Yesterday, after a flurry of positive comments floated over the IVAAnet listserv, mine included, I got an email from a member who, for very valid reasons, could not go to the summit. She wanted to know what she missed.
I responded to her email, but just could not convey to her what I learned at the summit. You just had to be there–to see Loree Vick demonstrate proper posture, diaphramatic breathing and how to adjust your vocal tone if you don’t like your voice. How do I adequately explain how one speaker demonstrated the value of engaging the senses by telling us a story with many details, then repeating it and asking us to fill in the blanks, which we could do easily? How do I explain the impact of the example Charlotte Stallings used to wake us women up to the fact that there is no prince charming?
How do I express how at dinner one night, fellow VA Kim solved my problem of the lack of hi-speed internet connectivity while I visit my parents who live nowhere near an internet cafe and refuse to get a cable internet connection.
How do I convey how my business is going to be more profitable because of the tips I received from the subcontracting guru, Donnette Cowgill?
The only way to even come remotely close would be to have a written transcript of the entire summit. Even then, it wouldn’t convey the enthusiasm and the sparking of new ideas that the summit brought to the attendees.
What did you miss? I can’t really “fill you in.” I can tell you that the next “live” summit is scheduled for April, 2007. That gives you 18 months. Put $2.25 in a jar every day and you should have plenty to attend. You won’t regret it.