David Smith (@dsvirtually) and I have known each other for awhile now – we originally met via twitter! (Ah, the power of twitter a post for another day!) And he continues to be one of my favorite people. Always full of energy, laughter and a ready smile. The “Everything is Awesome” song from the Lego (TM) movie come immediately come to mind when I think of David! Not to mention he’s BRILLIANT in the virtual space. PLUS – how can you NOT like a person who brings you candies from across the pond!
This year, he led the UK delegation and it seemed an entourage followed David wherever he went. Yes, David was the center of the UK ATD 2016 universe.
All this being said, he brings up an excellent point – the importance of conversation. Perhaps, dare I say, awesome conversation! So many people I met had such interesting backgrounds and great insights to contribute. It was about breaking out of your “group” or comfort zone and have conversations with people you didn’t know. Awesome things happen!
So, thank you David for reminding us to be our authentic selves and this means always being awesome!
YOUR TURN!
Share some of the interesting conversations you had this year at ICE. Who did you meet who deserves a shout out?
Here’s David Smith – Reflecting on 7 awesome years of ATD
This year was my 7th year of attending ATD’s main event (ATD 2016), the sixth as a speaker and every year still, surprises me with the connections I make, the virtual friends I get to meet in 3D and the quality of the conversations that take place when like-minded individuals get together!
This year I think for me was all about connecting and collaborating– I led the UK delegation for the first time, was involved in the European Networking evening which had over 12 different EU countries represented and met/was introduced to truly amazing people.
The connections that you make all start off with a conversation – and who knows where that conversation takes you, I am always reminded of the late Jay Cross when he said
“Conversation is the most powerful learning technology ever invented. Conversations carry news, create meaning, foster cooperation, and spark innovation.” – Jay Cross
I had opted this year to get a badge ribbon printed up with D.F.T.B.A – Don’t forget to be awesome, for me a personal challenge to each of us to remember that our audience expects awesome from us – whether that is as the audience attending your speaker session, or the learner audience attending your workshop – they expect and deserve awesome.
When you look up the word awesome there are various versions of it:
ATD 2016 hosted some truly awesome people who were passionate about what they did (too many to mention, astounding in the way they held their audiences (Simon Sinek Keynote), and doing some very inspiring work (Trish Uhl and Ken Phillips) – all of them and many more in their own awesome way.
I look forward to many more awesome ATD annual conferences and people that help me to be amazed, stunned and believing that we can all be awesome!
As Owner of Learning Rebels, Shannon Tipton is a skilled learning strategist, content developer and International speaker. Shannon has over 20 years of leadership experience developing successful learning strategies and infrastructures for training departments within organizations in North America, Europe and Korea.
Shannon works with people and organizations to develop learning solutions that brings actual business results. Recognized as bringing real-world expertise into the learning field, Shannon integrates technologies and social learning tools to strengthen workplace alignment, enhance collaboration and increase learning connectivity.
As author of “Disruptive Learning” Shannon frequently speaking at conferences across North America and Europe and ranks as one of the top 100 L&D influencers on Twitter (@stipton).
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