IABC (International Association of Business Communicators) review

It’s been a busy week. A week ago, I was at the IABC, giving a presentation called: “The Sting of the Webswarm: Crisis Communications In the Age of Blogs” (I’ve since done a presentation to a government group that I can’t talk about, a speech in Kananaskis about targeting future media consumers, and am now in Calgary about to speak to some lawyers about work-life balance.)

But the IABC summary was: “If the Internet is like a swarm, then sometimes good buzz can quickly turn into bad buzz and you can get stung. Tod will introduce your delegates to both the swarm culture and both the danger and opportunities in blogs and podcasts.”

Following my luncheon at the IABC which generated great response among the delegates and bloggers in attendance, my client emailed me with their delighted feedback:

Discussions continued in the hallways through end of conference regarding your presentation and content. One keynote introducer commented that she doesn’t recall ever before where she went from tears of sadness (Stephen Lewis keynote) to tears from hilarious laughter (your session) during a conference. You were certainly a conference highlight.

Felt good. :)

Posted June 12, 2006 Comments

Raving reviews from my IABC presentation yesterday

I had a great time with the folks at the IABC International conference yesterday, as their luncheon speaker. Some reviews from my presentation are in:

  • “One of the best presentations I’ve seen at an IABC conference…. Tod Maffin did an awe-inspiring job explaining the impact of the social web to a packed ballroom of communicators, having them laughing while simultaneously terrifying them. Maffin has a remarkable ability to make complex concepts like webswarms understandable to people unfamiliar with the notion.” — Shel Holtz
  • “Podcaster, blogger and CBC radio broadcaster Tod Maffin provided a ‘roll-in-the-aisles’ funny case for the power of social media. Solid ideas illustrated by real world examples…. I just couldn’t stop laughing long enough to catch up with Maffin’s delivery.” — Joesph Thornley
  • “Tod Maffin never disappoints. He was our Lunch and Learn speaker today at a sold-out session. Chatting with my tablemates before lunch, I mentioned that I’d met Tod before (and have spent a day with him at a seminar) and said we were in for a treat. Everyone nodded politely. A few minutes later, they were crying with laughter and nodding their heads in recognition of the communication truths spoken by Tod. I would not be surprised if he were voted Top Speaker of the Conference, if there is such an honour. Anyone who is interested in public speaking should watch Tod and learn from a master. His sense of timing and his story-telling abilities are awesome.” — Donna Papacosta
  • “My mind is still buzzing with today’s outstanding lunchtime presentation by Tod Maffin and his powerfully honest insight into the power of the Geek when avenging poor customer treatment. Next time you see this guy turning up at a conference make a point of being there and learning from him.” — Andrew Riley, ACA

Thanks! :-) Then it was off to the airport for a flight to Toronto, then Montreal, then a middle-of-the-night drive to Ottawa to get here in time for a 8am speech to some municipal I.T. folks. Time for bed!

Posted June 6, 2006 Comments