What Just Happened? My Reflections on Hosting 100+ People

Ok, what just happened?!?  Is this what an out-of-body experience feels like?!? How can it be over already?!?

I feel like I am drunk, but never took one sip of alcohol (there wasn’t any time even if I had wanted to), while at the same time my brain is racing and every last drop of adrenaline is pumping through my veins. 

I try to gather my thoughts and recount the events that just transpired…

Did everyone have a good time?  Some people really mingled, while others just seemed to talk in their typical groups…

How was the music? Did we pick the right songs for our playlist?

I am exhausted, like could fall asleep standing up exhausted…but also so exhilarated that there is no way on Earth I will be going to sleep within the next three hours…at least!...   

I have to write Jessica, John, Doug, Janice…and thank them for coming…

How is it that I barely spoke to them?  They were here the whole time and I barely said two words to them! I barely said more than, “Hello,” “so happy you are here,” and, “thank you for coming,” to anyone!

People said it would be like this. They told me I just had to be in the moment and enjoy every second because it would be over before I knew it...

They weren’t kidding! It feels like only minute ago he asked, I said, “YES!” and we began planning…  

So again, after looking forward to this special night and sorting out every detail, how can it already be over?...

Did I even eat anything?...

Does this scene sound or feel vaguely familiar?

Raise your hand if you think what I am describing is me right after my wedding reception. (If you actually are sitting there right now with a hand in the air, I LOVE YOU!)

OK, put your hand down.

While, yes, I am married, and my reception felt incredibly similar to what I just described above, what I am really talking about is how I felt (just ask Stacey Lindes (@iruntech), Ellen Deem (@deem_ellen) or Greg Bagby (@Gregbagby)) right after I hosted my very first chat on Twitter, #EdBeat (Wednesdays @ 8 pm EDT), with the amazing Sean Gaillard (@smgaillard).

But since I mentioned it, the two are not that far off…

So whether you are planning your wedding reception, or getting ready to host a chat on Twitter, I hope you find my Top Three (+ 1) Takeaways for Hosting a Twitter Chat useful.

Find the Right Partner

Whether you are tying the knot, or co-hosting a chat, it will be far more enjoyable (and healthy) if the person you choose to partner with is someone you trust, respect, enjoy spending time with, can communicate with easily, are inspired by, and feel builds you up as a person. Sean Gaillard was, is, and will continue to be the perfect partner (My husband is too, just making sure I say that!), and here is why:

• He is an educator I admire and the walking definition of a leader (Sean facilitates not dictates). 
• He immediately made himself available to discuss ideas, answer questions, and assuage my fears (thank you Voxer!).  
• He showed that he trusted me by giving up control of the chat, and in doing so showed me that I could trust him (it’s a give and take kinda thing!). 
• He respected my ideas and always shared credit (not that I did the chat for the credit, but it always feels good when someone says, “That was so-and-so’s idea!”).
• He encouraged me to take a risk (more on that) and continued to provide immediate feedback, and applauded my efforts regardless of the outcome. (Sound familiar?)
• He is just a cool dude who has a great taste in music, movies, and has a good sense of humor. (Tell me you wouldn’t want to hang out with him!)

Communication is Key – (2 parts)

My mom always told me that the secret to a good marriage is communication, and I think that applies to co-hosting a chat as well. 

As I stated previously, Sean gets a double fist bump (with fireworks) in the communication department. Not just because he always makes himself so available, but because of the way he communicated while we were planning. If you want to be someone people listen and enjoy talking to, you should consider what I call the Sean Six:

1.       Be positive.

2.       Be consistent.

3.       Be receptive.

4.       Provide helpful feedback.

5.       Convey emotion and attitude in calming way that still shows passion (That’s a tricky one…still trying to figure out how he does it!)

6.       Explain your thinking.

The second reason communication is so vital when hosting a chat is that you are trying to facilitate a large gathering of people across time zones.  No, no one has to buy a flight, or get a hotel room, but you are asking people to make time in their busy lives to attend your chat (and without the promise of an open bar!). Plus, unlike weddings where people are (sometimes) told where to sit and with whom, this conversation is a free-for-all; all your guests will be talking to you and one another…at the same time! 

So, in order to ensure:

• people show up,
• people are able to prepare their thoughts (things move pretty fast around here),
• the conversation continues to flow,
• you cover all the talking points/questions with the allotted time,
• people feel comfortable sharing and want to participate,

You NEED to:

• be organized

(No you don’t need to get a wedding planner, but you do need to figure out a theme, a set of questions, your WHY for the chat)

• tweet out announcements/reminders ahead of time letting people know the When and Why

(You wouldn’t send the Save the Date the day before the wedding, would you? Give people plenty of notice, create a buzz, and get people excited!)

• continue to tweet out reminders

(Yes people are excited about getting married, but they also post “getting ready” pics on Facebook and Instagram to continue to remind everyone the big day is soon approaching; you have to do the same with your chat. People are busy.  They have work, classes, jogging, children, and spelunking vying for their attention.  Tagging people in these tweets makes sure people actually see the reminders and hopefully retweet them!)

• tweet out your list of questions/talking points a few days before the chat

(Just like it would have been helpful for your mother to remind you not to bring up Uncle Frank’s failed pyramid scheme, you can be helpful and let people know what they will be discussing during your chat ahead of time. You typically want to have between 5 and 7 Qs depending on the length of your chat)

• have your questions ready to be dropped

(While every now and then an off-the-cuff best man or maid of honor speech is epic, most crash and burn, get your questions ready prior to the chat. Canva and S’more are easy to use platforms that allow you to design fun/inspiring posters that can easily be tweeted out at designated times to make sure you don’t waste time typing them up in the midst of the chat.)

• drop your questions when you are supposed to

(Just like you need to stick with a schedule so you don’t end up with 3 hours’ worth of toasts and 10 minutes’ worth of dancing, you want to make sure you stick to a schedule of some sort. Some people actually preset their tweets to be dropped using TweetDeck, others say they like to allow the flow of the chat to dictate when they drop their questions – Host’s choice!)

• make sure your questions are clear and easy to find

(While I love a treasure hunt as much as the next person, I want my guests to know exactly where we will be dining and dancing so we can get the party started, and no one shows up after the party is over.  Have your questions right there in the tweet. 

Disclaimer: My questions for my first chat were a little tricky to find because I used a new format and didn’t give everyone a heads up. People spent precious time trying to figure where the questions were, rather than getting right to chatting - lesson learned!)

• welcome people to the chat

(If people show up you say, “Hi” and “Thanks for being here,” that’s just good manners. J)

• favorite, retweet, reply when applicable

(There is a reason the photographer doesn’t just take pictures of you.  You want to remember the good times everyone had, as well as be able to post embarrassing photos of your guests so everyone can enjoy them! (Just kidding…no actually I’m not.) You will want to do the same thing with tweets: remember them, comment on them, and share them – sans the blackmail.)

• share your own ideas and answers

(I will be honest, this was like getting to sit down and eat at my reception, it didn’t happen…maybe next time (Talking about the chat, not my “next wedding” shooting for one and done in the Krayenvenger household.).)

• Thank everyone for coming

(This is the same thing as welcoming people; you may be delirious by the end, but you still need to be polite!)

• follow up with people after the chat

(You were so excited to talk to your best friend from camp in 7^th grade, but you never got a chance to reminisce about that time you woke up taped upside down in your bunk! Send him/her a quick text while you’re riding in that stretch Hummer limo to catch your flight to Bora Bora (no that is not what I did…sigh!)  While the chat may technically be over, it’s kind of like last call, people always linger until they are kicked out…and Twitter doesn’t have a bouncer!)

    

     It’s Your Party, Try it if You Want to!

While weddings are a time for tradition and ritual, they can also be a time to be creative or inventive.  So if you were thinking of having a Go-Pro attached to your ring bearer (or your crazy Uncle Edgar), instead of having a videographer, do it, take a risk, no matter what it will be a story that is remembered and told over and over again! It’s the same thing with chats (and teaching for that matter).

We are always telling our students to take risks, so I decided to shake things up with regard to how I formatted our questions and gave S’mores a shot.  The reason I decided to use S’mores had to do with the fact that Sean’s chat (#EdBeat Wed. @ 8 pm EDT) was a “Mixed Tape Edition.”  What this means is we chose a variety of songs that then inspired the questions we asked. I used S’mores because it allowed me to embed music videos into the posters that stated the question.  This way people had the question and the song that inspired it all in the same place. 

While I did get mixed reviews (some people loved seeing S’mores used in this way, others thought it was perhaps a bit more complicated than necessary and spent more time than they wanted to trying to locate the questions), I was really excited and (to be honest) proud of myself for trying out a new app and then having the guts to use it the first time I ever hosted a chat. Not to mention, the failures of my chat helped me to reflect more deeply than I would have had everything just gone smoothly.  I probably wouldn’t even have written this post!

So if there is something you want to try, go for it!  Let me know when your chat is, and I will do my best to be there to cheer you on and provide feedback…if that’s what you want!

(OK this last one is really just for chats) Do it again, and again, and again…

This may have been my first chat, but it won’t be my last!