I have some real bad news. Those of us who are not at the IABC World Conference in Toronto this week are officially, and maybe permanently, out of step with people who we heretofore considered our peers.
Last night's conference-opening keynote session transformed the crowd into an army of cultural, intellectual and emotional African superheroes.
"In parts of Africa, communities gather in the village center to play music before vital decisions are made," according to the material promoting the session, put on by a group of drummers called Drum Cafe. "The music creates a sense of belonging and unity, fostering more effective decision-making."
That's right. Today you and I are actually making poorer decisions than our betters, who also learned "diversity in thought" by slapping and clapping to the beat of this drumming crew!
And we're limited in so many other ways, too. Because while we were making Sunday dinner, the drummers (through their drumming) showed conference-goers "how to listen, play to the same beat, explore techniques to recover and grow as a team, and recognize your unique voice and contributions."
While we read the funny papers, a big chunk of our profession was giving themselves over to "demonstrating passion and energy, and taking growth to a new level" and celebrated their "energy, colleagues and accomplishments." Were we among the colleagues they rhythmically celebrated? I highly doubt it.
While we folded laundry, they were learning how to "build community" and "transcend traditional barriers such as hierarchy, gender, culture and geography to ensure open communication."
I'd like to be at next year's IABC show, but it's going to be hard to face these supermen and überwomen, these diverse-thinking, effective decision-making, listening, exploring, recovering, growing, recognizing, celebrating, building, transcendental open communicommandos!
Drum Cafe, for the love of music, don't leave us behind!!!!!!!
Every party has a pooper that’s why they invited you. 🙂
I’m planning on going next year to the San Diego one…let’s do our own dance to drums number, David, okay?
I composed a scathingly detailed comment on this mean-spirited, small-minded and unnecessarily snarky post in my head yesterday when I saw it.
Lucky for you I was too lazy to type it out on a blackberry and now, after two days of some just okay, but more really inspiring, engaging, and real-world useful sessions, your crabby post doesn’t bug me so much.
Having read the newest post, I suspect that at least some of your vitriol was less about a little harmless fun and creativity at a conference, than it was about your bad week. I’m glad your week is on the upswing.
No, the post was not inspired by my bad week. In fact, it wasn’t a bad week. It was just a week.
Glad you saw some good sessions at the show.
But: Was the drumming all that?
Wow. Another investment I’m glad I couldn’t afford.
Kristen,
Everyone can appreciate a “little harmless fun.” And yes, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of inspirational drumming that can lift the spirit and deliver a new and different experience.
Agreed.
But that was not the point of David’s post, at least as I interpret it.
It’s the silly marketing copy. The promotional blurb promises that African drumming will teach you, “”how to listen, play to the same beat, explore techniques to recover and grow as a team, and recognize your unique voice and contributions.”
Really? I had no idea that beating on a drum could do so much for me. Perhaps I should take this idea back to my VP of Corporate Communications. She’s the woman who waived the company’s travel restrictions so I could attend this event.
She’s a great boss, but she’s not an effective decision maker.
But wait!
“”The music creates a sense of belonging and unity, fostering more effective decision-making.”
I can picture us now, gathered around the drums every morning in our cube farm, “listening, playing to the same beat, exploring techniques to recover and grow as a team, and recognize our unique voice and contributions.”
And we wonder why communicators struggle to gain the ear of the C-suite.
Mark
Drumming was a fun way to get people into the spirit of a conference. IABC types (and I am often one of them) are very earnest about communication and have to look as if they take it seriously – because they do. So the brochure writers found a serious, intellectual (though you might say lame) excuse to link the beat to communication.
I took away two messages from the drumming. 1. There is power in us, as communicators, that does not come from our heads. Overthinking is an occupational habit.
2. People can perform well when clear instructions combine auditory, kinaesthetic and visual stimuli with logic. (And it helps to have one acknowledged leader setting the pace.)
The REAL conference mystery is this: Does anyone understand the link to sequined hoop dancers and fire-eaters at the Gold Quill banquet?
Kristen,
I wouldn’t mind any of this if communicators covered the basics: All the drumming in the world won’t help you if you aren’t reading The Wall Street Journal every morning like your CEO.
All of the auditory and visual stimuli on earth won’t do you any good if you aren’t the leading source of information on your market, your company, industry trends, social media and every bit of sales data you can gather.
But, as I said, there’s nothing wrong with reveling in art for art’s sake. Just don’t promote it as a communication tool that has real, practical significance in the daily loves of your average working communicator.
Oops.
My last post should have been addressed to Sue.
Sorry K.
Hey Mark – Good point. The most important piece of advice I ever got about organizational communication was at my first IABC event. The speaker said, “It isn’t enough to know your craft; you must also know your business.”
Still, all the WSJ reading in the world won’t help us be good communicators if we aren’t in touch with our humanity. Maybe all this artsy drummy hoopy stuff is a way to remind us we are more than ideas and business – we are also feelings and spirit and humour. S
Good conversation, y’all. I’ll add only that if people need to go to a conference and beat drums to be reminded of their humanity, they are in hopeless trouble.
But I suppose–ever so grudgingly!–that there is some social utility in a symbolic, group acknowledgment of humanity, all together all at once in the same room together.*
Let me write the copy for next year’s new-age feel-good activity, and I’ll make an honest appeal on those grounds.
* (A better exercise in group humanity, of course, is the Canadian hospitality suite, but try writing brochure copy about that! O the humanity!)