Conference Matters 143

SPEAKER

So, your rates are high. We’re expensive but also very good. Manage ment as a target group is a conscious choice. We want to make an impact and encourage new policy, which means we need to influence the decision-makers. To effect change, they need to lend their support. It’s also grown that way. When you’re working at that level, you often get new requests from the same types of people. People recommend speakers to each other. I’m now a bit older, and decision-makers regard me as an equal sparring partner, which helps. And our high rates reduce demand, giving us more time to provide tailor-made super lectures and do research on the specific questions that come up. You use a lot of humour in your presen tations, which seems to be a major pitfall, especially in mixed international company I use humour consciously, knowing that it’s based on science. Emotional responses such as laughing, crying and shock make people feel the message and remember it better. The content stays with them much longer. Most of my presentations are in the UK because my agent and mentor are based there. Many multinationals don’t want native English spea kers in the room for international meetings with diverse cultures because they talk too fast and their tongue-in-cheek humour often falls flat. The Dutch, Belgians and Scandinavians are the most in demand for culturally mixed groups. Everyone understands their English, and their humour works internationally. They are proba bly more internationally sensitive without even realising it. I’ve always struggled with making jokes in Asian countries, especially with an all-Asian audience. Their humour and body language are different, and Asians often require interpreters. By the way, it’s a lot easier when Asians are in an internatio

'Thanks to the influx of a new generation, organisers are now interested in addressing mental health'

nal setting. Then you have a kind of international multicultural dynamic, which helps the jokes land.

it works very well. There are several generations in the audience, so each group can identify with someone on stage. How do you select these speakers? I have encountered all this in practice. There are a few things I pay attention to. First, I look to see if someone is authentic, has charisma, is pleasant to look at and listen to, and is believa ble. Second, and perhaps most importantly, a speaker is on stage for the audience, not just for themselves. They need to radiate, ‘Here, I have a gift, all my knowledge and all my energy, for you.’ Third, a person must have an intrinsic interest in others, including the tech people and catering. I also think diversity is very important. This field mainly has white, middle-aged men on stage, so people who don’t look like me have an advantage. Do you also have a tip for organisers? Since the health crisis and with people working from home, I noticed that audiences have a grea ter need to talk to each other. Sometimes, I have to wave for more than half a minute before they stop talking during an exercise. At conferences, as much as possible is crammed into two days, which means people don’t have enough time to chat. And during the coffee break, people pick up their phones again to check their emails. It would be beneficial if organisers took more control and encouraged people to talk to each other. This starts by including more time for inter action in the programme. And before the coffee break, you can encourage participants to stay away from their phones and share their initial thoughts about the presentation.

Your website says that your presentations are interactive. How do you go about it? Behavioural science is also involved here. After no more than 20 minutes, you need to get the audience to participate. Most people can’t hold their attention any longer than that. I usually encourage people to talk to their neighbours about the topic. I get a lot of positive feedback on that. I often hear that it led to something, like a new idea or contact. I once had an assignment for a group of techni cians and had them discuss an IT topic and mental health. I had a decibel meter with me, and the conversations about mental health I measured were louder and more animated. I’m not a fan of raising hands because letting people stand and vote by sitting is more effec tive. I do this with three answer options instead of two, which is also backed by research. I also prefer not to use a voting app because people will again be on their phones. I only see added value in submitting questions because asking them out loud is too high a bar for many participants. You regularly do duo-presentations with younger, talented speakers who work at your company. What’s the added value of doing this? In the beginning, I worked alone and missed my colleagues. I could have hired a researcher or personal assistant, like many other speakers, but I thought it’d be nice to have a junior colleague who would also give lectures. It also gave me the opportunity to accept work from organisations that could not afford my services otherwise. We quickly realised that standing together on stage would be innovative for clients and fun for us. We’ve been doing this for years now, and

WHETSTON team

‘I’M TEARING UP AGAIN’ I once cried on stage.

That was six or seven years ago in Reykjavik. It was during my daughter’s birthday, so my wife and two children came along. When it was time for questions from the audience, the first person said, “We can’t ask questions before singing for your daughter’s birthday!” The moderator had mentioned it briefly when introducing me. Everyone stood up, and 400 people sang ‘Happy Birthday’ in Icelandic. As you can hear in my voice, I’m tearing up again.

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