I am just back from the IABC conference in New York where I enjoyed 4 straight days of networking and learning. After attending at least 2 conferences a year and several in-between, not to mention the countless ones held locally, you kind of get to know exactly what you are looking for in a presenter. I like mine straight up. I enjoy presenters who are great story tellers; those that draw from real life stories as opposed to those that come from the text book. I engage with those who don't rely on power point slides. Heaven help it if they start reading from them. That's the point at which I walk out.  

There were many great speakers in NY: Joan Detz on speech writing, Seth Godldin on blogging shone brightly for me. Both of them live and breathe what they do and were able to deliver their content convincingly. But for me,  the real stars in the conference galaxy were Marc Brown of OC Tanner and Matt Weinstein from the San Francisco based firm Playfair, both were highly engaging and both had  their participants in stitches. 

At one point in his presentation , Brown spoke in Chinese to re-emphasise a point about culture;  he also kept throwing yellow topped, orange fur carrots at us. Weinstein had us giving standing ovations to our conference partners and doing crazy things with our bodies and faces. All of this was to demonstrate a singular point, and  that is the workplace does not have concrete walls where employees go to get a pay check. Employees are seeking more that just benefits and bonuses, they want an organisation where they can learn, grow, where they feel they are making a difference and their work is recognised. In both sessions I learned great tips for creating an engaged workforce: play to the strengths of the people and not their weaknesses, use compliments wholeheartedly, applaud when need be, and engage their hearts and minds.

These points  really came to life as I was walking in Time Square with my friend Wendy Bishop, a senior manager at a financial corporation. I was sharing some of the takeaways from Brown and Weinstein with her  when she interrupted me. " Judette, " she sighed, "when people go to work  they check themselves at the door, workplaces seldom want you to be you, so if you are not authentic, then how can a boss  ever begin to know how to engage you."

It stumped me but I confess only for a moment. I went back to Weinstein's innovative learning tactic. At one point in his presentations he grouped us in pairs and we were made to learn a series of different expressions and body movements to give to people: a sigh if we were creative, a dog face if we were aggressive, a handshake if we were people oriented, and a gun draw if we were dramatic. He later had us turn our backs to each other and at the count of three we had to face each other and demonstrate with expression we were most like by using any of the four body signals. Turns out, only 10 couples in a room of three hundred had an identical style.

His point was well made. And so I told Wendy, I had the answer. Human beings are not bulk goods. They come in different shapes and forms. They come with different styles of communications. In this world that grows ever smaller, the trick is in differentiating individuals and their needs. People differ and the only way you'll find out how is by listening.

To attract and keep talent you have to invest. Invest in innovation. Invest in training. Invest in fun. Invest in time. Invest in the art of differentiation. Most of all you've got to invest in people.