Amazon.com
“Engaged the head and the heart for tangible results…”
Challenges
- Produce a virtual gathering that’s relevant and actionable for a wildly diverse group of about 300 Amazonians—from the U.S., Europe, and Asia, whose roles spanned both tech and non-tech teams across all of Amazon's business units
- Ensure that the takeaways transcended borders, and aligned with themes of mattering and belonging
- Include opportunities for attendees to become participants.
Approach
Andrea Driessen designed a 60-minute Gracenotes “wenote” that included curated stories, a group poll, how-to’s, writing practice, before-and-after word clouds, and downloadable learning tools. As she presented, a top-tier graphic illustrator generated a drawing of Andrea’s content in real time. The colorful illustration was revealed to rousing applause, and it became a vivid, memorable artifact of the experience.
Results
After the session, the meeting organizer wrote: “Andrea has a unique gift for bringing the right conversations to the forefront in ways the message can be heard and processed quickly. Her keynote at Amazon engaged the head and the heart for tangible results. And for us, these results included learning to apply her fresh approach for communicating messages of belonging and mattering. She engaged a 300-person online audience with wit and smarts, while also flexing to embrace the unfolding conversation of the group. Everyone stayed engaged til the very end!” —Kristin Graham, Former Principal, Culture & Communications, Amazon.com
