Fortune 500 Company Seeks Parrot. Must Be Funny

Live Spark got a nice mention by Greg Schwem both on Huffington Post and in The Chicago Tribune.

Original articles are here (Huffington Post) and here (Chicago Tribune). More information on Greg here. 

We have to add--the actors behind the voices of our AniMates (who interact in real-time) most certainly need dressing rooms and their share of the "bird seed".

The article:

Whenever I have my children's full attention, meaning they are only performing two simultaneous tasks on their cell phones, I attempt to offer fatherly advice on subjects ranging from drugs to fashion choices to not spending money like a Kardashian. So far they seem to be listening, although I know the day is coming when one bursts through the front door and excitedly screams, "Dad, don't you think this tattoo will be perfect for my job interview?"

Recently my eldest and I were discussing her chosen college major, physical therapy, a vocation that I wholeheartedly support for it meets the criteria I laid out during one of my advisory sessions: Do not choose a career that can be replaced by a computer. Physical therapist has only a 2.1 percent chance of becoming automated in the next decade or two, if one is to believe "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible are Jobs to Computerization," a 2013 study authored at the University of Oxford. Budding fashion models take note: The study predicts a 98 percent likelihood that robots, not humans, will be sashaying down Parisian runways in 2033.

Now, I fear, I may be searching for a new line of work, having just lost an employment opportunity to a parrot. And a computerized one at that.

I always assumed my longtime profession - stand-up comedian - would forever be immune to virtualization. "Comedian" doesn't even appear in the Oxford survey. And besides, I tell my children, "Nobody is going to sit in an audience and laugh at a machine." Of course, that was before presidential candidate and automaton Ted Cruz garnered some yuks at the last GOP debate, but I digress. "Sure, robots can build cars, cook gourmet meals and fill orders for cholesterol medication at the local pharmacy. But tell jokes? Nonsense," I said smugly.

Not so fast, as I discovered upon contacting a client who had hired me several years ago to perform live, human generated comedy at an annual meeting for a large, independent optometry network. At the event's conclusion, accolades of "great job," "funny stuff," "stay in touch and "we DEFINITELY want you back" poured in. 

Last week I contacted the client, eager for him to make good on his promise. The original contract was on my computer screen; all it needed was a new date and maybe a slightly higher performance fee. Even comedians are not immune from the ravages of inflation.

"Actually, Greg, we've been using a parrot the last few years," the client replied.
"What kind of parrot?" I asked, as if losing a gig to a scarlet macaw as opposed to a green-cheeked conure would provide me with some comfort.
"It's an animated character," the client said. "I'll email you a link to the company that created it."
"But, but ..." I stammered. 

I remembered another piece of advice I consistently give my children: Always stand up for your beliefs and your skills. This would prove difficult, knowing my competition didn't require a plane ticket, a king-sized bed at the local Marriott, meal per diem and a taxi ride to and from the airport. Out of curiosity, I clicked the link. The parrot was the brainchild of Live Spark, a Minnesota-based event production company and creator of "AniMates," computer generated characters that can humorously interact with audiences in real time. Live Spark President Dan Yaman was happy to talk with me, once I assured him I wasn't calling to name him - and his parrot - defendants in a wrongful termination lawsuit.

"We have a talking horse, talking eagle, talking building; basically whatever you can slap a face on, we can animate it," Yaman said. Heavy hitter companies including Intel, MetLife, Target, Pfizer and Xerox have used Yaman's creations at live events.

"(AniMates) can talk about things on the audience's mind. They can even challenge the CEO," Yaman said. But, he reminded me, AniMates are controlled entirely by creative human beings who sit backstage, generating the funny lines and controlling the character's movements.

"Let's talk next week," Yaman said to me. "Maybe we can work together."

And with that, Yaman reaffirmed yet another piece of grandfatherly-sounding advice I've bestowed on my kids: When one door closes, another opens.

Even if the object behind that door is a brightly-colored bird that doesn't need a dressing room.

Follow Greg Schwem on Twitter: www.twitter.com/corpcomic

Learning By Experience

Recently, Dan Yaman, President and CEO of Live Spark, was quoted in MPI magazine; highlighting how events must be interactive to be effective.


From:
Learning By Experience 
by Wendy Helfenbaum | Feb 04, 2015

“Studies point out that the emotion does not have to be from the material that’s being presented, but it has to be generated in some way,” he says. “Being able to create a level of emotion through increased engagement and interaction is the biggest trend we’re seeing among our clients: How do you keep the audience at a peak state and create a fun experience?”

Ditch the Data Dump and Keep Things Simple
Too many conference sessions include overwhelming amounts of complex content, often worsened by presenters misusing PowerPoint.

“PowerPoint [presentations] should be clear so as to enhance what the presenters are talking about—anything else will create an overload situation, where the brain shuts down,” Yaman says. “Get the information honed down to what is absolutely critical. Make that information really meaningful and ask, ‘What do I want the audience to do after they leave?’ Make sure everything’s aligned to achieve those outcomes.”

People retain information more effectively when presenters combine art, science, psychology and fun—but preparing groups is crucial.

“At events, everyone focuses on the presentation phase, without fully preparing the audience,” Yaman explains. “We’ll spend a half-hour before bringing out the first presenter—even if he’s the CEO—to get the audience totally set up for success.”

By doing this, the audience is more likely to receive and retain the information, he says.

“Evoke a need for the material that’s being delivered by creating curiosity and a strong buy-in from the audience so they’ll really focus—put the responsibilities for the takeaways on the audience,” Yaman advises. “We say, ‘This could be the most powerful two days of this event. Are you willing to step up and put it all in?’”

Keep the Energy Alive
Next, control the room and the audience’s state of mind to keep attendees engaged by switching things up.

“If they go vacant, the client’s message is gone,” Yaman warns. “At four- or five-minute intervals, present the same information in a different manner: Tell a story, show a video, do a case study; just keep it alive.”

One way he accomplishes this is by occupying the moments between presenters with relevant, on-screen questions and arming the audience with remote-response keypads.

“It’s a shot of adrenaline that helps re-engage and re-energize the room for the next presenter,” Yaman says.

Live Spark also threads gaming elements throughout the entire event—as opposed to scheduling a single team-building challenge for one day—which fosters emotion while building upon education with quizzes pulled from presentations.

Yaman says. “We want people to be sitting at the edge of their seats, having a good time,” Yaman says.

He believes AniMates—computer-animated characters that show up onscreen throughout the event to interact in real time with people onstage—can greatly increase content retention and comprehension.

“It’s not the sophistication of the equipment—we could do the same level of engagement with a sock puppet,” Yaman says. “If you know how to create a rapport with the presenters and, more importantly, with your audience, these characters can break down complex issues into simple, relevant chunks that everyone will understand.”

Live Spark recently introduced Eddie the Eagle as a mascot for a heavy equipment company in South Dakota. Eddie voiced the audience’s concerns through live interactions with presenters while keeping the audience engaged.

“We’ve done studies for Gartner and found that the biggest indicator of whether someone thought something was successful was how much interaction they had with the other people in the audience,” he says. “A lot of learning happens in the moments when presenters and participants can interact with each other. Create different tracks so that people can go after what they think they need.”

Read the rest of the article "Learning by Experience" on MPI's website.