The company, headquartered in Bergen, has a 10 year record of developing and running courses in presentation skills. Restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic prohibited conventional courses. As SpeakLab developed digital alternatives, they saw great potential for innovation.
The current form of webinars is static and ill suited for longer sessions. “Zoom fatigue” has become widespread. We want to create a new and more engaging form of online course, says SpeakLab director Siri Lill Mannes.
– We decided to jump into it, by testing what is possible with current technology. So, within a few weeks we transformed our annual summer Boost Camp in presentation skills into a digital event. The aim was to take the best from TV production, where we have a lot of experience, with a more interactive format online.
Siri Lill Mannes at the test site, one of Norway's best hotels, the historic Solstrand Hotel.
– While the hotel was closed down due to corona, the owner Børrea Schau-Larsen immediately saw the potential in the idea and generously opened the doors for us. Thus, we could run the course in fantastic surroundings and with a small group of guinea pigs in the room, says Mannes.
The online course in English went live for three hours a day, three days in a row, with participants as far away as Australia. A similar course was run in Norwegian.
Professional production by another Media Cluster member, Kulturoperatørene, as well as Smau Media, contributed to both events.
– This is the starting point, our real life survey of what we need to work on to get to the next level, says Mannes.
Chief development officer Arne Møller stresses the importance of cooperation with other members of the Media Cluster.
– We had people from tech innovators such as Sixty, Vizrt and Vimond on the courses. The cluster has so much relevant competence for this project. Uniting and linking ideas and skills is our competitive edge, says Møller.
Smiles all around when SpeakLab announced the news. From left: Siri Lill Mannes (SpeakLab), Anne Jacobsen (NCE Media), Arne Møller (SpeakLab)
Looking to boost your presentation skills? Head on over to https://speaklab.no/ for more information about SpeakLab and their courses.