When Event Attendees Just Won't Engage - Not The Same As Last Year

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When Event Attendees Just Won't Engage

Episode 19 • 19th August 2024 • Not The Same As Last Year • Clare Forestier

hi everybody welcome back to not the

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same as last year now if you have been

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listening to my other episodes you will

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know how determined I am to get more

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people creating what I've been calling

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attendee first B2B

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events sessions events conferences that

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really make people who are attending

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feel that they are part of something

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special I've talked a lot about how

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important important it is to meet the

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basic human need to feel safe welcome

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and heard and how when we do that when

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we give people the time and the space in

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events to share and learn when we make

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things all about the attendee experience

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our events will be a

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success but doesn't always work right so

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I think it's time to face a challenge

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that going attendee first may have

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thrown up for some of you because

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despite all our best efforts to create

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fantastic engaging environments it does

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feel sometimes that some attendees don't

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want to engage I have had some super

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awkward moments standing on a stage

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asking for people to get involved and

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getting pretty much nothing back I've

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hosted a big hybrid event where we

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wanted people to call in Via video to

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contribute and nobody did it there are

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occasions when I sat there trying to get

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something out of people in a workshop

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and I feel like it must be to be um you

2:32

know a school teacher a high school

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teacher teaching double master 14 year

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olds on a hot Friday afternoon and

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thinking why have we gone to all this

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trouble to create an engaging

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collaborative session it's literally

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where I'm in a room full of people who

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were just not biting there were no

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questions there are no responses there's

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just blank faces it can be so

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frustrating but it's not hopeless today

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I want to help you tackle this issue

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head

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on so let's talk about the mindset why

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are some people so hesitant to

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engage now in my experience sometimes

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it's because say it's an internal event

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and the company has a history not

3:15

actually listening to feedback or staff

3:17

opinions right that has definitely

3:19

happened or sometimes it is litchy that

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the makeup of the audience at this

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particular event is by nature very

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introverted they're just not the kind of

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people who want to speak up and actually

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I've also found at some business events

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there is a situation where some of the

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attendees or a large number of the

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attendees don't either want to share

3:41

their views with potential competitors

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or they don't want to appear vulnerable

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to their competitors in the room they

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don't want to look stupid uh they just

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don't want to talk they feel it's safer

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not to believe me I've hosted events

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where all of these things have happened

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I think with a lot of people it can

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sadly go back to the way you were

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treated or made to feel if you spoke up

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as long ago as at school but I think

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really the biggest reason that you might

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experience a low audience engagement at

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an event assuming it's an amazing event

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you put a lot of effort into getting

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their attention and engagement to is

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because sometimes it's just that our

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attendees are so institutionalized by

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the really crappy events that they've

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been attending for years you know what I

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mean the jamack schedules where there's

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been really really limited time for

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proper questions they've been rushed

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from session to session there's barely a

4:35

moment to breathe let alone Network and

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ask questions so think about it if you

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yourself have spent ages years attending

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events where your input was ignored or

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really not listen to or when speaking up

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really didn't get you anywhere you'd

4:48

probably be a bit gunshy31

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has not been included

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before some people are also thinking oh

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my God why bother no one is really

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listening anyway or they might just be

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uncomfortable the idea of being put on

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the spot in a room full of strangers and

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it is as I say the simple simple fact

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that many of us are just used to being

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passive at these kind of business events

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we have been trained to sit quietly

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listen and then leave so when we're

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suddenly given the floor we might not

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know what to do then it's kind of like

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throwing aart party um and expecting

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somebody to get up and dance when

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they're all just arrived from work and

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and sober and haven't had a chance to

5:39

relax but here's the good news we can

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change all that there are some

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strategies that will get all attendees

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involved and engaged I think it's really

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important to ease people in start with

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really small low pressure interactions

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quick fun easy Icebreaker at the

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beginning of the event or during a

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session so it's nothing too heavy just

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something that might get some people

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comfortable with the idea of speaking up

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you just got to warm people up and I

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think it's about setting the turnone

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back in episode 8 if you are listening I

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talked about how to get your

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contributors to buy into this attendee

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first mindset I said you need to educate

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them before uh they prepare their

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sessions when you say things to them

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like as the event planner we are really

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determined to make this event something

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very different from other events

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available at the moment and we really

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want to do this from the beginning so we

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want you to be part of this new kind of

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event that we're doing that is going to

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educate and entertain so that our

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audiences don't leave exhausted but

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excited and they've been able to get

6:39

involved that kind of thing but you can

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frame this in a similar way for your

6:43

attendees you can use your MC to do it

6:45

get them actually to code in what the

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new style is going to be from the start

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you know if your MC is up on the stage

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and having conversations with the

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audience at a very beginning that is

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going they're going to be seeing Oh this

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is kind of event where we're going to be

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asked to be involved and when we're not

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being hitching them with it the second

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they walk in the door because that can

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be a bit much you know 9: a.m or a

7:05

Monday morning and someone's going hey

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you we're just wandered in with your

7:08

coffee speak you'll get them kind of

7:10

doing a reverse and leaving the room so

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I will often in my role persuade my

7:16

client we need to start with an

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icebreaker I know you want to get

7:19

straight into the keynote but let's just

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everybody kind of come in and realize

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it's going to be a kind of ser a kind of

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conference where they are going to be

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able to get involved and we can do that

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right right up front you know just get

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them in and then I sort of start talking

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to them tell them what the sessions are

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going to be about and say look I really

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want you guys to get involved so the

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first thing I'm going to get you to do

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maybe is just turn to the person on your

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right ask them why they came to the

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conference that kind of thing just get

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get them slowly seeing I can get

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included I can get involved and you can

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have more sophisticated eyes Breakers

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than that you could get them to move you

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can get them to find out something

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different you know give them different

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tasks depending on how adventurous you

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want to be but it's just helping them

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slowly absorb or really immediately

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absorb actually just some consciously

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this isn't an event where I'm going to

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be sitting on my ass all day I am going

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to be getting

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involved and they know then that their

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participation is not just welcomed as

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expected it's just giving them a little

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nudge to know oh my voice is going to

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matter here you also need to create some

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areas or sessions that are really

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specifically designed for open dialogue

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make them really an inviting know that

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there's somewhere people can go and

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speak freely without judgment sometimes

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just a few places that you know are

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those kind of safe zones can encourage

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someone who might not have wanted to

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talk in front of a whole room or might

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have felt uncomfortable on a big table

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having to talk to each other they know

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there's a couple of sopers and chairs I

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can sit there and it'll just be

8:47

one-on-one

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conversations this is where facilitators

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are so important if you have people

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skilled facilitators and moderators

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involved they can make a world of

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difference they can encourage

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participation ask the right questions

9:02

make sure everyone feels included

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sometimes all it takes is just someone

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to bridge the gap between the audience

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and the stage I think actually you can

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get a lot of uh engagement by

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incentivizing

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interaction just sometimes just

9:16

recognition you know seeing your name on

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whole response can help people think oh

9:21

could I was listen to but you can also

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actually offer Rewards or small

9:26

incentives for the best comments or you

9:28

know other cat for the funniest for the

9:30

clest for the most helpful for the most

9:32

unexpected interactions we've had today

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um it can be you know Swag that you've

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got from sponsors or it can be a small

9:39

prize just a shout out or recognition as

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I say can help and it adds a bit of fun

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people kind of like a bit of competition

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and can encourage you what us to tendy

9:48

to speak up I think peer encouragement

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is super important if you've got some

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more vocal or experienced attendees you

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you can get them to leave by example

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because when people see their peers

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engaging it can Inspire them to do the

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same it's about a kind of ripple effect

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as an MC I spend my breaks at events

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when I'm not on stage chatting to other

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attendees making friends and I really

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make a note of those I think might be

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good to call upon in sessions where

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potentially people might be initially

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shy at speaking obviously I check with

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them that they'd be happy to do that

10:20

just say you know in later sessions

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today you've noticed probably people are

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being quite quiet if I come to you to

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ask if you got a question or or response

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to something would would you be happy

10:28

with that and Jen most people are

10:30

absolutely thrilled they think oh yeah

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i' be happy to help that in a scheme to

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make the event more fun and engaging and

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if they say no then of course they don't

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come to them now either with all these

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strategies you're going to face some

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resistance it's part of the game but

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don't be disheartened I think the key

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here is to be patient and persistent

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people need a little their time to warm

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up don't push too hard don't give up

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either if someone is reluctant to speak

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up it's about trying to engage them in a

10:57

different way maybe oneon-one in smaller

10:59

groups the idea is to get people

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comfortable enough to

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share I want to remind you that it is so

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important to create a space where people

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feel safe and heard and it's essential

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really even if it takes time for them to

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adjust I've hosted events for some

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organizations I might be now my fourth

11:17

or fifth year and when I first started

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working with them and I was saying come

11:21

on we need to get more um engaging

11:24

moments going in your like more

11:25

collaborative moments between the

11:26

audience and the speakers they were like

11:28

yeah our audiences don't they don't talk

11:31

they just sit and watch but their

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feedback says they really want to get

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involved so that's why we're working

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with you but just be aware and I'll see

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the first year it was hard the first day

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then we get more and more and now we're

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into the fourth or fifth year they know

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oh now this is a space where we can talk

11:47

now we can get involved and of course it

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hasn't always taken five years but the

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point is now we're on a stage where that

11:54

conference just gets better and better

11:56

and more and more collaboration from

11:58

attendees is happening and it's it's

12:01

really special so you know you do have

12:02

to be patient with certain groups of

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people but the long-term benefits

12:06

outweigh those initial challenges the

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number of people coming to those events

12:10

is growing the feedback is getting

12:11

better and better it's all those kind of

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things so I hope this episode helps you

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realize that even with some hesitant or

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potentially disengaged attendees putting

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their experience first will make a

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difference if you handle their

12:26

reluctance with the right attitude and

12:28

you keep focusing on this safe inclusive

12:30

environment you will start to see

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participation it's often in those

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moments of quiet hesitation that the

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ground work for real engagement is laid

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you can turn even the most reserved

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attendees into active enthusiastic

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participants thanks for tuning in today

12:47

change takes time remember but a payoff

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is always worth the effort until next

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time