'𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳?'

I sometimes get that question. 

On the surface, it makes sense. But...

Yes, there's no travel; I just show up for the session, so logically less effort?

But here’s what people don’t see.

When I speak 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻, I’m the 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿. 

I show up, step on stage, and deliver. Behind me? Your crew is running 𝗔𝗩, 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘀

When I speak 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆? I’m still the presenter, but I’m also the 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗿 🎬, 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 🎧, 𝗔𝗩 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 🎥, and 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘄 💡.

I don't just speak into a webcam.

I literally run a show from my desk.

That means:

• managing the full tech setup;

• operating behind-the-scenes 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 to keep things visually engaging;

• setting up 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘂𝗽 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀, 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘀, 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, (and if I can) 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘁, 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿; 

• troubleshooting in real-time, mid-flow, if anything goes wrong

And when it comes to content, it’s not just about knowing what I’ll say. 

I prep 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 than I would for an 'in person', because I'm putting on a live show; adapting the talk to 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 audience, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 moment, as I go.

It’s definitely not easier. Done properly, it’s a lot harder.

One of the toughest gigs I’ve done? 

A 3am virtual keynote from London to a New Zealand conference. Beamed onto a giant screen, staring into a black box. No audience feed. No energy. Just a blinking green light. And I still had to deliver, like the room was buzzing.

So yes, 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀. 

But it 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼’𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 — sometimes in the middle of the night.

You’re not paying for location. You’re paying for 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁.