You Live You Learn - Things we learned from running our LinkedIn Live series

Live broadcasting is just that, it’s live. It’s real, raw and not perfect. And maybe that’s the reason people are drawn to it. When you’re running a live broadcast, things can (and probably will) go wrong at some point. It could be as simple as an issue with your internet connection, a video not loading or even technical difficulties on your guest's side.

Running our own LinkedIn Live series #CoffeebreakLive together with my fiancé, Fellyph, we’ve for sure had our fair share of things going “wrong” during the live series. In this blog I share what I’ve learned from things going wrong and how you can minimise the impact of these unexpected errors.??????

Things will go wrong (and that’s ok)??

First of all: you will need to come to terms with the fact that something can go “wrong” or better: different than expected. And this, for the perfectionists amongst us (*raises hand*) can be a bit of a tough one to accept. But the unpredictable nature of live broadcasting is what gives live its exciting and energetic feel. You could be running your twentieth Live, you will still not be able to fully predict how it will go. So enjoy this exciting feel of live broadcasting!

Remind your audience you’re live?

One thing that I find helpful is that during the broadcast I will remind the audience that we are live. It helps me feel more relaxed because I create more space for myself to be ok with it when things do not run as smoothly.?

If we have a guest on the show, we schedule a tech check with them before the actual broadcast. In this call we also prepare a plan in case (technical) issues occur.?The main take away for the guest is: “if things go wrong, don’t panic, relax and we’ll figure it out as we go”??

Ask someone to be your co-host?

Live broadcasting requires you to take many actions at the same time: you’re reading comments, managing the technical side of your broadcast, listening to your guest, all while engaging with your audience and presenting at the same time. It is not a requirement to have a co-host but I find it easier and more fun to run the show with a co-host.?

For #CoffeebreakLive Fellyph and I both had our own responsibilities. Fellyph would take care of the technical side of things and keep an eye on the comments, while I took the lead on presentation and the overall structure of the show.??????

Make a contingency plan?

In one of our #CoffeebreakLive episodes we were experiencing issues with the internet connection, even causing the broadcast to stop streaming at some point.?It derailed us for a bit, getting frustrated about the technical difficulties.

But after evaluating the episode, we came up with a plan to handle technical difficulties better next time. Fellyph would be the one trying to solve technical issues and I would be the one who keeps the show going and stays in touch with our guest.???

Plan for things going wrong, how do you respond? Who takes what action? You will feel more relaxed with your plan in place and will be able to handle unexpected situations better

You Live, you learn

One of the key things I’ve learned from things going “wrong” is that usually, it all seems much bigger in your mind. I’ve had moments where I was frustrated about mistakes or technical errors that viewers hadn’t even noticed or when they did, they didn’t really mind.

On top of that, the moments where something did go wrong were the biggest learnings that helped us get better and prepare better for next time.?

For one of the CoffeebreakLive episodes we had LinkedIn’s wellness director, Michael Susi, as a guest. We were experiencing technical issues which caused the live stream to be interrupted.?

When we wrapped up the show feeling a bit disappointed with the technical issues we had had, Susi responded:?

“Hey, that’s what happens right? When you experience technical difficulties in life, you gotta rebound!”

He compared it to a game of basketball:

“When you’re on the court, you can’t get caught up in what happened negatively or positively, you need to focus on your next step, your next play. Whether it be the internet connection that goes out or whether it be uncertainty around our future. You can’t spend too much time ruminating or celebrating, you’ve got to get into your next play!”?