Meeting professionals from across the US and the globe learned how to fine-tune their business relationship skills today, and went home inspired to practice on their children, friends and even the family dog.
In the course of a single afternoon at the third PCMA Business School (held as part of IMEX America’s Smart Monday) attendees learned just how much human instinct and animal behaviour govern our reaction to the world and people around us.
Facing a sceptical audience who are reluctant to listen, let alone consider the ideas being explained to them, is a challenge familiar for presenters. So PCMA’s latest MBA-level education course “Make your ideas stick with persuasive presentation skills”, sponsored by Synchronicities, proved to be a magnetic prospect.
The speaker, highly acclaimed expert Richard Cox, lecturer in organizational behavior at Stanford University Graduate School of Business and founder of People Rocket, captured his audience, urging them to ‘risk becoming human’. Time and again Cox demonstrated the power of emotion and well-crafted storytelling to achieve stronger connections and build more meaningful relationships, be it with colleagues or clients.
He revealed a number of useful engagement tricks, such as how to use drama, where and when to introduce suspense or surprise and, importantly, mystery. Cox urged his audience to practice their newly discovered tools with their children, in the car and even in a single minute before entering a meeting room. He explained: “We all know how to tell good stories…it’s innate. I started my career as a computer technical engineer and learned how to hone my own communication skills through years of improv. If I can do it, anyone can.”
Later on he talked about the differences between power, status and authority – and how dangerous it can be for those who confuse one with the other. “We all know people who have authority – the title – but not the status to perform effectively. To develop really sound, satisfying relationships we need to respect each other. True success isn’t about power play. Good leaders, for example, love their organisations and their employees. They are authentic and know that having an attitude of service widens their range of influence – and their performance,” he explained.
Sherrif Karamat, COO of PCMA said: “Business events are a key driver of any organization’s business objectives, and PCMA’s Business School at IMEX America is intended to equip today’s business event strategists, and meeting professionals with the knowledge and insights they require to ensure that they are achieving success through events.”
Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group commented: “The PCMA Business School has quickly become an important element of Smart Monday at IMEX America. It is one of the higher level educational sessions that meet the needs of both buyers and suppliers in the industry and we are proud to be able to deliver this in partnership with PCMA. Once more it has proved to be a really engaging and thought-provoking session. Good business relationships are all about influence, communication and connection – and I know Richard’s audience today were inspired and empowered on all of these fronts.”
The next PCMA Business School will take place at IMEX in Frankfurt 2017. More information will be released shortly.
The PCMA Business School was founded on the belief that business events require both strategy and a high level of business acumen. PCMA Business School programs help to hone the business skills of event strategists by delivering a high level of interactive education sessions, delivered by some of the best business education professionals in the world.
