How to run a successful virtual event

Ever since the pandemic changed how we work and deliver events, virtual events have become a necessity.

With the plethora of technology available, running an engaging and successful virtual event can be quite easy.

A few years ago, I managed a parents in education event run over the course of a week. It was held at a large conference venue in my city. Recognising that not all parents could attend the sessions in person, we ran concurrent virtual events via live stream. This proved very successful and popular with parents, and I want to share a few of the lessons in this article.

Firstly, a solid plan and running sheet is essential to ensure everyone knows what they are doing on the day. It also helps everyone to stay on track with timings so the sessions don’t run late.

Engaging an audio visual specialist is a good idea to ensure a professional presentation that includes clear audio and good lighting. Live streaming technology can be temperamental, so it’s always best to trust these things to experts.

We did a test run on the day with the audio visual team and made sure that everything was live streaming perfectly. We live streamed to YouTube and had the sessions available as replays for a limited time following the event.

Transcripts were also essential to ensure inclusiveness, as we had some parents with a disability.

To encourage engagement, we had a live question and answer platform during each presentation. This was via Sli.do and myself and other staff monitored these questions, grouping them into themes. At the end of the session, our facilitator read out many of these questions and the speaker answered them live. We also ran polls throughout the sessions and showed the results live using a split screen alongside the speaker.

Lastly, we had a roving microphone in the live audience. Our facilitator took questions from the floor and our speakers shared their thoughts.

We surveyed our virtual and live audience following the event using online survey software. This helped us learn what worked well and what we could do differently next time.

Virtual events take as much, if not more, planning as an in person event. There are many ways to be creative and make these events immersive and engaging. I recommend researching and testing the different technologies to find a solution that meets the needs of your audience and your event.

How to keep your remote employees engaged and motivated

The pandemic has changed the way we work. Many employees are now working remotely, at least some of the time. Remote working could now be considered the ‘new normal’. This is good news for both employers and employees. For employees, spending more time with family, having pets close by and the 10 second commute in your sweat pants are all positives. Sounds great doesn’t it. Or is it?

There is no doubt that remote working also has benefits for employers. For example, reduced tangible expenses such as accommodation and energy usage, plus higher productivity and more employee satisfaction.

However, remote working can also create challenges of a different kind. Without being in the same physical space, keeping employees engaged and motivated may prove tricky. It’s been reported that some employees also experience burnout, as they are working longer hours, sometimes without breaks.

Isolation can be an issue for some employees. Office banter and face to face contact is missing. For some employees, this can be confronting in terms of productivity and general happiness at work. So how do you replicate a face to face office environment into a remote or virtual working world?

Thankfully, technology has allowed us to reproduce most of our day to day office tasks into a virtual environment. Meeting software with screen sharing, whiteboarding and polls have allowed interaction between team members. Although not replacing the nuances of tone, facial expression and the like, technology has helped to fill the gap between isolation and full time office based work.

The key to engaging remote team members is to strike a balance between formal meetings and social catch-ups. With formal meetings, it can be a good idea to start with an ice breaker. This could be a question for each team member to kick off the meeting. For example:

• what is your favourite meal to cook
• what is your favourite travel destination
• what would be your superpower

These questions can help facilitate conversation, camaraderie and connection with colleagues. It can help colleagues get to know one another and replace the ‘water cooler’ conversations and desk chats in the physical office.

Team improvement sessions are also beneficial. The responsibility for running these sessions can be rotated amongst the team. Sessions should be relatively short and interactive, based on a different theme or goal relevant to the work of the team. These could be run once a week.

Social sessions can include fun exercises like a general knowledge quiz, ‘guess that tune’ quiz or a ‘guess the team member’ quiz (get team members to send in a childhood photo to the moderator). Social sessions could also be run once a week or more often if the team is supportive. A rotation system works well with each team member taking a turn to host a session.

Involve your team in brainstorming the formal and informal sessions – how often, starting a roster system for facilitation and coming up with ideas.

Implementing these strategies into your remote working environment should help to create a more engaged and motivated team.

Getting through challenges to win

I had just finished training at the gym today and I’ve been a bit slack with the whole training thing lately.  As some of you would have read, I’m going through a bit of life turmoil at the minute. It is getting better, but there’s been a few life changes just smacking me in the face all at the same time, which is pretty normal. As we know, you don’t get one life change. You get two or three or four all at once and then of course, it makes the minor things all that much more difficult to deal with. So, I’ve felt a little bit swamped, a little bit overwhelmed and it was getting on top of me and I lost a bit of motivation in all areas of life.

So that is a work in progress and I am seeing someone – a really great psychologist – and chatting to her. She’s been really helping me in all facets of my life. Business and mental health and just getting outside of my head a little bit.

So, I just wanted to give you an update on the young man who is in rehab or has a disability who comes to my gym, and I think I posted or did a livestream about him on Facebook probably about 12 months ago now. I actually got quite a bit teary while I was talking about him because he has so many challenges when he comes to the gym and trains with his father. I just thought “we all make these bullshit excuses about why we can’t train and we don’t feel like it” and whatever else and this guy is just here every single weekend in the morning and he’s just pushing away and pushing his body and everything is difficult for him, but he’s just there and he’s giving it a red hot go. So, it’s really really inspiring and I think it’s one of the main reasons why I became a personal trainer is because I want to make a difference in people’s lives and I want to help them be their best.

The personal trainer that trains him, he is just amazing and you can see on his face how proud he is of his client and the progress that he’s making and the difference that he’s making to that client. So, being a personal trainer doesn’t mean that you’re just training really really fit people or people who were once fit to be fitter. It’s actually people who are older Australians. That’s my specialty is people 50+ and woman 40+ as well, but it can also mean training clients who are in rehab who’ve had maybe a motorcycle accident or car accident or a work injury or something like that. Just seeing them improve and become better is just a really really rewarding experience and it just can’t really be put into words.

This young man has just come so far. He wasn’t really talking much 12 months ago. He wasn’t very verbal, but he’s actually speaking a lot more and he is doing a lot more. He was actually doing some shoulder presses by himself. He wasn’t having to be helped by the trainer. He was actually just smashing out some shoulder presses and he just is a lot stronger and a lot more coordinated and you can just tell that the rehab has been doing absolute wonders for him and that just makes me happy.

So, I didn’t cry today because I just feel really happy for him and it’s just an amazing thing and it just reinforces why I do what I do and also reinforces to not be such a baby (to myself) and just bloody get on with it. So, there are people in this world who have much much tougher challenges than what the average person has and he is proof that through hard work and consistency and effort, he’s winning. He’s absolutely killing it.

Everyone have a great Easter and I will be starting up some regular live streams over on my Facebook page. Please join me there.

 

9 Day Weight Loss?

I was tired of my own bullshit

My before photo and the look on my face shows how ‘over it’ I was. I felt horrible inside and out.

I had been grieving hard over the previous few months for the loss of Spook, which had brought up renewed grief of losing Libby 12 months earlier. I felt lost, stuck, overwhelmed and my eating and sporadic exercise habits reflected that.

I was so frustrated with myself “You’re a health coach, you know what to do, why aren’t you doing it?!” Beating myself up over and over again – but still not moving closer to how I wanted to look and feel.

Enter C9. Having already been on the aloe vera drink for a few weeks and noticing big improvements in how my gut felt, I decided to take the plunge and do the 9 day nutritional cleanse.

RESULTS: in just 9 days, 3 kilograms down, 18.5cms lost from all over my body. I am so proud and my photos even blow ME away! (Obviously Oscar was enjoying it too! 😂)

However the most important things I got out of C9 are more than just measurements and weight loss:

• Hunger gone – before the cleanse, I was mindlessly snacking and never felt full. I was also eating way too much sugar. Now I just don’t feel hungry and am satisfied on less food.
• Cravings gone – I craved like a beast before the cleanse. However after getting my coffee fix on the first day after the cleanse finished, I’m finding I’m not craving anything! And this is from a chocoholic!
• Happier – doesn’t need any explanation!
• More confident – ditto!
• Sleeping better – my sleep has improved. I was waking during the night prior to the cleanse, now I don’t wake until my alarm goes off
• Energy better – I’m feeling calmer, more focused, more energetic and not as scattered
• Bloating gone – I lost a massive 7cms off my waist alone. I was very bloated prior to the cleanse, now I can see my abs starting to peek through. I credit the wonderful aloe vera drink for this too
• Structure – much needed structure back in my life – back in the gym and loving life again!

C9 has been the perfect reset and kickstart my body needed. I have my hope and positivity back. Now it’s onward with my journey back to my best self.

 

PS – if you’d like to start 2019 right, purchase your own C9 nutritional cleansing kit and feel better, look better without doing anything crazy or stressful. Chocolate or vanilla flavour available.

Taming the overwhelm monster

Overwhelm is real and it manifests in all areas of life – work, relationships, health.

When I had previously tried to get myself healthy, I got caught up in short term thinking. “I need to get this weight off, I need to get it off NOW”…and so on. We all want the quick fix, am I right??

This led to me being completely overwhelmed and ‘stuck’ for years, and not taking action…because it was ‘easier’. The road from here to there just seemed too daunting.

When I changed my mindset, it literally changed my life.

I started being intentional about my goals and viewed it as a process and a journey. It hugely reduced my overwhelm and inspired me to take action to get to my destination.👍

Break it down into steps.
Suggestions:
– Prepare your meals the night before to take to work
– Get up 30 mins early and go for a power walk
– Take a 1.5 litre water bottle to work and aim to drink two per day

And of course, practice gratitude every day.
Simple, practical steps that will take you closer towards your goal without the overwhelm.👊

Staying the course

One of the most helpful things that you can do is to *stay the course.* You won’t see the progress that you want to see every week, but that is ok and truly normal- the human body just doesn’t work in the consistent, linear way in which we would prefer it to. If you don’t lose weight one week, you do not need to cut out sugar. You do not need to cut carbs. You do not need to stop eating fruit. You do not need to start intermittent fasting. You do not need to do any crazy, drastic things. You need to remember that you are doing the right things if you are being consistent and honest with your nutrition and your training, and you need to keep doing those things. This is why I also encourage the use of measurements and photos in addition to the scale.

How many times have you or someone you know had a great week with lots of hard work put in only to get on the scale, not see a change, and get so frustrated that you or he/she go to the kitchen and eat your/his/her frustration? Giving up like this is not uncommon- and then when that splurge throws off the next week due to the excess calories, progress may not be seen again- and then giving up *entirely* is not uncommon. 😖

Don’t let this be you. Be patient with yourself and with the whole process. Stay positive and stay motivated. You can do this!

If you do want more help, as a PT and health coach, I offer free consultations to help you get started but also ongoing coaching- I am here for you!

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PS – My number one trick for dropping a dress size in just 9 days – without surgery, stress or doing anything crazy!

Walking away from what doesn’t serve you

She walked away from a life of luxury. The travel, the jewellery, the lavish restaurants, the fancy cars, the gifts and the expensive wine.

At the same time she walked away from a narcissist who abused and manipulated her, emotionally and mentally. She escaped from a life where it was all about him. She was scared to death most of the time and felt unworthy all of the time.

She also walked away from a woman she couldn’t identify with anymore. A woman who had lost her spark, her passion, her zest for life, her shine and her happiness.

It took years of inner work to find her again. She was there, meekly hiding away with her face buried in her hands – flinching at every touch, feeling raw and exposed at every question “what is wrong with you?”. She needed to heal, to be alone, to find another way to channel her anger, her grief and her determination to once again be who she was.

She found fitness and health. The grind, the commitment and the discipline was exactly what she needed to work through her pain and prove to herself (and to him) that she would be better than the mantle he had given her.

It gave her back control and structure in a life that had become out of control and structured only to suit him.

It gave her back her self esteem and a feeling of mastery that she could be ‘good’ at something, when she had only ever felt bad at everything and that she was never ever enough.

She is me…

Walking away from people or situations that don’t serve you can be the best thing you’ll ever do. Life is too short to be unhappy, unfulfilled and controlled.

Let walking away open the door for new possibilities and opportunities, and for only good things to come into your life. Don’t let anyone dim your light – and when they show you who they are, believe them the first time.

 

3 Rules For Life

1. Get out of your comfort zone. If you want to get great at something, realise you are going to suck when you start. Repetition leads to success.

2. Challenge your assumptions so that you can discover your truths. You will find that you say no to many, many things in life to find the things that you will say yes to, to change your circumstance.

3. Make the little decisions with your head. Make the big decisions with your heart. It will never lead you wrong. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it.

This is 40…or is it?

I believed this is what 40 looks like.
I believed my best years were behind me.
I believed I couldn’t do it.
I believed everything everybody said about “oh as soon as you reach 40 you start putting on all this middle aged spread”

Until one day – the day I found fitness – I didn’t believe it anymore. I didn’t believe this as having to be my life and my norm.
The interesting thing for me was the mindset reframe of what’s actually possible. And so I threw off the chains of unworthiness, of being unloveable, of hiding – and set about becoming alive.

You don’t have to do what everybody else does or look how everybody else looks if thats not how you actually are.

Don’t play small. Know your worth. Remember who you are. Be seen and stand out.

My passion is coaching my clients to create lasting, real change that allows you to keep moving forwards – not only with your health, but with your mindset.

Reach out to me anytime for a chat about how I can help you live your best life.

Motivation makeover: how to hit your goals every time

“I know what I should do, I just can’t motivate myself to do it.”

When you read an article about exercise and fitness and diet, if you say “man I really should do that,” you’ve already lost.

“Should” is a defeatist word and you’re not going to get in shape by saying ‘should’!!

We ALL know that eating better and exercising improves our life in about a MILLION ways 🙌

We know we should be eating more whole foods, less junk food, cut down the alcohol, move more etc etc

In the words of Yoda – “Do or do not. There is no try.” – and there is NO “should” either!

STOP SEARCHING FOR MOTIVATION, AND PRACTICE DISCIPLINE. START BUILDING SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURE

• There’s one thing I know for sure – motivation is not going to come knocking on your door, nor is it going to be present all the time! This is why discipline is so important – doing what needs to be done even if you don’t feel like it. 👍

• Another thing I know for sure is it’s not just a lack of willpower – it’s a lack of proper preparation and systems!

By automating our thinking for those first few weeks, we can remove emotion from the equation until we start to see positive change and build momentum. 💕