Focusing on the future: at the 2007 International Conference, communication and community take center stage.

What does the future hold for the communication profession? That was the key question that speakers and attenders tried to answer at the 2007 IABC International Conference in June. More than 1,100 people from 41 countries met in New Orleans, Louisiana, to share ideas and develop their skills as professional communicators through a series of informative sessions, roundtables and discussions covering everything from change management to social networks.

"New Orleans has such a rich culture, and we were able to incorporate some of that into the conference," said IABC President Julie Freeman, ABC, APR.

Before the conference even got under way, an IABC team of 100 volunteers lent a hand to Habitat for Humanity in its ongoing efforts to help rebuild the city of New Orleans, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. The volunteers helped build two houses during the two-day construction project in the city's Ninth Ward, one of the areas hardest hit by Katrina. IABC, along with Wells Fargo, which is the major financial sponsor for the initiative, contributed more than US$10,000 toward the project as well.

Katrina was on the minds of other attenders who participated in Gerard Braud's pre-conference session, "Katrina: Lessons in Leadership and Communication," which focused not only on the storm's impact on the city but also on how crises affect organizations--and what you can do to prepare for the unthinkable. Braud, a New Orleans native, led a bus tour of the city while he shared some of the history that has shaped the Crescent City and described the events and subsequent actions that have had such a lasting effect.

Back at the Hilton Riverside, the conference program got under way on 25 June with Stu Reed, this year's EXCEL Award winner, leading the opening general session, sharing how he has used a variety of communication strategies to help bring Motorola's worldwide supply chain team together. (For more on Reed, see "Connected to the People," page 20.)

Of course, communication strategy is the name of the game, and the conference's 81 sessions covered just about every aspect: communicating change, crisis communication, ethics, marketing and branding, generating ideas, personal growth and development, and especially the impact of social media and user-generated content. Blogs, wilds, social networks such as MySpace and Facebook--these new tools generated plenty of mostly positive discussion, as communicators face a rapidly changing communication environment.

Christopher Barger, formerly of IBM and now director of global communications technology at General Motors, led an engaging session on the topic. Social media, he said, doesn't replace traditional communication strategies but adds another dimension by creating a dialogue with consumers. "We've gone from an environment where the communicators take a message, convey it out to a passive audience, the audience receives it but doesn't have anywhere else to go ... to one where the audience not only has the ability to respond and talk back but has the expectation that the communicators will be listening, the organizations will be listening," Barger said. "Telling our story is good. Getting someone else to tell our story in their own words is even better."

Even IABC got into the act, providing a conference blog and podcasts with speakers and attenders (available online at http://blogs.iabc.com/ic). Indeed, according to Freeman, one of the association's goals in the coming year is to help members connect through social networking tools on IABC's web site.

Still, communicators need to use these new technologies judiciously, speakers said, and there's no substitute for direct, face-to-face communication, which Mark Schumann, ABC, of Towers Perrin calls "critical." "You have to bring a personal sense of conversation to every medium you create," said Schumann, who led the session "Breaking Through the NOISE." "It seals the sense of community."

E-mail was a big topic--how to use it and perhaps more important, how not to use it. "E-mail is equally unpopular with people of all different ages," Schumann said. "People would prefer a more personal kind" of communication. Tudor Williams, ABC, MC, and Ryan Williams of twisurveys had a chance to present their Gold Quill Award-winning findings about "Taming the E-mail Monster" as well, helping conference-goers better manage both incoming and outgoing e-mail.

Marcus Buckingham, whose two decades of experience with The Gallup Organization have made him an expert in management and leadership styles, closed the conference on 27 June with a dynamic presentation on what good managers and leaders do differently from the rest. The key, he said, is determining and focusing on personal strengths.

In the end, the future of communication comes down to people, and in every session--indeed, every discussion--the overriding theme was how people communicate and build a sense of community. More so than at perhaps any other IABC conference, conference-goers in New Orleans had a chance to demonstrate communication in action.

Plan for the 2008 conference. Look for IABC to hold the International Conference in New York City 22-25 June.

on the red carpet

Winners of the 2007 Gold Quill Awards got their moment on the red carpet--literally--at the International Conference. The black-tie awards gala took on a Hollywood theme, complete with celebrity impersonators who ushered guests into the banquet room at the Hilton Riverside. "Joan Rivers" served as emcee for the event, while "Cher," "Eminem," "Johnny Cash," "Jennifer Lopez" and "Mick Jagger" serenaded the crowd.

september is worldwide membership month

Do you have a colleague who would benefit from IABC membership? During September, when any new or lapsed member joins or rejoins the organization, IABC will waive the application fee (US$40/CDN$46.40 for faxed, mailed or phoned enrollments; US$30/CDN$34.800 for online enrollments).

Applications must be received at IABC's San Francisco headquarters during the month of September to qualify. (Note: This promotion does not affect active renewing members.)

iabc and ithaca college extend online seminars/ certificate program

IABC has extended its partnership with Ithaca College to offer online courses in Strategic Communication Management, with a full schedule of sessions confirmed through mid-2008. The online seminars are designed for communication professionals with five to 10 years of experience who are moving into management roles.

Each interactive seminar provides practical tools and advice, and gives the theoretical underpinning and vocabulary needed to more effectively explain and defend your strategic decisions. Seminars are facilitated by faculty from Ithaca College, providing you with access to leading experts in the field. Each online seminar lasts two weeks and requires about 10 hours of work, which includes reading, participating in online discussions and completing assignments or work-related projects. Complete any four seminars to earn a professional certificate in Strategic Communication Management from Ithaca College.

For more information, visit www.iabc.com/scm.