The GSA Convention 2018 blew us away once again! Under the hashtag #GSACon18, you can find many great impressions from Berlin, shared on social networks. Konstantin from blink.it took this year's motto "Disruption" as an opportunity for an experiment: Equipped with his smartphone, he conducted short interviews with participants of the convention. The result is impressive – and we learned quite a bit.
All Disruption, or What?!
I'm probably not the only one who had to Google the motto of this year's GSA Convention: What exactly does "Disruption" actually mean? We're talking about disruptive technologies, for example: according to Wikipedia, disruptions are
innovations that replace the success series of an already existing technology (…) or completely displace it from the market.
Disruption happens whenever, the new is much better than the old. And speaking of Wikipedia: The online encyclopedia is a very good example of a disruption, as Konstantin explained in his workshop at the GSA Convention. If I want to know something today, I enter my question into Google or directly into Wikipedia. In the past, I had a series of encyclopedias at home or had to go to the local library.
A disruption like Wikipedia doesn't mean that existing content disappears. Instead, it is usually only the form that is new, and the way of dealing with it – online search instead of a library trip. Or also: streaming with Netflix, Amazon, and co instead of renting video cassettes from a video store.
Speakers Life at the GSA Convention 2018
The spirit of "Disruption" was clearly felt last weekend in Berlin: On one hand due to the approximately 300 speakers, trainers, and coaches who were completely open to new ideas and technologies in the speaker scene. On the other hand, thanks to the great supporting program, which Ralf Schmitt designed as "Session Chair". Quite a few things were different from what we know from typical large events. Disruption in the head through:
Odd times for the sessions
An opening keynote with a smoke machine – where the audience participated standing up
Gala evening, disco, and many other highlights in the program
Not least, a great video with a lot of self-irony on the topic of "Speakers Life"
You should definitely watch the video "Speakers Life" with Ralf Schmitt, Margit Hertlein, Peter Brandl, and Martin Sänger. Even as a non-speaker, the 4-minute time investment is worth it:
If you can take yourself with humor, you have already won, right?
Our Experiment 2018: Smartphone Out, Film Rolling!
We also wanted to use the GSA Convention 2018 to focus more on the medium of video. At such events, you speak with many different people – why not let the camera roll?
On the left side of the picture is Konstantin, and at the bottom right is our colleague Hans-Martin during his lecture on the topic of blended learning. Above, you see the devices that Konstantin used for his video experiment: A smartphone and a stabilizer¹, with which he can hold the smartphone steady in his hand. Equipped this way, he approached several speakers and trainers at the convention in Berlin and asked them for a short interview.
The result: Four friendly short videos introducing four friendly people. Watch the first interview now, which you can already find on YouTube. Konstantin is talking here with Bert Helbig, radio expert and keynote speaker. We intentionally did not cut or otherwise change anything to show you: Even with little effort and without highly professional equipment, you can shoot good videos!
A few slips of the tongue are more authentic than a perfect video "from the lab." What do you think about this experiment?
Do you want to start your own video experiment with your smartphone? Then check out our online course at studio@home: In it, Michael from blink.it explains what you should pay attention to when filming with a smartphone.
Four Years of GSA Convention – Why a Visit is Always Worth It
For us, the GSA Convention 2018 was another great experience. Since we are often asked if participating was worth it for us as exhibitors, we don’t want to leave the answer at a clear "Yes!" Let's take a brief look back at four years of GSA Convention, which have been worthwhile in different ways each time. Maybe you are also part of this story?
2015: Getting to Know the Market
In September 2015, our blink.it product was only three months old. No wonder that at the 10th GSA Convention in Munich, no one knew us yet. The motto back then was "Shift in Perspective." Why the participation was worthwhile: We got to know the market and gain a real impression of the speaker industry.
2016: Contacts, Contacts, Contacts!
In September 2016, we were a good bit more experienced and already encountered some familiar faces. The convention was themed around success and failure this year. A success for us again because we were able to get to know many people better at the GSA Convention 2016 in Ulm.
2017: Consolidating Standing
Last year in Salzburg, even more participants of the convention knew us. Some had heard of us already but wanted to learn more personally about the blended learning method and the blink.it software. In line with the motto "Talking Makes Sense," we spoke with numerous speakers and trainers, further consolidating our standing.
2018: A Class Reunion Feel
This year, the "Disruption" in Berlin: We are trying out new video formats – see above – and meeting many acquaintances and customers. The greatest feedback for us from this year’s GSA Convention is the enthusiasm with which so many now speak about the idea of blended learning and especially about blink.it. A big THANK YOU for so much trust!
Using Time Wisely: What We Learned from the GSA Conventions
This short excursion into the past four years is not intended as self-promotion. Instead, we want to summarize what we have learned from this time and participation in the GSA Conventions. Perhaps you can apply these tips to your own speaking.
One thing is clear: The content is not getting less – quite the opposite. With every year that you work successfully toward your goal, you learn more and expand your collection of materials. But the time for keynotes, training, or speaking is not increasing. Now there are two possibilities:
Shorten the content.
Reallocate the time.
In recent years, we opted for the obvious option A: sometimes we focused on the blink.it kit, sometimes on the blended learning method in general. Completeness cannot be achieved, we thought, and shortened our content for talks.
In 2018, we still shorten content for talks – however, we now refer to further internal sources. We cannot present a topic 100% in 60-minute workshops; therefore, we have further expanded our online content. Anyone participating in a lecture or workshop by us – or even just engaging in a brief conversation – can subsequently find additional tips, materials, and guides online.
You can find trends on individual content twice a week in our blog, which you can subscribe to as a weekly newsletter.
Deeper insights into topics such as blended learning in practice can be found on our detailed webpages.
And since September 2018, you can find all our guides, instructions, and other learning materials to download or watch in the online course here: www.blink.it/lernmaterial
Space in this article is also limited – although I could tell so much more. If you were not able to attend the GSA Convention 2018, check out our new overview of the learning materials from the blink.it editorial team (linked in the box below).
Do you miss something? Do you have comments? Then feel free to let us know; we look forward to feedback!
¹ The link to the stabilizer "smoothQ" is an independent recommendation – we do not receive any commission for it.
