As your Event Producer, I am a neutral third party, bringing calm and reason, thousands of hours of experience, and objectivity to your conference – whether your topic is day-to-day or difficult.
My two primary functions are to serve as an ally to your speakers, providing best practices and insights as well as technical and logistical assistance, while also serving as an advocate for your audience. That dual role is key to the success of your mission-critical and “can’t fail” conferences.
The Event Producer as Your Speakers’ Ally
Solo presenters are almost always more comfortable when I take on the burden of managing chats. Groups of speakers are often put at ease knowing I will ensure presenting rights are passed smoothly or step in to run the slides if things start glitching on their end. The most experienced speaker can still be stymied by technology and frazzled nerves are not conducive to a great presentation. What does that feel like in real life? Here’s an example.
Even the seasoned speaker – very comfortable presenting in a virtual platform, great at breaking down complex topics in an engaging and visually stimulating way, tech savvy, good audio/visual equipment – experiences the occasional glitch. Shortly after the meeting begins, he starts seeing messages in chat that the audio/visuals are choppy and unclear. He checks settings, switches headsets…but the problem persists. It could be a bandwidth issue, or slower speeds from his ISP, but there’s no time right now to thoroughly track down and correct a connection issue.
As his Event Producer, I am ready. I bring up my copy of the slides and take over sharing to give him a moment to shift from computer to telephone audio. I handle the chats so that the audience is reassured. My experience and calm help to ease his rising tension and provide reassurance as he makes the shift to Plan B.
The Event Producer as Your Audiences’ Advocate
While I’m supporting your speakers, I never lose sight of your attendees. I know that audience experience is critical for a successful event. Minimally, I provide a welcoming voice and technical assistance throughout the meeting – reminding attendees how they can submit written questions or virtually raise their hands, offering guidance on how to zoom in or adjust the size of the presentation and recommending the optimal view for watching the event. These targeted tips ensure no one gets lost during the meeting. Beyond that, I use my experience to help your speakers keep attendees engaged. Here’s an example.
While setting up a series of polls for my speakers, we discuss how long each poll should be live before closing and sharing results. After the first few polls, however, it becomes clear that attendees are actively – eagerly – participating and completing their responses with time left on the clock. Rather than stick rigidly to the specified time, I recommend we keep the energy high and the meeting flowing by chatting reminders and then closing earlier than planned.
As an Intellor Event Producer, I’m always looking for opportunities to assist speakers, improve attendee experience and to help my customers communicate effectively through audio, video and web conferencing. If you need an ally for your speakers or an advocate for your audience, we can help.
