By Viqui Dill
On April 1, 2017, the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter hosted their annual regional conference, Conduit 2017. Many members of the Instructional Design and Learning special interest group attended the conference, and several made presentations.
Members in attendance
- Donn DeBoard
- Alan Houser
- Ben Woelk, workshop presenter http://www.stcpmc.org/conferences/conduit-2017/conduit-2017-workshops/
- Elizabeth Fraley, speaker http://www.stcpmc.org/conferences/conduit-2017/conduit-2017-speakers/
- Viqui Dill, speaker http://www.stcpmc.org/conferences/conduit-2017/conduit-2017-speakers/
Revive and Thrive: Strategies for the Introvert in Today’s Workplace
by Ben Woelk
Today’s workplace presents challenges for introverted team members. Business schools focus on producing extraverted leaders, although as much as 50% of the workforce are introverts and there’s no evidence that extraverts make better leaders than introverts. Many workplaces are adopting open space layouts that foster teamwork, but provide little opportunities for introverts to contribute as individuals. Because of Western society’s emphasis on extraversion, many introverts feel unsuited or ill-equipped to thrive in today’s workplace and are not sure how to take that next step to increase influence and improve visibility.
In this workshop, I learned about myself and the others in the session. One of the attendees was Donn DeBoard, with whom I had worked on the STC Nominating Committee. Donn and I are both “idealists” who focus on possibilities and want to empower others. Our similar personalities made us a great team during the STC elections nominating process. We worked together to see the strengths and potential in each of the candidates we interviewed and as a result, brought a very strong ballot to the 2016-2017 STC board elections.
The Art of Personal Branding: How to Tell the “You” Story and Gain New Customers
by Liz Fraley
If you want someone to hire you or your company, you need to be able to tell your story: who you are, what your plan is, and what defines you. There are key points to address at each point in the story in order to gain customers. Whether you’re the boss or on your own, you are constantly telling your story.
This session was particularly useful to those working for equity, or starting a business. Liz focused on:
- How to gain customers by telling your story;
- How to identify who your customer is (and is not); and
- How to identify the keys to telling your story well.
Liz’s presentation energized me to focus on my own strengths, leveraging the strengths of business partners where I am weak. She also gave us permission to let our work-selves and our home-selves be the same person. We don’t have to have two different worlds with two different personalities. My take-away from her session was to know who I am, and to know who I serve.
On track! Running an effective meeting is more than the agenda.
by Viqui Dill
Every techcomm project includes a series of meetings. Requirements gathering and status updates are necessary parts of every project. But attending a meeting means that team members are not making progress on tasks or deliverables. How can we ensure that we make the most of this necessary evil?
This presentation offered proven solutions for meeting management. Starting up front with an engaging icebreaker, gathering expectations about what should be accomplished during the meeting, and then collecting feedback at the end will make your meeting more effective and your team more productive.
During the session, I divided the group into two teams to play a communications history trivia game. The winning team received a flying animal toy as the prize. Since the score was so close, I gave prizes to both teams. That’s when I lost control of the meeting. The prizes were so engaging with the flying and the screaming, attendees began to focus on the toys and not the presentation. In addition, the icebreaker had done such a good job of breaking the ice and getting the group talking and interacting, that they continued to engage and interact, even after I wanted them to settle down and listen to the material. So even though I came to teach, I was the one who learned a valuable lesson about meeting management.
Thanks everyone! Seriously, thank you.
Want to go next year?
The 2018 Conduit conference is already in the planning stages. Save the Dates: Friday, April 6 – Saturday, April 7, 2018 for another engaging conference by the STC Philadelphia Metro chapter http://www.stcpmc.org/conferences/conduit-2018/