BTS: Team Interview
Hey TEDxErs!
We know you’ve probably been keeping tabs on the exciting things that TEDxUTAustin has been planning for everyone, including our upcoming virtual speaker conference that’s to take place next Saturday 09/26/2020 from 12:00-3:30 PM CST! We’re sure that you’re all extremely keen on learning what each and every committee has been working so diligently on these past few months. So, we connected with each of the committee heads (virtually, of course) and got the scoop for you all in the form of this interview!
Leadership team on set day of filming
Can you give us a brief rundown of what your committee is up to?
“Communications is in charge of social media, the website, and promoting the conference. When we shifted virtual, we wanted to find a way to still foster the community aspect we love so much. We started a series, IGTV lessons where anyone can give a mini-lesson on any topic. We also recently started a newsletter which you can subscribe to on our homepage!”
- Evie, VP Communications
“Curation is in charge of the main content of the conference, the speakers! We work with the speakers to perfect their talks both in terms of content and presentation. In preparation for the fall conference, we’ve had regular meetings with the speakers to refine their talks, a speaker pod to provide speakers with more varied feedback and to serve as a rehearsal, and making sure the speakers know what to expect for filming their talks.”
- Nancy, VP Curation
What have been some unexpected challenges you’ve faced trying to transition planning the conference online?
“The process of producing any large scale conference requires the team to be a well oiled machine. It was really difficult to cancel our conference right as we were about to put our foot on the gas pedal. The disappointment from this carried into the summer and made the first few months of lockdown very unproductive for the team. We then had to find a way to foster that camaraderie and passion purely through online meetings if we wanted our fall conference to succeed. As the school year approached, we all really stepped up and came together for a big push that put all the systems in place for a successful fall conference.”
-Zane, Creative Director
What’s the biggest misconception that you think the audience has about planning a large event like this virtually?
“The process of curating our talks, designing the set, and producing the speaker videos did not go away, but rather looked a bit different than it would have for an in person event. Our team was quick on its toes to translate its visions into something that could be engaging virtually. Our creative team was tasked with adapting an elaborately planned out stage design to something that was more accessible to a virtual audience. Our curation team found new ways to coach speakers through a talk without an in person audience. All of our teams found ways to shift gears in a way that kept the core vision of our conference intact, while recognizing that a different approach would be necessary for a virtual conference.”
-Elif, VP Memberships
“I think people are unaware of the amount of effort that goes into planning a large event. Though these talks are pre-recorded, our speakers went through a rigorous process to apply, audition, prepare, and deliver their talks. Our communication teams shared the word of our event to the greater Austin community in both conventional and non-traditional ways. Our creative teams spent countless hours designing the stage you’ll see behind the speakers. Our logistics and finance team coordinated with vendors virtually to bring this event from a physical setting to the virtual world. In a world where economies are bleeding, our partnerships team raised funds to host this event.”
-Shanil, VP Logistics
Leadership team on set of pre-recording speaker introductions
Have any aspects of coordinating and planning become easier online?
“For sure! The beauty of being online is that we have a much more concrete idea of what conference will look like prior to the day of. We can more easily access the software we’re using to run test scenarios and virtually touch base more frequently with people whom we might otherwise have to coordinate travel or commute times.”
-Erica, President
Which ones have become more difficult?
“Finding ways to engage audiences through a one-way communication platform has been a challenge our team is trying to overcome by including interactive discussion boards and activities throughout the event.”
-Shanil, VP Logistics
“Honestly, most things. TEDx is something so inherently tied to community and our conference process reflects that. Constructing a stage design, filming, and ideating for our conference are all things we would usually be able to gather and collaborate on, but to keep our team safe, the number of people involved has been significantly lower and our time frame to complete tasks has shortened as well.”
-Erica, President
What’s one thing you’re the most excited about regarding the conference?
“Reaching the masses!”
-Shanil, VP Logistics
“I am most excited to implement our completely new conference structure as we transition to hosting our event on a virtual platform. Our team has put so much time into developing unique, engaging content to enrich the viewing experience and elevate the conference to a new level. We’ve never hosted a virtual event before, so it’s always exciting to experiment and try new things!”
-Conor, VP Finance
Are there any cool apps/programs/tips you found really helped facilitate the planning process?
“TRELLO!! Trello has really kept the comms team on track this summer. We love checking off the “done” button on tasks and seeing all we accomplished every week.”
-Evie, VP Communications
Any advice for the next committee head that’ll take over for the Spring conference?
“Never forget the “why.” As Simon Sinek talks about in his TED Talk, always start with the why and the what will follow. Staying true to what TED stands for will be a guiding light to help you achieve a successful conference.”
-Shanil, VP Logistics
One last thing you want the audience to know during conference:
“The speakers and the TEDxUT Austin team have truly dedicated so much time, effort, and heart into our Break Through conference. So, I hope that you enjoy the conference and the ideas being shared as much as we enjoyed watching this conference come together!”
-Nancy, VP Curation
You heard it straight from the source! As you can see, the TEDx team has worked very hard through these past few months to be even more flexible and adaptable in the face of the current conditions that we are in. However, we’ve learned to take this time in stride and find opportunities to grow and become even more innovative in delivering our speaker conference to you. So be sure to see every committees’ efforts come to fruition on September 26th!
In fact, you can RSVP here (it’s free!) and we look forward to seeing you there!
Until next time connect,
- TEDxUTAustin