3 Ways to Ease Virtual Anxiety..cause it’s real!
Covid-19 brought a complete and total halt to any and all live productions. From concerts to conventions, festivals, award shows…even birthday parties for crying out loud! (Which caused us all to stop and wonder why we’ve been blowing on that cake we all end up eating…).
While many areas of the live event world are waiting to get rolling again with new vaccines on deck, safety protocols and so on, some parts of the industry pivoted and the world of virtual events took on new life.Many live event production companies took a few weeks to 180 their teams and physical spaces into a fully functioning remote studio. Word travels fast and corporations grew tired of their own stale Teams and Zoom meetings and leaned into the experts to take these virtual events to a new level.
Many of the pieces are the same…pre-production, graphics, video rolls.. but the lack of physical presence becomes a challenge to navigate. There’s something about that quick check of a deck with the client over your shoulder, the ability to hand off a drive with content or to simply meet in the ballroom to see what the video will look like on screen. Most, if not all of that goes away in the virtual world. Which adds a level of anxiety for your client. The unknown..unclear..fear that something won’t be right. Here’s 3 important things I’ve learned so far that might help you on the next virtual show.
Over-Share..not just over-communicate.
You can over-communicate someone into oblivion, but when I say over-share I mean, share as MUCH as you can on the front end. Offer pictures, renderings, examples. This is a whole new world for many of our clients and there’s a slew of new terms and possibilities. Give them a full understanding of what’s different in this world. Since we don’t have physical places to put this into practice, create space where it can happen online. This will pay off in the long run and work to overcome the client’s anxiety.
2. Details, Details, Details.
In the physical space, we take for granted some natural things that no longer exist in the virtual space. For instance, walk-ups and walk-offs. Some times in response to a spontaneous speaker or presenter who says.. “Just roll the video when I step away from the podium..” the cue was simple, albeit not super clear. Now, having as much info as possible pin the front end and throughout rehearsal is invaluable. No one’s getting up or walking away. Get scripts..get the details and use them to ensure you don’t miss anything.
3. Check-In. Say Hi!
Everyone is on their own island of isolation and they’ve been there for a while! When I’m calling a show, if I can and the opportunity is there, I’ll hop in and try to put my face to a name they’ve been hearing or are going to hear. Again, in a convention space or ballroom, we’d all be in the same space, sharing handshakes and conversations. This brings one more piece to the human element of the virtual world and I believe it goes a long way.
While we’re all waiting for this season of separation to be over, virtual will still be in its new place in the months and years to come. As it evolves in the new paradigm of live events, let’s hope we continue to work towards making it as seamless and worry-free as possible!