There has been a huge rise of virtual events during the pandemic because of the need to pivot to these kinds. Whilst we miss face-to-face meetings and interactions, technology allowed us to adapt to new ways to communicate across distances and continue social interaction the smarter way. Thanks to “digitization” for radically changing business operations and driving leaders to think of better solutions  to deliver value to customers. In the wake of the pandemic, the ability to quickly adapt to market pressures, disarrays and customer expectations has become critical for everyone as everyone in business needs to survive through it all. Survival is a continual challenge and experiment until organizations gets comfortable with the new normal way of doing business. It matters to use our digital consumption to continue our businesses, maximize our potentials and analyse data in periods of pandemic-induced social isolation.

On September 24, 2020, I had the pleasure to moderate the open forum segment of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) “New Leadership in Times of Pandemic” virtual event through the Women in Finance Committee.

I sincerely like to thank FINEX Officers President Jose Jerome Pascual III, Committee Officers Ms. Larie Concepcion, Edith Dychiao, and the very hardworking Chairperson of Women in Finance Committee and also CFO to Paynamics Technologies, Ms. Esther Magleo for their trust and confidence in me. FINEX is undoubtedly secure and will always be taken to greater heights under their leadership.

There are only a few women in Finance anywhere in the world as the male predominantly manages the sector. Women are trailblazers, I’m a trailblazing woman who actively supports ways to empower more women so many of us take high positions and great roles in society. I felt elated to be given an opportunity to help equip and advocate for the women in the Finance sector. It was a golden opportunity to join Asian Development Bank HR Principal Specialist, Ms. Victoria Francisco and Senior Director for Economic Growth of DT Global, Ms. Louise Williams in a very enriching session that anyone would not want to miss: Digitization of our schemes will ensure business success amidst the pandemic crisis. It is an opportunity itself to effectively redefine, reframe and restrategize our business goals. 

Values from the “New Leadership in Times of Pandemic” Virtual Event.

Ms. Victoria Francisco began an impactful talk about leadership. According to her no one would be able to reach the level seniority in the career if he or she doesn’t understand the importance of leadership. It is a critical role for leaders like us to examine the purpose and future of our organization; having the right leaders at the right place and the right time will help an organization thrive. She has described tools, concepts and descriptors that will help organizations go forward in their goals and one of which is discovering high potential members from their own talent pool. She clearly defined the value of creating more leaders.

I had the privilege to learn from her new strategies to “predict” the abilities of my team in an in-depth manner and inculcate the value of leadership more to my organization. The bullet points she cited made it easy for me to understand why lack of leadership results in missed opportunities for decisive action and effective communication within an organization. What’s happening nowadays is truly a test of leadership. It is imperative to do an assessment of the leadership value proposition to know are able to deal with change in a disruptive environment.

Our second empowered Speaker, Ms. Louise Williams sent an encouraging opening message that no one in our webinar wouldn’t be paying great attention to. The way she described her experience is like a stanza within a collection of beautiful stories from foreign tourists who have been in the Philippines. Being experienced in the Economic growth sector, she has chosen the Digitization for Development and Humanitarian Assistance topic. Everyone’s eyes according to her, are on how the pandemic has affected every facet of the world. How it has underscored inequalities and the importance of effective social safety nets. Like her, I have observed that so many opportunities have been hampered by the crisis and only the privileged have the access to gain information and effective communication. The pandemic created a more dissenting atmosphere towards the marginalized population and unequal power relationships are felt more across economic, political, social and cultural dimensions. Digitization must not stop with helping humans more with business productivity, it must strengthen the core values of inclusivity, humanitarian assistance and sustainability. Our leadership should call upon us to use the Digitization tools to reach out to those needing them now. That way we can better rate how we’re doing as leaders. The world needs true leaders who are sensitive to the needs of people. Even though the crisis strongly affected us in many aspects, if we learn to bravely adjust to the “shift” then our team will do so bravely.

We’ve long been stuck in many traditional ways and an unfortunate occurrence like CoViD-19 but are we aware of how it dramatically paved the way for us to look into things we ignored and took for granted?

Please watch the full Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) “New Leadership in Times of Pandemic” virtual event.

I have attended a number of webinars and virtual events over the past few months and have observed that there are many new learnings I could get from it. I feel honoured to have been given a chance to take part in a very important discussion that is so relevant to these times. The exchange of views with our empowered Speakers is a reflection of a stark reality that calls on to improve leadership in a variety of ways possible. I’m an active collaborator and each time I hear the good comments from attendees of virtual events, I appreciate digitization 10 times even more because of the way it is presenting us to more opportunities and endless possibilities. I found out that one of the keys to make awesome webinars or any kind of virtual event is “moderation”. Engaging the audience and making them stay up until the end of the event is a huge challenge but if strategized the fun way, interacting will be easy.

I never want to stop at just sharing the experience. I have written below a guide that will spark your curiosity and interest in Moderating virtual events, trust me:

 

A Smart Guide to Moderating a Virtual Event (The Nikki Tang way)

Moderating will make you feel optimistic and encouraged to learn more through interacting with new people. 

Pessimism increased at an unprecedented rate from the start of the pandemic so people are scrutinously looking for spaces where they could pick up positive vibes. I thought I could only pick the happy vibes out of my healthy everyday routine. Trends and how business goes up or bends populates the internet and we are not able to surmount the disadvantages but I try to not be affected. The invitation from FINEX to moderate supercharged me. It’s ok to feel low-battery at times people, the uncertainties mold these kinds of feelings. But before that kind of feeling deeply consumes your thoughts, collaborate through digital!

 

Moderating will train you to communicate effectively!

It is a must to create a plan before you participate in a  virtual event. This includes methods, and tools to make you ready for interacting and keeping conversations between the audience flowing and on-track. Careful planning will also help you think of questions for the guest Speakers that will lead to insightful discussions. When you keep the conversation moving, the more likely attendees are to show up to your next event:

  • If you are Moderating an online event for the first time, Gear-up your desk. Have a desktop pc or laptop that is connected to the internet and make sure that your provider gives seamless broadcasting during the event.
  • Invest in a good microphone and headphones, they don’t need to be pricey – check out those with good reviews online before buying. Tip: Review the features before checking out. You don’t want to buy something that’s going to give you a headache and hassle during your online event.
  • Make yourself familiar with virtual event apps available like Zoom, Webex, Google Hangouts, or Hopin. Check each of the apps’ functionality.
  • The use of a branded background is very important. Not only that it conceals wherever you are at but it gives your audience a more professional view of you. This article will be of great help to you if you have just started exploring the use of backgrounds for your virtual event apps.
  • A built-in chat function must be available in your online event platforms so your attendees can chat or participate in any part of the program. If you don’t have a built-in-chat feature, make sure that you have created a private Social Media group to gather your attendees. Be sure to have your email ready for some offline engagements and to touch base afterwards.

 

Preparedness is the key to an awesome result!

  1. Pre-event.
  • Practice speaking and rehearse your presentations. Read out words with clarity and check correct pronunciations. Practice builds up your confidence more.
  • Connect with the organizer to know the event rules and information that will help you answer questions from your audience.
  • Install the right app for the online event. Check with the organizer which virtual event app you are going to use.
  • Run a tech test of the gadgets you will be using to avoid again the headache and hassles especially during live broadcast.
  • Set a reminder in your calendar (we hate late).
  • Give participants a chance to get to know each other and establish rapport before you launch into the main event. Pull them in the community you have arranged with your organizer and make sure you monitor the exchange of communication. It is very important to prepare your audience because they should know what to expect in the entire programme.

 

  1. On the day.
  • Show up on time and be prepared. Strictly follow the schedule and do not rush your presentation. If  you have a script, do not read it out loud and make sure to maintain a strong speaking but well-modulated voice.
  • Keep the conversation going, refrain from having dead airs.
  • Call on people by their names for a more personalized experience.
  • Check for signs of boredom or when your audience becomes inattentive. You may send a chat to “everyone”, that’ll wake them up.

 

  1. Post-event.
  • Send your audience to another virtual environment to reconnect and share them the recorded version of the virtual event. Nurture your virtual relationships more!
  • Send an email to the attendees thanking them for the great time spent during the virtual event. Ask feedback from the audience because it is a great way to improve next virtual events. Keep the audience engaged by posting bits and pieces that happened during the virtual event.

 

I will be happy to hear what you have learned from Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) “New Leadership in Times of Pandemic” virtual event. I also hope that there’s a chance for us to collaborate in one of the virtual business events soon.

Stay purposeful and strengthen your core values!