Last week I was talking with a couple of clients. They had used me before on several occasions and I thought they knew what I did, particularly with my shift to online event production and hosting. I was certain I had even talked about with them directly.
Both of them didn't realise that I was producing events (pressing buttons, mixing audio and video, showing slide decks, highlighting speakers) as well as being the MC for that online event. Following these conversations I have booked two gigs with them.
I thought I was talking about events too much. If it is even possible, I was almost getting tired of my own voice! I was certain that I had mentioned what I am doing several times.
Still, they didn't really know. Hence, here I am talking about it again.
What about for you? What do you do that your customer doesn't know about? Maybe they only know you for ONE of your services or products. How can you share with them some of the successes that you have achieved for your other customers? How can you let them know you do more than what you are doing for them?
From personal experience, your clients are busy. They often don't hear your message – not because they don't care but because they are focussed on THEIR customer. So how can you make it easy for them to hear about what else you do?
Meanwhile, I will keep spreading the good word about Online Events. (He says, warming up to tell you what he does).
So if you need me, I will be here in my studio. With my four computers, two cameras, vision switcher, audio panel, sound panels and green screen. I will be running my weekly live stream on events (sign up to my YouTube channel to keep in touch WarwickMerry.tv) , sharing content on LinkedIn, and coaching people with their Online Presence.
Let me know if you need help with your next online event or just find out more about what I am doing!
If you want your next online event or meeting to shine, get in touch with Warwick for some ideas or assistance on how to make it energetic and engaging. Simply reply to this email or call +61 408 592 158
I have to say, I have been pretty busy the last few months.
From producing online events (mini brag here – they have been in Singapore, UK, USA and later this week in Hawaii!) to helping other speakers get their studios sorted for online presentations to working with corporates to making their online meetings engaging and… worthwhile!
Some people have been asking how did I get to know all I do about this online presenting stuff and how they can get better.
I love what the philosopher Kierkegaard said, "Life has to be lived forwards but understood backwards."
I have been fortunate enough to have some amazing life experiences. Radio DJ, singer, recording music, acting in theatrical productions, improv, stand up, story telling, author, content creator and of course event host and producer. Looking backward, I can understand that each of these elements has taught me something that helps me with my online work.
As you would expect, this puts me in a unique position right now.
I am continuing to learn and get better at what I do. In fact, keep your eye out for something new I have coming soon where I share some of these secrets!! But for anyone to get better at anything, the key thing is … to do it more!
Wanna be a better singer? Sing more. Wanna be a better writer? Write more. Wanna be a better cook? Cook more.
So what do you want to get better at?
If you want your next online event or meeting to shine, get in touch with Warwick for some ideas or assistance on how to make it energetic and engaging. Simply reply to this email or call +61 408 592 158
I spent the weekend working with some old hardwood timber I got from pulling down an old picket fence. My gorgeous wife wanted a narrow table to go behind one of the couches at the shed and who am I to not give her what she wants!! (Plus it was awesome to spend time away from the computer).
As with all things, if it isn't on social media then it hasn't happened. So I popped a couple of images there once I finished building it. (The oiling happens next weekend.)
Many people commented on how talented I am. Let me be frank, I am not a talented woodworker! I am a "competent" woodworker and I have spent a bit of money on some tools to help make things easier (thicknesser, table saw, electric sander and so on). Nearly everything I have learnt has come from YouTube and conversations with others who are more skilled than I.
The one simple thing to becoming an expert (or at the very least getting better) is to have a go at it. Step out with confidence and give it a try. At nearly every stage along the way as I was building this I was thinking, "I hope I don't stuff this next bit up!" But I didn't let it stop me.
Oh and there were some stuff ups along the way. But that is how you learn. It is part of the "Fail Faster" approach. At the end I have a nice bit of furniture my wife loves, made from upcycled materials and that I can be proud of (plus I have had 2 people ask me to make them one!) So what do you want to be an expert at? What are you doing to build those skills? How can you "Fail Faster?"
If you want your next online event or meeting to shine, get in touch with Warwick for some ideas or assistance on how to make it energetic and engaging. Simply reply to this email or call +61 408 592 158
The One Thing You Need for Your Online Event Delegates to go WOW!
I was thrilled to host and speaker at a 2 day sales meeting for a client last week. At the end of the event, the delegates, the CEO and the organiser were all going WOW. It was all due to one thing!
Now online meetings and events are almost old fashioned! We have embraced the benefits of online, addressed some of it's misgivings and the future clearly has online events as part of it.
In fact many of us now how online social events. In the past month I have had drinks sessions, dinner parties, improvised theatre performances, cabaret performances, and some music concerts all from the comfort of my own home. My nieces, nephews and close friends all study online regardless of whether it is secondary, tertiary or post grad.
But there is one thing that takes it from "Meh" to "WOW!"
That one thing is having the right event host! (Naturally I recommend me!)
My clients were thrilled that I lifted their event from the regular sales meeting to something memorable, special and fun.
My nieces and nephews happily tell me of the teachers that really bring the session to life rather than the same old – same old!
The right host is the glue that holds everything together. They build the energy when needed, make sure the technology behaves itself (and when it doesn't, they deal with it), and ensure that the focus stays on the delegates as the main players in the event.
Whether it is me as the host, the teacher, your managers, you as the team leader, or someone else, what are you doing to make your delegates go "WOW!" PS Warwick talked about this topic in more detail on the recent episode of the Get Events Online Live Stream. You can see the recording here.
If you want your next online event or meeting to shine, get in touch with Warwick for some ideas or assistance on how to make it energetic and engaging. Simply reply to this email or call +61 408 592 158
German is a fantastic language. It gives us wonderful words, that for the non-native German speakers, can sound harsh, guttural and slightly ridiculous.
But they express a situation so well.
Schadenfreude (which means getting pleasure from the pain of others) is the basis of so many tv series and YouTube channels. It is the guilty pleasure of many of us, myself included!
Zeitgeist means the mood of the culture or the spirit of the times and is now commonly used in English conversations.
But the word that best sums up what seems to be happening in my life and those around us is Kummerspeck. Literally this means Grief Bacon.
Many around me are talking about Corona Kilos added from excess eating during lock down or feeling out of control so eating over it. Surely this is grief bacon!
The pandemic has shattered our illusion of control and so we do what we can to feel more in control or to use the time we have as productively as possible. For me that means making cinnamon scrolls, brownies and other yummy treats and then giving most of what I made away.
The longer the pandemic goes on, the more of a challenge it will be for us. Personally, I suspect this pandemic will go until late 2021. There will continue to be rolling lock downs as we deal with trying to minimise the impact of the disease.
The Germans have a word for this too, Scheisse.
But in the mantra of 2020, "It is what it is". So let's continue on, grateful we are not dodging bullets, having bombs dropped on us, or suffering from something far worse than being forced to stay in our homes.
If you need to get out virtually, don't forget to join my What's Up Wednesday sessions that happen every Wednesday. Click here for more details. We just chat about what is going on and see what help everyone needs (and have a fair bit of fun along the way!)
Stay strong and love your Kummerspeck.
If you want your next online event or meeting to shine, get in touch with Warwick for some ideas or assistance on how to make it energetic and engaging. Simply reply to this email or call +61 408 592 158
Do You Have Glorious Blooms that Make you Feel Good?
Let's face it. This whole COVID thing sucks.
Having your life restricted, not being able to do what you want, business crumbling, let alone the health impact! It is also a major topic of conversation because we are all caught by it, impacted by it or influenced by it to some extent.
It is easy to get caught up in it – and that is perfectly natural.
What I try and do is focus on something glorious that makes me feel good. This image is of the tulips we have in the back yard. The kaffir lime tree is also laden and the jasmine smells fabulous. I can't help but feel good when I see this.
I was fortunate to be in the audience of a show on Saturday night. The super talented Tash York put on a cabaret show that streamed on YouTube. It was a pay as much as you can and for 90 minutes I was entertained by her and also by the comments as the whole audience got into the show.
On Sunday, I was thrilled to be part of an Improv show, Virtually There, hosted by Paper Goat, a NZ based, world focused Improv collective. You can probably see the recording on Facebook.
Friday night I was having a Zoom call with a friend, solving the problems of the world.
Each of these things brought me some kind of joy and delight. Most of these things didn't cost me any money. For the time I was present in those events, COVID and it's impact were forgotten. It was an enjoyable escape.
I have found so many ways to shift my focus from the troubles and issues I am facing to something that makes me feel good, even if it is only a temporary reprieve. What are you doing today to get your burst of feeling good? (At the very least, check out these tulips!)
If you want your next online event or meeting to shine, get in touch with Warwick for some ideas or assistance on how to make it energetic and engaging. Simply reply to this email or call +61 408 592 158
So many events people and speakers are looking for amazing tech setups. Some have amazing looking setups like the ones in this image.
But never forget, you are alone in your room as your audience is alone in theirs. Having their pictures on the screen is meaningless if you are not engaging.
The best setup is a camera and a screen. That's it. (and the camera can be a webcam, smartphone or even the one in your laptop.)
The difference is what you do with it.
You have to truly connect with the camera. Because the camera represents the people. You need to look at them.
It doesn't matter your setup if you can't connect or engage.
To many people try and create an online experience and end up making an Average TV Show. And an Average TV Show is just too easy to turn off.
Let go of the tech. Get better at presenting, engaging, playing, laughing, connecting, inspiring, energising and delighting those on the other side of the camera. That is the best setup you could ask for!
PS Need help with your set up or online engagement skills? Get in touch.
If you want your next online event or meeting to shine, get in touch with Warwick for some ideas or assistance on how to make it energetic and engaging. Simply reply to this email or call +61 408 592 158
Over the weekend, I made these Cinnamon Scrolls and without meaning to, I became an Influencer!
Now I am not saying there was a rush on cinnamon, but I do know that three other people made cinnamon scrolls and tagged me. That is certainly exerting some influence. Often that is all it takes. Just a nudge to two or three people and you can start something.
On a different front, I exerted even more influence.
Last week, Zoom released 5.2. While it has a few new, fun features, one really powerful feature is to be able to display your video overlaid on top of your presentation slides. When I read about it, I got a little excited (you can do it manually but this is easier).
I shot a short video showing how to do it and a few other fun things and then released it. (You can watch it here)
To date, that video has been seen on LinkedIn and Facebook about 10,000 times. It has generated some interesting responses, requests for help and a load of new connections.
In both of these examples, all I did was share something interesting, desired and put a funny, authentic twist on it. The key here is "desired".
People were salivating over the cinnamon rolls and were excited about the new feature, especially in my network.
Could you do something similar?
What do you know of that is interesting, and desired that you can present with a funny, authentic twist?
PS The latest episode of the Get More Success Show is now live. Click on the link or head to wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts. In this episode I was thrilled to chat with Terry Brock. A technology journalist, speaker, humanitarian and all round nice guy. He is a man who LOVES cars, but doesn't own one! Check the podcast for more.
If you want your next online event or meeting to shine, get in touch with Warwick for some ideas or assistance on how to make it energetic and engaging. Simply reply to this email or call +61 408 592 158
I am a big fan of The West Wing (the TV show not the present occupant). In particular, I loved how Jed Bartlet would always ask the question, "What's Next?" He did what had to be done. Made tricky decisions and then moved on. What's next?
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has just made a very big decision that has put the majority of our states population under curfew. It will also significantly impact our economy and more than likely people and businesses will suffer financially. It would have been a tough call to make.
To me it represents strong leadership. He and his team have looked at what is in the best interest of all of our people? Their decision means that we will all suffer a little bit so that a few don't have to suffer a lot.
His focus is on a healthy, functioning Victoria and what is the safest, quickest and most cost effective way to get us there. Not the most popular, the one that makes the most money, but the one that is in the best interest for us all.
To me, that is strong leadership.
Where is your focus? What tough decisions do you need to act on? What's Next?
PS If your What's Next is to reach out or you need anything, please feel free to call me. The phone is always on (I do sleep sometimes!!). You are also welcome to join us for What's Up Wednesdays where we just get together and chat on Zoom.Click here for details
Warwick Merry - The Get More Guy, is your high energy, results focused, action oriented, no holds barred tour de force Master MC, keynote speaker and Exhibiting Specialist. He ensures your attendees Get More from your event. His MC work is like insurance for your event. It guarantees things will run smoothly and on time. As a speaker, he is like a dose of sparkling mineral water – a bubbling, burst of healthy, sustainable energy for your attendees. If you need a burst of inspiration, cogitation and celebration at your next event you MUST book The Get More Guy, Warwick Merry.
If you wish to stop receiving our emails or change your subscription options, please Manage Your Subscription Get More, 38 Winmalee Drive, Glen Waverley, VIC 3150
