Now how did it get to be September?!?! That’s what your trusty Beyond the Hype (BTH) 2018 Steering Committee members are asking themselves as work progresses on organizing the annual one-day, professional development conference that will take place on Friday,
November 23 at Royal Roads University. (Yep, this is a shameless plug to mark your
calendar!)
Coordinating an event for your place of work is one thing -- but when you bring together nine communications practitioners to volunteer-organize a conference after-hours -- there’s going to be some challenges.
“Going into this, I knew that I would be stretching myself in certain areas - mostly letting go of my preconceived notions of how it was all going to be. And this has definitely been true,” laughs BTH 2018 Chair Tatiana Chabeaux-Smith. “You have to learn to love the learning. It’s part of the experience.”
Here are some of the discoveries we’ve all made so far:
1. Embrace technology but make time for face-to-face.
Technology is a love/hate relationship. Video-conferencing should make it easy to come together, right? When it works, it’s amazing, but there’s nothing like face-to-face meet-ups to share and flesh out ideas, and make those not-so-easy decisions to keep things moving forward.
2. Let go of the need to control, well, everything.
An event such as this involves multiple, external factors that often can’t be controlled. It can be difficult to let go of the need to control every single aspect of the process. Recognize that plans change, and while adjustments can be challenging, change can also bring new opportunities. It’s important to understand your objectives, but even more important, is to be flexible on how you achieve them.
3. Surround yourself with people who just get it.
Being a member of CPRS-VI provides meaningful network opportunities. Volunteering
your time to work alongside other communications professionals towards a common
goal expands your network, opens you up to new ideas, and is frankly, refreshing. It’s
exciting and fulfilling to share what you’re passionate about with people who just get it --
and you.
4. A lot of talent can fit around a coffee table.
Nine heads are better than one. Collaboration and the sharing of ideas and different
perspectives enrich creativity and decision-making. The diverse knowledge, skills and
experience of your BTH 2018 Steering Committee are informing a rad, relevant
conference program that will appeal to a wide audience. (Having a representative from
the event venue on your team is pretty fabulous too!)
Watch for the BTH 2018 topic and speaker line-up announcement in early October!
And know that we’re committed to Keeping it Real.
Since 2008, CPRS-VI's Beyond the Hype has been bringing together public relations practitioners and leaders from across British Columbia to connect with each other and to learn about emerging trends and issues affecting our community of practice.
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