SNEC-PMI Conference - Day 2
Today was an absolute blast at the SNEC-PMI conference. Toni Newman kicked off the day, with a dynamic, entertaining and memorable keynote.
Now that I have seen more Toastmasters club speeches, conference speakers and speaking contests to know that I don't need to see another one, I have become more critical of speakers. I have also come to learn that when a speaker's bio includes words such as "entertaining, dynamic, enthusiastic, memorable", then the speaker usually isn't. I have learned through hard experience that if a speaker is entertaining, dynamic and memorable, then their bio does not include these words.
Well, Toni's bio does not need any of these descriptions. Toni is awesome. Toni rocks. She is by far the best keynote speaker we have had so far at our annual convention.
If I were to describe Toni's keynote address, it would include the following memorable points:
1. She climbed a ladder on stage, and referred back to it during the speech.
2. Her story of Stephan, the waiter, had us all laughing.
3. We felt the sand under our feet as we walked on the beach in her description of the beach.
4. We laughed when she found herself in the men's bathroom and had to take a decision on how to exit the bathroom.
5. I don't anyone will forget the activity when we learned to answer the question "Why? Why Not?"
6. She walked into the audience and engaged the audience throughout the keynote. Talk about audience interaction par excellence!
Unfortunately, the other general session speakers were, well, uhmm, not as good. (I walked out when a speaker asked me to share my personal goals with other people in the room. This is about as amateurish as "turn and hug your neighbor")
The breakout sessions that I attended were fabulous.
Overall, it was again a great conference and I am amazed at how much work can be accomplished by volunteers. This whole conference is put together by volunteers under the leadership of a volunteer project manager. This is the power of project management when applied under the servant - leadership of a passionate project manager. Kudo's to SNEC-PMI. I am honored and proud to be part of SNEC-PMI.
Now that I have seen more Toastmasters club speeches, conference speakers and speaking contests to know that I don't need to see another one, I have become more critical of speakers. I have also come to learn that when a speaker's bio includes words such as "entertaining, dynamic, enthusiastic, memorable", then the speaker usually isn't. I have learned through hard experience that if a speaker is entertaining, dynamic and memorable, then their bio does not include these words.
Well, Toni's bio does not need any of these descriptions. Toni is awesome. Toni rocks. She is by far the best keynote speaker we have had so far at our annual convention.
If I were to describe Toni's keynote address, it would include the following memorable points:
1. She climbed a ladder on stage, and referred back to it during the speech.
2. Her story of Stephan, the waiter, had us all laughing.
3. We felt the sand under our feet as we walked on the beach in her description of the beach.
4. We laughed when she found herself in the men's bathroom and had to take a decision on how to exit the bathroom.
5. I don't anyone will forget the activity when we learned to answer the question "Why? Why Not?"
6. She walked into the audience and engaged the audience throughout the keynote. Talk about audience interaction par excellence!
Unfortunately, the other general session speakers were, well, uhmm, not as good. (I walked out when a speaker asked me to share my personal goals with other people in the room. This is about as amateurish as "turn and hug your neighbor")
The breakout sessions that I attended were fabulous.
Overall, it was again a great conference and I am amazed at how much work can be accomplished by volunteers. This whole conference is put together by volunteers under the leadership of a volunteer project manager. This is the power of project management when applied under the servant - leadership of a passionate project manager. Kudo's to SNEC-PMI. I am honored and proud to be part of SNEC-PMI.
Labels: Project Management
posted by Wayne Botha @ 7:52 PM
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