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It’s what we do best.
We also know that you need to do
more virtual presentations right now,
so we put together this primer to help
you shine when the webcam light
turns green.
But listen ...
While you’ll do your best to create
an entertaining and educational
experience, it’s just not going to be like
being in the room. So let’s not pretend
that it’s the same thing.
Here’s an example of this. On Thursday,
I got a text from someone on our team:
First of all, shame on the “thousands
of people” that didn’t text this to me.
Laura was actually the only one (thank
you, Laura).
I love Dave Matthews. So, of course,
Amy and I watched Dave sing his heart
out from the comfort of our home as
he masterfully crafted an hour-long
performance from his music studio above
his garage. In return, Verizon streamed it
and donated $2 million to charity.
I’m sure many watched it; perhaps you
did, too.
… But if the cost would have been $300,
I wouldn’t have tuned in. And this is
coming from a mega-fan. This is coming
from someone that paid $300 per seat
to see him live last summer.
An in-person experience is a
transformational experience. A webinar
generally can’t replicate that in quite the
same way, even with the perfect mic and
warm soft lighting. So, rather than pretzel
yourself imagining you can replicate
the same exact experience on a virtual
webinar, think about how you can create
a meaningful, albeit different, experience
for the people watching.
It’s ok to reset your expectations.
Audiences are already resetting their
expectations, too.
There’s a lot of tech wizards that can
tell you what software to use. There’s
a lot of interior designers advising how
to create beautiful-but-not-distracting
backgrounds. And, videographers can
teach you the rule of thirds. All of this is
good, valuable stuff.
At Heroic Public Speaking, we’re known
for turning speakers into performers so
that they can create transformational
experiences for live audiences.
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And I have no doubt we will be
back in the room, together.
It might take months, but events
will come roaring back. And even
more people will participate in
them because they’ll have missed
the transformational experience
that you can only get when
sharing that experience with other
humans, shoulder to shoulder.
If you’re starting to think speaking
is not a viable career, think again.
You might not be speaking this
month or next or even the next.
But speakers (and the audiences
that love to hear them) will be out
full force again soon enough.
Until we meet in person, here’s a
primer to set you up for the world
today. Your craft is already by your
side; here’s a reminder of how to
take advantage of it, with a full
heart and clear head.
At Heroic Public Speaking, we focus on teaching transformational experiences for people in the room.
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Do
THINK OF THE GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCESThe given circumstances of any scenario dictate how the
audience feels, and it drives their needs and expectations.
Holiday shopping is fun: there’s twinkling lights, hot chocolate,
and vividly dressed store displays. But holiday shopping on
Christmas Eve … at the gas station … with your last 5 bucks …
paints an entirely different experience.
So what does this mean for our work as speakers and
visionaries with big ideas? It means that during a global
pandemic we cannot ignore the impact of these events on
our audiences.
At Heroic Public Speaking, we consistently talk about serving
your audiences. Now, we have even more responsibility to
consider audience needs with ever increasing specificity
and intention.
FeelHear
Understand
What does my audience need to…
“I need to feel more
emotionally welcomed
in this relationship.”
“I’m not a mind reader, so if you have something you need
me to know, you had better spit it out...”
“...while you wash
up the dishes!”
“You never
tell me you’re
grateful for me.”
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“What are the most interesting
and effective ways of presenting this
material to my audience?”
To that end, structural and performative contrast in your
work are even more necessary in a digital performance
landscape. Sitting at a desk … in the corner of your basement
… staring down at your computer camera … does not make
for a transformative audience experience.
Here are ways to continue to build the given circumstances into your existing content:
See what works. Iterate.
Exercises
Quotes
Music
Data sets
Stories
Signaturebits
Props
Case studies
... And all other manner of things theatrical and educational.
Jokes
Moments of reflection
Staging
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Contextualmodels
9
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Wireless lavalier microphone(s).Having a wireless microphone means that you can
get up out of your chair, walk around the space, be
fully expressed in your whole body, and make more
dynamic performance choices.
Pre-amp and boom microphone(s). Most of the time, our basic computer equipment
works just fine; however, if you’re looking to add
some tech to uplevel and add polish, a boom mic is
a reasonable investment.
Ring light.Again, you don’t have to have one. I’ve seen folks
work some magic with natural lighting and/or
household lamps gathered up and strategically
placed around the performance space, but getting
the lighting right is worth a little investment (if you
can afford it, of course). Look for a ring light that
gives off a warm tone, which is more inviting then
the colder blue-hued ones.
AMONG THESE ARE:
SKIP THE GREEN SCREENSYou don’t need to run out and buy a lot of expensive
equipment that you might not know how to use.
However, there are a few things that would be helpful for
you to have in order to create a professional and effective
digital performance.
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There are a lot of neat digital
effects you can play with, like intro/
outro music, rolling credits, and
fancy, schmancy green screens.
That being said, less can be more,
and remember:
If your material is not good, no
amount of effects will save you.
These elements enhance your work,
but they aren’t your work.
Plus, there’s something really great
about getting to see a person’s
home. Isn’t that what’s exciting
about going to a new friend’s house
for the first time? Don’t people
enjoy showing you around their
home, and isn’t it fun to look at all
their stuff?
And you get a lot of information
about a person by seeing how they
live. It’s an intimate experience to be
welcomed into someone’s home. So,
if you’re broadcasting from home,
embrace it. Your real background,
when thoughtfully constructed,
is infinitely more powerful,
entertaining, and authentic.
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REMEMBER:
WHAT DOES THE WORLD LOOK LIKE TO YOUR AUDIENCE?We should consider our material in light of the current climate.
This doesn’t mean we need to toss out our current message and
rewrite everything. Instead, we should be prepared to adapt by:
• Rewriting the Moment of Reflection. The synthesis/meaning/
moral/point of the story. But keep the story “as is.”
• Changing up the metaphors. We recently worked with a speaker
who had written that something joyful was “infectious like a
virus.” We decided to change this metaphor.
• Swapping out case studies. Swapping in a case study from an
organization that has recently been in the news, for example,
suddenly makes the whole talk more relevant.
• Shifting Tactics. Changing some of the actions we’re playing
with our audience. Maybe your initial action was to confront
your audience, with jarring data. But now, when you look at your
audience’s faces they seem exhausted or scared, and they’re
looking to you for ideas and leadership. Somehow, confrontation
with data just doesn’t feel like the most effective action to play.
So, consider what will be more in line with what your audience
needs now, given the change in circumstances. Maybe your
opening action is now to delight. Or perhaps try to comfort and
see how that creates a domino effect of change in your actions.
14
Coming from a theatrical stage tradition,
we can attest to how the stage can be
more forgiving. In-person audiences are
more ready to suspend their disbelief.
But film, as a medium, is less forgiving.
You blink because you have a piece of
dust in your eye, but the camera sees
human behavior and gesture ripe with
meaning. Suddenly, one piece of errant
dust reads as conniving and sinister.
I’m exaggerating here slightly, but my
point stands.
It’s okay though; just make sure that you
continue to lean into your speaker warm-
up exercises, which will help release
tension from your body. Just like always.
Rehearse your content. Just like always.
And most importantly, remember why
you love doing this. Just like always.
The details have even more weight. Everything is high-definition. Also, we see everything, and we assign our own
meaning to it.
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WE ARE HERE TO CAPTURE THE LARGENESS OF LIFE(YES, EVEN NOW)Do not fall into the trap of winging it; you are not just sitting in a
chair and chatting.
The comfort of your home office space and your kids playing in
the room next door may lull you into believing that your message
is less urgent than it is, or that the call to action is less immediate
for your audiences.
You may find yourself, instinctively, wanting to make smaller
physical and vocal choices as you think...
No need to blow my online audience’s hair back, this isn’t
a 1,000 person venue. I don’t need to support my sound in
the same way that I would if I was performing on a stage. I
don’t need to rehearse for this ... I’m in my own living room …
without any pants!
Wear the pants.
16
All of these thoughts, while
understandable, will ultimately only
serve to water down your effectiveness,
zap your entertainment value, and dry
up your Zoom room leads.
Sometimes a stage performer with a
live audience can “get by” by throwing a
lot of unfocused energy and enthusiasm
around the stage. They aren’t sure of
what exactly they should be doing with
their body in space, but it feels like
that energy should go … somewhere …
so they jump around, stalk the stage,
sway side-to-side. It’s not an effective
speaker choice in any environment, but
our digital performances cannot survive
the same amount of imprecision.
Speakers at bigger conferences, whose
work may fall in a line-up of other
speakers and dynamic materials, can
benefit from the wave of energy and
enthusiasm that the success of the
event is generating – or by how great
the audience is feeling because the
last speaker knocked it out of the park.
But in a digital speaker landscape,
we don’t have the intrinsic benefits of
community energy. Our audience is
much less captive.
You need to be more rehearsed and more
intentional: not less.
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DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT REQUIRES RUTHLESS EDITING
relentless? thorough?>
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The best advice I can give here is something I
gleaned from a former acting teacher. He would
scream at us,
“GO TO THE MEAT!”
… And then emphatically pound his heart with his
tightly balled fist, vein bulging in his forehead.
But really: keep it short, exciting, and essential.
Create moments of curiosity. Start at the crisis
point and backfill exposition. And when you’ve said
what you really need to, stop.
Like Forrest Gumps says…
“And that’s all I have to say about that.”
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THINK OF HOW TO INTERACT WITH YOUR SPACEConsider the visual world of your digital performances. Without
the benefit of stage lighting, pipe-and-drape, or mega-tron TV
screens, you may have to get a tad crafty by investing a little
time and attention into creating your performance space.
In addition to some of the more obvious considerations to do
with sound-bleeding, lighting, and sitting vs. standing, you should
also consider evoking an emotional response in your audience.
20
Is it important that your audience feel
that you’re deeply knowledgeable and
an academic authority? Maybe include a
bookshelf on your set.
Or is it more important to evoke a sense
of nostalgia? Playfulness? Accessibility?
What spaces in your home are most
conducive to that? What objects bring
flavor, color, texture and meaning to
your world? What objects help clarify
your big idea? Go shopping around
your house.
Yes, your housemates and significant
others may think you’ve finally cracked
when they see you rearranging your
furniture, gathering up all your house
lamps, or crawling into your closet in full
hair and make up … but, perhaps, they
aren’t pursuing the mastery of their craft
at this time, in the name of evoking an
audience’s emotional response.
We’re at home, so let’s make the
best of this unique opportunity of not
presenting against a flat grey wall.
We’re in our kitchens! So let’s be in our
kitchens. Start your talk by pouring a cup
of coffee, pulling up to the dining room
table, and welcoming your digital visitors
into your home. If your first action is to
comfort, this could be a great way to
start your digital performance and build
an atmosphere that supports your brand
and content.
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IGNORE THE PETS AND KIDS(OR PERHAPS INCLUDE THEM)Do you remember when the thing everyone was most upset
about was audience cell phones going off? And various Broadway
stars were popping off at audience members. And there was that
one guy who tried to plug his phone in on the show’s set … and
people were aflame about it all.
People walk in and out of the room. Babies cry. It’s never ideal,
but it happens.
And we deal with it in one of two simple ways:
1. A brief interruption: ignore it and keep it pushing.
2. Recognize it and incorporate the distraction: it will set your
audience at ease and allow you to keep pushing through.
22
While working and performing from
home, things happen. Phones ring. People
walk in and out of the room. Babies still
cry. It’s not ideal, and sometimes, a baby
running into your big talk is actually rather
endearing, and becomes a memorable
moment.
Remember that video clip of the
professor commentating for BBC via
livestream? All of a sudden, his child
toddles into view. And then a baby in a
walker. And then the mother, with such
desperate gusto, grabs the children.
It’s hilarious, memorable and really
endeared us at home to the speaker’s
wife that comes flying in. Yeah she’s
great. We love his wife.
What’s that?
Oh yeah, we said endeared the wife, not
the speaker.
Why?
The speaker pretends he doesn’t see
the scene unfolding behind him. It was a
wooden, strange, and unnatural response.
But imagine if he had just said, warmly
and naturally, “Hey, that’s my daughter.
And my baby. And my wife.” … and then he
went back to his very serious broadcast.
Or any number of other sweet, simple,
and authentic interactions which would
have been more of a win than a loss.
Screenshot from “Children interrupt BBC News interview - BBC News” by BBC News, YouTube.
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Within the virtual performance landscape, it’s especially important to think through
how you will end your performance. Consider: what is the last thing your audience will
hear you say or see you do? What are you sending your virtual audience members out
the digital door with?
Don’t rush through, or throw away, your ending. More than just a recap of everything
you’ve already said, and more than a rushed list of follow up items prattled off like a
6th grade teacher that forgot to assign the homework before the bell rang, the end is,
some writers say, the God Moment.
In our storytelling curriculum at Heroic Public Speaking, we give specific and special
attention to the two peak audience moments:
The most emotionally impactful moment.
The end.
We love performance and storytelling because it pulls back a little curtain, and allows
us to peek into the window of people’s lives. How they think. How they live. What they
value. And stories and performance pull back the curtain on our shared humanity.
So lean into your given circumstances, your surroundings, and your most authentic self.
You don’t need to pretend that you’re on an MGM studio lot. There is a lot to be gained
from you sharing your big idea from your kitchen table.
In fact, I’m pretty sure most revolutions start around a kitchen table. The God Moment is that brief, shining
moment in time when the work is complete, something has been achieved, and there
is insight where there was none before.
It’s a glorious feeling, for audience
members and performers alike. And,
in mere seconds, the God Moment will
be over. Life will resume, there will be
new issues to face, the performance will
start again.
So let your audience enjoy the end of the
transformational audience experience
you’ve created.
End with a bang—not a whimper.
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