What about videostreaming your keynote? Already did it? I did. A strange experience to speak to two different audiences at the same time. One audience in front of you. The other at work or home watching you via the internet. Alan Stevens from the UK, incoming president of the Global Speakers Federation in 2010, told me about his experience in one of the Arabian countries where the room was divided in the middle by a concrete wall. On his right were the men, on his left the women. Sometimes only one side of the room laughed or responded. Sometimes the other side. The same happens with live streaming. The concentration of your virtual audience is limited. They can turn your ‘sound’ off with one button, or leave you with one click. They spread info (and gossip about you) in a lively chatroom at the same time. And what about a so called back channel? This is a screen next to your PowerPoints were your live audience can read twitter messages real time. Another kind of ambient intimacy. How do you respond to weird or provocative remarks? And are you able to handle this?
Our future on the stage will also be enriched by hologram technology. It is already possible that you appear live in 3D on the stage somewhere else in the world.. One Dutch speaker stepped on the stage and met with his own 3D person that looked exactly like him. No, the audiences don’t need to wear kinky spectacles. Although still a bit expensive, the technology is available and is getting less expensive every month.
So… how will you react to the innovative media challenges? Will you act like a coach potato? Or as a agile professional that stays ahead of his or her time?
Speak well,
Hans
