I love hosting conferences – the thrill of the live event and keeping everything running to time, being the anchor and energising the audience give me a real buzz! So many conferences are let down by hosts who have all the energy and engagement of a platform alteration announcement and that sets the tone for the whole event.
Equally, being external to the organisation gives and added something to the event plus there is no hidden agenda or politics being brought on stage (I’ve seen that!)
I also follow my rule – ‘if you don’t do jokes, don’t do jokes!’ Again, conferences and events come off the rails very early on with the frankly horrifying words ‘before we start I thought I’d tell you a joke…’
I’m all about rehearsing and ensure that every speaker knows where they have to be, by when and what their cues are and has actually experienced what being on a giant stage with a microphone and clicker actually feels like.
I’ve been lucky enough to have hosted events and conferences in many different parts of the world all of which have their own unique characteristics for example the differences in etiquette at events between Japan and Saudi Arabia and the differences in levels of audience engagement between Australia and America.
Genuinely it is one of the highlights of my work.
If I can add that to any event you are planning, please do get in touch at [email protected]