Why Real Time Video Interviews work for The Entertainers

"A picture is worth a thousand words" refers to the notion that a complex idea can be conveyed with just a single still image. Video makes it possible to absorb large amounts of data quickly, it offers massive value given that people in the Events industry and for that matter any industry are time poor.

Without going into how our minds receive information, it is obvious to most that we are not all speed readers, suffer info-glut, are bombarded with strings of information daily, reports, contracts, letters and so forth, invade our lives daily. Collectively, is it possible that we read more now than we ever have? Email, Facebook, Blogs, Ebook's , articles demand our attention if we are to survive in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Let's face it, there is a lot being written that just goes "via the cape",! Not because it is badly written, not because it offers no value, we are just too damn busy to invest the time to read everything that comes across our desks.

Speaker BIO's are a prime example. While a full page of facts and figures about where the Speaker is from, where he/she lives with his/her spouse and children, where he/she grew up, the odd funny line thrown in and other superfluous information may feel appropriate, it does little for some time poor soul looking for key facts.

Personally I feel that printed BIOs and pictures do not enhance any Speakers fortune. If ever a poor representation of talent was exhibited, it is an email with a bio and pic attached. 

Ask yourself, how on earth can anyone make an informed decision about something as complex as a Speakers capabilities reading a BIO. Very poorly would be my answer and due to the talent we have in Australia,  this outdated method of pitching is successful, may I say, thanks to the Speaker and not to lazy Bureau who used such an antiquated pitch.

That old worn out boot pops up again, "It's just the way we do things around hear".

The Real Time Video Series The Entertainers are creating is in it's embryonic stages. We are making lots of mistakes, we are working with inferior equipment, I am not the worlds greatest interviewer, we do not have a production team with lights camera action, no studio, no clap board.

There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come is an apt quote by Victor Hugo to describe the way forward for this format. While our interviewing capabilities are currently raw and basic and our production values are simplistic, our message is hitting it's mark. The interviews are time consuming but well worth the effort.

The feedback we have received has been more than encouraging from prospective and current clients and also from Speakers themselves. The information that we can extrude in a short period of time while offering refreshing and entertaining content is massive value. It gives our clients an accurate insight into the Speakers capabilities, personality and attitude. It enables people to make a much more informed decision, while giving the Speaker an opportunity to advertise their true capabilities and strengths.

We will continue to grow our video database improving on production values to create a rich and valuable repository of Speaker interviews.

While there are other aspects to the advantages I could talk about such as Speaker showreels, flashy commercials, SEO and other aspects of Speaker marketing, my belief is that there is nothing that compares to a naked video interview to get to the heart of any Speaker apart from meeting them in person.

Are Speakers a commodity?

Albert Einstein said "The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly." By way of example, when Galileo insisted that the sun, not the planet Earth, was the center of the universe, he was met with "violent opposition," despite his offering advanced "scientific proof" of his findings. 

I do not propose to compare myself in any way shape or form to both of the gentlemen discussed above. However my experience in the entertainment world, running my own production company, working with speakers bureaus, entertainment agencies, working for an exceptional motivational speaker and my research, has allowed me to form opinions and commentary on what I feel works, what is old hat, what is just plain silly and all the bits and pieces in between. Particularly when it comes to current practices regarding booking and working with keynote speakers.

Everyone has moments when something that is said in a given situation that you know is just not right. Mine is this tardy line "it's just the way we do things round here". This rings out in my ears, akin to a hangover from the good old days when a gallon of petrol cost more than a gallon of water. Times, they are a changing! Even if there is a better way of doing "it", any sense of reasonable alternative is cancelled out so we can get on with things as per normal and make hefty margins even if we do treat this noble art and those who practice such, akin to what we pull out of the ground at a mine.

While I am certain this lack of thought process is rife in most business practice, I would like to open discussion on how we engage with Speakers and the intrinsic value they bring to events and conferences. 

The sad truth is that Speakers are not treated with the respect they deserve in our industry. They are paid well for a reason although that is another story. There is seemingly an urgency for bureaus and agencies to get every Speaker possible onto the books, prop up the SEO, let the other Bureau's "read em and weep", get all the good ones as exclusives, ........ ad nauseam. Due to current attitudes and practices, underneath the veneer of social events and industry meetings, bookings and testimonials, very little real respect for the rich pool of Australian Speakers is evident from those who book them.  After all, without the Speakers, who allow us to profit from their efforts, there would be no bureau or agency.

A typical request from a client, be it a PCO or direct corporate client may state that they have a $4000 budget, they want a Speaker to deliver x,y,z., the budget is tight and they cannot spend another cent. At the same event with 1000 people in attendance, they will pay $30 per head for attendee's for coffee and nibbles (30k). While the later is customary, most necessary and an essential element of any event worth attending, apart from gaining an extra kilo, the value that it delivers is forgotten almost instantaneously. I do enjoy some of the delicious treats served up, however there seems to be no logical correlation between the cost and value each deliver.

A well placed professional speaker should deliver value long after the event has been bumped out, months, perhaps years. Could it be that old habits and current practices are a result of little or no education in this area? After all the Speaker is seldom booked by the person who is responsible for the outcomes of the engagement, the booking is made not by the buyer but by someone who has one thing in mind "budget"!

There are many reasons for this which may include client confidentiality, fear of loosing a client to the opposition, work overload for the person to which the objectives originated, lack of trust in an ultra competitive industry and many more

But hey........"It's just the way we do things". Speakers are not commodities and trying to put a fixed price on what they deliver is pure folly and a little lazy until process consultation has taken place. Not two weeks before the conference! Three months before the conference. Call on the speakers expertise to assist you in creating absolute value and ROI which is noticeable, real and authentic.