Last year I watched TEL Friday with several colleagues at my
Trust. We were amazed and inspired by the professional broadcast. Feeling like
I wanted to get involved a little bit on the day, I nervously posted a few
questions on Padlet. Little did I know
then, that this year, Nick would ask me to co-present.
When Nick first approached me, I really wasn’t sure that I
was up to the task and wondered why he’d asked me. I’d never done anything like it before and
lately, I was more used to being behind the camera than in front of it. Though
I have done some presentations in the past, I am not a trainer and I really
don’t enjoy standing up and speaking. I
decided to be brave and fight the fear, I took a while to say ‘yes’.
Plans for the event were already underway and Nick and I met
to discuss how it would all work on the day.
I found out that I would be introducing the event in the studio on my
own (now that seemed scarey, I was thinking it would be like the One Show and I
would be sat with Nick on a comfy sofa). The other part of my role on the day
would be to interview a new eLearning challenge team, whose job it was to build
a module during the live broadcast.
My nerves were now starting to build but I had some sound
advice from Will, ‘be cool’ he said. So I tried not to worry about it. However,
it sat at the back of my mind for the few weeks leading up to the event as the
publicity went out and people started to vote for the eLearning challenge. In preparation,
I decided to religiously watch the One Show with the hope that their presenting
skills might rub off on me.
The day arrived to travel down to Torbay for a rehearsal in
the afternoon. I arrived to a very relaxed vibe and a lovely cuppa from Jo. I
spent some time with the Jaz, Paul and Andy (our brave eLearning challengers)
and we talked about the best way to approach the challenge.
We rehearsed with some practice questions and the microphone
which helped ease the nerves a little. We
discussed our hopes and fears about which subject we were going to get for the
challenge and practical things like how to transfer the storyline pages across
the laptops. Ideas were floated about and we tested out the kit to make sure it
all worked. It became clear that Paul
was our man with the tech, Andy our Storyboard expert and Jaz would be the main
developer who would collate all of the pages on the day.
Then the time came to sit in the studio and rehearse the
first bit to camera. Seeing myself on the big screen was a bit of shock but I
soon forgot about it. I was then given a
challenge of my own, I needed to understand how viewers would be able to
comment and ask questions. This year there were 3 ways to do this and I had to
explain them all at the start of the broadcast.
The team helped me with what to say. Then before I knew it, it was time
to go to the B&B and learn my lines.
After a fitful night sleep and getting the B&B owners up
at 7am for an early breakfast that I couldn’t really stomach, I felt excited
and scared about the prospect of live TV.
We had two hours to set up and rehearse before going live at 10.
10am came, I was first on and ready to go but we couldn’t
pick up the live link so I couldn’t get going.
The anxiety was building, Nick and I paced the room knowing we couldn’t
help fix the problem. I started to wonder if we would be able to get going at
all and if the viewers would notice the new link. Quickly it was realised I
would need to say something about the delay but I couldn’t think what that
would be. I had my lines ready and this was not part of the plan. Slight panic!
Suddenly we were ready to go, we were live and my heart was
beating so fast I thought it could burst
out of my chest. Jo told me to take a deep breath and
signalled for me to start. I turned to the camera and for a second I wondered
if I could speak. I got through my lines
and headed to the challenge team wondering where Nick the cameraman was but
knowing I had to keep going as we were live. Nick joined me with the camera stuck on the
tripod. He heroically held it up for 10 minutes whilst I announced the
challenge which was to build a module on Oral Health. A subject we knew very little about.
The first bit was over and I could now relax a little
waiting for the next section whilst the team busied themselves with reviewing
the material and deciding what to concentrate on. The eLearning Challenge interviews went well as the team explained
what they had been up to. We were also helped along by some great questions
from our viewers .
Paul came up with an idea for a video and asked me if I
would pretend to be a patient having a mouth care assessment live on
camera. I knew they might be videoing
someone but I had no idea I would be showing everyone my fillings!
When we were off camera the time flew away, the team
frantically pulled together the pages in Storyline. The energy in the room was bouncing off the
walls as the team beavered away. Though
not that polished, the module was created and they showed us what can be achieved
in a short space of time by collaborating and sharing. The challenge was over and the adrenaline started
to subside. It was the most exciting, fun and exhilarating couple of hours we
were on a high. This helped us have the energy to help break down the studio
and return all the equipment back to the right places.
Well done guys you did an amazing job and as Nicky Healey
commented on the day ‘You deserve a medal!’ (or was it award?) whichever, I
wholeheartedly agree!
If you, like me, have never done anything like this before
and fancy having a go next year, we’d love to hear from you!
