The International Association of Business Communicators’ EuroComm 2013 in Brussels drew to a close a few days ago. And, predictably enough, given all the planning and hard work that went into preparing it, the event was a resounding success. The conference slogan – Disruptive Communication for Disruptive Times – sought to convey both the inescapable uncertainties and the huge opportunities that face professional communicators who are seeking a way to convey their messages through the (dis)information blizzard.
ZN has been involved with IABC for many years, and this year the team was heavily involved in actually convening and organizing EuroComm. An extraordinarily varied program filled with some big hitters (and the odd maverick) proved to be an irresistible draw to hundreds of participants from business, finance, marketing, and – this being Brussels – the European Commission and Parliament.
Post-conference discussion revealed how personal highlights varied, but from the plenary sessions, Jaume Duch Guillot – on the need for the European Parliament to reconnect with its electorate – was particularly compelling, while many felt that a workshop from author and businessman John Smythe on The Rise of Employee Engagement may have pointed the way to the future. And, needless to say, there were plenty of chances for audience members to tell their own stories of communicative disruption and reinvention, provided they could do it in five minutes flat!
“TED”-style plenary presentations by the speakers – short, sharp, no time for messing about – proved to be an innovative hit, and these were followed by Q&A sessions and panel discussions in which insight, debate and disagreement flowed back and forth. Some might shy away from disagreement for fear of negative consequences, but I believe that these should be welcomed.
Read more of Phil’s thought-provoking ideas here: http://www.hyperthinker.eu/2013/freedom-fighters-and-ceos/
*Photo courtesy of salvophoto.com