Networking Speaker Sarah Michel Joins Brad Live for his Podcast

Professional speaker, Master of Ceremonies / Emcee and consultant for meeting planners Sarah Michel joins me for today’s podcast.  And dang…it was a good one. 

I’ve known Sarah for years.  Many years.  Together with a handful of motivational speakers we were in a very successful mastermind group for 16 or 17 years.  The mastermind group, including Sarah, fundamentally improved my business in very profound ways.  As it turned out, this podcast turned out to be more of the same — Sarah dishing some great insights for the speaking world. 

We started talking about Sarah starting as a networking speaker.  She taught networking skills at meetings and conferences in a way that helps creating a welcoming environment at a conference or meeting.  As she said, “Nothing is more lonely than walking into a room with a thousand people in it, seeing a few other people laugh and hug, and feeling totally disconnected.”    

But very quickly we got off track of all my prepared questions and started talking about the meeting and convention industry — and speakers in particular — especially in the world that includes COVID. 

Sarah is very optimistic.  Yay us!   She thinks that yes, meeting planners are freaking out a bunch about the uncertainty of the Delta Variant.   Yes we are going to have to make changes.  Yes it’s a headache and is scary.  But we can move, pivot, and still create exceptional value for our sponsors and our attendees.  

We can make it safe, we can make it hybrid, and we can make it valuable.  

Sarah recommends that speakers like me (motivational keynote speakers) need to make sure our clients know we are not only willing to go virtual, but we are experienced with the digital content production, as virtual speakers or virtual emcees we have resources, ideas, and skills to help rock a virtual meeting.  In other words, we speaker can be a huge asset for our meeting planners.  

We talked about so many things about professional speaker, and the meeting and convention industry, but allow me to give you a few highlights. 

Hybrid Events are going to have to morph.  We haven’t totally figured it out yet.  For example, the thought that we would host a normal, pre-covid meeting and just try to live stream it out to the virtual attendees is a lousy plan.  It’s way too expensive.

Some of the fixes are easy. Sarah suggest, for example, that just filming the in-person meeting (which is way more affordable) and then host those videos behind a firewall for the virtual attendees.

As speakers, one way we can be of service, is to do the live, in-person event.  Allow the client to film us, and they agree to come back for the scheduled replay, and even do a live Q and A.   Wow.  Great idea Sarah.  

You really need to hear the whole interview if:

•  You are interested in the future of the meeting and convention industry.

• You are a motivational speaker or meeting planner.

• You want to hear two very close friends share some laughs.

Sarah Michel — of Velvet Chainsaw — you’re a rock star.  Thanks for joining me!