Elevate 47: The Craft of Conference Chairing - Niall Gavin, Helen Palmer & Anit Mahay

Speaker A: Welcome to this Learning Uncut Elevate episode where Michelle Parry Slater explores a topic, skill or resource to help you elevate your practice and impact as a learning professional.

Speaker B: Welcome to this episode of Learning Uncut. It is an elevate episode. We're on to, uh, thinking about conferences. We're heading into conference season and as a result, I wanted to really have the opportunity to showcase some of the great work that is going on. One of the best conferences, I believe, in the world, which is the Learning Technologies Conference. But as ever, we will begin with our acknowledgement of country, something that's very important to us here at Learning Uncut. In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community, in particularly to the lands where I am today, the Combermeri people's lands. We pay our respects to their elders, past and present, and we extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples present today. Now, at the risk of alienating many of the wonderful conferences that go around the world, the reason I believe that Learning Technologies Conference is one of the best is because of the chairs. And that's who we've got as our guests today. We've all been to conference events and, um, you know, up pops the announcer, an introducer, a person who just lets the audience know who is about to speak. And sometimes they'll just say a welcome, sometimes they'll give a little bit of history about the person, sometimes they'll just start the clapping and walk off the stage. It's not really good enough in my eyes. And that's why I wanted to showcase what goes on at Learning Technologies. It shouldn't just be an easy gig. It shouldn't just be clap at the beginning, ask a few questions at the end, and clap at the end alongside, uh, the. Thanks. Now, I've chaired, uh, at Learning Technologies for a long time, although obviously not for the years that I've been living in Australia. And I can assure you it's not how it goes down at that event. So today, in this special Elevate episode, sharing best practice on how to chair an event. And more importantly, why does it matter? There's more to this episode than just quelling my fomo for I do have FOMO for being on the other side of the world from this wonderful event. Um, but this is going to be a masterclass in how all events need to use the role of the chair as the voice of the audience, the elevator for the speaker and the facilitator of the room. So, today we are joined by Neil Gavin, by Helen Palmer, and Anit Mahay, all chairs for the 2020 Learning Technologies Conference. Neil, would you like to open and just tell us a little bit about yourself?

Speaker C: Hi. Hello. Thank you. Thanks, Michel. Uh, I'm Neil Gavin. I've been in learning and development now for over 35 years. I, um, think going stretching back to when Windows was announced. Um, so, uh, in that time I've been a trainer, I've been a training manager. I've worked in, uh, all the different sectors. Um, at one point I managed to even get an award for Training Manager of the Year, way back in the dim, distant past. Um, I'm at the portfolio stage of my career now. Um, so I've got fingers in various pies. I do some accreditation work, I have my own mentoring business. And, uh, I'm also doing exam invigilating for local schools. So I managed to stay busy even at this stage.

Speaker B: Thank you, Neil. Anit, how about for you?

Speaker D: Oh, yeah. Thanks, Michelle. And thank you for having me. Um, so, yeah. Hi, guys. I'm Anit. I'm actually a learning device manager. I've got a history education for over 10 years and I've been in L and D for around two to three years now.

Speaker B: Wonderful. Thank you, Helen. How about for you a winner, I would just like to note, of one of the Learning Technologies Awards, because also who judged the awards and yours was such a deserving win, I have to say.

Speaker A: Thank you, Michelle. Um, yeah, I was going to hide that bit. Good morning. My name is Helen Palmer. I'm a Learning Network director. The Learning Network is a community interest group, a nonprofit in the UK and we have about 500 members, L& D people from all over. So if any of you are interested, you can also join virtually. Come and join us. We really look after people and help people get into L and D and offer lots of support once you're there. And I have a long corporate career in banking in Switzerland, uh, running the E Learnings for Big bank, and currently in between jobs. But I am delighted to be at the conference this year.

Speaker B: So that's wonderful, wonderful. Excellent. Don't hide your light under a bushel because that was a very deserving award. Now, we're here to talk about chairs, not awards. And, uh, I'm just curious, how did you all get involved with being a learning tech chair? What was the call? What was the draw to do that? Helen, do you want to kick us off?

Speaker A: Yeah, sure.

Speaker B: Because you're a new chair.

Speaker A: Hey, I am a very new chair. I'm a newbie. I'm going to learn from these two gentlemen. Um, so I've been going to the L and T conference since moving into the eLearning space in 2015. So I was lucky enough to attend a few times as a, as a conference attendee. I've been on the social media team for the last two years, so 24 and 25, which has been fantastic. I, um, really enjoy blogging and writing and so that was a perfect fit. Really seeing a little bit behind the scenes as to how you sort of research the session before the session and how you can really add value to everybody that's not physically at the conference, um, but maybe sort of following online. Um, and last year, in a, in an act of bravery, I asked if I could be considered to become a chair this year. I thought that was a natural progression and I'm delighted to be on the team. So I'm, I'm very curious. I would also say that a few years back in the summer forum, when it was still live, I had Sheena as my chair. And I really remember being more nervous than I planned and Sheena just being wonderful and just really calming me down and taking some photos and actually hurting the audience and really setting me up for success. So if I can sort of be a bit like Sheena and help my, my speaker, then I think I'll have done a good job.

Speaker B: So, um, who you're talking about there? Sheena Wyatt, who is the chair of the chairs.

Speaker A: The chair of the chairs, yes. Thank you. Yes.

Speaker B: So this is how seriously learning technologies take it. We don't just have chairs, we've got chair of the chairs. Of course, there's lots of support for the group of chairs. So, Anit, you've been doing this for a couple years. Do you want to talk to us a little bit about how did you get involved in the first place?

Speaker D: Yeah, of course. So like I mentioned earlier, so I had a background education and at the time, my career, when I was looking to migrate of, um, education to L. D like most of us, I googled kind of what the best places were to research what conference I could attend. Just learn more about the industry and the corporate side of things. And then obviously I came across their technologies and for a few months I was kind of like finding their website, their pages on LinkedIn, just learn more about things like that. Um, and then I just thought I'd reach out to see if there's any kind of, um, help that I could provide any Event just to learn more about the industry and the trends, to fill me with the knowledge as I entered the LND space and I was really pleasantly surprised that, you know, Don kind of email me, emailed me back on the same day and kind of explained to me what things they do, um, explain to you about learning technologies and said to me, if you, if you're really interested, um, here you can like basically have a route, become a chair. And then I kind of followed that route. I kind of explained my background. I think Don picked up that I've got a thirst for knowledge, um, to learn more about the industry. And it kind of snowballed from there. But when I was researching it, like you said earlier, Michelle, you could really tell it was kind of set apart from everyone else. It was kind of really professional, really kind of knowledgeable. The content that you get and the support. I just kind of had that gut feeling straight away that if I led this instinct to follow, um, the learning about the industry, I knew this would be the place. So I've got a lot to thank Sheena Don for because they kind of really helped me when I first started and it's just noble from there. And it's gone from strength to strength every year.

Speaker B: Okay, so you're just mentioning Don there. That's Don Taylor, friend of the Learning Uncut podcast and also, uh, chair overall of the whole conference. So he always opens and has his lovely walk on music, um, but is actually just like you've described anit somebody who, for the industry is a massive mentor and does a lot behind the scenes, a lot more than anyone perhaps realizes. So big love out to Don Taylor for, um, bringing you in and uh, for all that he does for us as an industry. Thank you. Okay, well, Neil, you've been sharing for some years. Um, talk to us a little bit, if you remember, about how you got involved, but also talk to us a little bit about why. Because you're all volunteers, you're not getting paid to be there, you're giving up your time to be there. So why do that year on year,

Speaker C: Neil, I guess it goes back to the length of time I've been in the business, the length of time I've spent at conferences and events like that. Um, and your point is well made about there are good, better and best, um, approaches to it. Um, my recollection is that Don approached me directly because we were networked through things like Twitter and LD Insight and fora like that. I had spoken at some conferences. I don't think I ever spoke at learning technologies, um, but having built the relationships with a lot of people that were involved in learning technologies, um, when Don asked me if I'd be interested in sharing, I thought, yeah, it's a good use of my time. It's a good use of my, um, knowledge, skills and experience to try and help the conference event come alive for an audience. Um, and there's a huge responsibility in that. So having not screwed up the first time I did it, um, I've been invited back several times since then. Um, I just think it keeps me in touch. Um, and it's certainly at this stage of my career now. Uh, it's kind of me giving back as well. So I think there's every good reason for doing it.

Speaker B: It's lovely to hear that from a volunteering perspective, giving back is a real serious, um, reason to volunteer. Anit, you described how much you're learning as a result of your volunteering. Helen, you're volunteering for the first time. You explained how you kind of, it feels like a natural progression from that social, which is another aspect of learning technologies that a lot of other conferences don't do. Why not stay in the social team? Why volunteer as a chair? What's that doing for you?

Speaker A: Yeah, great question. Um, I really like facilitating and I like meeting people and I like trying to figure out what's the right sort of, um, process and flow. So really working with the speaker. My, uh, speaker is Kelsey Katz. She's going to be talking about, um, fun and play within learning, which is completely in my ballpark. I love it. But really sort of working with them to figure out and to think about the, the end user. So the people that have paid money and taken time to sit in that particular session and to really think about what makes a good, good experience for them. It's not just sitting there and listening. It's what are you going to take away from that session? And actually, I think you mentioned before, you know, it should just look like we open and close and just keep everything beautifully together. But actually the sort of the support that you can person and that confidence that actually there's a second pair of eyes looking at your content. There's a second person going, yeah, that would work. Maybe we do it slightly differently here. And actually just two people, or in the case of the panels, more people just really figuring out what's the best way for those people to have that 75 minutes. Because I know I've sat in other conferences where it hasn't been as, perhaps as productive and really making sure People go away with, this is what I've got, I'm taking with me and hopefully, and this is what I'm going to do differently. As Don says, when you're back at your desk and it's Monday morning and you've got, you know, 20 to do's that have piled up or whatever. So, yeah, that's really why I thought actually if I can try doing this, I think this would be a really interesting different step to take. So, yeah, let's see. Um, I'm curious, you've started to talk

Speaker B: there about what is the actual role of the chair and the difference between chairing at Learning Technologies perhaps compared to some of the other events. And that really does start before the event. That's not even, you know, you're not talking about turning up on the day and rocking up and doing the intros. So talk to us a little bit more about this preparation piece, getting the speaker organized. You just then, uh, mentioned Helen about looking at their material beforehand. So the getting the speaker organized is not sort of just in the room on the day, making sure they've got a microphone, making sure they turn up. Um, you know, let's go right back. We're what, two weeks out, four weeks out, six weeks out. How far in advance, Neil, are we getting in touch?

Speaker C: It's about two months actually, from initially being invited, uh, to participate and take on the role, um, that gets your stick in the sand that you know when the conference date is and there's a series of actions that need to happen. There's a series of interactions that need to happen, um, between the organizers, between the chairs, uh, and the speakers, uh, and the chair really has a role to kind of shepherd the speaker through that timeline, um, and be there to support them in the preparation. You get different speakers with different levels of experience, um, uh, some who are very confident and don't need a lot of hand holding and others that may need a little bit of gentling, gentle handling along the way. Um, we're given, if you like, a timetable by which we need to support the speakers in preparing their materials, the substance of their talk, um, and that we will, on behalf of the speaker, the organizers and the conference, we will, uh, sort of sanity check the material, make sure that it's heading in the right direction, that it's inclusive for the audience, um, and just gently maneuver them through that process. So the next deadline would be first draft of your slide deck and in intention of your speech, um, some discussion around that. Then there would be close, very closer, about a Week, two weeks before the actual event, submit your final deck. Um, you can tweak in the background, um, even between them. And actually on the day, as long as everybody's clear by then what the shape and look and feel of your talk is going to be about, we're just there to kind of handhold people, uh, up to that point, uh, and then we do the easy bit, uh, on the day, which is turn up and say hello and who this is and get out the way.

Speaker B: I'm going to stop you right there. You use the word just. This is not a just job. There's a lot to be, uh, a lot that you're doing there that perhaps doesn't take place in other events. So Anit, come to us about why do we care? Like, why are we reviewing the slides for best practice? Why are we trying to make sure that they're being inclusive? Who are you sort of representing when you're having those conversations with your speakers?

Speaker D: That's an excellent point. I think I'll start by going back to kind of a journey that you talked about before I go into the question. I think when I started at, uh, Learn Technologies, I think as L and D professionals, we kind of, you know, we great, you know, collaborators, we champion certain campaigns in the workplace. You know, we work with varying teams. I think there's one place that's kind of a portfolio of proof that actually works is Learning Technologies and the journey of chairing. So all that kind of leadership you do at the start really has a massive impact, and it's kind of really proof, actually can work in any company. Because I think it's like the pinnacle really, of, you know, meeting the speaker, uh, building that rapport. All the things that we, you know, do day to day in our job, it's kind of a place where it shows where things work, if that makes sense. So, like Neil was saying, you meet them, you build that rapport, you go through the slides with them. But I think what for me is really important, that there's a real ethos in their technology. So whatever speaker that I, you know, first initially meet, they kind of want to know what's new, how they should deliver the training session. So they're really keen for, you know, the chairs to kind of impart that wisdom of, you know, what have you learned last year when you chaired? And I think, again, it comes from Don and Sheena. They really set the precedent that we're the leader in the room and you really get to have that feel when you initially meet with the speaker. So the roles are really clear. So you kind of, really kind of help each kind of milestone that happens, if that makes sense.

Speaker B: The, um, I remember when I was chairing and my speakers like, oh, I've spoken millions of times, times before. They're almost the worst type because, yeah, you might have speak a million times before, but not in this way, which is very, very deliberate. And we want to make sure that your slides are part of the overarching conference theme. And we want to make sure that your, um, approach is audience first and inclusive and all of these things that, like you say, Don and Sheena encourage us to do so as you've described there. It is very interesting, isn't it, that you are, to use your words, the leader in the room. Now, Helen, how does that feel for the first time? Particularly if you have got somebody who is, uh, you know, I've done this before. What do you know? You're the first time chair.

Speaker A: I'm scared now.

Speaker D: No,

Speaker A: exactly. I think it's about.

Speaker B: I know you've got support. Talk to me about the support that you have.

Speaker A: The chairs have a WhatsApp group. So we were talking before the recording started about, you know, the questions that come into the group and people sort of giving you sort of tips and tricks, uh, tips and hints. I think being the leader in the room also means that you're not necessarily the loudest or the most vocal. I think you can lead from a position of supporting that person. So I think it's actually about helping them have their best session and also actually sort of giving them what they need so they feel really confident because it's not you standing there, you know, leading it for 75 minutes. You're just helping them to do that. I, I referenced Sheena, uh, chairing me, uh, several years back. And I remember this is a very practical example. I had been told my session was going to be quite small and the room was for 40 people. And as a, as a trainer, I know what a 40 people room looks like and I know how to handle a 40 people room. And I turn up on the day and Don says, oh, yeah, loads of people wanted to come to your session. We've put you in the big room, it's 150. And I freaked out. I'm like, I can't see the back of the room. There's a different weather system at the back of the room. And Sheena's like, don't panic. And she literally stood halfway in the room and wouldn't let anybody sit behind a, uh, point so she made sure that everybody was, like, at the first half of the room. And I made sure that I had a few people that I knew sitting on the front row. So I think audience management like that, where you can help your speaker go, you can absolutely do this. Look, there's some people that, you know at the front. You can see everybody. There's nobody lurking at the back. And just that sort of very practical hand holding, doing what you need to do so that the speaker could concentrate on having two minutes to breathe before you sort of actually go out on stage. I think I've moved away from the question, but I think it's, uh, that practical sort of leading from behind that allows the speaker to actually, you know, do their best, their. Their best thing on stage for the users, for the. For the conference delegates.

Speaker B: I totally agree. And I think as a speaker that it's a challenge when you don't have that support and you're just left to kind of manage those changes in the moment. So that is a lovely story that you've shared. Sorry, Anita, I cut across. You go ahead.

Speaker D: No, no, I was going to say Helen, to kind of really, um, prepare you for it. I think you'd be great at it anyway. But I think, um, that Michelle asked earlier about the support, and there's a real sense of community within the chairs before you start. I mean, when I did my first session, you kind of really primed for all the nuances that happen. So, for example, when you're leading that, you know, session in a big room, you kind of. I. The first time I did it, I kind of didn't think I would. But you kind of know when key things are landing with the audience. And because you've prepped that, you know, speak in advance, you. You've seen the slides, you've spoken to them, you've engaged with the community of chairs. You'll pick up on those little bits throughout the session where, you know, things are landing. You know, if you need to do, you know, redirect the speaker or let them know that to go a different angle, you kind of naturally pick that up from that strong sense of community beforehand.

Speaker B: Cool.

Speaker A: Beautiful. Neil.

Speaker C: I, uh, just think that the. What word really should be as a chair, that it's not about you? Um, we are there to serve the speaker and critically, the audience. These people have paid a lot of money to be there, and, um, they don't want to listen to 10 minutes of what your career has been to get you to that point. Um, to be honest, they're not really interested in the chair, they're interested in the session and the speaker. So we've got to bear that in mind and we've got to keep everybody focused on that being the best positive outcome for both of them for the speaker, uh, or speakers and for the audience themselves.

Speaker B: So you're actually doing that on behalf of the speaker. So the speaker doesn't need to worry about the audience. The speaker doesn't need to worry about that overarching theme of the event. The speaker doesn't need to worry about that room management. They're there to be their best self and helping them showcase in that way. I mean what are you doing practically? We've heard from Helen in that particular example. Um, but you've talked a lot about being the audience or being the voice of the audience. Can anyone share with us, you know, what does that practically look like on the day? How are you being there for the audience?

Speaker C: I think that's that it revolves around accepting, inviting comment, not comments, but inviting questions, um, and then managing how they are responded to so that nobody's um, ambushing the speaker. The commentary, the questions are respectful, they're relevant. Um, and you don't allow the time to run away with that. You need to have agreed what you're going to do with regards to that with your speaker in advance. You know, do they want to take questions during their session? Do they want to ah, take questions at the end of the session? Are they prepared to stick around after their session's finished to ah, have a one to one conversations with people? Um, because these are the kind of things that can really throw a speaker. So having those conversations with them in advance about how we're going to handle that and it is a joint effort, um, you don't want them running off uh, with another story because somebody's asked something that wasn't relevant, it's not relevant to the rest of the audience. So you're kind of, you're on parade all the time in as much as you're um, paying attention, uh, and keeping it moving within the timescale and in the right direction.

Speaker B: Thanks Neil. Anita, have you got anything to add on that? How are you bringing that voice of the audience?

Speaker D: I think for me, what I learned when I first did it is uh, being relational with the audience. So you kind of, they see that you're part of the audience too. So when they came in, um, I kind of greeted them, had a bit of dialogue with them, just kind of build rapport instantly. So I think for me, number one it was kind of present myself as relational that, you know, we're on the same industry. So one is being relational. Then two, if I needed to, it's kind of really reinforce any knowledge or things that had landed in the session to. If I needed to redirect. For example, like Neil was saying earlier, if you go digest off topic. So for me it was just kind of A, being relational and then B, trying to reinforce any key knowledge in the session. So it was kind of, it felt, felt the energy felt really productive and um, positive.

Speaker B: That's wonderful. Helen. I could ask you the question, but you've still to experience on the day.

Speaker A: I have, but I'm making notes. Thank you both. Yeah, I think that question handling is going to be the. The key one and sort of having a plan and, and also having citing conferences where people ask a question which isn't actually a question, it's their commentary on what they've heard. So, um, I don't know. Neil, Anna, any tips for sort of beautifully and gently redirecting a questioner who seems to be going off maybe track a little bit? How do we. How do we help people ask good questions, I guess is my question.

Speaker C: There's. There's two things about that. One is the audience will recognize what's happening there straight away as well. So they're on your side. Um, so it's okay to kind of gently steal the opinion innated.

Speaker A: Is there a question?

Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Um, and that's an interesting point. Perhaps we could pick that up in the Q and A at the end or, you know, um, things like that. People know what they're doing in that respect. Uh, so yeah, uh, it behooves us to be a firm hand in that respect and you will be appreciated for doing that.

Speaker A: I think you're right.

Speaker B: Nobody bears it when, when that question or that comment. Oh, sorry, go ahead, Anita.

Speaker D: Uh, I was going to say the same thing. You was kind of anxious that that kind of crops up in the session. I think in my first session that never really happened, but I think myself and the speaker had primed if that did happen, what we would do. So we just said we would kind of of thank the person for sharing their idea, then kind of pick out one thing that they said that links to the presentation and then kind of like redirect it back to that and then just say, you know, the speaker's happy to speak to anyone at the end and kind of move that flow forward that way.

Speaker B: Yeah, it's a brilliant tip. It's a really Good tip, Helen. So write that one down. Let's go with that. Because you're right, sometimes people just take up space asking a very personal question that has got nothing to do with the wider audience. And it's the job of the chair then to be that, uh, voice. Because to your point, Neil, the audience know, the audience just kind of inwardly groan when somebody says, oh, in my organization. And off they go with a, uh, very specific thing. So this is the value of having the chair in so many events. The chair's role is to do the introduction. You haven't even talked about the introductions. Do you not do the introductions? Uh, it's just that the role is so much bigger. It feels like a small thing. But picking up the speaker in a generous but very honest intro. Is that part of the process? How do you write that? How do you go about sort of doing the intro? Who wants to kick us off? Helen, I'm sure you've probably actually had that conversation with your speaker already, have you?

Speaker A: Um, to be fair, not yet. We've had one conversation, um, a very high level. And we're reconvening, I think in two weeks time. But yeah, I will, I'll probably ask her for, does she have textures she normally uses. But what I'm planning to do is to sort of change that, uh, slightly and maybe talk about having already talked with her behind the scenes or bring something in a bit more personal and try and link it it back into the session and sort of give them a nice springboard. That's my plan, but I'd love to hear again and Neil, what your, what your tips are, because I'm sure there's different ways of handling that introduction.

Speaker D: I think for me it was when I initially spoke to the speaker. We kind of co create it together. So I kind of asked what would you like me to, if anything, you'd like me to say about your experience, your portfolio, that's kind of going to re. Highlight what you're going to be discussing today. Um, and then I kind of wrote a brief introduction and then on the day I kind of went through with it with them again, just so they're really happy for that. Um, and I've always tried to keep it really light and fun and kind of warm because it really sets the tone of your interaction with the audience. So doing it that way, when they come on stage, you kind of feel, oh, there's a nice kind of transition. Um, so to summarize, co create it with the speaker, um, fun things by them. So they're happy with it. Um, and then what I found really useful is letting your audience know what they're going to gain from that session. I think you know, as part of the LTD chair kind of pack that we get, you get a really good kind of piece of advice, um, and things to do so you know, state you know, kind of three takeaways that you'll get today. So you're kind of really prepped to the chair of that guidance from the packet we get from kind of Darren Sheen beforehand. So it's really useful to make sure you've read, you've read that um, you've got to use it as a guide to help you navigate that kind of introduction and the conclusion towards the end.

Speaker C: I, I have a, um, an intent to treat everybody as a grown up. Um, and people have come to this session. Um, it's rare that people have come to a session and they don't know anything about it. Um, they're there for a reason. They're there because they've read the conference program, they've read the speaker's bio, um, so they know what it is that they're coming to hear about. So um, I don't tend to spend a great deal of time in the introduction. Um, but uh, again to, to your point, uh, we will have had a conversation about how uh, how they would like to us to finesse that initial bit of the conversation before I get out the way. Um, but uh, again I don't feel it's something that I need to be heavily involved in. Um, it's more about setting the scene, uh, setting the tone and then get out the way. So you know, if you're in the room then you've probably at uh, least understood what the topic's going to be about. Thank you.

Speaker B: So the introduction piece does happen. Oh, sorry Helen, go ahead.

Speaker A: I was just going to ask a follow up question to the both of you. Do either of you do any sort of management of expectations in terms of the speaker's going to talk like this? We're going to have questions at the end or we're going to have questions in the middle. Do you do any of that uh, logistic handling or do you leave it up to the speaker as to whether they want to handle that uh, at the start? Because I can see pros and cons to sort of putting it in with the introduction and setting the scene and being really clear about how things are going to run. But I can also see that it could also work with the speaker handling that. I don't know whether you've got any thoughts.

Speaker C: Well, certainly I will have had that conversation with the speaker, uh, about what they want. And I think on that basis it's important to share that with the audience in advance. You know, you can ask people to. One of the tricks that um, Sheena and Dawn uh, have given us as chairs is invite people to write a question down. Um, if something occurs then write it down about and we'll look at it uh, in the Q and A at the end. Um, equally they are happy to take questions. And I've had um, a panel with two or three speakers where we've agreed that um, at the end of each speaker's if you like section, uh, they're happy to take a couple of questions then, uh, but again emphasizing just a couple of questions so the next speaker can get on and then we'll do a mop up at the end but share that with everybody in advance. So it just manages um, the chaos.

Speaker B: I wanted to check on you about that with panels because we've kind of been talking in the assumption that it's one chair and one speaker. But I know that at ah, Learning Technologies and many other events there's lots of different options. And Anit, you already mentioned about the Summer forum. I think it was you that said that or the Autumn forum. So some of this is online as well. Do you think that the role of chair changes if you are chairing a panel or if you're sharing in an online space?

Speaker D: Anit, I think definitely, um, doing it um, in face to face I found actually was much more nervous doing it in the Autumn forum online because I feel like with this speaker, you had met with them my last week, had a really good engaging interaction point throughout. So we knew exactly how to steer the group. But I think when it was virtually for the Autumn forum, I had to make sure I found my role more was definitely um, that gear, you know, kind of like navigating the whole interaction because you have the speaker speaking on screen, but in the chat you have all the questions that are being asked more the audience. And because it's a global scale I felt I. My tone, I naturally fell into very, very conversational tone. So whenever the speaker was speaking on screen I tried to put in the chat box. How do we feel about this? Has anyone tried this? So you know, they were generating a lot of interaction through the chat. So I knew that it wasn't just someone, the speaker speaking on screen. They were guided through that. Um, and again there's a whole setup. So Preparation is key. Um, you kind of, you know, get meet with the speaker and you have a platform where you can engage with the audience. And you have a platform, you engage with the speaker. So you kind of got a dual role there. So you've kind of interacting with the audience on one side of your screen. Then I was kind of privately messaging the speaker to let them know, oh, for example, in my session we're talking about AI and co pilot, for example. And I tried to then, you know, tipped up the initiative, asking the chat who's engaged within the audience. So as people responding what their experiences were, I could let their speaker know. So when the speaker was speaking, they could constantly relate to the live audience. Oh, I'm hearing that some of you are already engaging with this. That's great. So the content that they are presenting became more alive, if that makes sense, because we were kind of discussing lived experience at the same time. So to answer your question is definitely different skills that you have to navigate around.

Speaker B: Yeah, it's one of the reasons I love Live Online. And probably, if I'm truthful, I like Live Online more than I like in person because everyone can talk at the same time. And so to have that conversation that's going alongside the actual event now, for some people, that feels overwhelming. Um, but I just love that busyness of it. So it's wonderful that you described that.

Speaker D: I loved it to your point.

Speaker B: It's organized. You have to be organized. It doesn't happen kind of by accident. Similarly then with panels. Neil, have you chaired panels before? Does that work differently?

Speaker C: Yeah, uh, in, in my previous, um, lives as a, as a conference attendee, I've never really liked panels because I, um, I just didn't feel that, you know, it just kind of went down the line and then we went. The next thing came up and then it went down the line again. Um, what I tried to do when I, When I've got panels, and generally there's only maximum of two or three in my experience. Experience, um, um, the audience interaction, uh, we all remember, huh, the beauty of Twitter, uh, and I would actually invite people to post a question on Twitter using the hashtag of the session so that I would get the questions, um, so I could stack up some questions, um, and then I could, with having agreed with the speakers that there may be some questions that come in, be prepared for me to come in with a question at that point. But rather than, uh, again, a whole people putting their hands up and waving, it just m. Managed the input a little. And I think um, to Helen's point about the um, the social media team, because I know Fiona and the team are going to be using uh, Blue sky, uh, for, for learning tech this year, so encouraging people to put a question into Bluesky, um, that the speaker could pick up there. It may be something that um, the, the, the chairs wanted to think about with their, with their speaker. Um, but it's something we've done in the past. Ah, and I find that quite useful in just kind of dropping stuff into the panel discussion.

Speaker B: That's a big shout out there to Fiona McBride who is responsible for the social crew. And that social crew is um, essentially attending all of the different events, all of the different presentations and then covering that into the public domain for anyone who hasn't got the option to attend. So that's my feed for learning technologies. I scour it, uh, and I'm grateful for it, but thanks very much for the commentary. So I'm just curious. I don't want to alienate all of the other events because other events are wonderful and they do great things in other events. I know for example that um, for the CIPD events they have a stream where everyone can put questions in. So you do feel part of the audience straight away. Um, and there are many other good techniques that conferences have. Now I'm not saying that just to kind of recoup ground because I've declared my interest in learning tech being a great one. But we are here to talk about what makes a, ah, great event through chairing. So what advice do you have for other events that perhaps don't really utilize the value of the chair? They perhaps just use the chair as the introducer. Um, you know, what is your advice to them? Why does it make a difference when you have proper chairing? Who'd like to open us up on that one?

Speaker D: I think from chairing and being at Learn Technologies and seeing other events, the one distinct, distinct thing that I would say is to approach it through like a professional visibility lens. I think I learned technology. There's a real professional, um, visibility as a chair. You're seen as a chair, um, people, even when you're sitting in waiting for um, the event to start. In a session at Lent Technologies you can see people already looking out for the chair first before the, for before the speaker. So my one advice would be get that professional visibility of chairs. They're seen as, you know, someone who's influential, they're seen as someone who's additive to this session. So that would be my kind of biggest advice initially. I Think.

Speaker A: Thank you.

Speaker B: How about for you, Neil?

Speaker C: I, uh, I think the realization that there's, there's two months worth of work to be done before you get the day, um, and the, you need to stay on it, you need to stay connected to your speakers, um, you need to feed into the conversation on the chair's, uh, WhatsApp, um, because we all have similar or, uh, new, in fact, issues, uh, for all sorts of different reasons. Um, so we need to keep that connection running, um, in, in the run up to it, make sure they hit the deadlines, make sure they hit the checkpoints, um, and be there to, uh, answer those kinds of questions that are going to come up. Um, that the intent is that when it comes to the day, they're going to do the best talk that they possibly could, um, and that the audience is going to have the best experience that they possibly could for that subject area and the learnings that they want to take away.

Speaker B: Wonderful. Helen, you've never done it before, but what advice do you have for people or for events that aren't making best use of that chair? I know that you mentioned earlier you're very heavily involved in the Learning Network, which is a wonderful and very cheap, ah, £29 a year. Um, very.

Speaker A: Thank you for the shout.

Speaker B: Very cheap, but it might cost not a lot of money, um, but you certainly get a hell of a lot of value for being a member of that community. So what could Learning Network, what could other events learn from learning technologies when it comes to making use, uh, of a proper chair?

Speaker A: Yeah. So our Learning Network conference is always in November and it's cheaper than the Learning Technologies one. It's for our members. It's funded in a different way, but it's a very friendly, much smaller conference. Uh, but people genuinely get something the same and different from it compared to learning technologies. And so the chairs that we have for the panels and the sessions are the Learning Network directors. So we've, you know, co created the conference, co chosen the speakers. But I still think we do a great job, I have to say, on our behalf. But I also think having had this experience, there's definitely things I'm going to take away back to my board and say, actually between ourselves, I think we can just tweak a little bit and just put some things into place. You know, we do always contact our speakers, but maybe we can just, you know, just shine up a little bit more and really give people the best experience. So, yeah, I'll definitely be taking notes and, and sort of thinking what I can take back to the board with me.

Speaker C: Wonderful.

Speaker B: There's certainly, for me as a chair and as me as a punter at conference events, something about the cohesion across the whole event and making sure that you've got that sense of, I'm attending something that feels connected. There's also that respect, and it's been mentioned a few times on this, on this podcast today about respecting the fact that people have paid money, um, and that money is well spent. Now, you are all volunteers, but yet you seem to get so much out of it. You've talked about the mentoring, you've talked about the support, you've talked about the professional lens anit that you were just mentioning there. You're sitting up there being seen with these speakers. So the volunteering aspect of it is also fulfilling as well. We need to wrap up this chairing masterclass. Um, it's certainly been useful to hear how learning technologies guarantee such a great event year after year after year. And I think it is this effort that you and all of the other chairs are putting in. So if you are organizing an event, these are very useful tips. But they're not just tips. They're actually an enablement for you to guarantee value for money for your audience. And so if you're attending events, why don't we demand more of our event organizers we're paying to be there. We should actually be more vocal about what it is that we want and what it is that we're getting. And of course, if you're speaking at an event event, you too should expect more of your chair. We've heard how the chair calms the nerves, how the chair deals with the room, how the chair deals with that person who's asking that question that's so irrelevant, it's really not worth the time. So as a speaker, we also need to demand more of our chairs. Is there anything to my guest today that has been left unsaid that you would like to finish on? And, um, something that you haven't talked about that you want to make sure is out there in the world.

Speaker A: So me just going out there and doing it, I'll come back to you and let you know afterwards. I'm very excited now, even more excited than I was before.

Speaker B: Lovely, Helen. How about for you, Neil?

Speaker C: I think maybe just a shout out, uh, on behalf of the chairs, to the organizers, to Don, to Sheena, um, and I guess maybe on behalf of the social media team as well. Um, we are valued by the organizers, and, uh, that actually matters because, you know, it builds team Spirit, it builds loyalty, it builds excitement and enthusiasm. You know, um, we're as well looked after as we are expected to look after the audience. And that's done to people like Doran. She, you know, um, and I think it's worth just acknowledging that it makes it, uh, uh, a more worthwhile experience for doing. And that's why we keep coming back to take on the, the role every year.

Speaker B: Lovely, thank you. Any final things that you haven't mentioned, Anit?

Speaker D: Um, not necessarily. I think I just want to echo what people have said. I think because we recognize and what we bring to the table is valued. Um, it's a real example of like, compassionate leadership in action. So I think that's why we keep back, because we know we learn a lot, we're valued, it's recognized, and it's a real, like you said, cohesive environment. I think, um, if anyone wants to kind of chair or be involved, I'd say just take the plunge and see what it brings.

Speaker A: Nice example of distributed leadership. As you were both talking, I was thinking, well, actually if the chairs weren't there, then all of these tasks or leadership would fall somehow to the conference organizer, which isn't realistic in such a big conference. But I think it shows us and our organizations and other people actually, how can you distribute leadership? How can you really give everybody, everybody a part to play, whether you're sitting in the audience, coming up with a good question, or whether you're the chair or whether you're the speaker? And I think it's a really lovely example of. Yeah. What we try to do in our day to day jobs and lives that, you know, we share that leadership and we share the responsibility.

Speaker B: What a beautiful insight with which to end. It is a, uh, gorgeous thing to say. Thank you very much. Thank you all for sharing your thoughts. Now, if you were undecided about attending learning technologies 2020 26, do not be. I'm sure Anit and Helen and Neil have encouraged you to meet them with them there you know, go. And of course, Michelle Ockers from the Learning Uncut podcast will also be speaking alongside the lovely Laura Overton. So these chairs work really hard for you. You've heard today how they want to bring your voice as the audience to the event and so make sure that you've got that quality experience. Do not hesitate to get your team tickets. Thank you so much, Helen. Thank you, Anit. And thank you, Neil.

Speaker A: Pleasure. Thanks for listening. Head to the LearningUncut Global website to access resources mentioned in this episode and more to help you elevate your practice and impact.