THE LAST LAUGH – By Tim Sosbe
We’re online, but what are we learning?
What could go wrong? That’s a common phrase you hear – it’s just typically said in conjunction with a story that shows exactly what could go wrong.
So, what could go wrong? Just about anything. “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry” – that’s just Robert Burns’ poetic way of saying that anything can go wrong, and usually does. Pessimistic? Probably. Accurate? Sadly.
Welcome to The Last Laugh, where we come together to commiserate and share the scary, the silly and the sort of sad. But we do it to laugh, metaphorically whistling past the graveyard of someone else’s problems.
We have some stories to make us smile … and you’re invited to take a turn onstage. If something from your work put a smile on your face, share it with someone. Misery loves company, because it makes the misery turn to joy.
For example….
Have a story to share for The Last Laugh? Reach out to us at lastlaugh@L-TEN.org and we’ll help you lighten up someone’s day.
What’s Wrong With Webinars?
One of the highlights of my role is helping plan webinar programs to educate, inspire and inform LTEN members. When things go right (like they usually do), we have a large crowd of learners walking away with valuable insights and actionable information.
So, what could go wrong? Let me tell you a couple of stories from my 22 years of producing webinars. See if they don’t remind you of some of the training you’ve run.
If you’ve produced a virtual program, you know there are normal problems that happen. I once had a webinar (not with LTEN) freeze on a speaker’s slide, because a fire broke out in what was later described as a phone company “communications shack” in South Dakota (where I wasn’t). Stuff happens, usually beyond our control.
Here’s some that could have been controlled, but humorously weren’t.
The Mouse in the House
At another company years ago, a presenter shared a slide that made a point with an adorable picture of a mouse. Huge ears, big eyes, cute little tail. Adorable right?
Not to the woman in the audience with a huge fear of mice. Her angry letter went on way longer than the mouse’s 15 seconds of fame, and led to a “no rodents” policy on that org’s webinars.
I’m Here, They’re Here. Where’s the Speaker?
Fortunately, this one is rare and hasn’t happened to me at LTEN. But when it happens, you don’t forget it.
I was there. The audience was there. Where was the speaker?
At 30 minutes out, I’m forgiving and unphased.
At 25 minutes out, I’m sending the “are you having trouble connecting” message.
Then at 20 minutes to go comes the phone call. Voice mail? Swallow a Tums and leave a message.
15 minutes out and all communication channels get hit again.
At 10 minutes out, Plan B is ready.
Finally, 5 minutes to go, and here comes the speaker, who thought we were starting at the TOP of the hour (calendar invitation aside).
All no worries, until the speaker asks, “Can I send you the updated slides now?”
The Speaker’s Here, But the Speaker’s Where?
It’s always best to have the speaker on your webinar or training in a quiet location, free from distractions. But this is real life and it doesn’t always work this way. Sometimes speakers show up in cars, in shared spaces and of course in home offices with unlocked doors.
For instance, here at LTEN, somewhere deep in our on-demand library, is a video of a man talking to LTEN members about important topics that they needed to know but I doubt they heard. You see, shortly after he started teaching us, his toddler daughter came running in, climbed on his lap and started playing with his beard. He soldiered on far better than I could, but his thunder was very adorably stolen.
But my favorite – because of the timing – was when a speaker had to deliver a program from an airport terminal. A very loud airport terminal. I lost count of the interruptions, but I’ll never forget the last. “If there’s anything you remember from this webinar, it should be that FLIGHT 4721 IS NOW BOARDING FOR CINCINNATI AT GATE A7.”
And while I may deny this later, I may or may not have produced an LTEN webinar from a McDonald’s parking lot during a Wi-Fi outage. The program went perfectly and the cookies were warm.
The Last Laugh
Whew, we’re done again. Doesn’t that feel good?
The Last Laugh will be back in the July issue – if you have something to share, send it our way. As you can see, we can laugh about anything even remotely unprofessional.
This all reminds me of a story about the time I attended a virtual training session led by a pirate. Actually, it was more of a webinARRRRR.
Tim Sosbe is editorial director for LTEN. Email Tim at tsosbe@L-TEN.org or connect through LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/timsosbe.
