12 Amazing Audience Engagement Ideas I Learned on a Cruise – Part 1
12 Amazing Audience Engagement Ideas I Learned on a Cruise – Part 1 I recently returned from performing magic on a couple of European cruises which combined to fill nearly the entire month of August. My wife joined me on this adventure as the dates overlapped our 19th wedding anniversary. We started with five days in Stockholm, Sweden, where we saw the sights and I visited a friend who had been an exchange student to my high school many years ago! We concluded with three days in Dublin, Ireland. While we were in Russia, I was inspired by one experience to make a change to the way I think about my business, my performances, and my keynote presentations. As I gave it more thought, I realized that each stop along the way taught me something important about providing amazing and engaging experiences for my audiences, both at live events and for my brand’s audience. What did I learn in each port? Here are some of my takeaways. The rest will appear in the next post. Amazing tip #1: Guide your audience to an experience that most people miss. Stockholm, Sweden – In the five days we were in Stockholm we covered a lot of ground, from visiting royal palaces to shopping in Gamla stan. But the most amazing experience to me was the opportunity to reconnect with my friend Anna, whom I hadn’t seen since high school over 25 years ago. Her insights and advice led us to explore a part of the city we might otherwise have missed. Amazing tip #2: Put a hidden gem somewhere in the experience for your audience to discover. Tallin, Estonia – This wasn’t a port we expected to love, but we were tipped off by Rosemary’s aunt that it was a hidden gem. It didn’t have the name recognition of a St. Petersburg or Helsinki. But it turned out to be a favorite stop – lots of history, interesting things around every corner, and easy to walk and explore. Amazing tip #3: You don’t have to be “on” all the time; create multiple ways for your audience to explore your offerings on their own. Helsinki, Finland – This port had name recognition, but our visit was on a Sunday and so we encountered a lot of closed stores until later in the day. This meant that we had quiet streets and little traffic all morning. We couldn’t get into every location because some places are closed on Sunday morning. But we got to peek inside a Russian Orthodox cathedral during a service and that was a beautiful experience. Amazing tip #4: In every possible interaction, prime your audience to appreciate the beauty in what you will share with them. St. Petersburg, Russia – Rosemary and I spent an evening at the ballet. We saw “Sleeping Beauty” at the Alexandrinsky Theatre. I was intensely moved by the beauty of the building, the sets, the costumes, the music, and of course the dancers. The moment we entered that theatre, we knew something special was going to happen. We were primed to appreciate the beauty to follow. I was inspired to add something beautiful to my presentations – something that gives my audience a chance to appreciate art for the sake of beauty. Amazing tip #5: Make sure the experience you deliver stands up to repeat engagement. Add layers if necessary. Copenhagen, Denmark – This was my second visit to Copenhagen, and it was easy to pick up right where I left off on last year’s trip with my daughter. Since my wife and I had only a single day in port, though, we had to budget our time. We chose to limit the number of attractions and explore more thoroughly, meaning that even though I visited Rosenborg Castle last year, I actually got a bit more out of the visit this year. There’s more to come in part two! Stay tuned! You can read the other entries in this series via the following links: 12 Amazing Audience Engagement Ideas I Learned on a Cruise – Part 2 12 Amazing Audience Engagement Ideas I Learned on a Cruise – Part 3
Atlanta Magician Joe M. Turner Named President-Elect of International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM)
I’m here in St. Louis at the 2014 combined convention of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) and the Society of American Magicians (SAM). This is only the tenth time in their century-long histories that these two organizations have co-produced a convention. Over 1300 registrants are here celebrating our shared art. Today at the annual meeting of the IBM, I was inducted as International President-Elect of the world’s largest magical organization. The IBM has roughly ten thousand members in 88 countries around the world. I’m tremendously proud of the work that the IBM does and is doing to promote the art of magic – as a hobby, as a profession, and as a brotherhood. Our new International President, Shawn Farquhar, is a longtime friend and one of the brightest stars in our industry. It is an honor to serve alongside someone as creative and tireless as Shawn. I have also spent a bit of time getting to know SAM National President-Elect David Bowers, who will lead that organization at the same time that I lead the IBM. Over the next two years, my plan is to help us expand the reach and the ability of the IBM to preserve and grow the art of magic. My primary mission is to support Shawn in whatever ways I can best be a resource to him and the IBM. As we get closer to my presidential year, I’ll be bringing some of my own specific goals to the forefront to build on the things that Shawn and other recent International Presidents have worked so hard to achieve. I hope that some of the lessons I learn from leading a 10,000+ member association will also be beneficial to you and your organizations. I will share insights as I can and when appropriate. Stay tuned!
4 Must-Have Components of Effective Magic (and Branding!)
4 Must-Have Components of Effective Magic (and Branding!) It pains me to say it, but there’s a lot of ineffective magic out there. Magic that people don’t get, don’t like, don’t remember, and ultimately don’t want. Very often, performers may nip at the edges of amazing experiences. Sometimes, some audiences may be engaged for a moment, or think a performer is clever, or be fascinated by great skill, or even enjoy the temporary spectacle of a show… but the overall experience somehow doesn’t quite qualify as “magical.” Why is that? I suggest to you that there are 4 necessary components of truly effective magic, and that they can be summed up in one sentence. No matter how well I perform a sleight, operate an apparatus, or do some other secret action, it’s not really magic until an audience experiences something impossible that means something to them personally. The Magic Side That’s a statement that is going to take a little unpacking. Here are the four criteria, each spelled out in a bit more detail. 1. Magic requires an audience. It can be fun and rewarding to practice a technique to perfection, or to develop a new routine, or to work out a new plot. Rehearsing can give you exciting glimpses of what you may be able to accomplish with the art. But it’s not magic until there’s an audience to experience it. In fact, “performing magic” is somewhat misleading phrase. Magic is a witnessed phenomenon, not a performed one. Magic is not performed until it is witnessed. 2. Magic requires mystery. It can be fun to solve a puzzle, or to engage in some clever wordplay, or to peek behind the curtain. But once it happens, the sensation of magic is destroyed. It’s not magic if the illusion is penetrated. Poor technique, equipment failure, or a lack of good design can all endanger or eliminate the magical experience. Magic explained is not magic. 3. Effective magic has a meaningful context. Walk onstage, push a giant needle through a balloon, and walk off. You might get a smattering of applause. But even the simplest illusion, given some dramatic framework or connection to the world, becomes more powerful. Is the illusion about your comic failure to make the balloon burst as expected? Is it about challenging expectations? Is it about surprising strengths? If it’s just a puzzle, it’s not really magic. Presentation counts as much as technique. Give magic a “why” to heighten its impact. 4. Effective magic connects with people personally. Good magic has a context that gives it a meaning, answering the question “Why are you doing that?” But to go even further, great magic connects to something the audience values, answering the question, “Why should I care?” Whether you are physically doing close-up magic in a spectator’s own hands, or scripting an illusion to perform for a thousand people, find a way to relate what you’re doing to something the audience cares about. Give your audience a reason to care about the magic. The Business Side Interestingly, if you consider each of those points, I suspect you’ll see that they apply just as much to branding, marketing, and customer experience issues as they do to the performance of magic. • You have to gather an audience for your message. • The more of your process that the audience perceives, the less magical their experience. • You increase your impact by giving your audience a framework through which to interpret what you share with them. • You maximize that impact by making that framework something that they care about. What can you do today to change the way you communicate and engage your audience so that their experience with your brand is more magical?
Bow Ties and Strategy: The Impact of Intent
Bow Ties and Strategy: The Impact of Intent Insights on business strategy can sometimes be found in the unlikeliest places. I had a flash of insight at a breakfast meeting in Buckhead a few weeks ago when discussing, of all things, bow ties. Until about two years ago, my thoughts on bow ties were generally dismissive and largely encapsulated in my standard comment on the subject, “You have to be the kind of guy who can pull it off, and I’m just not a bow tie guy.” Then I met an Atlanta businessman, Jay Austin of Jay Austin Bow Ties, who created a custom Mississippi State bow tie for me and got me to try it on. A few weeks ago I became aware that two other friends, Phil Minnes and Amanda Brown had started a bow tie business, Southern Style Man. I decided to purchase a couple from them (in their “vintage” line) in a show of support, even wearing one in a recent performance in Buckhead. Then, at a business networking meeting a few days later, Amanda said something I thought was brilliant. What did she say that made such an impact that I instantly made a note to share it with you? “There’s a difference between putting on clothes and getting dressed. When you wear a bow tie, you get dressed.” Putting on Clothes vs. Getting Dressed The distinction between “putting on clothes” and “getting dressed” is a significant one. It is full of meaning and insight. Here are just a few concepts that came to mind for me as I considered the difference. Intent – “Putting on clothes” is a low-intent activity, intended only to cover what’s absolutely necessary and focused only on the needs of the wearer. “Getting dressed” is a high-intent activity, with focus both on the wearer and the observer. Strategy – “Getting dressed” implies a goal and a purpose that goes beyond the simplest immediate need, and a willingness to make choices to get there. Timeline – The decision to “get dressed” implies that there is going to be an investment of time to achieve a desired result, not just a half-hearted attempt to achieve a minimum result. Measurement – You can “put on clothes” without ever looking in a mirror, but “getting dressed” requires checking results along the way as well as critiquing the final outcome. The Strategy Transformation As you can see, just the decision to “get dressed” changes the way you think about what you will do when you start choosing your clothing. The bow tie is a catalyst for that decision, but it has ramifications that may cascade throughout the entire process, from shirt to pants to belt to shoes. As I thought about it, I concluded that there are parts of my life and areas of my business where I have settled for “putting on clothes” when I could have chosen instead to “get dressed.” By the way, after putting on my first bow tie, I experienced a strange phenomenon. Everyone who saw me wearing it said, “See, you’re just one of those guys who can pull it off.” They were unknowingly echoing my own words back to me. This was completely unexpected. It seems that the very act of putting on a bow tie transforms you into “one of those guys” in the eyes of others. Taking action is almost magically transformative. What About You? Take a step. Develop a vision and be intentional with your strategy as you pursue it. You will find yourself transforming into the kind of person and leader who thinks, plans, and acts with an entrepreneurial instinct. How are you going to choose to “get dressed?”
Siriusly, XM? Brand Loyalty Despite the Process
Siriusly, XM? Brand Loyalty Despite the Process Brand loyalty isn’t always easy. Sometimes it’s like watching a frustrating relationship on some hyper-emotional cable network movie. One person is deeply in love and committed to the relationship, while the other is apparently too self-centered to even notice, much less address anyone else’s needs. Have you ever loved a brand that treated customers like that? The Happy Customer When I bought a new minivan for my wife last year, I subscribed to Sirius XM satellite radio. I used to enjoy it only in rental cars, but we finally bit the bullet and have thoroughly enjoyed the service. It has fed my addiction to Broadway cast recordings and it has renewed my appreciation for classical music. It has helped to satisfy my wife’s need for 80s hair bands, and it has given our whole family a new appreciation of classic radio personalities and programs like Jack Benny, Johnny Dollar, Suspense, Lux Radio Theatre, and Fibber McGee & Molly. So this year, when I bought a new vehicle for myself, I was happy to enjoy the free trial of Sirius XM. Three free months, then I’ll just add it to my account – easy, right? Wrong. I began being pursued as a new customer immediately after purchasing the second vehicle. I can understand the automated nature of the initial campaign to woo me, but it was clear that nobody ever bothered to check whether I was a current subscriber or not. After all, the same name, address, and phone number had been used to purchase the first vehicle and to subscribe to the service. A couple of weeks ago I got a call warning me that my free trial was expiring and that I could subscribe for the next five months for only $25. I said that sounded great, and that they should just add it to my account since I was already a happy customer. What do you think happened next? The Unamazing Process My request, as you probably suspect, could not be met. In order to enjoy the reduced fee for the new vehicle, their internal process required me to create a separate account. The service representative advised me to make a note to call them back in October and have them consolidate my accounts. To review: – I am a current customer. – I expressed my pleasure at being a current customer. – I expressed that I want to expand my relationship by adding additional purchases to my account. – In order to do that, their process forces me to create a new account, possibly complicating my existing relationship. – I have to take the initiative to call them back to simplify the situation in five months. Analyzing the Breakdown Let’s just assume that it’s reasonable to extend benefits to new customers that you don’t extend to current happy customers. This may not be the case, and the issue is still debated widely by marketing and customer retention experts. But even granting that it’s true for the sake of argument, the experience described above still falls short of “amazing.” Why? It fails to recognize that the customer doesn’t really care about the details of your process, except to the degree that it hinders their desired outcome. I should not ever hear about what your computer system allows you to do or not do. It puts the focus on the needs of the company, and not the outcomes for the customer. Our conversation turned from what I wanted to what the company needed. They needed me to make another account. They needed to get redundant information from me that they already had. They needed me to be patient while screens were toggled. It places responsibility on the customer to solve a problem intrinsic to the process. I was instructed to make a note on my calendar to call them back in October to fix the issue. Siriusly, XM? Even if the process is going to be a hindrance, the service agent should take the initiative to note my issue on my account and add some kind of flag within their own system. If they can automatically track me down to pursue me as a new customer, then adding a small note to automatically contact me in September or October is not unreasonable. It just requires that someone think of it. I fully recommend the high quality product produced by SiriusXM, and I have generally been pleased with the service I receive. But this episode is a good example of how what seems perfectly reasonable to a company due to internal process constraints can be completely unreasonable to a customer attempting to do more business with them. Can you remember a time when your interaction with a preferred brand became more about their process than about your outcome? Tell me about it in the comments.
Magic, Management, and Logistics
Magic, Management, and Logistics When I spoke at the National Logistics and Distribution Conference earlier this year, I was interviewed by Bob Bowman of SupplyChainBrain.com for an Executive Briefing video. The interview was recently published and they gave me permission to share it with my viewers on my YouTube channel. If you’ve ever wondered why and how I connect my performances with speaking on the concepts of leadership, management, branding, and corporate communication, you’ll enjoy this interview. You might want to pay close attention to the questions surrounding the issues of deception and “lying” to the audience, and how I can still use my kinds of performances to communicate meaningful messages to an audience. Enjoy!
The Atlanta Braves, Cobb County, Leadership, and Unforced Errors
The Atlanta Braves, Cobb County, Leadership, and Unforced Errors Leadership is a risky business. Leadership is a risky business. Sometimes you march through a rain of opposition, only to come out stronger and more connected to those you lead and your former opponents for having led with honor and grace. And sometimes, just as you are about to cross the finish line, you step in a hole, twist your ankle, and end up walking with a cane for the foreseeable future. Every subsequent appearance before your group carries a visual reminder of your misstep. Something along those lines happened this week in Cobb County, where, as you’ve no doubt heard by now, the Atlanta Braves will be moving to a new stadium in 2017. While I am heavily involved in the entrepreneurial and business networking circles within Cobb County, I am not a resident. I love Cobb and think of it as a generally successful example of good leadership at the county level. While I may have disagreements with issues here or there, overall I tend to think of Cobb as the kind of county that many other metro counties could learn from. I leave my encounters with Cobb’s business, political, and social leaders thinking, “These folks get it.” But even the best sometimes stumble. Even the best sometimes stumble. This week, the Cobb County Commission voted 5-0 to approve multiple agreements that form a 30-year partnership with the Braves. As is the usual case with Cobb County commission meetings, they allow citizens to speak on issues before the commissioners by allowing people to sign up for a number of open speaking slots. The supporters of the Braves’ move organized themselves to arrive five hours before the meeting and sign up for all twelve slots. This ensured that no opposition voice was heard at the meeting. I’m sure that the creators of this strategy thought it was a master stroke. “Nobody else will get to speak and put any kind of a damper on the festivities.” “No negative thoughts or visuals will impede the progress of this project.” “We will present a unified view to those who are watching.” It’s not that there aren’t admirable elements to the idea of showing unity and keeping things positive. But it didn’t turn out that way. Opposing voices were led away by authorities. The meeting has made the news all over the country. The commissioners and the advocates of the deal have come off looking really bad. I don’t support the opposition’s attempt to disrupt the meeting, either, but that pales in comparison to the mistake of not reserving a slot or two for the opposing view. Avoid unforced errors. The sad part is that it was completely unnecessary. Even if some of the opponents had received speaking slots, the vote was a fait accompli. This deal was already done and everyone knew it. Despite some reasonable arguments from the opposition, I actually support the Braves’ move to Cobb and am looking forward to the new entertainment venues and development in the area. I personally think the pluses outweigh the minuses in the long run. Others disagree. Fair enough. The commissioners and the community business leaders who supported this outcome got what they wanted. They got their vision, they got their stadium, they got their vote, and they got their speaking spots filled. But what they failed to remember was that they actually have to lead the whole county from this point forward, including those who were escorted out of that meeting and the other people whose views they represent. This episode, spread across media far and wide, is going to make it more difficult than it should have been to lead effectively through the days to come. It will invite ugly comparisons to past mistakes; even when such comparisons are unfounded, the fact that this happened will give credibility to future complaints. In controlling the environment of this meeting and strategically excluding the opposing voices, the advocates have unwittingly strengthened their opponents’ voices. The advocates didn’t need all twelve slots. The commissioners didn’t need to retreat into a “we didn’t pick who got to speak” dodge. They could have reserved 6 slots pro and con, or 10 slots pro and 2 slots con. Almost any other way of handling it would have been preferable to letting absolutely no opposing voice have a speaking slot on the agenda. In leadership, as in baseball, few things are as frustrating as unforced errors. The way this meeting was handled may not change much about the outcome of the game, but it’s going to make it significantly harder for all of these leaders to regain the trust of many talented people whom they will want on their team going forward.
7 Magical Lessons You Should Have Learned In Business School
7 Magical Lessons You Should Have Learned In Business School Over the past few weeks we’ve discussed several principles from the world of magic and illusion that have meaningful application to the business world. Now that we’ve finished, here’s a handy summary of what we’ve learned. (You can click each item to go to the detailed write-up for that principle.) Audiences will gladly pay to be amazed. Mystery is valuable. If it doesn’t look like magic, it still needs work. The audience need not know the details of the process. Smoother is better than faster. Props should be in good condition, but not the star of the show. It’s not “misdirection,” it’s “direction.” Those are just a handful of excellent principles that magicians have to think about on a regular basis, but which can affect the way you manage your branding, marketing, sales, leadership, management, or other business processes. Think about it – as kids, most of us went through a magic phase. If only we’d had the right insights about it, we might have come away as business prodigies! Now that you’ve read this article, though, you can enjoy your brand new MBA – Master of Business Astonishment!
7 Things About Magic That You Should Have Learned In Business School – #7
#7 – It’s not really misdirection – it’s direction. It’s often been said that “magic is simply misdirection.” One important lesson of magic that high-achieving performers learn is that the term “misdirection” is a misnomer. Yes, it’s sometimes important for the overall illusion to ensure that audience doesn’t see something happen. Having them look away is “misdirection,” but you could “misdirect” someone by any number of clumsy means that would not enhance the experience. Saying “Hey, look, is that your dad?” might get someone to look away for a moment and miss a move, but any illusion would be immediately spoiled by suspicion of the manipulation. Instead of “misdirection” of attention, the real secret is “direction.” The late, great Tommy Wonder was one of the magicians who voiced this idea most strongly. To artfully misdirect means that you purposely direct attention to something else that is just as interesting and important. Skillful misdirection requires the performer to consider what should be interesting to the spectator at every moment and to create a script and blocking to put that story at the forefront of the audience’s attention. With the narrative clearly identified and illuminated both visually and verbally, the method can now be poured into the background shadows. If you want your audience to be amazed with your business story and your overall business effect, make sure that you are giving them something meaningful to which they can pay attention, especially during the times that you need to execute actions that hinder or clutter your narrative. What about you? Can you think of a time when a brand awkwardly attempted a “look over here” moment? How did you feel when they tried to dodge the issue at hand? What is your “look over here” story? Let me hear from you in the comments!
7 Things About Magic That You Should Have Learned In Business School – #6
#6 – Your props should be in great condition, but they shouldn’t be the star of the show, either onstage or in business. Unless you’re performing a theme act set in a junkyard, there’s not really an excuse for performing with props that are in disrepair. The poor impression they make will be a psychological barrier between you and the effect you’d like to have on your audience. Audiences don’t care to understand the economics of purchasing unusual materials, nor the particulars of trying to fit multiple performances into a day. All they know is what they experience during the show that they have paid to see. If you are giving them wrinkled silk scarves, peeling paint, or badly-fitting costumes, then even the best illusion you perform will have less impact than it should because part of the audience’s attention is being spent on noticing those flaws. While the props shouldn’t be in bad shape, they should also not steal focus from the performance. Some performers – usually those of little experience – have a tendency to think that enough paint, prism tape, or varnish will make a prop so attractive that it will do all the work of sustaining an audience’s interest. But the props can never do that job, because props are not the star of the show. Whether you’re on a stage or in a retail environment, an office, or some other business, your audience wants your tools to be in good shape, but they are far less interested in the tools than they are in what you will build with them. You certainly can’t build a quality product without using tools, but you can’t sell a shoddy product because you built it using a great tool. What about you? Can you think of an experience where the tools or environment were great, but the delivery of the service or product was still lousy? What is your “lipstick on a pig” story? Let me hear from you in the comments!
