The top challenge faced by event presenters and eventprofs is strengthening the relationship between the people presenting content and the technology used to do so at in-person, online and hybrid events.

The relationship between presenters and their audience is also important. But, when event planners prioritize how their scheduled speakers, panelists, hosts, and entertainers work together with any relevant technology, their audience will be more engaged with the content. As a result, any other challenges in that relationship will be easier to remedy.

One example of this kind of challenge is audio-visual lag when someone is connecting online to speak to attendees at an in-person venue. Events like this, or with significant hybrid production dimensions and/or online attendees in the mix, are the norm moving forward. This means challenges like AV lag are increasingly becoming an obstacle at conferences, Town Halls, Sales Summits, business sessions, and other events, like team-building functions.

When I was producing my short-run Web Series, I was dealing with this specific challenge while I performed as the host online to multiple in-person venues simultaneously. The AV lag created an obstacle for me to seamlessly interact with people in each venue, and for the venues to interact with one another. I was impressed with how we managed under the circumstances, but they were not optimal in terms of my performance.

It was crucial that I strengthen my relationship with the technology to get the most out of the event experience for my audience. I didn’t think the scope of my project would give me time to find an immediate solution. While I was addressing a separate tech obstacle with a planned simplification in the production process, however, I was presented with an unexpected fix to the AV lag challenge.  

Having worked with Courtney McNamara and her team at King Events previously at several corporate functions, I was confident their production solutions would satisfy the intended requirements of my final interactive livestream in the series. Because they were excited about the format, it sparked their interest in also finding a work-around for the AV lag.

Since I was self-producing this project, it was a unique opportunity for me to experiment with my relationship with tech in ways that I can’t with corporate clients who are, justifiably, unlikely to take risks when planning events. Courtney and the King team were in the same boat and the solution they proposed worked well in our inaugural approach.

My relationship with audiences at events has always been, and continues to be, a key to my success as a host and performer. A collaborative solution to a contemporary hybrid event challenge would not ever have emerged if I hadn’t taken the initiative to nurture my relationship with impressive technology that has become more important and accessible over the past two years.