23.10.20

"We need to create connection before we create the content"

Blogs
Chad Littlefield
Chad Littlefield Co-founder and Chief Experience Officer We and Me, Inc.

We're very excited to announce that Chad Littlefield, co-founder and CEO of We and Me, Inc, will be facilitating our very first session at the Global Youth Entrepreneurship Festival 2020

Chad will be leading us through an interactive Virtual Connection Lab to kick off our festival by sharing stories, challenges, triumphs, and insights. 

In this video, Chad gives us a glimpse of what we should expect from his Lab. Watch it to find out more about how to foster human connection in virtual settings. We have included a transcription of the video below. 

Transcription

At the time of recording this, there were 12 days, 18 hours and 59 minutes to go until the Festival. By the time you're consuming this, it's probably a lot closer and I am coming to you! I am coming to you with the intention of creating a little bit of connection before content, but also setting expectations for what this Festival will look like and be like – so that when you click the link to jump into Zoom town, in this pixelated land that we've all been living in, you've got some expectations.

Hopefully, also you feel excited about this not being just like every other virtual meeting event that you've been to. We at YBI chose the name ‘Festival’ very intentionally. It's not a conference. And so there's a huge focus on your contribution and connection in this space.

If you were to attend and prioritise one session from the entire agenda, I am here to point you toward the very first day. Let’s scroll down and actually see it, the very first day. The very first thing is this lovely little piece called the ‘Virtual Connection Lab’ with Chad Littlefield. I am Chad. I will be facilitating us through this really fun process in Zoom where we'll utilise breakouts, which will allow us to connect and to learn from each other in a way that you will likely have not engaged in virtually.

We're going to feed two birds with one worm by doing this one. You're going to see a whole bunch of virtual engagement techniques, which you can steal and adapt and utilise in your own programs and in your own contexts. That'll be really useful, but maybe even more importantly, you will get to connect and share brains with people that you otherwise have not been able to in quite a long while.

The gift of being connected and being together is why we show up to events, right? And yet virtually, so often, we over-prioritise content and under-prioritise connection. And that is exactly why I'm working with YBI in the very first session: to prioritise connection and create that connection before content.

Just a couple of little technical notes or expectations: when you jump in, plan to come video-ready. Can you imagine if I was recording this whole video, and all you saw was this? There's just a certain level of life that happens when you can see somebody else. Now, come video-ready, but you won't necessarily have your video on the entire time. Right? Sometimes when somebody is sharing a piece of content, it doesn't make sense to watch somebody else picking their nose while that content's happening. But come video-ready, be in a space so that to the best of your ability, it'll serve you much more.

If you are able to, carve out as much present time as possible. I know that we all have way too much to do, and too little time, blocking out this much time is an intense thing. And when you've got kids running around behind you, or going to virtual school, or whatever else might be happening in your corner of the world – when that's all happening, it's hard to get really focused and present. And yet by being as present as possible and as engaged as possible, you'll get so much more out of this.

My intention is for you to leave my session – and my hope is that you leave the entire Festival – feeling refueled and energised by the connections you've made. Little technical things: update Zoom to the newest version, whether you use Zoom every day, or this is going to be one of your first times because you usually use a different platform – download Zoom on your computer. It's so much more reliable than just using the web link. So download it and make sure it's updated to the newest version.

When you have it updated to the newest version, you can do all sorts of very cool and exciting things to turn Zoom from 2D into 3D. And so I very simply access this [Chad opens Zoom] to get video filters. And so I'd love for you to show up in filters – what is a festival without some disguises and other things? So we may utilise these in, you know, maybe playful, but also purposeful ways throughout. So bring that.

If you're feeling like an overachiever, I would invite you to create a virtual background that would allow you to share something that's a little bit more personal to you. Creating a virtual background or virtual backgrounds on Zoom is a phenomenal way to temporarily put up a background to share a little piece of context. So this is my little guy, his name is Otto. He was born on January 1st, 2020 – what a year to be born in. And there's some connection made, right?

Being virtual is not the same as being in person. It's just not, and it probably never will be, but there are things that we can do virtually that we can't do as well in person. And so that's what my session will focus on. Can't wait for you to take away lots of tips and lots of connections. See you in cyberspace soon. Cheers.

Get your tickets now for Chad Littlefield's Virtual Connection Lab

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