Not everyone will ask the question they are really thinking.
That’s one of the sad facts that you realize when you speak on stage at enough events. No matter how many invitations you issue, or how approachable you try to be, there are always going to be people who leave your session with a burning question in their mind and no answer for it.
The one wonderful impact of Twitter for events is that I now have the chance to answer more of those questions because people may not want to ask in person but they will in a 140 character message. Yet as nice as Twitter happens to be for having conversations at scale … I still appreciate the good old fashioned question from the audience.
Unfortunately, most of the time I rarely have any good video of those sessions. In today’s talk, I thought I’d share one of those rare sessions that I actually do happen to have on video – from a recent keynote I delivered at an internal event for a large global brand. As you watch, you’ll see me use what may be my most favourite technique of all when answering questions … referring to an unfamiliar industry as a way to broaden the knowledge the audience has beyond their own industry.
THE BACKSTORY: Most of Rohit’s talks are for private internal conferences and summits at large brands. In these sessions, he routinely spends a good part of his time on stage directly answering audience questions and demonstrating his expertise in real time. In these situations, his greatest strength is bringing interesting examples from outside a particular industry in order to share a broader view and “non-obvious” insights.
WHAT IT SHOWS (FOR EVENT PLANNERS + SPEAKING BUREAUS): Most speakers will share plenty of video of rehearsed talks on stage. One of Rohit’s favourite times on stage, though, is in the unscripted Q&A sessions. People ask what is really on their mind, and expect to get useful answers immediately. It can be higher pressure, but also may provide the most value for an audience. This short segment of a much longer Q&A session Rohit did at a large internal brand event for liquor brand is a nice example of the sorts of questions he typically gets and how he usually handles them.
Beyond keynotes, Rohit is also experienced in hosting larger private groups, lead strategic planning, and provide advice on applying these trends to current business challenges.
To watch more videos, visit Rohit’s full channel at https://www.youtube.com/rohitbhargava.
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I really enjoyed this Rohit. I think branding is something more people could pay attention to. Many do not realise it isn’t just for businesses but bloggers too!