Speaking in the Rhythm of Hybrid Events

Earlier this year I was invited to speak at ‘Event Camp Down Under’ which was an experimental Hybrid event from Sydney, Australia.  

The event had a mix of international speakers who were being beamed in remotely. This was deliberate as the planners wanted to keep their costs under control and also one of their other key objectives was to make the event as sustainable as possible.

I discovered that my speaking slot was going to be towards the end of the final (second) day of the conference which in Australian time was mid afternoon on the Monday but for me it was at the rather early start time of 04.30 am (GMT) in London. I thought this could be a little challenging but put on my ‘visualisation hat” to see how it would work.

I knew (as always for any speaking opportunity) that I would need to be at my very best despite the early start so my first task was to get my head in the right frame at the outset. I needed to be in the “rhythm” of the event and to understand that for physical attendees at the event they could be tired coming to the end of the day. They could also be distracted by the drinks and nibbles that would be served at the end of the conference.

In the end my experience as a remote speaker can be summarised as: it was dark outside, I had no one in the office, I had no feedback and a static camera was watching my every move. But, I loved it. To join the event, become involved in the rhythm and deliver to a live audience 12,000 miles away and to remote attendees worldwide was just brilliant.

The key was to become immediately immersed in the event and deliver great content even though the face to face location was half a world away.   

Related Posts and Resources 

Hybrid Event Centre 

Event Camp Down Under