Lindsay Ball Marketing   Building relationships through effective communication.

For the past four days I have been immersed in all things communication. The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) 2011 World Conference was held here in San Diego and I was thrilled to be able to attend–especially considering how it lived up to its international name.

The U.S. Was still the number one country by number of participants, but do you have any idea what the next two were? The 2nd most well-represented country at then conference was Canada, followed by Australia. There must be something good going on if people are flying from halfway around the globe to be here.

So what did we do? We talked shop and it was wonderful. I enjoyed learning how to write for. different media with the renowned Steve Crescenzo, I was a presentation guinea pig for All-Star Jim Endicott, I hosted dinner for six of my peers at the delightful BiCE Ristorante. One of my favorite activities was shaking the hands of people who were previously only known by their avatars.

Probably the most significant thing I got out of the conference was the reassurance that I am on the right track. You know you’re in the right place when you genuinely ENJOY talking shop with your peers. Many of them are going through similar challenges as I have and it’s great to have that validation.

So I return to work tomorrow re-energized, re-focused and ready to do what it takes to get the job done.