What I do

Known as the “Voice of Meetings & Events”, Glenn Thayer is a host for live and televised events, content strategist, and author of the upcoming book The Changing Face of Meetings. His clients include Cisco, Bayer, Monster.com, Progressive Insurance, and more. He is regularly seen on PBS for live broadcasts and can be heard on radio and television representing clients such as the NBA and Quiznos.
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Choosing the right master of ceremonies or conference moderator depends on many factors, including the objectives of your event. Glenn has the experience to deliver on your objectives, whether you are looking for a master of ceremonies or require a more custom solution.  In addition, his specialty in virtual/online/hybrid formats can help you meet the challenge of including this increasingly important component in your event, expanding your reach and impact.

Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies is the official host of an event and ensures the event flows smoothly. There are a few basic functions or duties of a master of ceremonies. They are to:

  •    Make introductory and closing remarks
  •    Introduce speakers/sponsors/distinguished guests
  •    Keep the program moving
  •    Handle the housekeeping items and announcements
  •    Improvise to keep the program on track when things don’t go as planned


Conference Moderator
A conference moderator is tied to the objectives and the strategy behind the meeting. A moderator is brought in to provide a bridge, linking the content from the presenter to the audience. Many times the moderator will facilitate the Q & A session with the presenter, allowing the content to be explained in more detail and providing real-world examples on how to implement the information being presented.

Panel moderation: The conference moderator facilitates the discussion between panel members and manages the questions from the audience, keeping the conversation on topic and moving forward.

Executive interviews: If your executive is looking for more “face-time” with the audience, consider an on-stage interview instead of a prepared speech. The interview questions are tailored to ensure all the main points are addressed and covered. This allows the executive to be more relatable to the audience and diminishes the idea that the executives are disconnected from what is going on within the organization.

Two-way interactions between presenters and audience: The moderator also handles Q&A with the audience, managing the conversation to provide the most value for the audience.  If a virtual/online/hybrid component is part of the event, the moderator will facilitate engagement of both the face-to-face audience and the remote audience.


Hybrid Facilitator/Virtual Emcee
As more conferences begin to add virtual components to expand their reach, the biggest challenge is to engage and keep the attention of the people watching from their offices, homes, and mobile devices.  Successful engagement with the virtual audience requires a facilitator who can define and implement the best strategies to engage the audience.

Hybrid/virtual meetings can be described within three different offerings:

  • Livestream: The meeting has a face-to-face audience and is streamed in real-time, online, with at least one camera. There is no interaction with the virtual audience (they may be acknowledged).
  • Virtual: There is no face-to-face audience. Presenters speak to the remote audience through the camera. The virtual broadcast can include panel discussions, product demonstrations, solo subject matter experts, interviews, and more. The remote audience has the capability to interact with the presenters and the content through chat, social media, or other mediums that have been setup to provide some sort of two-way conversation.
  • Hybrid: There are two audiences, the face-to-face and the virtual/remote. The remote audience has the ability to interact with the presenters and even on some levels, the face-to-face attendees. There may or may not be exclusive content available to the virtual audience (behind the scenes, interviews, man on the street). The hybrid meeting requires the most amount of planning to implement engagement strategies for the remote audience. Successful hybrid events require a high level of engagement for both the face-to-face and remote audiences.  To be effective content needs to be delivered before, during and after the event.  Examples of components for an effective hybrid event include:  custom content for virtual audiences, behind the scenes footage, man on the street interviews, daily wrap up videos, exclusive interviews with key presenters, teasers.

 

Customized Solutions and Consulting
Tailored solutions to meet your meeting and event needs.

 

Need more information on any of the above? Contact me to discuss the specifics of your event and how I can help!