We’re completely sick of virtual meetings. It was fun at the beginning – playing around with backgrounds, catching glimpses of coworkers’ pets, and of course the gleeful self-satisfaction that nobody knew we’d been wearing the same sweatpants for a week. But a year later, the excitement has worn off. We have a serious case of Zoom fatigue.
And we’re not the only ones. In a recent study conducted by the Institute for Employment and Employability in Ludwigshafen, 60% of respondents indicated having experienced Zoom fatigue in 2020. For many, this manifested itself as impatience, irritability and inability to concentrate. Surely there must be a better way?
Good news: there is. “Hybrid” has become something of a buzzword in many branches and has more recently cropped up as an alternative to traditional video meetings, allowing us to keep participants engaged whilst also maintaining a safe distance. But what is a hybrid presentation? And how do I plan, organize and host one? We're here to guide you through it.
A “hybrid” is, quite simply, a thing made by combining two or more different elements. In the case of hybrid presenting, this means a presentation, meeting, conference or event that seamlessly combines live and virtual participants. Rather than a static virtual presentation, in which a presenter or moderator reads from their slides while participants check their emails and pretend to listen, a hybrid presentation is much more interactive thanks to the physical, live elements or participants, and offers better opportunities for attendees to connect and network with each other. There’s a lot to love about hybrid events, but we’ve narrowed it down to a few highlights for you.
5 key benefits of hybrid events:
Social distancing: staying away from each other has never been more important, and hybrid meetings allow us to feel connected without putting anyone’s health at risk. People can take part from wherever they feel safe and comfortable – all they need is a device and a stable internet connection.
Cost-effective: global pandemics aside, event spaces can be expensive. A hybrid solution allows companies to either host larger events from their own offices, for example in existing conference rooms, or book smaller spaces at a lower cost. If you’d like to lower costs even further, hybrid conferences and events can be incredibly attractive to sponsors.
Environmental impact: profit and business growth don’t necessarily have to be linked to travel or face-to-face meetings. If current trends continue, future business travelers will be more aware of their carbon footprint and less likely to want to travel internationally to conferences or trade events. Hybrid events can be accessed from anywhere in the world and therefore provide a great opportunity for businesses to keep in touch with their clients, drive growth and reduce their carbon emissions.
Increased participation: A hybrid solution removes many typical barriers to taking part in an event. Guests can take part from their own home. Even if you are charging for tickets, hybrid events generally come at a lower cost for attendees, as they don’t have to factor in travel expenses. In addition, the time required for participation is significantly less due to the fact that there is no need to travel to and from the event. Hybrid presentations can also be subtitled, translated or dubbed to overcome language barriers, and people with impaired vision can use screen readers to experience written or visual content.
Make the most of your content: Hybrid events are easy to record and make available online. This is of course a bonus for participants, as they can review the content later or even catch up on what happened if they couldn’t make it on the original date. But it also presents huge opportunities for you as a host to make the most of your content. You can build on existing content for future events, for example, or repackage excerpts from your hybrid presentation for social media. This leads to much larger discussions around your topics and enables you to reach far more people than you would at a traditional in-person event.
Organizing a hybrid event?
Planning, organizing and hosting a hybrid presentation or event can be a lot of fun, but there is also a lot to consider. Think about the last time you planned a trade fair appearance, for example, or an important client presentation – it was a lot of work, right? You should expect to put the same amount of time and effort into planning your hybrid solution and creating content that will engage both live and virtual audiences. But trust us, it is more than worth it. Here are a few top tips to ensure you and your participants love every minute of your hybrid happening.
Top tips for engaging virtual presentations:
Think about the title. People are quick to skip titles that they don’t find relevant to them, and this sets you off on a bad foot as far as engaging your audience goes. Spend a bit of time thinking creatively about what you’ll call your event or presentation. Your target audience should know from the get-go exactly why this event is important for them.
Assign someone to moderate – ideally someone charismatic, with a good sense of humor. The moderator is separate from the presenter and their job is to provide structure and keeping everything running on time, which reduces stress for participants.
Define in advance how attendees should interact with each other. Will you use collaboration tools or online whiteboards? Will you use a chat function or a different platform, like Twitter? Will there be allotted time for Q&A, or should participants ask questions during the presentation? Lay out a few basic rules in advance and try to keep everything as simple as possible. The moderator should then take a few minutes at the start of the event to explain how communication will work.
Incorporate breaks and encourage people to use them! A 2-minute break halfway through a 4-hour meeting just isn’t enough. Our eyes need regular breaks from screens to avoid strain and sitting for extended periods could also pose a risk to our health. Encourage your attendees to leave their desks, move around a little and look out of a window during the breaks. This will improve their concentration when they return to the meeting. Try to keep your events short – ideally a few hours – and consider splitting your hybrid event across a few days if you have a lot of content or a lot of different presenters.
If you’re hosting hybrid events regularly, set up a designated hybrid showroom with everything you need – such as screens, microphones, cameras, control software and a high-speed internet connection. This will also enable you to switch between shots and use a variety of camera angles. Make use of your space with projections and interactive media, or let your participants control elements of the room remotely to make your event more dynamic, provide multi-layered ways of presenting and keep your audience engaged.
How can we help?
The best place to start when planning and ideating a hybrid presentation is to experience one for yourself! This will help you gain a better understanding of what it’s like to take part remotely, as well as a first-hand look into hybrid best practices and how to implement them. As hybrid communication experts, we’d love to welcome you virtually to our Rooftop Lab – get in touch for a consultation or book a demo.
