How To ROCK Virtual Engagements!

One for those of you interested in the virtual communication technology platforms of the future! Tonari looks like a very cool and interactive communication technology platform that can add a considerable level of communication quality to virtual engagements!

Tonari is for engineers and designers; teachers and students; doctors and patients; children and grandparents. It can be in your office; at a local cafe or library; or even in your home. As a social venture, they are backed by a ¥50M annual grant from The Nippon Foundation to fund research and pilots, while building a platform that can scale to partners and customers around the world.

In this interview, I interview Alisaun Fukugaki whose pseudo nickname is "good vibes only". She was a finance goofball, community-builder, and co-founder of the Straylight collective. She has worked in finance since 2006 in Japanese equity sales at Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, and most recently, Macquarie Capital Securities. Alisaun is a startup enthusiast, and in 2014 created Startup the Party, a Tokyo meets San Francisco technology, music, and arts conference.

Their website: www.tonari.no

In this interview, I interview Chris Herd who is the Founder & CEO of Firstbase, a platform that helps companies supply and manage all the physical equipment remote workers need to do great work at home.  

The solution represents a MASSIVE cost saving for companies looking at remote working options. 

Chris obtained his Masters in Architecture from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen in Scotland.

Fun fact - Chris bootstrapped the business while continuing to play as a semi-pro soccer player to pay the bills.

This was a cracker of an interview for those of you who like communication Psychology and hearing good stories!

In this episode, Dr Vogelman(Lloyd) shares his road from leaving South Africa to Australia because of PTSD to getting his Doctorate in organizational psychology, how to develop virtual intimacy on a business call, what works for virtual facilitation of complex subjects, bias, the LUN framework, abundance to scarcity mindsets in this COVID19 world and how he overcame stage 4 liver cancer.

A really fascinating chat and jam-packed full of value.

Lloyd is a recognised global expert in the realm of Complex Selling and developed the Corteks Advance Business Adviser Methodology which has been adopted by numerous leading companies. Corteks Methodologies are now accessed in over 30 countries.   Dr Vogelman qualified as a clinical psychologist and received his doctorate from the University of London in the field of organizational psychology.  He is also a published author of approximately 50 publications in a variety of mediums and played a prominent leadership role in human rights in South Africa and was the founder and director for the Centre for Reconciliation. As part of the Centre, Lloyd established one of the largest trauma centres which provided treatment for victims of Apartheid violence.

In this interview for "How to ROCK virtual engagements!" I interview Scott MacDonald who was born and raised in Toronto Canada.  I met Scott on my podcasting course, "Broadcast Yourself" from Londonreal.tv.   

He is a dynamic go-getter and we talk about the how-to bulletproof your virtual business, the concept of "omnipresence" which is what every business needs today whether they are physical or virtual and our experience of doing podcasting; avoiding perfectionism. 

Personally, podcasting has "expanded" my world in more ways than I can say and we talk about these benefits.   

Besides an excellent voice, he is the founder of  Ontario Hockey Club and the host of "The Real Xperience" Podcast. 

He played hockey, baseball and Australian football growing up. His passions include entrepreneurship, business, hockey, coaching, podcasting, and personal development.

Fun fact - he was a better actor than an athlete growing up, but never pursued it - as Toronto is the Mecca for hockey in North America.  

Enjoy!

This is a MUST LISTEN episode for those who are really looking to take their virtual meetings to the next level. In this episode, I interview Jonny Cosgrove who is the CEO of meetingroom.io which is virtual reality(VR) meeting room solution. 

It is a fascinating chat - we talk about virtual reality, how virtual reality meetings are perfect for meetings of 3-20 that need high levels of engagement and participation. How virtual reality is NOT going to replace the traditional meeting rooms platforms. How each virtual meeting room space can be customised with different background, sticky notes, apps, whiteboards etc. 

How the application changes the audio direction depending on who is talking, the importance of voice and being in a distractionless space

In essence how this technology can take your online meetings to the next level!

Jonny is passionate about sustainability and has an MBA from Trinity College, Dublin with a background in events, marketing and technology. Jonny is convinced technology will contribute beneficially to the structural changes underway in the world of work.   

As a kid, he dreamed of being a professional wrestler/vet/power ranger - all at the same time!

ENJOY!

A treat for all of you that are dealing with possible career changes and uncertainty in these times. I interview lifestyle coach, Anthony Astbury.

Anthony is a former City worker who spent 20 years on broking and trading floors before leaving to find a life more fulfilled. He started off down a journey of personal development, spent time in London, Miami and Tenerife learning from Tony Robbins, and retrained as a lifestyle coach. 

In 2018 he co-founded the Whole Man Academy and is now the CEO of that initiative which encourages guys to get together and talk. 

Fun fact: he can juggle up to 5 objects at once!

In this episiode, we talk about virtual coaching, the importance of breathing to help manage anxiety, things to consider if you are looking to change careers or if you have been made redundant. The importance of empathy, breathing and the extreme importance of really LISTENING when on a virtual call or coaching session.

Anthony has a lot of wisdom to impart and has a relaxed and easy style.

ENJOY!

This episode is a treat for all you thinking sellers out there. I interview Rob Bruce from his secret "hideout" in the Scottish Highlands. 

Rob has three decades of enterprise software sales and marketing having worked for Schlumberger, Oracle, BroadVision and many other early-stage fails, mediocre's and rocketships. At the moment he is on sabbatical, however, his last job was VP of Marketing for Kimble.

Fun fact: He is a mountaineer and rock climber.

In this episode, we delve into the correct way of doing a "discovery" call for complex sales, the attitudes that virtual sellers need to to have, the idea of extreme curiosity and how sellers need to deeply understand their client's challenges and then matching these with differentiating factors from the vendor.  Again the attitude of empathy comes to the fore.

It is a fascinating chat and really highlights the attitudes modern virtual sellers need to embrace in order to be successful. 

In this episode, I interview Andy Searle, the CEO of BPESA, South Africa.  Andy has worked in the global business services sector since 1998 focusing on the economic growth of the sector, job creation and skills development.

We talk about why empathy is a keen component in the services industry, what are the 4IR skills we need to develop, virtual meeting etiquette and why South Africa has had phenomenal growth in this space. 

Andy is a keen athlete and has overseen a sector that has had phenomenal growth in the last while. 

The numbers do the talking.

The GBS Operators in the BPESA network added 12,243 new jobs in South Africa in the first three quarters of the year bringing the total number of new jobs created since January 2018 to 23,410 against the Jobs Summit target of 50,000 by 2023. With 89% of the new jobs being for youth, 64% for women, and 10,4% being specifically for excluded youth, the sector is making a very positive contribution to addressing some of our key socio-economic challenges.

In this episode, I interview  James O'Hagan, the Director of Digital & Virtual Learning at Racine Unified School District in Wisconsin, he is also a Doctoral Candidate at Northern Illinois University in the field of Instructional Technology, and the host of The Academy of Esports Podcast. He oversees a virtual learning program which involves all facets of learning that involves digital means. He has also launched two large school-based esports programs, and still plays rugby!

We talk about how mentorship is key to keeping people involved in digital learning,  they this is so important, ideas for bringing gaming into business meetings, jackbox games and the 20m, 20ft, 20-second rule for eye health!

James has a wealth of knowledge in virtual learning and gaming. 

In this episode, I interview Ian Spandow, who is the Global Field Readiness trainer for Walkme.com. Ian has adopted over 100 dogs and is an avid music player and all-round master trainer with a speciality in making online meetings FUN! He shares his tips in this entertaining episode!