Conferences

In Every Presentation, the Story Starts With You

August 21, 2012 by Gavin Heaton Leave a Comment

Over the last month or so I have done a lot of public speaking. It can be one of the most terrifying activities that you ever willingly put yourself through. Or you may find it exhilarating. But no matter whether you fall into one camp or another, you will quickly realise that you face a challenge – and that is to tell a story.

How do you do it? Where do you start?

Simple.

You start with you.

Samantha Starmer has created this great presentation on the nuts and bolts of presentations. She suggests you start with your own story – why are you speaking and what do you want people to remember. From there it’s about understanding the environment for your presentation and getting a feel for the space and the audience; structuring the presentation well and rehearsing.

Sounds simple, right?

The reality is much more challenging. But if you follow this approach, you’ll be well on your way.

Structuring your Presentation – Cranky Talk 2011 from Samantha Starmer

Filed Under: Conferences, Storytelling

Setting a Social Media Agenda–Courtesy of Randi Zuckerberg

August 18, 2012 by Gavin Heaton 1 Comment

At the Australian Business Chamber of Commerce conference in Melbourne this week, I have been fortunate to hear the ideas and insight of a number of overseas speakers, including Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Randi Zuckerberg. And while I have done my best to share this insight via Twitter using the hashtag #acbc12, the stream does not do justice to the energy, insight and passion of the speakers. For no matter how much we write, we are always caught in the trap of writing – it’s just words and doesn’t pack the punch of an on-stage, in-your-face presentation of ideas.

Before kicking into trends, Randi Suggested that there are some personas that we don’t want to adopt, including:

The crazy cat lady
Obsessive food blogger
The humble bragger
The depressed broadcaster
The old person who doesn’t get it. The person who uses Facebook as Google
The fruitless celeb tweeter
The cheesy motivation tweeter

And while we may all wink knowingly at these, she also advised that there were TEN key trends that we needed to be aware of:

Luxury living without luxury spending
Loyalty program of the future – make your fans famous
Using platforms for customer service
Mobile first
People as curators – become the expert in your field
Have a sense of humour
Crowdsourcing
We are all media companies now
Video and livestreaming
Gamification

Now …. we may see these trends and behavioural manifestations in our audiences … but what does that mean for your business. Let’s think about that strategically. And let’s turn this into a social business. Together. I call it the Social Way – but you may call it the cost of doing business.

Filed Under: Conferences

Thriving in Uncertainty – A Workshop with Viv McWaters

June 19, 2012 by Gavin Heaton Leave a Comment

In the corporate world we talk a lot – a lot – about innovation and creativity. There are conversations and plans to “unleash” creativity within our businesses and to empower our employees. Sometimes we even start using language from the world of startups – suggesting that some innovation projects may need to “fail fast”.

But one of the great challenges with innovation is that it’s often inwardly focused. We rarely draw in people and ideas from beyond our line of business let alone others in our industry. And when economic conditions change – and they do with regularity – our efforts become increasingly myopic and doomed to failure.

In these conditions we need the skill and capacity to navigate the changing business conditions. We need superior communications, creativity and agility. And we need to ensure that work remains fulfilling – that there is a shared sense of purpose.

A couple of years ago, I was lucky enough to attend a workshop with Viv McWaters. She blends business thinking with facilitation and theatrical improvisation – to address many of these challenges. And on July 12 and 13, Viv is running her Thriving in Uncertainty workshops in Melbourne. In her words:

Participant outcomes include improved communication, better collaboration, increased agility, harnessing others’ strengths and building motivated and enthusiastic teams.

But, to be honest, her workshops go well beyond this. They teach you a deep sense of capability that stays with you well after the event. If you can, take a small team along – you’ll be glad you did.

Filed Under: Conferences, Creativity, Innovation

Get Your VIP Pass to FailCon

June 1, 2012 by Gavin Heaton 1 Comment

I have always been a fan of learning from others. Even as a child I would watch friends and family members get into trouble and then work backwards to find the first point of failure – the moment from which there was no return. As far as possible I wanted to make sure that my own mischief would not land me in trouble.

This sneaky, almost surreptitious, level of observation became useful in the corporate world, where failure can mean the difference between having a job and not. In the world of startups, however, failure is seen not as an end point, but as a building block for future success.

Next week, as part of Vivid Sydney, the Vivid Ideas Exchange is hosting FailCon – “a one day conference for technology entrepreneurs, investors, developers and designers to study their own and others’ failures and prepare for success”.

There are some fantastic speakers, including:

Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney
Tim Ross, comedian
Tania de Jong, social entrepreneur and operatic singer
Mick Liubinskas, co-founder of Pollenizer

One of the things I like about this conference is that there are plenty of Australians speaking. Too often we feel the need to jet in speakers from overseas – overlooking that talent that is right here beneath our noses. Having said that, it is a conference about failure …

Get 50% off the ticket price!

For a short time, you can get a VIP pass to FailCon for only $52. Just use this SECRET LINK with the password FAILCONVIP.

Get your ticket before they are all sold out!

Filed Under: Conferences

Influencing Design with Frank Chimero

May 18, 2012 by Gavin Heaton 1 Comment

One of the biggest challenges we face in the business world is – in my opinion – not generating more sales, cutting more costs or improving productivity. It’s more fundamental and goes to the heart of our human condition. It’s harnessing our logic AND our creativity in such a way that it solves the problems that our work, business, social and creative endeavours throw in our path. I call it The Social Way.

So, the chance to hear Frank Chimero speak in Sydney in June looks too good to pass up. He has worked as a designer, illustrator and strategist for brands such as the New York Times, Facebook and WIRED. His recent book The Shape of Design suggests that logic may not always to be the best way to solve design problems (which obviously is right up my alley) – and his inclusive style promises a lively keynote and Q&A forum.

Here courtesy of Portable and VIVID Ideas, he is also slated for talks in Brisbane and Melbourne. Book in while you can!

Filed Under: Conferences, Design, Innovation

The Real Value in Conferences is the People

May 3, 2012 by Gavin Heaton 1 Comment

I just got back from a fantastic couple of days at Terrapin’s Internet Show conference. It confirmed for me how powerful in-person events can be – papering over the cracks of our fragmented online connections, interactions and identities. More than once I was introduced to a person who had previously seemed more real in 140 characters than the flesh and blood person standing in front of me. And more than once did I laugh and revel in the light of a witty observation or wry comment.

There was also plenty of great food for thought. Rob Campbell was challenging and thought provoking. Douglas Nicol wowed us with data, mapping and analysis. Tiphereth Gloria showed how frameworks can help make sense of your digital strategy. And some great panel discussions brought the crowd into the conversation.

Customer Experience Lifecycle of social brands

View more presentations from Tiphereth Gloria

There were some presentations that I could not get to, but at least this one on social media measurement from Mandi Bateson is online.

Measuring social media success

View more presentations from Mandi Bateson

I’ve even uploaded a selection of the photos I took during the sessions. More can be found on instagram. And you can also check out my presentation – on the business of being social on Slideshare (and embedded below).

Business of Being Social

View more presentations from Gavin Heaton

Filed Under: Conferences

Topic Talks Unleash the Storytellers

April 5, 2012 by Gavin Heaton 1 Comment

We’ve had TEDtalks and we’ve had Ignite – we’ve had Vibewire’s fastBREAK and we’ve had TEDx. All these events have a number of elements in common – they require the speakers to deliver short, focused talks. They promote presence – being in the room, and they honour in-person storytelling.

But while these event formats have been successful, for the most part, this format of short, sharp, in-person events have remained on the periphery of our culture. TED attracts an elite business focused crowd and Ignite appeals to the startup and innovation communities. fastBREAK is about creating an intergenerational conversation on important topics of our times – and TEDx seeks to make the TED brand experience more accessible while maintaining an air of exclusivity.

And that’s what is so interesting about the new Topic Talks series (April and May 2012). “For the passionately curious” this series of talks kicks off with Ray Martin, Thomas Keneally, Gretel Killeen, Patrick Lindsay and Sebastian Robertson. And they are physically accessible – with dates set for the Cremorne Orpheum theatre, Parramatta Riverside and Randwick Ritz.

It’s a great opportunity to hear accomplished storytellers – but I am equally interested to understand where the series may go in the future. It would be great to hear from under-represented voices.

Filed Under: Conferences, Storytelling

Take a #fastBREAK and Play This Friday

March 27, 2012 by Gavin Heaton Leave a Comment

I can still remember the sketchy, randomness of the very first #fastBREAK event that we held back in 2009. Rather than spending a Friday morning drinking coffee and chatting with friends before work, we went out on a limb. I asked Scott Drummond, Jye Smith, Isadore Biffin, Elias Bizannes and Matt Moore to give us five minutes of insight and passion. And together they inspired a movement.

Three years later, Vibewire’s #fastBREAK series is a cornerstone of Australia’s innovation scene – drawing young, established, mid-career and seasoned speakers into an intergenerational conversation with a curious and inquisitive audience.

Co-produced by the Powerhouse Museum, #fastBREAK is a brilliant opportunity to step out from behind your device, computer or even your TV and soak up inspiration and imagination from people who are pushing against the envelope of social innovation and creative industrial practice. It’s an hour of ideas, passion and personal storytelling from 7:45am on the last Friday of every month. It is designed to get you out of bed, fed, caffeinated and inspired and then off to work.

But don’t take my word for it – book in and see for yourself.It’s the best $10 you’ll spend this week.

Filed Under: Conferences, Vibewire

Are You the Agent of Your Own Change?

March 9, 2012 by Gavin Heaton 2 Comments

Have you ever made a deep change in your life? Did you look at the status quo and decide you didn’t like the shape, smell or grind that defined your life? If so – did you have the courage to change? Did you make that u-turn?

At the recent fastBREAK event – Vibewire’s co-production with the Powerhouse Museum, five speakers explored this topic. My favourite was this one story by Phil Gomes. He explains how he was able to turn his interest and passion for bikes and cycling into a job as an online editor with SBS Cycling Central.

It wasn’t easy – or even quick. But Phil makes the point – “be the agent of your own change”.