The Complete Idiot Guide to Doing External Outreach- Tech Version

In my entire career, I’ve organised/ emceed/ moderated/ guest-lectured and spoke at more than 50 blockchain/ A.I/ metaverse conferences. I’ve also interviewed more than 100 C-level executives, politicians, ambassadors and entrepreneurs globally.

Pic: Panel Discussion with Coindesk

With all those data points, this guide is written with the intention to highlight best practices when more of us start to do external outreach. I first wrote this document today for internal sharing. And then I realised- why not distill the experiences, make them general and open-source them to serve more Web3.0 advocates?

EXTERNAL OUTREACH? WHY WASTE YOUR TIME

The first question to ask when it comes to external outreach is why waste your time to evangelise. The truth is, if you cannot find a strong why (money/ advocating a cause), it's best not to waste your time to just have an ego-boost.

Pic: Workshop with Philips Global

From the communications perspective, in exchange for your audience's attention and time, you agree to provide:

...an intended message easy to understand AND useful, from the audience's perspective.

Remember: ALWAYS RESPECT THE TIME OF YOUR AUDIENCE.

One of the greatest sin in today’s world is to waste people’s time. If people CHOOSE to give us an hour of their time, it is OUR ethical responsibility to deliver value that enriches them.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at the best practices for external outreach.

Best Practices: ONLINE

Pic: A Panel with National University of Singapore, Entrepreneurship Society.

• Do a mic/ audio test prior to the recording/ call.
• Use the washroom beforehand and always have a glass of water next to you.
• If you feel anxious before the presentation, accept and acknowledge the anxiety. It might also help to show some vulnerability by telling your audience this script- "I'm so excited to meet everyone today and am feeling a little anxious now, so please bear with me as I ease into the panel."
• BEATHE BABY BREATHE. Deep belly breaths please.
• Check the room for echo.
• Put phone on silent mode.
• Inform household members that you will be recording a podcast and you would appreciate no sudden noises. Request them to take care of pets (if any).
• Close communication apps and social media like WhatsApp, Facebook or Microsoft Teams and avoid all attention to multi-task (especially if the panel gets boring, happens to all of us sometimes)
• Close other apps and browser tabs if your Internet is slow
• Avoid swinging/ turning your chairs (I’m guilty of it when I’m not conscious)
• LOOK AT THE WEBCAMERA FROM TIME TO TIME. This is akin to making direct eye contact!
• If video recording, switch on lights even during the day

For panels/ town halls/ AMA that records your face

Pic: Moderator for SEA Dreamin', Salesforce Community!

• Reiterate The "WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU" of the session - Why are we having this session today?
• Energy levels- If you are feeling dead for the day, do some perk-me-up exercises to increase your energy levels on screen. The camera does absorb some of your energy.
• As best as possible, reconnect back all answers to the THEME OF THE PANEL.
• Panelists can help each other engage with one another (especially when the stage is mainly for them), eg even when questions are only directed to one person. You may even spotlight each other as "Perhaps as a XXX expert, John or Andre has additional thoughts on top of mine."
• Your posture, speaking tone, video background setting should ideally be posh and non-distracting, as the focus is on YOU as a person. If you have a messy background, use a corporate wallpaper as a virtual background (remember to have the logo)
• Consistency in messaging can be quite important. Message / tagline must be consistent across sessions, channels, etc. Don't try to reinvent the wheel.

FOR LADIES

Pic: Panelist at Blockchain Festival 2022, Singapore!

• In a Western context, DO NOT start a sentence with “Sorry”. Remember, you are not in Japan. Starting a sentence with ‘sorry’ diminishes the significance of your message, and gives the impression that you are not serious/ professional.
• As much as possible, speak with a lower tone if you can, so as to sound more soothing (I am guilty of this!) If it isn’t a question, don’t end a sentence with a higher pitched inflection. Speak with a lower tone whenever there is a full-stop.
• Having said that, it is possible to get away with “cuteness” and all that “fake it until you make it” nonsense. Remember though, that youth and beauty will run out as time passes, and it’s important to grow with substance.
• Basically, practice makes perfect. You SHOULD prepare and practice if something is important to you. If it isn’t important to you, then the optimal outcome is to to still do your best even if you don’t want to prepare. (Then it becomes an "entertainment" session and you can still deliver some key messages even it's not all that serious).

• Use dressing to your advantage, to make a point or contribute to the theme of the panel. Any presentation is an opportunity for you to advocate for something that YOU view as important. There is a popular saying amongst my Taiwanese friends: 女人啊，长得漂亮是优势，活得漂亮是本事。

The True Superpower of A Moderator

The role of a moderator/ emcee is to be an orchestra conductor. A good orchestra conductor has empathy, “sense”, intellect and ENERGY.

Pic: One of the moderators I LOVE: Belinda Lim. She is so witty and humorous and we all ENJOY her panels!

METAPHOR: Moderator = A Music Conductor

Let’s say you have a quartet with two violins, one viola, one cello. Your role as a conductor is NOT to play any of these instruments- it IS to orchestrate MUSIC.

Therefore, you are NOT:

• …A soloist. The limelight is on the quartet, not you.
• …here to correct the performer: Do not rebut panelists. If you find that one panelist is talking nonsense, ask the other panelist “what do you think about what this person said.”
• ...here to boost the panelists' egos. Your job is to conduct good music with the available musicians you have. It's as though you are an audience's advocate.

Therefore, you have

• power to choose the QnA: Avoid questions that derail from the main theme of the discussion;
• full authority in NOT letting ANY panelist take over the discussion or spotlight, or shill; and
• the ability to make an absolutely boring topic engaging.

Best Practices for moderator

Pic: Another Moderator I LOVE: Deepti. She is so sharp, witty and on-point with many things!

• …Do your homework about the event, your panelists and familiarise with the content and programme flow. Be prepared and connect with your audience by telling great stories and relevant anecdotes;
• …Be present and connect with your audience. Read situations, nuances, body language of your panelists and audiences and adapt accordingly; and
• …You don’t necessarily have to follow the same sequence and “go down the line” if you wish. A good moderator will know when to spotlight each panelist and how to connect the themes together.

How to end a presentation strong

The human brain is hardwired to LOVE stories. That's why we have Joseph Campbell writing books like "The Hero With A Thousand Faces", with the famous "Hero's journey".

Relevant Storytelling Concepts

Pic: Open Metaverse Workshop with Nutanix- Keynote Speaker

• Peak-End Effect: People make sense of presentations/ talks by simplifying it and only take into account two things — (1) the climax of the talk (2) how it ended. (Link)
• Recency Effect: People are most likely to remember what you presented last. (Link)
• Serial position effect: Sequence of your slides influences how well the slides are recalled. (Link)

Think of your presentation like a date.

The best way for a lady to get a second date is to close it with a gentle peck on the guy’s cheek. (This is how you 捞 ^^）Similarly, it is always important to have a strong end to your presentation.

An uninspiring finish could undo all those brownie points throughout the date/ presentation + leave your audience/ your date feeling like they cannot remember what happened in the past 60minutes.

Here are some three tips to help you finish strong.

• Revisit the "What's in it for you"

When you start your presentation, you would have stated the gist of what your presentation is all about and why your audience is there to spend the next hour listening to you.

That message is worth repeating at the very end as you sum up. It works well if you posed a question or a problem at the start, which you can then revisit or conclude.

• Call To Action

If there is something you’d like your audience to do right after the presentation, be as specific and detailed about it – make it clear what it is you’d like them to do and how they should go about doing it.

For example – "Join our Multiverse Channels right now at this link/ scan QR code" or "Download Navigating The NFT Mania now, at this link."

• Slogan

It's possible to end with a company slogan, if you have one. Ideally, your presentation adds another layer of interpretation to the slogan.

For Singaporeans

(Pic: Guest lecturer, GL Bajaj Institute of Technology and Management, “Blockchain Technology for Operational Efficiency in The Modern Business Environment”. 9th June 2021.)

I’m guilty of all of the following points LOL- take note when you are speaking to an international audience

Tips from Joel Low:

• We tend to speak too fast, so always regulate;
• We also tend to speak in a “choppy” manner, so it helps to remember to “sing” the “singlish “so that it sounds melodic;
• We tend not to pause in between sentences.

After the talk/ presentation

• Have you ever watched your own recording? I have, and I’ve always cringed at my own. However, after every recording and self-reflecting on how to do better, the performance only gets stronger.
• Might help to ask for/ give feedback. My colleague John has such an amazing feedback tip, known as “the shit sandwich”. Basically structure feedback with the template of “Strength-weakness-strength”.
• Giving feedback immediately after a presentation is useful so that the ‘mistake’ is highlighted and corrected at once. Not after one or two months.

Hope the above best practices help- and all the best with the outreach! Let me know what you think of this article, and whether you have any tips to share too :)

For the next blog post (whenever I have time), I’ll be writing a best-practices media-relations guide for official spokesperson(s).