Creativity is a team sport. No really, it is.
I didn’t always think this way. I thought, in order to find my creative vibe, I had to go off on my own, have complete peace and quiet, and sit, idly, meditating on my subject until a brilliant idea just smacked me upside the head.
As I’ve mentioned here before, my personal style for doing any kind of creative work usually involves silence, healthy distractions, being alone, morning, and vast quantities of caffeine. But that’s just the output part (writing blog posts, songs, designing web sites, editing TV shows, etc.). The inputs to those processes require something entirely different.
The actual process of getting the creative juices flowing does not happen sitting at desk, staring at a blank sheet of paper. The generation and incubation of ideas only comes from being surrounded by and observing people, experiences, and things.
This past weekend, around 100 people from all across Canada and the U.S. converged on the National Arts Centre in my hometown of Ottawa, Canada for the Podcasters Across Borders (PAB) conference. First things first – PAB is NOT just a podcasting conference. It’s a conference for content creators. Like you. And it’s one of the best conferences of its kind. Check out the web site for more info. To give you a sense, here are a couple of the short-format JOLT presentations given this past weekend by my pals Sylvain Grand’Maison and Anthony Marco.
Suffice it to say, PAB is a great conference and you should seriously consider coming next year.
To me, conferences are not just about going to listen to a bunch of people stand on a stage and blather on about this and that. Conferences are first and foremost about people.
So how does this tie into creativity?
New People, New Ideas
I was so thrilled to see some of my old friends this past weekend – being in the physical space with people I usually only interact with online is energizing. But I really look forward to meeting new people – because new people are like opening up a brand new book for the first time – you might have a bit of an idea what they are about, but when you start to dig in, the real fun begins. It’s exciting and invigorating to get to know someone, hear new perspectives, learn someone else’s story. I was lucky to make a few new friends this weekend.
The online world gives us an amazing opportunity when it comes to making new friends – not only do you get to form a relationship in person, but after the conference ends you get to go back online and check them out – read their blogs, watch their videos, buy their books….and the best part is, you get to continue the conversation with them. Losing touch is not an option anymore.
New people inject new perspectives into your world. Learning their back-stories can give you ideas and insight into things you may not have thought of previously. The opinions, inspiration and support of new friends can help you formulate new concepts and carve out new paths in your creative process.
So, as great as it is to see old friends, always make a point at conferences to hang around with new people. They have a freshness that will inject life into your creative pursuits.
Give a Little, Get a Lot
Conferences are about participation. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to stand up on stage and present, or be the first person at the mic during the Q and A. But what it does mean is you have to get in there and get your hands a bit dirty. Introduce yourself to people. Mingle. Share. And don’t forget that the opportunity to connect doesn’t end once you leave the conference venue. Don’t rush out the door when the day is over – hang around a bit. Go for drinks or dinner, or grab a few folks and take a walking tour of the city. Definitely attend the social events, because that’s where the real magic happens – that’s where creativity thrives.
What do you get when you have a pile of content creators who are high on a day’s worth of inspiring speakers? You get near infinite creative possibilities. You get the crazy energy of the crowd, buzzing and talking and sharing. You get ideas. You get to be involved in the creation of new things. But you only get the creative side effects if you’re actually there, in person, participating.
Don’t just go to a conference to absorb information. Go to participate. If you’re shy (like me), suck it up and get over it. People are there because they want to meet, connect and share. And that means they want to meet you, too. The conference environment is open, welcoming, and it’s okay to invite yourself along for the ride. You never know where you might end up.
How do conferences inspire your creativity?
[photo credit: Bob Goyetche]
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I use to work at the NAC.
Saw Springsteen there, believe it or not. (A million years ago.)
Honestly, the only part of conferences I’ve ever gotten something from were the people. But they more than made up for the numbing Powerpoint presentations and speeches. (Maybe I’ve been to the wrong conferences.)
I would have one caution, however: meeting people jazzes you up and gets your creativity really into gear. But you have to work at maintaining it because the buzz can quickly vanish once you get back home. That’s where maintaining a relationship online is so important.
I’ve been in the financial services industry for over 20 years and have been to conferences as large as 7,000 people and as small as 100. What was missing was the ease of the ability to continue the relationships forged but somehow we managed, at least with a few. And with today’s technology it’s so easy to continue. I learned so much at those conferences and as Bill said, it was hard to keep up the momentum. Now I have a strategy to make that happen.
Congratulations on such a successful conference and I look forward to attending next year.
I’ve attended conferences before, but they’ve either been work related or for Toastmasters (which is tangentially work related). I need to mix it up a bit.