Here’s a question for you. Be honest (please). Before COVID-19 came along, how excited were you to be glued to your seat, eyes forward, fighting the post-lunch food coma—for a 60-minute keynote?
In our recent experience, COVID-19 has changed our expectations for keynote speaker presentations and corporate events for the better. Gone are the days where a sixty-minute PowerPoint with a voice over (delivered at another virtual conference the day before), was the height of the online experience.

Thankfully, audiences are now getting fewer slides and more interactivity from their hosts and presenters. Expectations have also changed for conference demand, pricing, format, and topics. Here are the latest trends, We see in online virtual conferences.

DEMAND

Since March 2020, online conferences have increased exponentially—and why not, they’re the meetings industry’s only option. While some businesses canceled their in-person events, other, forward-thinking ones worked on moving keynote experiences to interactive virtual platforms. Based on an estimated 1.9 million conferences per year (according to Meetings-Conventions Magazine), it’s likely that nearly 1.5 million conferences will be either canceled or converted to virtual format in 2020 alone.

We don’t expect online conferences to disappear when COVID-19 does. Speakers bureaus expect companies to keep booking keynote speakers and using the online experience format for years to come.

PRICING

Online events are less expensive to organize than in-person events. Instead of placing a deposit for a huge venue, meals, accommodation for hundreds, and paying travel for guests and presenters, the main costs are the keynote presenters and virtual platform.

Virtual keynote speaker are generally less expensive to book, plus there are no travel costs. Speakers bureaus are seeing keynote speakers being more flexible on pricing, since they aren’t spending additional days for travel or overcoming jetlag. While " Celebrity" speakers will still command premium prices, t, the good news is the keynote fee will be the biggest expense of the event now that conference venue, travel and food are not needed.

FORMAT

Online events have upended the keynote format. Webinars have changed from the stereotypical 45-60 minute presentation with PowerPoint slides to the new “Unwebinar” format. Instead of staring at stale slides for an hour, audiences get a short introduction with an emcee and a shorter 20-25 minute lecture/presentation with a colorful deck, followed by a 15-20 minute Q&A, or sometimes with a panel.

The Unwebinar is also more interactive for audiences. Online virtual platforms allow the audience to engage with the presenters through surveys, polls, and chat. Attendees can even chat with each other to discuss the event in progress.

TOPICS

While the format has changed, the Speaking topics are mostly the same. Top Companies are still interested in leadership, teamwork, motivation, happiness, Health and innovation. The difference is presenters now apply their Life Lessons and takeaways to dealing with the effects of COVID-19. Keynote speakers show participants how to apply old principles to the new Working from home ,working life and to dealing with downsized markets and offices.

Sometimes it’s gotta be a celeb right?  For those special times when ONLY a big name will do – here are top talent names who have been doing a lot of public speaking.

Deepa Malik, mother of two, overcame a spinal tumour, 31 surgeries and 183 stitches to win India a Silver medal at the ongoing Rio Paralympics.India's Deepa Malik scripted history when she won the silver medal in the women's shotput F53 event at the Rio Paralympics on Monday, with a personal best throw of 4.61m.

With this herculean effort, she became India's first woman and oldest athlete to ever win a medal at the Paralympics.

Deepa started off with a throw of 4.26m, then registered 4.49 on her second attempt and 4.41m on the third. On her sixth throw, she recorded a personal best of of 4.61m, which ultimately helped her finish second.

"I want to use this medal to support women with disabilities in India. This journey has been wonderful for me and my entire family, I am proud to be the oldest athlete in the team and win a medal."

Deepa is a paraplegic, paralysed from waist down. A spinal tumour confined her to a wheelchair 17 years ago, and she has been unable to walk since then. 

Deepa's distinctions in multiple sports, her various activities including 'Ability beyond Disability', her three Limca Book of World Records and her various medals in swimming at international competitions make her a unique athlete. She holds the Asian record in javelin throw, and also has World Championships silver medals in shot put and discus that she won in 2011.
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Perhaps her most adventurous step till date would be the 3,000 km journey she took from Delhi to Leh and back on a specially enabled car. The hand-controlled vehicle would take her through the Rohtang pass up until the highest motorable pass in the world, the Khardung La, at an elevation of 5,359m, according to a report by The Times of India. This record is especially remarkable when we take into account that Deepa has no control over her bladder and bowel movement and also has no control of her body beneath her chest.

​The Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro may have finished but the world is still buzzing with the thrills the Best Athletes from over 200 countries created over the incredible two weeks - with team India putting in an awe inspiring performance.

Many current and Past Olympic Legends have gone on to  forge highly successful careers as celebrity speakers, sharing their experiences and delighting audiences with anecdotes from their action packed lives. 

Simply Life is proud to offer some of the Biggest names in Olympic sports for booking at your next private or corporate event, as well as other top - drawer speakers who have the most amazing stories to tell from the world of sports. 

If you would like to book any of these fantastic speakers for your next event, call Shipra Kapadia at Simply Life India Speakers Bureau on +918652835000 or email shipra.kapadia@simplylifeindia.com

What makes our clients happy? Speakers who consistently go above and beyond. You can count on these favorites to be on-time, attend breakfasts or meet and Greet sessions, make time for Q&A, and always go the extra mile. Simply put, they will make you look good:

CAPT. RAGHU RAMAN_ : ​Distinguished Fellow - ORF , Author, former CEO NATGRID, ex-soldier & UN Peacekeeper. Former Captain in the  Indian Army  Columnist, Author, Keynote Speaker and Faculty for Leadership, Strategy & Change Management.
" ​The leadership talk on the Siachen Glacier was one of the most inspiring presentations I have heard in recent times. Raman a very clear persuasive presentation style and the content that has been put together makes me proud to be an Indian. " 

PRAKASH IYER : Motivational Speaker, Leadership Coach. Bestselling author of The Habit of Winning & the Secret of Leadership. 
“Prakash was a delight. He has the perfect combination of down-to-earth humor, genuine likeability, and frank, hard-earned business sense to relate to diverse audience members.”

JAMLING TENZING NORGAY  : Jamling Tenzing Norgay is an Indian-Nepalese Sherpa Everest climber He is the son of Tenzing Norgay the first man to Climb Mount Everest. In his illustrated presentation, Touching My Father’s Soul – An Odyssey to the Top of Everest, Jamling brings to life a profound and compelling adventure, interweaving the lives of a family, a mountain and a people, and of climbers facing nearly insurmountable obstacles.  It is a story of disaster, triumph, professionalism and the resilience of the human spirit.  
“Our audience was spellbound with his demeanor.  He is so professional, so generous, so thoughtful … need I go on?” 

HARSHA & ANITA BHOGLE : Harsha and Anita  run a successful corporate speaking enterprise Prosearch Consultants and conduct a motivational series called The Winning Way --Lessons from sport for managers. It has received around 400 invitations. Harsha and Anita have also co-authored a book by the same name  that has sold over 100,000 copies and become a national bestseller.

ERIC SIEGEL : Former Columbia University professor founder of Predictive Analytics World and Text Analytics World, author of 'Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict  Who Will Click, Buy, Lie, or Die. 
“I wish all of the speakers we hire were as effective and easy to get along with as Eric!" 

ROBIN SPECULAND  : Best Selling Author and Strategy Specialist. Robin Speculand is a global pioneer and specialist in strategy implementation and is driven in assisting leaders to successfully execute their strategy. He is the founder and Chief Executive of Bridges Business Consultancy Int and the creator of the Implementation Hub portal, the first portal in the world dedicated to strategy implementation. Robin is the first author in the world to publish three books on implementation. The international bestselling book Bricks to Bridges – Make Your Strategy Come Alive, set the benchmark for new thinking in his field.
" The perfect score says it all.  Robin’s presentation at our Global HR Conference inspired us to lead in uncertain times, gave us pages of real-world tactics to accelerate productivity and – in the end – moved us to open doors of possibility as individuals and as a team that left us feeling energized, empowered and confident we can make a difference individually and collectively.”
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