Effective Engagement in a Virtual Webinar

The Virtual Webinars somehow seem to have a 'deja-vu' effect on me. Way back in 2005, as an Industry Analyst I had researched and presented what was to be my 1st 'online briefing' on a research report I had published on omega-3 market and its potential to a set of elite audience which included CXOs, Sales Leaders and Professionals from the FMCG end-user and ingredients world. [through live audio recording] The platform used then was 'just' Webex (say this, as it was before CISCO acquired it) https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2006/11/07/Price-not-enough-to-stymy-omega-3-growth-in-Asia

Fast-forward to 2020, been using a flurry of online tools ranging from Zoom, Zoho, Google Meets, Gotomeeting and Cisco-Webex, indeed! What has changed now though is the live video possibility. It is quite understandable the technology has made it possible to 'see' each other - facilitator / participant in a visual mode, as against the mere audio possibility in yesteryears. I would imagine the concentration and focus of the past would have been exponentially HIGHER compared to what prevails in today's age, especially with the new age fancy gadgets, what with fully loaded apps (need we say Whatsapps and Wechats of the world), which has resulted in a diminished concentration and focus. [I can say this with conviction 'cos FOMO was making inroads much after the advent of social media on smart phone) Which means like in cricket where the bowlers always are at a disadvantage, speakers and facilitators have the constant challenge and effort of ensuring their participants are 'with them' all through the session. This I say, requires massive effort. Some simple steps I have learnt, experimented, deployed are below:-

- Ask Questions to participants [unmute and ask them to answer]

- Ask Questions to participants [ask them to type in chat box]

- Pause: I found this to be quite effective

- Story: Break the monotony and explain a concept with a story or a real life relateable example

- Videos and photos: Noticed this can make a great impact, and can be a great refresher when you have had lots of text content sofar

- Change of tone and take feedback

- 2-5 minute break [can be effective when a session stretches beyond or is of longer duration or topic covered is quite technical]

- Online Quiz [tried Quizizz, works great]

- Take an online poll [not tried, will want to use in future, mentimeter maybe]

I am still adding more ideas from our experts in the PSAI community, and would love to add in more to my repository. Please feel to please suggest more creative ways you have used to get more engagement quotient during your virtual webinar (what worked and what dint work too) Thanks a lot! Cheers, Vignesh Raja

Bias to Action

What started as a simple forward in our alumni batch whatsapp group has turned to be a great example of 'Bias to Action' Let me take you 3 weeks back... [Yes the Travails of the Migrants] I am referring to the news of stranded migrants beamed vociferously across all channels and making headlines across the world. When you see such news, this is what runs in your mind.. - You feel sad and helpless - You sympathise for them - You hope for a divine intervention - You pray things will get better - Momentarily feel bad, and move on with life - Can you really make an impact, if YES how? (considering its a complete lockdown, which is still in place) While all of these emotions came through me too, thankfully a few like-minded folks in our group were REALLY keen on getting something done about it. We quickly formed a 'core group' / 'committee' amongst our batchmates, and started discussing what could be done immediately. We discussed multiple possibilities ranging from relief measures, financial support to arrange buses or carrying out things on ground, or support NGOs which were already doing some stellar on-ground work.

Thankfully in a short time, we were able to mutually agree that rehabilitation would be a better idea than relief measures, as there had been considerable media coverage and we realised there was more than adequate support on relief related fund etc.

We have raised 55% of the target fund [of INR 20 lacs.ie ~26500 USD] so far; But we Know its Still NOT done as yet! We KNOW, there is still more ground to cover to reach our TARGET https://milaap.org/fundraisers/support-end-poverty-1 Our initiative has been featured in BITS Pilani Strategic Response to COVID19 (refer to page 20/28) https://online.fliphtml5.com/hfdbv/jodh/ This effort has helped us re-group among our batchmates (can't believe its been 20 years since we first set our foot on campus), getting back together towards a single cause. The whatsapp group rose from 110 - 210 as it stands today and continues to bloom.

Every rupee, dollar, penny, pound counts, and we will be super excited and most importantly 'satisfied', if we get there with your timely support!

Would be lovely if you could like, share, comment and most importantly "donate" for a cause and make a difference! Thanks in advance, Vignesh Raja (2K Batch BITS, Pilani + one of core members in this fundraise)

"Creating Videos" : A Virtual Bookcamp by PSAI: Video Testimonial by Vignesh Raja

The Flight to Freedom

This week seems to have just flew by....especially the last 3 days ZOOM'ing past with the numerous online webinars, meet up, con-calls, interactions over a diverse set of topics.

Monday, the 25th of May 2020 however started off on a lacklustre note. Around noon'ish, I thought I heard some noise come by from near my balcony corridor. Paused, checked it and got back to work.

By evening, realized there seemed to be a similar noise coming by again. This time, being more curious, waited and using a mirror noticed a bird fluttering from below. While I thought it could be a pigeon or a crow possibly, by opening the grill shade, it could fly out on its own. 

But realized it wouldn't go, either it was reluctant to move or there was just about too little space to try and fly. Upon googling the features [black body, red eyes, pale beak], I figured out it was an Asian Koel.

Unfortunately that house, one exactly below us whose window if we opened up, could easily release the bird, happens to be a training institute and had closed their office (for last 2+ months). The tenants reside ~ 15 km from here. Since the place they stay happens to come under a containment zone, they said coming down here was almost quite impossible.

The same evening, I called up a local NGO team, who are experts in rescuing animals, birds and even reptiles. They said not to worry and they'd come by on Tuesday.

The next day, the team arrive at our doorstep to help rescue the bird. Apparently, they were here after rescuing a rat snake which stepped into a residential colony. When I asked more about their work and what they did with the snake, they said their key goal is to minimize human-animal conflict, and they try best to provide an alternate environment, which is more conducive for it (for instance the snakes or wild beasts are released back to nature (marsh near city's vicinity or the forest area in the city). For those of you who wouldnt know (Chennai, has a thriving wildlife ecospot in the heart of the city. Yes, you guessed it right "Theosophical Society" Do read more about it here. Theosophical Society 

We checked all possibilities, trying first from our balcony and moving down to the 1st floor (adjacent) neighbor and take assistance. But despite everything we did, we couldn't achieve our objective.

The guys said, they will come back better equipped, and said they did not want to give more stress to the bird, as it can survive a week too, since its a 'wild bird', elaborating further that anything which is not tamed is wild.

The next day was just quite a busy day. So much so that I couldn't follow up on the rescue folks. I tried to keep the bird hydrated by pouring water, some cereals and grains so that the bird might just about eat something and stay safe. The good part is there is sufficient aeration, so knew that should not be a big deal.

Thurday arrives, and I do not see the bird in the place where it was seen earlier. So I gleefully thought it just flew out on its own. But that was to be short-lived. I looked down again, and noticed the bird has gone down 1 floor below. While this was a positive news, still the bird had to be rescued. 

By noon, called up the owner of the 1st floor tenant and asked if they could really do something about it. Thankfully, one of their partners happened to be around our area, and came by. I went down and indicated the place, where the bird was stuck. 

The grill was raised, and the bird flew out in JOY! Hurray - F-r-e-e-d-o-m!

I am extremely fascinated to note the bird's grit, patience, and extraordinary will-power to stay calm in such a dire situations. Such challenging situations may come, but what matters most is our ability to wait patiently and thrive!

The Oz trail

This post stayed in my draft for more than 12 years, until I decided to press the PUBLISH button now :)

Meeting the 3 musketeers !
I trudged along the road on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I never knew I'd be on my way making friends with some Indians who were around my age and would be helping me out till the rest of my stay in Sydney. The day kickstarted with some quick snack from McDonalds. Then, after enquiries on the best mode of transportation to reach the Bondi beach, took a bus to reach there!! Time:12.30p.m with the sun scorching down, I was almost left to wonder if I were the odd one out (you knw why: 'cos jus imagine i was completely covered in a tough jean and a t-shirt, when compared to what i could observe when I looked around ;) ). Since i never brought a coupla shorts along, I was wondering if I should ever venture into the waters. But then, the clear blue sky, clean sand and the small kids enjoying themselves in the cool waters and simmering heat above all, tempted me to throw myself in and have a quick dip. I walked in till the water was waist deep. This was the moment, when I'd my digi-cam in hand when a guy asked me if I wanted his help in taking a photograph. From his persona, I could make out that he could be an Indian (other possibilities could be that he might be a Sri Lankan or a Fijian). The conversation thus began, and later came to know that he was a software engineer from B'lore who'd come down on an onsite call. After chit-chatting for some time about the place and people, and our stay so far, he introduced me to 2 of his friends who as well belonged to the same clan of software engineers.

Eventful day: After spending some more time having lunch together, we were discussing what each of us were planning to do for the rest of the day. When these guys said, they were heading home, I told them of one other beach by name - Coogee beach nearby, thanks to me referring to a travel guide I'd picked up at the airport. It was coming to some good use now. We went on a walk by the beach and walked along the beach to a small mount valley and took some beautiful snaps from the picteresque location.
As was the custom, the office had ordered a big cake, which was to be cut by me and 2 of my other office colleagues who were celebrating their b'day the same week. Then, I tried best to finish the red wine which was given to me in too small a glass, which I still tried hard to complete.

B'day specialz:

Before I decided to start my day, I'd two options...one of leaving to Jenolan Caves or the other of visiting Sydney Olympic Park. I chose the latter considering the significance of the park, though I personally had more inclination towards going to Jenolan Caves. As usual picking up the train routes I headed to the railway station to head to the Olympic Park. It was 45 minutes before I'd reached the place. Telstra Stadium Tour is one which one needs to definitely take if one happens to get a chance. Usually a group of 6 is formed in a tour. Our group had just 5 people including me (one was a local, and the other 3 was a German Couple and their daughter who'd come on a holiday). The rapport among us was good and we helped each other in taking photographs taking chance. The one I regret for having missed in the Olympic Park is the Cycling tour, which I couldnt make 'cos of want of time. Am not going to bore you with more information and leave it to the website: http://www.sydneyolympicpark.com.au/ to give more accurate and reliable info for you to check it out if you are interested.
Seemz like, I've taken a good decision at the end of the day, as I later heard from a few of my friends that the Jenolan would ve been worth the trip if I'd gone in a group and had company of friends to accompany with.

Its around 17.30 and I called on my friend's mobile and woke him up from his evening nap. Then, these guys invited to their place to come over for the b'day. I do believe in God...hence as in my earlier trip ended up goin to a temple! And guess what these guys had planned it well in advance, and we went to a Sai Baba temple in the evening. Now I know, what you are thinking of by visualizing the temple! No you got it wrong, the temple is very different....it was an anglicized building which had been rented out by the local community for religious purpose. So after paying obeisance to the Lord and thanking HIM for bringing me there, I was in for some more surprise when these guys took to an Indian Restaurant where I was treated to some Indian 'khaana' - parathas, rotis, chicken teekha. Yummy, great to 've 'em all. The climate was getting chill by now with some light drizzle. Then, after getting back to their place and watching a cricket match goin live for sometime, I started for my way back to my room.

Great day indeed. It was a great b'day indeed with lotsa activities over the weekend, and all set to start the week next day!

A date with the Koala/Kangaroos:

Even during the previous trip, I'd always wanted to get up close with the Koalas and the Kangaroos. This time around, I made it a point to make it happen. This is how the trip to Featherdale Park was born. It was exciting to catch up with these koalas which are so soft and sensitive and do I add lazy to it. lol.!! yep, seemz like these creatures have the potential/gift to sleep upto 18 hours in a day (I pray i be born as a Koala in the nxt gen) ;)) hehe!! Now getting to the Kangaroos, am really happy that I've been lucky to get one snap of a joey (kido k'roo inside its mother's pouch). The entire day I ended spending time with Koalas, kangaroos and reading through their habitat and lotsa info on other animals/birds there. Check this link for more accurate info from the horse's mouth. http://www.featherdale.com.au/

Reviving the Blogging Journey

Thanks to the Covid19 Lockdown , I am back here to revive my writing journey. Just like reading, I have always enjoyed penning my thoughts. I was quite comfortable participating in Essay writing competitions, compared to being more vocal / visible, which required one to perform on-stage like dancing, singing or the 'most dreaded elocution' contests. What started as a learning activity of being a better communicator, when I joined "The Toastmasters" is now becoming Mainstream, so much that my life has pivoted as I pursue my passion of becoming a world-renown professional speaker. I know it takes time, patience and limitless learning and practice. What I am doing right is taking on all opportunities, which comes my way. Hope to stay at it, learn & reach the pinnacle. Watch this space for more updates. Regards, Vignesh Raja

A day out with the bloggers < PJ Challenge '09 Bloggers "K"arnival">

They say - "Things do happen for a reason"...Rewind....rewind!

A week back!

Cursing the local Malaysia post office service for not being able to deliver a Tune Money card which I'd been anticipating for weeks, I decide to collect the card in person from the Tune HQ office in PJ.

While trudging along on my way back, I notice something which captures my attention near the overbridge adjacent to Jaya33. "PJ Challenge'09". Reaching back home, I google for links on PJ Challenge and register myself online for the event. From there on starts the resurrection of my bloggin...

A day out with the bloggers:

After collecting the goodie bag, and collecting the K-Klub freebies, wait for the event to kickstart. There were some dance events to kickstart the show at 9.15a.m



I stand sidelined waiting to form a "team" as the treasure hunt required 4 people. Lucky to find 3 other mates who were looking to participate in the event. Thanks to Mr. James, Ms. Jocel & Ms. Florence for the being there at the right time and right place - 'Enjoyed the event guys'.

The Team - Treasure Hunt



Attended the blog 101 (by Ooi Eu Veng a.k.a EVO) which provided info on basic tips to start blogging and for newbies to get started and be part of the bloggin community. Good to see a wide array of diverse age group which had people literally from 6 - 60.



Post lunch saw an advanced version of blog 411, which had Malaysia's top bloggers holding centre stage sharing their views, opinions and experience at the blogosphere.



Joshua Lim & Amanda Choe handle the role of MC's quite comfortably. The 'Live Blogging' session is declared 'open' at around 1.30 and time to submit not later than 3.45p.m

Each speaker is allotted 20 minutes which includes their topic for the day inclusive of a brief Q&A session.

Kenny Sia (www.kennysia.com), Malaysia's top blogster (blog star :)) shared his personal take on blogging, peer pressure influence and gives real-life experiences on responsible blogging and what to do / what to avoid when it comes to blogging.



"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown" & "With great power comes great responsibility". I think these two captions more than summarizes the essence of his topics.


Rames (http://rames.blogspot.com/) & Jason (www.smashpop.net/)



hold the crowd spellbound with their amazing creative talent coupled with some techie talents (great combo guys). Rames maintains a separate blogsite on Adobe tutorials (http://adobetuts.blogspot.com/) to teach Adobe to the humanity at large. Jason on the other hand has created a 'brand' out of his blog. It really has a catchy titlename with a punch tagline :) Great session about their blog and photoblogging and how each have created a niche for themselves. Additionally, Jason maintains another blogsite (http://symbian.smashpop.net/) tracking and sharing Symbian (Nokia's proprietary operating software for their mobile devices)


And did I forget something folks - they did perform the 'smash pop' jump :)



Enter - Beauty pageants? er yes/sort of!? hmmm...'Ruumz Finalists'?



Ellie Chee (missycheerio.com) & Amanda Choe (http://theoppositeofchocolate.blogspot.com/)

discuss their blogging experiences, and on the boon and bane of being a woman/gal/lady..blogger! Though it sounded quite intimidating from their 'harrowing' experiences, they've learnt over their mistakes. So all gals out there, moral of the story.
1. Ensure you put in only 'limited' info on ur personal life. esp avoid mentioning your mobile numbers or even worse - address!
2. When 'adding' up someone ensure you know 'em before hand. No point in regretting later on.

And coming back to a point, yep :-) they did a smart campaign for themselves for the upcoming Ruumz Finals event (Ruumz is the "new kid on the block" as far as Social networking sites are concerned and is targetted towards Malaysia's young and hip crowd) - should see Friendster comin up with some innovation soon if they gotto retain their market share! lol



Hat + Journalist + Blogger + Bangsar => plz welcome Niki Cheong (www.nikicheong.com/blog/). Niki relates to blogging closely as his love & passion are in elegant use of words - something which he breaths in day in & day out and cherishes every moment as a journalist. When all these above statements suggest its gonna be easy for him to blog, here comes the challenge, he's got to ensure he doesnt mess up / mix up personal blogs with his columns, which means he's treading on a tight rope. Amazing buddy! Another concept which I personally could relate and agree was on the 'Citizen blog' - Huge potential! Let the citizen blog tribe grow...

And last but not the least, enter the duo.



Entrepreneur Josh Lim (http://josh.my)(Advertlets)/ expert relationship blogger & (Soon Wei) (www.soonwei.com/)'Brylcreem fame' Soh Hem Sem (until the video was played - i thought it was "So Handsome"). Soon had the crowd laugh their hearts out loud with the interesting video (Apparently Soon - i think I remmber seeing this video through a forwarded mail a while back in India)They set the final concluding points on the key aspects on what it takes to come out with a good blog! It just goes on to prove that world over is moving constantly towards the e-biz (from advertising products or services to making purchases (or atleast making purchase decisions prudently))

This marked the end of the speaker insights session!

The Quiz session begins with 50 bloggers going on-stage in groups of 5 to get eliminated until only 5 are on stage.

The show stealer was without doubt the 11 year nexgen prodigal wizzkid Master Gloson (www.glosonblogs.com)



He amazed the crowd with absolute genius ('phishing' was something a normal kid would ever know unless hez at it - btw he writes a tech blog and has 1100+ followers on twitter - can u beat that). He truly deserved the lappy :D His progression to the final stage would have easily reminded you of the oftly said David-Goliath story :D (As a matter of fact, he felled me in the penultimate round in semis so to say) :) to beat his opponent in the finals!

My multi-tasking proved useless with my participation in 'live bloggin' not getting me anywhere.

The finale was the prize distribution ceremony for the kiddos (Coloring contests), Treasure hunt, Live blogging event, quiz, photo contest and lucky draw.

Master Gloson receiving the most coveted prize of the day (Acer laptop) gleefully from the chieftains organizing the event.



'Report card' :D - not bad 0187 proved to be one of the lucky draw numbers! :)



In all it turned out to be quite an eventful day, with a consolation prize for the quiz and getting lucky with the lucky draw. But most importantly getting to know gems of people, forging new relationships and yahoooo!! resurrecting my almost passive blog! A perfect Saturday - enthralling weekend with hopes of better tomorrow!




Thanks to the sponsors Kaspersky, Association of Australian Backpackers and MBPJ and the organising team for putting up a great show.






Special thanks due to Josh & Ellie for the candid moments! Truly appreciate it..

Pic courtesy: Nokia E51

Chennai marathon '08

Was it really for a cause???

Cheers,

Vignesh Raja

Team - "Miles 4 Smiles" - Running for a cause!

Hi All,

Please find some info on the initiative I am part of :) Being part of the Bits Athletic team in my final year on-campus- I've managed to sustain some interest in running. Inspite of the fact that cricket has always been my 1st love, I've been able to able to keep up with running thanks to a motivated bunch of enthusiatic runners in Chennai. (Chennai Runners)http://www.chennairunners.com/home/.

Credit again goes to this bunch for motivating me and helping me complete my 1st ever half marathon experience (incidentally was India's 1st Midnight marathon) in 2 hr 45min in May 19th 07. The upcoming event is going to be special for me as I am going to be supporting for a noble cause. I am presently part of the 'Team - Miles4Smiles' - a joint venture between Accenture, Infosys, Bank of America, and TCS raising funds to benefit CRY (Child Rights and You). I am running the Bangalore Ultra marathon http://www.bangalore-ultramarathon.com/ (26 km)in Dec '07 and looking forward to the Mumbai marathon in Jan '08. Close to 50 runners are represented between the four companies and we hope to contribute about five lakhs (5,00,000) in Indian rupees.

Would be really helpful if you can pitch in and support us for the cause!
You can contribute by online using the following link http://www.cry.org/marathon/blr07/profile.asp?id=8

Donations to CRY in India are exempt from tax - 100% under section 35AC & 80GGA and 50% under section 80G of the Income Tax Act. Please indicate your preference online. If you are donating in the US, Cry America is a 501c3 exempt organization- all donations to CRY America are tax exempt. Please donate through the US gateway indicated on my personal web page.

Thanks in advance for your help and support,

Please let me know should you have any further queries/concerns/suggestions.

PS: I was to participate in the Bangalore marathon 07 http://www.coindia.com/ - which was rescheduled on multiple occasions, and hence not sure if the event would be well organized. Hence am gonna give my best for the Bangalore Ultra Marathon which is happening on the 16th December 07.

Regards,
Vignesh Raja