technology, my tendency has too often been to claim ignorance. I was, after all, an English major. But in a professional setting, when you are on your own without an IT department, technical problems just end up making YOU look bad. There’s no one else to blame. So skip the excuses, watch some YouTube videos yourself and conquer your fear of getting technical. This isn’t like programming the Mars rover. You can do this.

2. Get dressed.

It’s a beautiful thing that we can now present in our pajamas. But I don’t. In fact, I usually dress the same way I would if I were presenting from the stage. For me, it helps me to bring more energy in an artificial environment where I don’t get the benefit of audience feedback. So I don’t look the same in every video, I also try to wear something different for each talk.

3. Embrace the unperfection.

Most of us don’t have a professional studio at home. It’s ok. In fact, it might be better. When we see each other’s homes in the background, or some of our personality – we feel more connected. So let it be a little bit unperfect and focus on being authentic instead of perfect.

4. Face the window.

All of the light tutorials I watched on YouTube were great, but complicated. You can buy ring lights or hook up web-enabled dimmers to your phone – but the real secret to how I’m getting pretty good light on all my calls comes down to three words: face a window. When your face is to the window, you avoid backlighting (the biggest lighting problem most people have) and odd shadows too. The picture below is me in my home office with NO additional lighting. I literally just turned around to face the window instead of putting it behind me. Of course, this won’t work if you’re in a room with no windows (or at night) – so if that’s the case, get good lighting from the front (a ring light works for this) and start with that.

5. Invest in sound.

If you are going to spend money on anything to improve your virtual presentation, make it a high quality microphone. Headsets generally are a great way to get good sound and avoid background noise. The problem is you end up looking like a call center operator. The alternative is a good cardioid microphone (a microphone that mainly picks up sound from the front). The microphones to avoid are omnidirectional (they pick up ambient sound from around the room).

6. Play with the tech.

Whenever my boys encounter something new, they want to press all the buttons. As they get older, they still do that. We can use some of that same mentality when it comes to using videoconferencing platforms. Do you know what all the buttons do? Try them out. On a Zoom call, using the space bar is a shortcut to go off mute. Skype has similar keyboard shortcuts. The best way to get better at using the tools is by playing with it … and pressing all the buttons.

7. Skip the apology.

We all know that virtual meetings aren’t seamless. Sometimes people are hard to hear. And your WiFi may be slow. It’s tempting to always be apologizing for this, or even worse, apologizing before anything even goes wrong! Instead, go with the flow and adapt to the difficulties. If they persist, be decisive in what to do about it – whether it’s asking everyone to log out and then back in, or the worst case scenario of rescheduling the meeting. People may not like it, but they will definitely appreciate it more if you didn’t waste 30 minutes trying to get everything working before finally canceling.

8. Speak to the camera.

When you are on a video call where multiple people are sharing screens, you will want to look at them. The problem is, doing this appears as if you’re looking sideways. The only way to offer the appearance of eye contact is to speak to your webcam instead of to the images of the people. This is logical, but very hard to consistently do because it feels unnatural. To be honest, I haven’t found an easy way to do this, apart from asking everyone else to turn off their video screens. So I’ve just been practicing ignoring their videos and speaking to the camera instead.

9. Use props.

One of the nicest things about presenting from my home office is that I can have all the tools I usually use right next to me. So while I used to share a picture of a stack of books that I read from the stage, now I can actually SHOW people the stack. Props are a great way to break up the monotony of a talk and bring your personality too.

10. Update your website/profile.

Everything is changing, but a lot of what we see online seems to have been created before Covid-19. As a speaker, I wanted to be sure to let event planners and potential clients know that I’ve adjusted what I do, so I changed my homepage and my speaking page to focus on virtual events. If you want to show potential customers or even your colleagues that you’re adjusting too, consider updating your site (if you have one) or your professional profiles too.

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https://wordtothewise.com/2020/04/deliverability-is-nuanced/

The deliverability discussion calls are going well and I’m going continue to host them on a biweekly basis. Next call will be May 6th, 5pm Ireland time, noon Eastern and 9am Pacific time. Still doing invites manually, so drop me an email at laura-ddiscuss@ the obvious domain.

A few weeks ago, the discussion entered around machine learning in general. As a follow on I’d planned to talk about was how different ML filters are trained.

Almost all filters out there are based on machine learning. The commercial B2B filters, the filters at consumer mailbox providers, all filters have some components based on ML. But there’s a big difference in how those filters are trained and the data they have access to. Gmail, VMG and Microsoft all have access to the the mail client as well as the mail server. They can, and do, track user activity with mail as part of how they teach the engines.

Filtering appliances don’t have the same inputs as the mailbox providers do. They don’t have access to the mail client. That ML is not based on user interaction or engagement at all.

We did talk a little bit about that, and what folks’ experiences were, but then the conversation wandered. It was a good wander. We talked a lot about how we described filtering and filters and delays to people. I described a cake analogy a client shared with me. Another person described filters as tomato sauce.

The cake analogy: making changes at Gmail in particular is like baking a cake. You put all the ingredients together, mix them well and put the cake in the oven. Then you have to wait for it to bake. If you keep poking it, or opening the oven then you just make the cake worse. When you’re trying to fix delivery problems at Gmail, you need to make the changes and then just wait for the filters to catch up.

The tomato sauce analogy: (any errors in transcription are mine) A company wants to make tomato sauce. They want to make the best tomato sauce there is. So they make one kind of tomato sauce. But different people want different kinds of tomato sauce. Some people want chunky sauce, some want smooth sauce, some want really garlicky sauce, some want meaty sauce. A successful company makes all kinds of tomato sauce to meet the needs of different kinds of customers.

We also talked about how the size of the sender does matter. Smaller senders and larger senders are treated differently by the filters. What works when you’re small doesn’t always work when you’re big. And, what works when you’re big doesn’t always translate down to smaller senders.

It was a fun call. Afterwards I got a message from a participant saying they really enjoyed it and found it “fascinating how some scenarios can be so nuanced especially between smaller and larger senders and transactional versus promotional.  There has been so much shared from everyone and the machine learning was really helpful as I definitely heard new information.”

Start those emails coming for the next call. Can’t wait to talk again.

https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/beginners-guide-to-successful-facebook-ads/

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https://econsultancy.com/marketers-on-the-new-normal-gary-kibble-chief-marketing-digital-officer-at-wickes/

Gary Kibble is Chief Marketing and Digital Officer at Wickes. We caught up with him to ask how the home improvement retailer is adapting during the coronavirus pandemic.

Kibble gives us some positives amid the negatives, and discusses which brand responses have impressed him thus far.

Please describe your job: What do you do?

I am the Chief Marketing and Digital Officer at Wickes. The role is pretty broad, covering all areas of the traditional marketing mix plus accountability for all digital activity (digital marketing, front-end and back-end and customer experience). I also have accountability for customer data and the new store and store refit programme.

How has your typical day been impacted in the short term by the pandemic?

Not unsurprisingly, it has changed a lot. Most days are spent on Google Hangouts so the rhythm and routine of the ‘set-piece’ meetings and decision points are still in-play, just virtually. In addition we have a twice a day check-in as a board (once at weekends) and I have a session with the Marketing leadership team every day.

What are your favourite tools and techniques to help you get your work done at the moment?

I mentioned Google Hangouts which have really stood up to the test! We run our weekly ‘huddle’ on a Monday where the whole team joins and it is a great way to see people and share the big messages, actions and interventions. The weather has definitely helped and I am a big believer in working in the right environment. To that end I have spent many of my days outside so my wifi hotspot has been a good friend!

The last thing is taking regular exercise and making sure you have face-to-face interaction through the day. My three children are all being taught remotely so it is good to try and take breaks together and catch up on the day’s activities!

Which companies have impressed you since the outbreak?

I’m not a big fan of those brands that have ‘trumpeted’ about how they have donated millions of items of PPE to the NHS (whilst that is admirable). As C S Lewis said, ‘integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching’. That is what we have done in Wickes.

I do respect the speed with which the supermarkets reacted to the crisis in terms of managing the customer flow into and around stores, allocating hours to critical workers and generally responding through their supply chain. On a lighter note, great to see brands like Budweiser bringing out of the archives some great ad material, updated for the CV-19 situation!

On a more local level, I have loved how local brands have pivoted their business model. We have a local bakery and they created a delivery service on a Wednesday and Sunday. This means we have fresh bread and pastries as a family treat on Sunday morning!

What changes are you making to help your brand connect with how people are feeling and experiencing the pandemic?

We are clear that the priority right now is the safety and security of knowing that the shopping experience is safe. That we are looking after and protecting colleagues and customers. All our communication focuses on this right now. The customer mind-set is not on promotions, deals or discounts. We have turned our business model on its head in the past 4-5 weeks and we have focussed on service communication to customers whilst being true to our brand purpose, Wickes, Let’s do it right.

What trends have you seen in the last few weeks in your sector?

Naturally we have seen material market growth in the digital space with visits in the market up c. 70-80%. We have started to see some competitors open their retail real estate, with mixed reaction, and have definitely seen a retraction of spend from a broadcast perspective. The biggest positive, to my mind, is the way teams have grown closer and moved into tight ‘units’ – looking after, protecting and supporting each other. Out of all the bad comes lots of good. You just have to look for it.

What advice would you give a marketer right now?

Stay positive, stay inquisitive, be adaptable.

What does long term planning and strategy look like now at your brand?

We have spent much of the past 4-5 weeks getting the business model functioning effectively whilst looking after the safety and wellbeing of our teams. Every day we think it will get easier as a ‘new norm’ is established, only for the next day to throw up a new challenge that we had never seen before! However, as we get better at understanding the way the business, our customers and our colleagues best operate in this new world, we are finding more time to lift our gaze.

As I said, out of all the bad comes lots of good. My sense is that there will be new businesses formed and existing businesses will change forever. Whether that is structural change or behavioural change…it will be change!

The post Marketers on the new normal: Gary Kibble, Chief Marketing & Digital Officer at Wickes appeared first on Econsultancy.