Festivals Cover
Thousands of Moving Parts
Notes from Seth Godin by Lauren Manning
What Change Are You Trying to Make In People?
Middle School Science Fair by Phil Roeder
Where is the Meetings Industry Science Fair?

Passivity Kills Face-to-Face Meetings

Amanda PalmerI work in an industry that places a high value on face-to-face interactions, which made me more attuned to Amanda Palmer‘s recent TED talk, “The Art of Asking.” What struck me was the natural notion of making a human connection to receive and give.

“…through the very act of asking people, I’d connected with them, and when you connect with them, people want to help you” she said.

In the industry I’m in, this is most often accomplished through a format called an “un-conference.” Basically, people gather in small groups to discuss problems and search for solutions to challenges. As you can guess, it’s quite popular, primarily because it’s interactive and because of the face-to-face networking.

That networking is nothing, though, if you’re afraid to ask for help. I think that’s why smaller groups work so well. A large, lecture-style situation is intimidating, whereas, a small group gathering is comforting.

Technology is helping this process, Palmer says. Sure, we may be part of a large group, but the weird thing is that we can feel connected more than ever using the Internet. Maybe it’s just me; I feel like I have more of a chance of communication with a celebrity (use that term loosely) through social media than I do at a huge event.

“Celebrity is about a lot of people loving you from a distance, but the Internet and the content that we’re freely able to share on it are taking us back,” Palmer said. “It’s about a few people loving you up close and about those people being enough.”

Technology can only go so far. It’s a means to an end, and that destination is face-to-face interaction.

“Now, the online tools to make the exchange as easy and as instinctive as the street, they’re getting there,” Palmer said. “But the perfect tools aren’t going to help us if we can’t face each other and give and receive fearlessly, but more important, to ask without shame.”

This brings me to my main point: There’s no reason to meet face-to-face if we’re passive in our interactions. The days of lecture learning are waning. We’re not going to solve problems, find solutions, or change directions if we’re just sitting, nodding our heads and crossing our arms. To me, that’s Palmer’s main point. Even if she is focusing on music, the overall soul of her speech is about enacting change in giver and receiver. That can’t be accomplished by one party being passive. Both need to be active.

Please watch her TED talk, and let me know what you think about it in the comments below

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Posted in <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/category/life/" rel="category tag">life</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/category/meetings-2/" rel="category tag">Meetings</a> Tagged <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/amanda-palmer/" rel="tag">Amanda Palmer</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/asking/" rel="tag">asking</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/events/" rel="tag">events</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/face-to-face/" rel="tag">face-to-face</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/giving/" rel="tag">giving</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/interaction/" rel="tag">interaction</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/lecture/" rel="tag">lecture</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/meetings/" rel="tag">meetings</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/ted/" rel="tag">TED</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/un-conference/" rel="tag">un-conference</a>

Chatting with KiKi

During the conference I attended, I got offered a chance to talk with social media expert KiKi L’Italien. It was a casual chat about the event and a great bar in Vancouver. Check it out below.

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Posted in <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/category/travel/" rel="category tag">travel</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/category/video/" rel="category tag">video</a> Tagged <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/bars/" rel="tag">bars</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/events/" rel="tag">events</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/guilt-co/" rel="tag">Guilt & Co.</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/imex-america/" rel="tag">IMEX America</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/kiki-litalien/" rel="tag">Kiki L'Italien</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/social-media/" rel="tag">social media</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/trade-show/" rel="tag">trade show</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/twitter/" rel="tag">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/vancouver/" rel="tag">Vancouver</a>

Review: The Chairs are Where the People Go

The Chairs are Where the People GoI work in the meeting and event industry. And one of the things that attracts me most to this field is group dynamics and learning. I love figuring out why people get together to exchange ideas, what ways best foster interaction, and how all of this can make us better humans.

Misha Glouberman loves it, too.

Glouberman, a Toronto-based event planner and facilitator, is also a thinker, a ponderer. His book, The Chairs are Where the People Go: How to Live, Work, and Play in the City, is an exploration of his opinions on a variety of topics. Primarily, though, they focus on interactions and how best to nurture them.

The book is co-written with his friend, Sheila Heti, who originally set out to write a fiction book based on Glouberman. She didn’t get too far into it, because she realized that a fictionalized Misha is no match for the real deal. She decided she would ask him his thoughts about several topics and transcribe verbatim (some of you grammarians may squirm a bit).

Examples of these mini-essays include: “Conferences Should be an Exhilarating Experience,” “Don’t Pretend There’s No Leader,” and “Sitting Down and Listening as a Role.” Each topic analysis is strictly Glouberman’s opinion. This isn’t balanced, journalistic reporting. And that’s what makes this book enjoyable and interesting.

For, you see, Misha Glouberman is a modern-day Montaigne. His thoughts are never settled. He leaves himself room to let alternatives enter into view. And that’s the book’s main theme: Think of others. Learn from them. Entertain other viewpoints.

“It’s easy to underestimate the fact that other people have had similar problems to yours and that you can learn from their experiences–and learn from people who’ve spent lots of time thinking about certain problems,” he tells Heti in the chapter titled, “A Decision is a Thing You Make.”

Glouberman’s thinking about certain problems will cause you to think, as well. And for me, that’s the sign of a great book.

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Posted in <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/category/books/" rel="category tag">books</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/category/life/" rel="category tag">life</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/category/musings/" rel="category tag">musings</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/category/reading/" rel="category tag">reading</a> Tagged <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/books/" rel="tag">books</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/conferences/" rel="tag">conferences</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/essays/" rel="tag">essays</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/events/" rel="tag">events</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/groups/" rel="tag">groups</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/interaction/" rel="tag">interaction</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/life/" rel="tag">life</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/meetings/" rel="tag">meetings</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/philosophy/" rel="tag">philosophy</a>, <a href="http://www.pimplomat.com/tag/reading/" rel="tag">reading</a>