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An Invitation to Future Workshops
When Communication Consultants Talk: The Value of the Dialogue
Lynn Hanson
Business and Technical Communication Training
Florence, South Carolina
An exceptional bonus to membership in APCC is the opportunity to attend the veteran consultant’s workshop each year.
The “Sharing of Wisdom” sessions serve to unify our organization and validate the many members who participate.
For me, the greatest benefit is the discussion. Given two complex problems involving real-life scenarios, small groups of communication consultants have 45 minutes to assess consulting dilemmas and propose solutions. What we receive in the process is an energizing boost of validation, an antidote to the isolation of our independent business ventures.
As the group confers to unravel each problem, we often describe our individual experiences as points of reference. Hearing about the obstacles and challenges other consultants face translates into a knowledge that none of us is alone.
Sometimes I do not fully realize how much I have needed the camaraderie, collegiality, and validation until the experience has concluded in a flurry of shared insights at the end of the workshop. The discussion is intense and thought-provoking, as participants explain their differing views on the choices at hand. We do not always agree. But articulating multiple perspectives is also part of the validation.
As communication consultants, we often address complexly-layered problems, fraught with nuances and ambiguities, that can be perceived and addressed in a number of ways. We are always navigating through the icebergs, and what I value most in the workshop is hearing how others choose their paths and the results they produce. The workshop discussion confirms that I am not alone in an icy sea, that I am not the first to hit an iceberg, and that I am not the sole survivor.
At least once a year we can come together to collaborate on some common problems. In doing so, we have an opportunity to share our similarities as well as our various perspectives and methods, our failures and successes. The annual veterans workshop is a welcome reminder that we have access to a community of colleagues with a uniquely generous tendency to share. It is a reunion of personal and professional pleasure. Please join us again this year.
APCC Workshop at ABC Conference
October 23, 2003
Albuquerque, NM
Conference Within a Conference
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