#meetingprofessionals

Five Tips to Cut Virtual Frustration

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By EDGE Women Speaker Amy Segami

“How did this happen?” Pat, my friend, was frustrated with her experience working virtually. 

Used to be able to catch colleagues in the hallway to move projects along, she now found herself constantly waiting for replies. After she emailed the proposal to her colleague, she had not heard back after ten days. When she finally called, her colleague who had been expecting Pat’s proposal said she had never received it. Pat was left shaking her head, wondering “How did this happen?”

A better question is “How could we collaborate more efficiently and effectively?” 

During the remote work forced upon us by COVID19, we now have to depend on getting things done together virtually. Without the benefits of seeing your colleagues down the hallway to remind you of project status or that a proposal due date is coming up, you need a different system.

As a business advisor who helps organizations to innovate faster, I have worked virtually on multiple projects with different clients worldwide for almost ten years. Using a Five T checklist, I help my clients and their teams to collaborate efficiently and effectively. You can use these Five T Tips to improve your own virtual collaboration experience:

1) Trade

Consider that every meaningful business interaction is a Trade, meaning that is a value exchange. The most common intrinsic motivation is monetary gain. When colleagues collaborate, a mutual benefit is deepening the relationship through recognition and appreciation. A genuine compliment is worth more than currency. Be mindful of this fact in your exchanges with your team. What can you offer them beyond monetary benefits as a trade?

2) Trust

Without the benefit of seeing the nonverbal communications with your own eyes, leave your “Eye Print” to let them know that you have seen their emails, SMS text, or instant messages. Build trust by acknowledging that you have seen their communications or requests at your earliest convenience. Indicate that you have read it with a quick reply, even as simple as a clap, a like, or a thumbs up. These are the equivalent of a nod, wave, or smile in person. Of course, you decide whom you like to and want to build a trust relationship with.

3) TYA

To shorten the lag caused by lack of face-to-face communication, use TYA which stands for Track “Yes, And.” Yes, use the email as an alert and reminder. And, follow up with text, SMS or a call. And, use your favorite cloud service to upload related files. When your team knows where to locate the information, it is easier and faster to move the project along. This works great for teams with multiple members who need to equally access information to get their job done.

4) Tools

There are lots of apps and software tools to help foster collaboration, such as Asana, Basecamp, Slack, and Monday.com, just to name a few. My favorite go-to tools areDropBox, GSuite, and Trello. They are flexible, affordable, and reliable with a minimal learning curve. With Trust and TYA established, the Tools become a powerful means to connect with each other more actively. 

5) Time

Time is non-linear. This is especially true when working collaboratively. Think of it as the runway for a plane to take off. It takes time to build up speed – to build up relationships. Once the bond is set between the team with Trade, Trust, TYA, and Tools at the core, the project will take off at exponential speed.

When your team embraces the Five T: Trade, Trust, TYA, Tools, and Time, you will have an efficient and effective collaboration. My advice is to pick a small project and practice with a few trusted colleagues. This will minimize your frustration and enable a positive experience to get things done together, virtually.

Tagged: #COVID19 #remotework, #workvirtually, #virtualteam, #virtualleadership, #leadershipdevelopment, #leadershipteam, #trust, #virtualtools, #meetingprofessionals#eventplanners#womenspeakers#female speakers#kickassspeakers#leadership#inspirationalspeakers

Oh What a Celebration it Will Be

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By EDGE Women Speaker Debbie Vyskocil

Can you picture your first large event when we are back together again? Imagine the excitement of attendees, speakers, staff, and vendors.

Before the world changed with the virus, were some people taking meetings and events for granted? Probably. Perhaps this is a reset. 

None of us knows when we will again be filling the large venues and exactly what long term effects this will have. But we do know there will be excitement! Instead of "Augh I have to attend another conference" it will be ”OH MY GOSH A CONFERENCE!!" 

Right now we are all longing for the meetings and events right now and especially the amazing human contact. Attendees and those putting them on are becoming aware of the multitude of components they miss.

Can you visualize the conferences and meetings when we are back together again? Are you thinking about it too? Picture the huge welcoming smiles, inspirational speakers, decorations, new friends, old friends, music, flowers, incredible information shared by attendees and speakers. THE SHEER EXCITEMENT OF IT!!

In this pause we’re experiencing, Brain-Pause if you will, is a perfect time to practice self-compassion. We can’t control what is happening in the world, but we can take care of ourselves. When it picks up it’s going to be crazy again. As everything begins to roll out every client will want to have an event or a meeting. 

The habit of self-compassion is going to be critical to get us through the high-speed re-launch that is coming. Hopefully, you’re getting plenty of sleep right now, eating well, spending quality time with your immediate family and soaking up the quiet air, You are letting your hair recover from the everyday styling torture,  your skin heal from abuse and your mind, your brain fill with self-compassion. 

What about your brain? If you watch the news, you are torturing it with all the uncertainty, fear, doubt, anxiety, and stress. When are you giving your brain a break? Are you daily thinking about something absolutely amazing? Are you visualizing the excitement when you have your next holiday on the seashore or, better yet, your next incredibly successful event? 

Here is one quick exercise I want you to do:

Sit down for a few minutes and visualize the ultimate event that you will throw. What will it look like? Who will be there? Can you smell the fragrance of fresh flowers in the air? What will you feel like deep inside when it’s a complete success? Cultivate that moment. The more often we create that feeling and visualize what it will look like, the easier it’s going to be to replicate when we’re ready to go.

I picture myself speaking at the perfect event all the way down to what I’ll be wearing. I use these current un-booked evenings when I’m not on a stage to imagine myself in that outfit, on that stage with the perfect lighting, the excited audience and the incredibly happy event planner. 

Try it, it puts a smile on my face every time. 

I was encouraged recently while listening to the MPI Global Meetings Industry Day: Virtual Leadership Panel. One of the leaders presented data supporting his position that our clients want conferences and events, most want to increase the number of them. 

The data shows we will be back. And, oh, what a celebration it will be! 

Crisis mode? Here’s how to un-freeze—fast!

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By EDGE Women Speaker Allie Pleiter

When a crisis hits, it’s hard not to freeze up. In my time coaching creative productivity, I’ve learned a few powerful tactics anyone can use to get out of a deer-in-headlights panic mode and into the action mode that will move you toward a solution when crisis hits. 

And let’s face it: for event planners right now, trouble feels like it’s hitting left and right. 

How do you un-freeze fast? It can be simpler than you think. When you’re in the cross-hairs of an event problem, ask yourself these four questions:

Question #1.  What’s still possible now?

When crisis hits, your brain kicks into totalitarian thinking, cataloging everything wrong about your situation and blinding you to current possibilities.  Give yourself a few minutes to react—shock, anger, annoyance, frustration are all natural and can’t be avoided—and then deliberately force a shift of thinking toward what IS possible. Can you shift the breakout session to another room? Can the speech be given without AV? A true speaking professional will be ready and able to adapt, so don’t hesitate to bring them into your solution process. Perhaps you can find a place to work—or nap—when your flight is delayed several hours.  The more you practice this shift, the easier it becomes.  While it can be genuinely hard to drag your brain off the negative, even the tiniest possibilities make coping much more possible. 

Question #2.  What’s not possible now?

Many of us get into trouble precisely because we refuse to recognize the true limitations of a given crisis. If your keynote speaker is stuck in Omaha or your print materials shipped to the wrong location, own it now. Get to work on Plan B rather than clinging to the hope that Plan A might still come through. If your plane likely isn’t getting out of Dallas tonight, go find a hotel room, make use of the evening, and start fresh in the morning rather than fuming in the airport until midnight. It’s not easy, and it often feels like surrender, but it’s far better than stewing in your misfortune or wasting time in denial.

Question #3. What do I need right now?

The “right now” is the crucial part here.  At the start of a given crisis, you may need simply to get calm. Or at least calmer. You may need someone who understands the problem better than you do at the moment (especially true in technical or medical situations).  Don’t let your brain gallop off in a dozen long-term directions, churning today’s problems into tomorrow’s catastrophes. Yes, the larger picture is important to consider. If you can train your brain to focus on the next solvable step, however, survival comes more easily.

Question #4. What do I want right now?

We often think of crises as “survival mode”—only needs get to matter, not wants.  It’s not necessarily true. You may need to call an ambulance in a medical emergency, but you might also want someone to help you talk through what’s happened if it’s upsetting you. Resist the urge to cast aside what might feel like “luxuries” until life calms down.  Your attendees will take their cue from your attitude. Like my friend who ditches her heels in favor of fuzzy slippers when things go south, making use of “non-essentials” can bolster your endurance or clarity at a time when you need it most. If it makes you calmer, more comfortable, or a bit more cheerful when the chips are down, it’s not selfish. It’s a wise form of self-care. 

These four questions can offer you the foothold you may need to get through the first hours or days of any crisis.  I find these questions work for any size dilemma—from missed flight to a pandemic to a ripped dress. If you can shift your thinking from the knee-jerk of “EMERGENCY! PANIC!” to “What’s still possible now?  What’s not possible now?  What do I need right now?  What do I want right now?”, you will discover your coping abilities can be far stronger.

And it goes without saying that such crises are the reason to work with seasoned, professional speakers. Elite speakers can roll with the punches without drama, will brainstorm solutions, and won’t hesitate to go the extra mile to help you. In this current uncertain event landscape, selecting a professional can be one of your best resources to ensure that both you and your attendees come away with the best experience possible. 

No matter what happens.

 

Give your next event a dynamic EDGE. Team up with professional speakers, such as EDGE Women Speakers.

 #Empowering #Result-oriented #Forward-thinking #Collaborative #Knowledgeable #Problem-solving #Visionary

What Your Audience Deserves - And How to Make Sure They Get It

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By EDGE Women Speaker Azella C. Collins, MSN, RN

Success!  Advancement! Opportunities!  

We all strive for success, advancement, and professional opportunities, yet they don’t come easily. In a time when fewer paths to advancement present themselves, how do you set yourself above the crowd? How do you reach your full potential? For many people, it comes from attending seminars and workshops to gain new insights and gather new knowledge. To educate yourself for future growth.

Speakers can play a critical part in someone’s learning journey for advancement. As a speaker, I know we all succeed when each audience member of a keynote or a workshop session leaves with two to three new ideas to help them advance in their chosen field.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen with every speaker. I’m sure you remember attending a seminar where you learned very little. Where the speaker read from notes the entire time, or rarely made eye contact with the audience, or exhibited no authenticity and failed to impart any new knowledge. Your audience deserves better.

I’ve experienced bad speakers myself and it is such a missed opportunity. 

It is why I ask three important questions of each client before my presentation. I strive to know: 

  1. What do they hope to achieve from the information I share?

  2. What are their event objectives? 

  3. What are the goals and vision of the host organization and how are they positioning for success? 

With that knowledge, I make sure my topics are engaging, entertaining, and offer immeasurable benefits to the audience by:

  • Breaking complex items into small sound bites 

  • Providing concrete actionable steps for implementation. 

  • Personalizing the presentation by weaving in common language they are used to hearing.

  • Maintaining a servant mindset... I am there to meet their needs.

As a black woman, I equally understand the need to be highly skilled in your chosen field so that success and advancement are obtainable. To be chosen, you need to stand out from the crowd. As such, I don’t just want the audience to take something away, I want every meeting professional I work with to have a fabulous event so they too can “stand out” from the crowd.

EDGE Women Speakers consistently provide the same high caliber level of service to event professionals and audiences around the world. We will work on your timeline and contribute to your long-term goals. We understand the importance of 'happy and satisfied audiences' as well as audiences who come back again and again, share what they have learned, and encourage their colleagues and peers to attend your events.

Because at EDGE Women Speakers, we succeed when you do.

#transformative #empowering #breakingthestatusquo #experienced #meetingpros

 

The Gift You Should NEVER Return!

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By: EDGE Women Speaker Lynn O’Dowd

The holiday season is associated with gift-giving. Many of us spend time thinking about and shopping for the perfect gift to give a loved one, friend, colleague or customer. But have you thought about the gifts you have already been given? The “gifts” I'm referring to are the God-given gifts or natural talents that you received when you were born.

Are you able to recognize the gifts you received when you were born? It can be challenging to identify our own gifts because we don’t often think about ourselves in that way. As a speaker, during my keynote I point out that “many of us have lived our entire lives with some of our gifts hidden, or really underutilized. Until we recognize and utilize all our gifts, it can be difficult to step outside our comfort zone for greater success and happiness in business and life”

As we enter this gift giving season, I invite you to make a list of all your gifts, skills, talents, abilities, expertise and strengths. List anything you have a knack for or enjoy—big or small, important or silly, practical or impractical. The list will most likely be much longer than you expect.

Most of us review the previous year to see what we want to change in the New Year. Creating a list of your gifts helps you recognize what you can be doing or want to be doing going forward. Review it and decide what gifts you would like to enhance in 2020. Think about your goals for the New Year and ask yourself: what gifts do you need to tap into to get started on your goals? What gifts do you have that are perhaps underutilized or that you haven’t been paying much attention to? Your answers to these questions can help you craft your goals and make them a reality.

When thinking about what you want to accomplish in the New Year, don’t forget to include how YOU want to spend YOUR time. Determine what you want to enjoy more, and what you would like to cultivate in your life. Your job as a meeting professional can be all consuming, so it’s important to take time to write down, track and schedule all your tasks, activities, commitments, wants and wishes in order to be sure all of YOU is taken care of. The internal dialog in your head of “What am I forgetting?” “I never get to…” creates stress.

Once we realize all of our abilities, it helps us be grateful, and a way to show our gratitude is to share them with those who need them. Your gifts of organizing events, budgeting, baking, thinking outside the box, singing, compassionate listening, building or even being disciplined can help others in so many different ways. Sometimes, we take for granted what comes easy to us or we don't attach a lot of value to what we are gifted with because we compare ourselves to others. The best thing to do is share your gifts, and that isn’t limited to a “gift-giving season.” You can give your unique gifts all year long to positively impact and help the lives of others. A bonus of sharing your gifts with others is that you give them permission to do the same and shine their light.

This holiday season give yourself the gift of recognizing and appreciating all the wondrous, unique parts of you. Remember, you don't have to be perfect; you just need to be present. Presence is the perfect present to yourself! Make your list of your unique combination of gifts and GoGaGa™ in 2020 to Unleash Your Inner Superstar!

Happy Holidays and A Happy & Healthy New Year!

The Most Powerful Fuel for Our Mission—and Maybe Yours

The women of EDGE Women Speakers enjoy the privilege of reaching audiences around the world in keynotes, workshops and training sessions. We relish the chance to hear firsthand how our audiences embrace, appreciate, and grow from the messages, exper…

The women of EDGE Women Speakers enjoy the privilege of reaching audiences around the world in keynotes, workshops and training sessions. We relish the chance to hear firsthand how our audiences embrace, appreciate, and grow from the messages, expertise and advice we provide. Simply put: such feedback is the powerful fuel that keeps us striving forward.

By: EDGE Women Speaker Jennifer Fondrevay

“I can’t thank you enough for your presentation — it opened my eyes to what is possible.”

“I’m grateful that I didn’t blow off this keynote. I was so inspired."

“Thank God there is someone like you putting a spotlight on this. I wish there were more people talking about it."

"I am so glad I came to this conference and heard from you. I confess I’m surprised how much I learned from your workshop.”

EDGE women speakers enjoy the privilege of reaching audiences around the world in keynotes, workshops and training sessions. We relish the chance to hear firsthand how our audiences embrace, appreciate, and grow from the messages, expertise and advice we provide. Simply put: such feedback is the powerful fuel that keeps us striving forward.

In the run up to Thanksgiving, our thoughts tend to linger on what we are most grateful for. It’s a worthy endeavor. In honor of this month of gratitude, below we share some of the personal and professional things for which we as speakers—and as people—are grateful.

We wish you a very happy Thanksgiving and hope you can enjoy the day with the people you love.                                              The Women of EDGE Women Speakers

 ·         I am grateful that I have never lost my zeal for meeting management. I thoroughly enjoy helping groups improve the flow of their meetings. I enjoy looking at a group's current situation and working with them until we have a plan of action.

 ·         I am thankful for good health.

 ·         I extend my undying gratitude for everyone who helped me to bring my book idea, “NOW WHAT?” to life. After 2 1/2 years of research and writing, to see it finally published is amazing.

 ·         I am incredibly grateful for those who have encouraged me to share my stories to help others achieve levels they had not imagined. 

 ·         I am thankful that after suffering some significant health setbacks, my family is feeling healthy again.

 ·         I am grateful for the writing coaching client who told me last week I changed her life and helped her see a whole new possibility for her career.

 ·         I am so incredibly thankful for the God-given gifts of being a speaker and performer.

 ·         I am grateful for the amazing friends who have supported me and never judged me.

 ·         I am so grateful for good friends who bolstered me through a major disappointment.

 ·         I have so much gratitude for my amazing friends who have become my family throughout my journey.

 ·         I’m grateful for the chance to call audiences outside of their comfort zones and discover their “Inner Superstar.”

 

We Ought to Be Doing More of This!

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By EDGE Women Speaker Allie Pleiter

“We help move each other forward.”

 It’s a phrase that gets a lot of use among the EDGE women. And that’s a good thing. Women aren’t always the best at acknowledging themselves. But here at EDGE, we make a point of helping each other thrive. It’s something every woman in every business can learn, isn’t it?

 This past week several of the EDGE Women Speakers joined me in a chance to do just that as we gathered at the North Shore Women in Business Awards to honor one of our own, Jennifer J. Fondrevay. 22nd Century Media hosts these awards each year to honor great women who deserve exposure for making a difference in a variety of business and civic categories. Jennifer received her award in the “Entrepreneur” category.

 “Winning was a welcome shock,” said Jennifer, who was lauded for her Day1Ready consultancy helping companies manage the all-too-often ignored human aspect of mergers and acquisitions. “I’m pleased that the award brought exposure and visibility to an issue that affects millions of people’s lives annually.

 Entrepreneurship wasn’t in Fondrevay’s original career plan, but surviving three multi-billion-dollar acquisitions fueled her passion to bring humanity to an often brutal process. She launched a consultancy that offers insightful solutions designed to prepare an organization for what’s to come with M&A, while crafting a framework to manage and support the people involved. “The process doesn’t have to compromise how people are treated,” Jennifer declares. “I wanted to let my experience help others thrive. The needle is slowly moving in the M&A space to embrace the human element. I wanted to accelerate that needle moving forward.”

 In 2017, Jennifer took the leap to launch her consultancy. “Entrepreneurship is a new landscape for me, and many people I met at the beginning of my journey were surprisingly encouraging and supportive,” she shares. Many of those colleagues were gathered at the awards event, as well as friends and associates from a vast array of professions. Looking around the tables, I was struck again by the truth EDGE continually champions: diversity brings power. “It was a collection of amazing people, all of whom I admire for striving to make a difference,” Jennifer relates. “For me, it was a reminder that it’s always a big enough pie to share.”

 At EDGE Women Speakers, we know there is a big enough podium to share. Audiences respond when they see themselves reflected on the stage—something that doesn’t happen nearly enough. Women bring power, creativity, resilience, compassion, and a host of other qualities to the podium. EDGE Women strive to provide that, and do, because they are speakers who excel at their craft and can take any event to a new level.

 If you’d like to know more about Day1Ready, and Jennifer’s work leading organizations through transition, click here to visit Jennifer’s website. If you’d like to know more about the other dynamic EDGE speakers and what they can bring to your event, click here.

 It won’t be too long before you’re given an opportunity to shine the spotlight on an exceptional woman in your field. It may be nominating her for an award, recommending her to a colleague, or something as simple as offering a compliment or encouraging word. However the opportunity presents itself, take it.

 Because every great idea deserves a little more exposure, and you can make it happen.

The ONE Word that Will Change Your Outlook – Truly

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By EDGE Women Speaker  Nancy Depcik

It’s hard to believe that just one small word can make such a big difference.  A difference in your attitude, your outlook and how you overcome life’s challenges.  You’re probably thinking it’s about saying “no” or “don’t” or “never” but there’s a twist on this word that will surprise you. Before I share the word, please let me explain how it helped me.

I grew up on the south side of Chicago in the 1950’s and it was a very different time for women.  Whether I agreed with it or not, my path was already chosen for me.  I was expected to graduate from high school, get married, have babies and be happy.

 And in that order!  No discussion; no deviation!!!

 As a woman, IF you wanted to work outside the home, you could be a nurse or a dental hygienist, but never a doctor or dentist. College was never discussed or encouraged, because as my mother always told me: “You don’t need a college education to have babies.”  I never thought there could be a different way because this is the only life I knew.

 Deep down, though, I wondered if there was another path.  Not necessarily to follow, but to pioneer a new one of my own.  And that is exactly what I did.  I chose the path of college, business and boardrooms.  It may not sound like such a big deal today, but back then, it was a major decision.  To give you some perspective, think back to the groundbreaking hit TV sitcom called The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  She was an unmarried, independent woman who focused on her career and didn’t need to depend on a man to take care of her.  That was totally unheard of at the time and Mary taught me that, yes, I do have a choice. 

 Throughout my journey, I have met some very powerful, dynamic and impressive women who have served as amazing role models for me.  Thanks to them, I have learned to push myself beyond the limits of my self-confidence and nurture a strength inside myself that I didn’t even know existed.

 That is why I decided to become a professional speaker.  I’d like to give back and pay it forward to the women who are hesitant to step out of their own comfort zone.  My goal is to help others believe in their own self-worth and build a self-confidence to lead the life they want and not what others expect of them.

 One of the lessons I share in my presentations is in the power of one word. One three letter word that can help you sit up and take notice; one word that can help propel you forward on those days you want to give up because you feel like you’re not smart enough or strong enough or good enough.

 Ready for the one word?  Here it is: YET.  That’s it. 

 The trick is to put this word at the end of the sentence every time you tell yourself you can’t do something.  It goes something like this:

 That client hasn’t signed the contract – yet.

I can’t afford my dream vacation – yet.

I have no idea what I’m doing on this project – yet.

 It makes all the difference in the world.  That one three letter word opens all sorts of opportunities to you.  It helps you flip the switch and begin thinking about what is possible.

 That is why I joined in with seven other ladies to found EDGE Women Speakers.  I have surrounded myself with Experienced, Dynamic, Global and Entertaining women who chose their path in life and share their success with all who will listen. 

 So, if you are planning an event and feel overwhelmed, you may be thinking:

 I haven’t found a dynamic speaker who will wow my audience – yet.

I haven’t found an expert voice who will educate my audience – yet.

I haven’t discovered an inspiring speaker who will motivate my audience into ACTION – yet.

 If you want to solve  your “YETs” and make your event come alive, check out EDGE Women Speakers.

Want To See an Expert Show Her Worth? Watch Something go Wrong

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By EDGE Women Speaker Azella C. Collins, MSN, RN

There was a loud “THUNK!” followed by a long, crackling “Sissssss…”

Thirty people were lined up across four aisles of the auditorium, standing behind microphones ready to ask questions when the sound system went out.

“THUNK, THUNK …….sisss, sisss…”

The speaker could see mouths moving and could dimly hear murmuring from the crowd. The sisssss was the sound system short-circuiting. The speaker moved to the edge of the stage and shouted, “Download ‘WO MIC’ to your laptop,” repeating again, “download WO MIC to your laptop!” There was no contingency for not having a sound system for a packed 250-seat auditorium.

Luckily there were two female students from Oslo, Norway who rushed to the stage and asked if they could help. They clearly understood what the speaker was asking the audience to do. Within 3-4 minutes they were able to connect WO MIC to their laptops.  While they worked with the audience to connect to their laptops and download the app to their smart phones, the speaker developed two additional slides: one stating which app to download and the second explaining Murphy’s Law in detail. A speaker’s got to have fun, right? After her two new “assistants” had downloaded the app, they each stood at one of the four defunct microphones to enable the participants to ask questions using the makeshift sound system. 

The speaker heard and answered every question -- almost 32 in total.

The entire episode, which could have been a disaster, was quickly resolved with participants leaving not only satisfied but also better informed. The Chapter president Binavarti Ranasinge  thanked the quick-on-her feet speaker over and over again, as well as the two young ladies.

Why do I know all of this? That speaker was I.

Despite all of our technology advances, it never ceases to amaze me (or other speakers I know) the amount of times something goes wrong around a speech. Sound system going out? You haven’t heard the half of it. How about fire alarm going off? Electrical black out? A computer that freezes up mid presentation? A clicker that never seems to move a slide forward (if I had a dollar for every time this has happened…). And it’s not just technical difficulties that can upend a presentation. We’ve all shared war stories as speakers about situations that did not lend themselves to a productive speech.

Know this: mishaps WILL happen.

Your best insurance for success is an expert speaker who can handle them.

In my case, this event wasn’t even planned.. I was invited to speak in Shanghai and Colombo, Sri Lanka. Thanks to positive audience response, I was asked to give a third speech in Negombo, Sri Lanka the following Saturday. It would be a different audience -  millennials. I knew that I had to reshape my message for it to resonate. I also recognized that additional information was required to ensure that the topic focused on objectives the president of Negombo Speaks felt would most benefit the group. A speech was fully developed with limited jargon, appropriate humor, and no metaphors.

When the Saturday arrived I followed my routine preparation: practiced on stage, checked the sound system, worked the power point and worked with stage lighting crew to ensure that my best side was prominently featured (yes, we do pay attention to that!). Despite all of this preparation, we still had a mishap on the day: a sound system gone kaput. Fortunately, as an expert speaker who is up on her tech, I knew just what to do.

That problem could have deprived my audience of really valuable questions and could have let down the president. Instead, our audience learned invaluable information and I gained two new assistants (at least for a couple of hours!).

So the next time you are planning an event and hiring speakers, maybe here’s a question to add to your list to make sure your speaker is prepared:

  • Describe the last time disaster struck during one of your presentations

  • How did you handle it?

Because you need to expect the unexpected and an expert speaker is your best insurance.