Five Questions Over Coffee with Alfred Poor (ep. 98)

Who is Alfred?

Alfred Poor is a leading expert on the future of work and the impact of technology on business meetings. He is known for his research and insights on the increasing prevalence of online meetings, citing a report by the Gartner Group that predicted 75% of all business meetings would be held online. He emphasizes the convenience and accessibility of video meetings, particularly in the context of the pandemic. Alfred is dedicated to helping businesses adapt to these changes and thrive in the new work landscape.

Key Takeaways

00:00 Alfred Poor, health tech expert, discusses presentation capabilities.

04:16 Optimize camera angle and eye contact.

10:09 Project evolved to 75% solution for presentations.

12:00 Supporting new tech founders in pitching online.

14:35 Excited to be part of wonderful interviews.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

alfredpoor.com/video-meeting-blueprint

A video version of this podcast is also at

https://youtube.com/live/Np8ys9oIiRg?feature=share

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Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Alfred Poor, Health tech expert, Keynote speaker, 75% solution, Video meeting world, Technology, Presentation capabilities, Gartner Group, Online business meetings, Pandemic, Video meetings, Impressions, CEO, Executives, Zoom calls, Communication, Body language, Camera angle, Engaging, Intentional, Virtual events, Speaker skills, Presentations, Virtual presentations, Incremental improvements, Chief Technology Officers, Founders, Funding sources, Technology sectors, Startups, Passion.

SPEAKERS

Alfred Poor, Stuart Webb

Stuart Webb [00:00:22]:

Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science, Five questions over coffee. I'm delighted to have a returning guest this afternoon, Alfred Port. Alfred is a health tech expert, a keynote speaker. He has So many talents. It's gonna be impossible to list them all today. So what we're gonna do is we're just going to allow him to explain His, his his his HealthBeat and his some his 75% solution, which is the solution he has got for those people who are currently Having to adapt to the video meeting world and how you can make best use of your technology to prove your presentation capabilities. So, Alfred, welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science five Questions Over Coffee.

Alfred Poor [00:01:07]:

Cheers to you. I'm so glad to be back.

Stuart Webb [00:01:11]:

I've got a I've got water in front of me at the moment because I probably have There's water

Alfred Poor [00:01:16]:

in here, but you can't tell.

Stuart Webb [00:01:19]:

Excellent. Alfred, I mean, you you I I introduced you there with the the 75 solution. Who who is the the solution aimed at? Who are you trying to help with this solution?

Alfred Poor [00:01:29]:

So the the the the key to that quest answer to that question is in the in the name. The 75% solution actually comes from a report by the Gartner Group. They came out with a report that predicted that for this year, 75% of all business meetings are going to be held online. That's internal and external. That's talking to investors, potential partners, customers, you know, staff, teams, management, whatever. And my whole point is that the pandemic gave us video meetings as a as a target of opportunity. It was easy to do. They're convenient, and and they don't take a lot of technical skill.

Alfred Poor [00:02:11]:

You just open up your laptop and have at it. My problem is that people aren't being intentional about how they present themselves in those settings. And if you're gonna be spending 75% of your meetings online, why wouldn't you want to make the most of that time? You're that's a huge investment of your time and money for your company. Why wouldn't you wanna maximize the benefit?

Stuart Webb [00:02:37]:

Brilliant question. And, you know, I look at so many people who are currently taking those. I I spoke to 1 executive who, Being being female had gone out and equipped herself with an entirely new wardrobe in order to make sure that she was presenting her best self on video, something which I have never considered myself. So, you know, what do you find in the people that are making those mistakes who who who don't try to maximize their their their best time and their best, best view when it comes to video meetings.

Alfred Poor [00:03:08]:

I I for me, the keyword is intention. Yeah. I don't think they're doing it intentionally, and that's the whole point. They're not intentional about the impression they make.

Stuart Webb [00:03:18]:

No. It's it's they're not talking

Alfred Poor [00:03:20]:

to people. Is We've all met CEOs and and executives and founders who you bring them into a boardroom for a presentation and they're just amazing. You put them up on stage and they just kill it. You know? Just audiences in their hand. You put them on a Zoom call, and it looks like they've joined witness protection. You know? They're just I don't think that they stop and think about whether or not what's coming through actually represents their brand, their company, Their their professional and personal image, and it's so easy to do it better. And Yeah. I would argue that when you do do it better, people notice.

Stuart Webb [00:04:02]:

Yeah. So it's that, It's that laptop on the desk with the view sort of strangely up the up the face, isn't it? It's the it's the poor, like yeah. That one. The that's the poor view.

Alfred Poor [00:04:16]:

I mean, you know, I I've yet to find anybody where the up and nose looking at the ceiling camera angle is is flattering. You know, when you look like this, it's more engaging. It's you know, people will be able to pay more attention to you and be making contact with him, you know, eye contact. There's a whole lot of pieces that go into it. But, you know, basically, You need to get your camera up so it's about eye level. You need to look at the camera, and you need to show more. You don't wanna just be this disembodied head because then you don't get the hand motions. You don't get the the body language.

Alfred Poor [00:04:54]:

You know, there's a whole lot missing in your communication, which which we count on.

Stuart Webb [00:04:59]:

Yeah. Absolutely. I'll find I and and and that's another great tip that you just sort of gave us there with the With old camera, isn't it? Because, you know, I'm now currently looking at you. The camera is actually above my screen. I have to consciously shift my gaze to a camera and not stare at the screen because otherwise, it looks as if I'm looking down. And it's a ridiculous it it just doesn't look right, does it? But If

Alfred Poor [00:05:24]:

somebody if you were in a conversation with somebody at an event or a meeting or whatever, and they were looking down like that and not at you, what would you think?

Stuart Webb [00:05:32]:

Yeah.

Alfred Poor [00:05:33]:

Yeah. Are they are they, you know, withdrawn or, you know, total paralyzed by by Introversion. I mean, you know, what what's going on with them? Why why aren't they looking at me? Now here's a if you want a quick, Almost no cost tip. To solve that, go to the your local store, gift shop, or whatever and get a pair of those little googly eyes that you can, you can stick onto anything, Stuart stick them up next to your camera. It'll give you eyes to look at and it'll make it much easier for you to to focus on the camera.

Stuart Webb [00:06:11]:

Great tip. I love it. Now I know you've got a you've got a valuable free offer it, I'm gonna just display this on the screen now. Tell us, what's on your valuable free offer? What is this thing that you can want Webb to do do with the with our video meetings?

Alfred Poor [00:06:24]:

So I tried to go through and create as comprehensive a list of the different factors that go into how to be more engaging, more influential, in your online meetings and presentations, and I laid them all out in what I call my video blueprint. So if you can go through and check all the boxes in that video blueprint, you're gonna end up having a much better presentation. You're gonna make a much better impression in in the course of it. This is this is my gift to your listeners.

Stuart Webb [00:06:56]:

So do you wanna just, read out what it says, on on the on the ticket going across the bottom of the screen so that you've got it for those people who are listening back and that haven't at the moment

Alfred Poor [00:07:07]:

See Alright. Just take us through

Stuart Webb [00:07:08]:

what we've got here. It's alphreypore.com

Alfred Poor [00:07:10]:

Yep.

Stuart Webb [00:07:11]:

Forward slash.

Alfred Poor [00:07:12]:

Alfred pore alphreypore.com/ video meeting blueprint. So it's video meeting.blueprint not dash blueprint. And alphore.com, nice and easy to remember that part.

Stuart Webb [00:07:27]:

Yeah. I I encourage you to go see that, and I will put this in the notes. It's alphore.com / video meeting blueprint. Dashes in between the the gaps where I pause there. So so go down go download. What what is this is just a series of tips and tricks that you can use that that ensures that you you get the very best out the 75% of the meetings you're currently gonna be having online

Alfred Poor [00:07:51]:

Right. I actually, I would say it's more A checklist for you to be intentional about.

Stuart Webb [00:07:59]:

Yeah. Okay.

Alfred Poor [00:07:59]:

You don't know what you don't know? So This gives you a list of things, oh, I never thought about. You know, should I be wearing stripes when I'm, you know, you know, finely striped clothes when I'm on camera? Probably not. But, you know, have you thought about what you're wearing? A lot of people just go on with what whatever they wear. When you well, first of all, this is my brand. So, but whenever you see me on on online on, you know, in a video setting, it's gonna be solid colors. It's gonna be In the blues and the grays for me, that's all by design. It's not it's not by accident. That's it's intentional.

Stuart Webb [00:08:38]:

I think that's a brilliant that's a great word you keep coming back to. That's the word intentional. You have to be intentional with these things, don't you? Barbara, was there a was it was was it this Gartner course, Gartner report, I mean, or anything else which really highlighted to you the importance of sort of Taking this step because I know that you're a you're a you're a really experienced speaker. Is is the world of speaking currently really being changed I I for this world.

Alfred Poor [00:09:04]:

Absolutely. I mean, this had its genesis years years ago. I've been doing virtual for probably 9 years now. I've done, you know, been a speaker at online conferences. I've produced my own online webinars and other events. I've produced, you know, online series of Presentations by other speakers. I actually produced a series of online trade shows about, for consumer electronics companies. So, and this was all pre pandemic, so, you know, I didn't jump to this because of the pandemic.

Alfred Poor [00:09:42]:

I already had these skills in my in in my kit bag, as you would. But so when the pandemic hit, I saw these other speakers saying, you know, all my on-site Gigs have been canceled. So I started doing workshops for them, showing them some of the key points about what you need to do to trans Trans transition between online, you know, on-site to online presentations.

Stuart Webb [00:10:08]:

Yep.

Alfred Poor [00:10:09]:

Yep. In doing that, it was very very well received, but in doing that, I realized I had a ton more than would fit in a 45 minute presentation. And So the project went through a number of different iterations and now exists as this 75% solution in which is intended to give found give executives and and teams the skills they need Starting wherever they they happen to be with whatever budget and skills and knowledge they have, what they can do to to make a better impression. I I follow what I call my, principle of the three i's for making improvements. Webb can make improvements, and this is beyond just presentations, but it Stuart that's how I came up with it, you want to make, improvements that are incremental. Don't try to do everything at once. Webb wanna make them intentional. There's the intentional again.

Alfred Poor [00:11:04]:

Don't just accept the default settings. And you wanna make them impactful. You wanna choose the ones that are gonna have the biggest impact. And so when I work with a client, I've helped them. It's not a course. It's not some series of things that they have to work through. I work with them custom and find the one thing that's gonna make the biggest difference for them, and we get that working. And then I find the next thing and the next thing and so forth.

Alfred Poor [00:11:29]:

And so it's continuous improvement and just gets better and better.

Stuart Webb [00:11:33]:

I love it. Alfred, I've I've asked you questions, and, you've answered them, but there must be 1 question that you're currently thinking. I wish you'd get around to asking because that's one that really sort of knows it. So what's the question that you're wishing I could ask? And, and then, obviously, asked the question you need to answer.

Alfred Poor [00:11:50]:

Well, I think it is, where's the passion come from for this project.

Stuart Webb [00:11:57]:

I like the question. I love the question.

Alfred Poor [00:12:00]:

And and for me, I've been working doing a lot of work with Stuart ups Because having worked with technology for as long as I have, I've been very excited to see the New companies coming along, the founders with their great ideas and how they wanna solve big problems with them. And the problem is that most of these founders are now having to make their pitches online, And this is life or death for their for their project. If they don't get the funding, and right now, funding is very tough for a lot of technology sectors. If they don't get the funding, that's you know, that could be the end of the dream. And so One of one of the motives behind the the 75% solution is to include founders in this, the ones who are just getting started. Help them think about the things that they hadn't thought about and so that they can be more effective when they're talking to funding sources because, you know, again, for them, it matters the most.

Stuart Webb [00:13:07]:

I love that. I love that. Alfred, as ever, it is brilliant to, to hear your views on things. You have some absolute gems of thoughts, And I love the fact that you bring passion to this, and you bring the the passion to help founders, people who who really have got to nail this and get it right in order to be able to get their company off the ground. I love I love the fact that you do that. I'm just gonna make an appeal at this point. If you are listening to this on replay or if you want Stuart, to To join the LinkedIn lines that we do on a regular basis, please, would you go to this, this link, which is a link .thecompleteapproach.co.uk forward slash newsletter. If you go to that URL, you will find a form that you can fill out.

Stuart Webb [00:13:55]:

Get you onto the newsletter list, and then we can keep you informed of who's coming up on these, weekly, Meetings and join and see the brilliant ideas that come through. There are so many brilliant ideas. Please come on. Please join that newsletter list and see brilliant people like Alfred Poor. And I encourage you, go to Alfred Poor's, website, afripoor.com forward slash video meeting blueprint. Download that blueprint, and make sure that you get a hold of his intentional things that you need to think about for your video meetings in the future. Alfred, I hope that was good, as good a summary as you're gonna get from anybody.

Alfred Poor [00:14:35]:

The best. The best. And I I just wanna underscore to to the audience that, you know, this is your Interviews are just great. You somehow managed to bring wonderful people and I'm actually honored to be part of that, and actually having to having get the opportunity to do it more than once. So, you know

Stuart Webb [00:14:56]:

You're very kind. You're very kind. I look forward to the next time we meet on a video call and, and and chat. But for now, everyone, thank you very much for joining us. I look forward to seeing you again next Time on, It's Not Rocket Science, 5 questions of a coffee. you.