Your AV checklist
We have all been at events where the AV fails; it can be frustrating for the organisers, distracting for the audience and disappointing for the speakers. Often the technical aspects can feel overwhelming if you don’t have a technical background. So what can you do and what do you need to know? When I started…
What makes an “idea worth spreading”?
Last week I was fortunate enough to get to see the opening session of TED 2016: Dream. It got me thinking about TED’s famous tag line – ideas worth spreading. What makes one talk stand out, what makes you share a talk and tell your friends about it? Why did I immediately share one talk…
What is your purpose?
Since starting my own business a year ago I have been asking myself this question quite a lot. After a decade of working in the charity and human rights sector where I was so solidly defined by the causes I was working on, it was daunting to figure out what I was about now. Of…
The anatomy of a great talk
TED talks are compelling, they keep your attention, they can communicate complex ideas simply, they inspire and they are ultimately about sharing a great idea. The format is simple – one idea, 18 minutes maximum, no reading or complex slides. But how do you create and give a talk a great talk (or how do…
Panel discussions: 6 ways to avoid chaos
Love them or hate them, it seems that panel discussions are here to stay as a format for conferences and events, but so often they are a source of stress for organisers, anxiety for speakers and frustration for audiences. Disjointed discussion, domineering hosts, pointless questions and hostile audience members aren’t a recipe for a success.…