Dear guests,
i’m quite aware of the fact that custom-made satire for conferences, something I’ve developed throughout the years, stems from a very deep desire the Dutch have to point out the relativity of things.
And so, it’s become a nice habit in our country, whenever we’re organizing a conference, to also organize a break from all the seriousness and have a laugh at ourselves. To be honest, I think that these comical contributions often carry across the message a lot better then the official speakers do, but I’ll get to that later.
How does it work?
Well, I need to get an understanding of your topic, and so we get together for an intake, which usually takes about an hour and a half. I ask many things about your topic, about the guests you’ve invited and about the goal you’re trying to achieve. Then I go home, read the enormous stack of paperwork you’ve given me and write my first draft. I then send this draft to you, you get a say in what should be altered, and so you have a good idea of what I’m going to perform.
Possibilities.
The expert is an excellent way to shed a different light on your topic. Most real experts are passionate about their topic but not, totally understandable, specialized in performing. (Apart from Americans, who are of course brilliant at everything.)
As an organizer of any conference, you need experts to get your message across, but after a number of to long, or to complicated presentations, you’re really not getting anything across anymore. The expert can let some air in, relieve the overloaded brain of your audience, and create some space for the intake of new knowledge.
The engaging audience member can help you to get messages across that are not popular. Or, voice convictions that are held by many, but are never spoken out loud because people might fear the consequences if they do. Especially if you feel the need to spice up the ‘open mike moment’, the engaging member can be very effective.
The alternative master of ceremonies. Yes, you need someone to announce all the keynote speakers, to round up what’s happened so far, but does your conference really need such a serious one? To keep your audience both alert and happy, why not choose someone who has no interest in being taken seriously? Someone who’s an expert in the field, but a slightly different one that you’ve ever encountered? Anyway, it’s probably hard to imagine if you’ve never seen me at work, but feel free to contact me, if you have any questions.