stirred, not shaken: recipes for A successful event
May and June are probably the busiest months in the first half of the year when it comes to events. With so many forums, conferences, and ceremonies taking place, the agenda of an event moderator can be quite full, too. My June, for instance, has been packed.
On June 9, I hosted a breakout session at the Swiss Economic Forum in Interlaken. The session was called “Stirred, not shaken — recipes for success.” With a name like that you can’t just do your usual panel discussion. You need to stir things up! Leading up to the event, I had a few calls with the organizers, and we decided that I would ask the panelists what were the ingredients for their success, while mixing a drink for them! So for this one, I truly was a host by serving my guests and panelists some refreshing cocktails. Isn’t this what you do when you host?
Besides Andreas Pfrunder, co-founder of the start-up Sevensense, and Sarah Kreienbühl of Kühne&Nagel, I was also joined by Patrick Fischer, the head coach of the Swiss national hockey team. He recently returned from the World Championship, where Switzerland lost in the Quarter-final to Germany. I asked him what they were missing. He replied that they lacked a certain ease on the field, that the players should be having fun while playing. But because they felt the pressure of winning they couldn’t enjoy the game as much.
This resonated with me.
“Being at ease” is the feedback I often get for my moderations. The audience and clients tell me that I make it look so easy. Well, it’s not easy—it’s hard work, let me tell you!— but I enjoy being at the service of the audience. And the audience can feel that I am comfortable doing what I do. For me, that’s a winning recipe.
Andreas Pfrunder, Sarah Kreienbühl, and Patrick Fischer joined the panel on stage.
allowing spontaneity at a graduation ceremony
Another event I hosted recently was the graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Business, Economics, and Informatics at University of Zurich. It was the third time the faculty booked me as their host.
With the dean of the faculty Prof. Dr. Harald Gall. Pictures: Lorenz Pachmann
The parts that audiences often remember the most are the spontaneous ones, like, for instance, when I walk into the crowd and ask students questions during the event. First, there’s some nervous laughter but then you can sense their curiosity as they want to hear what the interviewee has to say. Having an event with an organized run-down, but with slots where spontaneity is allowed, makes for the most memorable events.
Another event I hosted this month was the Deloitte Finance Day in Zurich. The organizers and I met and had calls before the event to discuss the storyline. They came up with the idea of using the image of a color palette, so we could speak about the many colors of finance. So throughout the event, I used the colour palette as a recurring theme. It gave the topics a visual sparkle. And I was Monet for the day!
With Markus Zorn and Thea Caminada.
Next blog post: More on further jobs in June such as MCing for Cannes Lions and moderating a panel discussion on creating a Net-Zero Public Data Utility and a fireside chat with Sergio Ermotti for «Point Zero Forum» can be read in the next blog-post.
