Now, that the dust has settled on Cebu's First OCD's Onboarding Seminar, I would like to share with you some basic checklists that you could make your upcoming OCD Onboarding Seminar if you plan on hosting one in your area.
We're at a period where organizing seminars as genuine in-person or face-to-face education sessions is far more difficult. It was quite a struggle trying to have people commit to joining the seminar. But I definitely learn a lot of things while preparing for this seminar and things that I can improve on in the next seminar. So, here are few basic ideas that would make your Onboarding Seminar more organized:
Know the goals and objectives of the Seminar.
For me, it was two things, share some basic knowledge about Hive blockchain with all the guests. In life, change is constant and it the same with the whole blockchain technology. And sharing some knowledge with others even to current Hive users was the first focus.
Sometimes we get hooked on focusing on our content and own growth of our wallets, without realizing that the most powerful tool that you can have in this Hive blockchain is your knowledge that you have. And on Hive ecosystem it is impossible to learn all these things that you could benefit from and share with the whole community. And based on my experience while doing some research, every time I thought I would be done with one topic, I discover another mind-blowing information of different projects on Hive blockchain! Just look at his chart below! Hive has over 126 projects built by the community. And this was one of the information that was really proud to share during the Seminar. I was so overhyped that I couldn't help myself from showing my excitement when this photo appeared on the big white screen. Because it goes to show that Hive is a lot of things, not just a cryptocurrency, it is beyond what we see every day every time we visit our own Hive account!
Graphics by @eddiespino, @enrique89, and @samgiset
Second, is to assist the guest who wants to sign up using OCD's VIP Sign Up link and educate them on the benefits of signing up with that link, which I explained in this post: "What Is It Like Being Part Of OCD's Onboarding Program?". While not necessary to assume that everyone who attended would join Hive it is important to remind everyone that they are not obligated to join Hive just because they feel like they have to or feel like they owe it to me for making the effort.
A sample look of OCD's VIP Sign UP link, created by me and @gerel
Some of them already signed up using @OCD's VIP link so they can slowly explore @peakd, and @ecency while waiting for the day of the Seminar. At first, I was reluctant to give away the OCD Vip sign up link if they haven't created their first post because in case they decided not to use their account. This makes me a little anxious knowing that these VIP sign up links are created using "account creation" and I talked about this on this post.
OCD's VIp sign up links are created using their 'free account credits' through the delegations (delegations are equivalent to money), and those delegations are from the people in the community. So it is such a big waste if one person who signed up didn't save the passwords during the sign-up process or if the person who signed up ended up not using the account.
But after chatting with @acidyo, he said it's okay to give the signup links and let them decide whether they'll join Hive or not.
I believe that the people that have a clear goal in life know what they want and whenever they see an opportunity in front of them, they don't think twice, they take it and motivate themselves to take the challenge. Let's admit it, even just the signup process learning about the different passwords, is already a challenge if you're a newbie.
Set the date, and flow of the Program
Select the date and it's better to have a backup date just in case. After brainstorming with @ybanezkim26 and @indayclara during our meet-up at my place, they help me with the Program flow, @indayclara took the emcee role.
Invite a Speaker
I asked @ybanezkim26 and @indayclara if they could be the speakers for the event and I was so lucky to have another impromptu speaker, @thegaillery whom they shared their journey on Hive.
Determine the number of attendees so you can set your budget and create an event on Facebook
I would suggest doing the budgeting first before doing the invites if you will find an issue in financing your event. Also, you could start a sponsorship program where you can reach out to different people who would be happy to contribute and support you with your event. In my case, @acidyo was supporting this event through upvoting my blog posts.
Before I created the event on Facebook page, I had 10 people who personally confirmed to attend the Seminar when I sent the invite on their Facebook messenger and some on Instagram account, so I decided to create an event on Facebook page where they can reserve their seat and make sure that I don't exceed on the maximum capacity at the Cafe that way I could set the budget ahead of time.
If you are wondering how I got those stats for the event invation post, it's because I paid a promotion on Facebook because I wanted to bring awareness to other people that Hive blockhain exist and unfortunately facebook tries to be quite greedy when it comes controlling how many people who can see the post if it's under business account.
When I got too close to the event date, I had two extra slots that I saved for those who also brought another person with them to the Seminar. I announced on the Hive community on Fb that I won't be able to accept any more attendees since the cafe is also open for other customers.
Although there were still a few people who couldn't make it to the event, at least I had enough people who attended and already set the budget and didn't get over it.
For some people, virtual meetings work but I haven't tried doing it and it's quite a challenge to do so because I have a toddler running around our place. The only time it's peaceful if he's napping and sleeping at night which I use that time to work on rest or do some writing. So I wanted to dedicate a day to this Seminar where I focus on my presentation.
I personally believe that it is a lot easier to get people's trust when you talk to them in person. I like to get that real connection towards others and know them by their body language and facial expressions.
Prepare your presentation and speech ahead of time
Well, this didn't really work out perfectly in terms of time, since it wasn't until a week before the event when decided to ask help from @eddiespino, @enrique89, and @samgiset to make the slide show presentation. But because they made a very good job in creating the slide show layout and the information that they put was at least not too technical I was able to present it in the best way I could. Although if I had more time to learn about the presentation, I would have been able to deliver it a lot better.
There's always room for improvement, and the best way to learn them is to learn from your mistakes and determine which area you can be better at. I learned a lot and develop some skills that I haven't thought I had in me. I never knew I could do a presentation like that, I get anxious talking to in front of more than two people, how much more with fourteen people but I was able to overcome this fear in me by going outside my comfort zone.
Also doing some research to learn more about the topics that I need to present helped built my confidence. @aussieninja did some research for me with the topics that I sent him and later on, I also did some word definition and check the synonyms so it's easier for my audience to understand what am presenting.
So, it is important that you collaborate with other people, two heads are better than one. Even getting suggestions or opinions of a particular subject, for example, I would call @kimybanez, @indayclara, for their opinion with the number of attendees or the second presentation I was creating, or I would ask @gerel what other ways to make the event more fun and even my friend @kristiancablao who is a newbie here but since he has a background in organizing events and I've known him during our high school journalism workshop and seminar. I also asked for his opinion on how could I deliver my speech and I learned that having a clear objective of what the seminar is about would make things easier to present and connect with the audience.
Organize the giveaways and materials that will be used for the event
I delegated this role to @gerel who did most of the work on what items to give to the participants. Since she has an account as a seller on Shopee and Facebook market, I purchase most of the items her (and this gave her an idea to add some Hive souvenirs that Hivers can purchase through Shopee and can even deliver it nationwide!
So, here are the giveaways for the said event:
- Customized OCD t-shirts for the OCD Cebu members
- Customized tote bags for all the new onboarded Hivers
- Alcohol spray for all the participants
4.Cookies in a pouch ( I was going to bake the cookies but unfortunately time was the issue so @gerel bought some cookies instead and out them the pouch
5.Free drinks for all the guests (by presenting the access pass to the cashier, they can order whatever drinks they want on the menu)
6.Free food tasting of R&R's nine (9) new menus.
7.A raffle draw of 1,000 pesos cash
Other materials used:
- red ribbons to tie the t-shirts and the tote bags
- Customized stickers for the alcohol spray
- Pads and pens for each new onboarded member
- HIVE letter balloons, red, gold, and black balloons
- Masking tape, scissors, balloon glue
- White envelope for the 1,000 cash (so looks more professional, and just handing cash straight from your wallet!)
- Thick papers for to print the Access pass and OCD VIP QR CODE links
- Online guest list (using a google spreadsheet)
- Camera and Tripod
10.Projector and White Screen for the slideshow presentation
11.Big tarpaulin
@gerel posing next to the the Hive tarp (proud Hiver!)
Useful software tools to use:
Canva. I use to make the Access pass and OCD VIP Sign Link
QR Code Monkey/ - at first I was using QR Code Generator Pro to make customized QR codes which means you can add any logo. However, this is an advanced feature that is only available for 14 days trial and must sign up. So I switched to QR Code monkey since some of the advanced features like adding a logo are free.
4.Photoshop - is always a helpful tool since there some things I cannot do on Canva unless I upgrade my account to premium, like removing background images.
5.Google Drive - I save most of my work online so even if am away from my keyboard I can access it on my mobile phone, like editing the guest lists, logos, access pass, slideshow presentation, & etc.
Background remover on canvas sometimes requires premium account
Editing some graphics on photoshop that @eddiespino sent on Gmail for my second presentation.
As the seminar date approaches, look into the specifics of the location.
I had it easier since the owners of the cafe are my friends, so collaborating with them with the set up of the equipment and materials, like the projector, the big tarpaulin, and some balloons were not a problem. Also, the food was catered at the Cafe and we were even one of the first people to get to try the new menu of R&R Urban Cafe which I will be sharing on my future blog.
I hope you find this article helpful and good luck on your Hive Onboarding Event! Let me know if there's anything I missed or you would like to know to make your event exciting and educating. You can contact me on Discord: purepinay#1393 is my username.
I want to take this little space here to thank @nathen007 for helping us with the HP delegations to our new onrboarded Hivers. Thank you so much for your support. It means a lot to me and the new members of this community!
If you are interested in joining OCD's Onboarding Program, learn how you can be a part of this amazing project by reading this post:. Also if you want more inspiration as to why you should be joining the project read my blog: "What Is It Like Being Part Of OCD's Onboarding Program?".
Did you know, you can support OCD by voting it as one of the witnesses? After being with OCD Community for a little over a month, I have discovered so many projects that @acidyo and his team had been working on, it would take me another weeks if I have to enumerate all of those, but feel free to discover it yourself. You can check it out by following @OCD account and join us on the discord channel here and read more OCD under "ocd-faq".
I already cast my vote and it's your turn now to help the community, it only takes seconds of your time. Vote here.
For more visibility of this blog, your support through upvote and reblog is much appreciated. Also, feel free to share on your social media accounts. Thank much! ❤️
