How To Make Your Virtual Event Rock

Corporate Events
a virtual event from a recording studio

Here’s a story, a true story. The story of how we built a virtual event that rocked the house. You may think it is virtually, haha, impossible to create an engaging virtual event for your many employees. You may be thinking, ‘how can an online session grab everyone’s attention?’ If you’re so afraid of another boring virtual session that you’re hesitant to move forward, think again. There is a way to make your virtual meeting rock. It’s all about finding great elements to create a fast paced, visually appealing, genuinely interactive program.  Follow along with my little story and you’ll become a believer too. Chapter One – Preparation This story began with a call from a past client. His ask was,… Read more »

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Do Virtual Conferences Work?

Corporate Events
Virtual conferences work when well planned

Do virtual conferences work? If you’re googling this topic, you must be considering the option of a virtual conference so I’ll cut to the chase. Yes, virtual conferences work and yes they are worth your time, energy, and investment.  So many of us have transitioned to remote work. During these challenging times your employees may be feeling stranded, isolated, and understandably adrift. Now more than ever, there’s a need to gather together to boost morale and engagement. You can do this by hosting a killer virtual conference for your company.  What is a Virtual Conference? A virtual conference can encompass everything you’d expect from an in-person company gathering, except you’ll be taking the whole operation online. You’ll be able to… Read more »

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Fun Group Activities In Nashville

Corporate Events
Songwriting is a great group activity in Nashville.jpg

In 2013, the New York Times coined Nashville as the new “it” city. Maybe they’ve made this claim about other cities since, but make no mistake; Nashville is no flavor of the week…or even of the year. We’re still growing, entertaining and booming five years later. This means more companies than ever are looking for fun and unique group activities in Nashville.

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Corporate Event Ideas

Corporate Events

It’s not easy to continually come up with great corporate event ideas. Whether you’re a professional meeting planner or someone within a company who has been tasked with gathering ideas for your next corporate event, it can be a challenge to find programs that seem fresh and that will appeal to your attendees. The search for new programming is somewhat of a creative process. To find new ideas, you need to be creative! So as an expert on creativity and how to use it, I thought I’d share my thoughts in order to help you successfully search for those great corporate event ideas. I’ll also include some specifics about programs that I’m fond of. How To Find What You’re Looking… Read more »

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Group Music Activities That Drive Results and ROI

Corporate Events

  Are group music activities worthwhile for business groups or teams? If I say yes, can I prove it? These are questions I’m sometimes asked by potential clients who want to focus on ROI when considering a music team building activity. I think that bringing music to your work team is a must. Group music activities are worthwhile and they do yield ROI. You may have to re-frame your concept of return just a bit. And I’ll help you do that after we talk about the reasons musical programs are so valuable for corporate groups. Music Activities Hit Home Think of the wonderful cliches we use everyday that revolve around music. Need a ‘tune-up’, working in ‘harmony’, not the same ole ‘song’ and dance…. Read more »

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Great Icebreakers for Large Groups

Corporate Events

I don’t often like icebreakers for large groups. It’s really hard to find fun and effective activities that work with lots of people. In fact, I’d never thought much about trying to develop an effective large group session until a client asked me what I could do for a group of 1,700 people in about 45 minutes. That’s a really big group and the request was daunting. But I was intrigued. It seems there’s a real demand for compelling conference icebreakers and activities that can be scaled up for lots of participants. My Successful Musical Icebreaker I’m going to speak first from personal experience and offer broad advice along the way that you can use. I think the following story of how I created a cool… Read more »

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Create a Conference Breakout that Wins Over the Audience

Corporate Events

  The image above is from a real conference breakout session. Notice the leader is not stuck in front of the room. She’s asking a question, smiling and looking at the audience. These people are not bored. As an introverted creative type, I’m partial to breakout sessions because I stay focused better in smaller breakouts as compared to the large conference sessions that include everyone. In a conference breakout there’s opportunity to focus on specific topics and to allow for in depth discussion with lots of interaction. With that great potential, you have responsibility as someone planning a session to find interesting topics, great facilitators and entertaining subject matter experts who will engage your attendees. Don’t make the mistake of thinking… Read more »

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Why a Musical Keynote Speaker Brings Both Creativity and ROI

Corporate Events

There are several great reasons to choose a musical keynote when you’re planning a conference. Musical keynotes are entertaining. They bring energy and positive emotion to a conference. A musical presentation also makes a great statement – that this won’t be the same old boring conference. Additionally, a successful musical speaker will bring value through a relevant message and takeaways. Here is a real-world example of why this is the case: A few years back I appeared as a keynote speaker at an aerospace company’s annual meeting. This was the first time they’d ever hired a speaker who wasn’t in their industry. While I certainly wasn’t able to talk about technical matters related to this company’s work, I was able to provide content that motivated… Read more »

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Why a Musical Speaker Can Make Any Corporate Event Better

Corporate Events

Can a musical speaker make a corporate event better? Yes, definitely. Is using music just fluff, a non-important add on? No, definitely not. Those are two strong statements. And I’m making them with the hope that you’ll read on to learn the how’s and why’s of music’s role in reaching and holding an audience. What Is A Musical Speaker? A speaker who is focused on music is more than just a performer. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a great musical performer at a corporate event. But a speaker brings something extra. He or she will deliver compelling content; a message with a beginning, middle and end. When music is the medium used to deliver a message, it’s powerful, emotional and engaging because music is powerful, emotional and engaging…. Read more »

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Finding a Conference Keynote Speaker Who Won’t Put You To Sleep

Corporate Events

I snuck in the back of a ballroom to hear a conference keynote speaker yesterday and noticed that most of the people in the room were restless. Those who weren’t restless seemed to be focused on their smart phones, rather than the speaker. I was at the conference getting ready to lead an interactive song session and even my client, who had hired the speaker, was complaining about the yawns in the room. I asked my client why she’d hired this particular speaker. She told me that the speaker had expertise and that the speakers’s topic was relevant to the content of the conference. My client learned the hard way that you shouldn’t hire a conference keynote speaker based solely on subject matter expertise. When… Read more »

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