20 Nov How much do you value your communication tools?
Within seconds of the start of the concert it was quite evident to all of us that they were having technical issues. As static interfered with the sound of the music and the lyrics, it became clear that Colin had had enough. As a musician, you have one job… entertain your audience, partially with visual effects, but mostly with sound. For musicians, clear communication is the most important aspect of their performance and any distortion is an impairment of their craft and a disservice to fans and brand alike.
Colin wasn’t about to jeopardize his talent or his message. The Trews had spent many years writing music and perfecting their sound. They eat, sleep and breathe the culture of their sound. Their sound is in fact, their brand, and for Colin Macdonald, he had no problem stopping the show, awkwardly and publicly calling out his sound crew and refusing to return to the stage until they fixed the problem. That’s how much the audience means to the Trews and that’s how important they feel their message and their music is.
At $40.00 per ticket and a capacity crowd of about 320 people, it certainly wasn’t about the money. It was about the fans and not diluting the quality of the music or the reputation of the band, its culture and its message. People from the East Coast of Canada are among the friendliest you will ever meet, but when it comes to what they are truly passionate about they can be beautifully blunt and terrifically sincere.
After about 10 minutes of the sound crew rushing around the stage, inspecting cables and cords and performing sound checks, the issue was resolved. Colin and the band returned to the stage and blasted a solid 90 minutes of tunes that kept everyone out of their seats. If you have never seen The Trews and you are Canadian, or you just love a party, they are a must see.
In relation to business, many corporations host annual meetings where Managers are flown in to a central location from all over the country to review past and present performance, and share strategies for future growth. Most corporate business people have attended similar meetings and are aware that the price tag could reach $1 million or more for several hundred attendees.
At one event I attended, the theme for the year was communication, and as part of the experience we all gathered in a warehouse, slipped into rubber boots and were given hollow batons. As we stomped our feet and banged the tubes together, the idea was to simulate ancient tribal communication in its simplest form. A very active and visual demonstration that proved its point well.
Following this workshop, the hundreds of employees, Managers and Senior leaders all squeezed into the corporate headquarters cafeteria to listen to our leader speak… about communication. As any professional speaker or presenter will tell you, the worst-case scenario is to have your audio equipment fail you. This was about to be one of those moments.
With several hundred people in the room, the sound system was as loud as it could go, however, it would not be loud enough as murmurs from the back of the room began to absorb the speakers voice. At the same time, the sound system would begin to crackle and then cut in and out. The presentation seemed to be fed through the corporate office intercom system and seemed incapable of functioning for a sustained period of time. Either that, or it was just a poor sound system.
The audience could sense the frustration in our leader’s voice as the sound system continued to fail. Normally a meticulously prepared and impassioned speaker, he worked his way through his speech trying to ignore the low rumbles in the crowd and the intermittent sound system. Most of his message was being lost beyond the 10 or 12 feet that his voice projected. He would continue on like this until his speech concluded.
I’ve had the privilege over the years to listen to many of our leaders’ presentations and they had all been inspiring. Most times his audience would rise to its feet and applaud for several minutes. This time the response was strong at the front of the room, but near the back, you hardly knew he had finished speaking and the response was weak as the sound of applause quietly cascaded the length of the room only to fade out near the back. Other than the understanding that his presentation was focused around communication, many of us left without hearing the entirety of his speech.
Two leaders, two different presentations, for two separate audiences, but each with critical messages and each with a price tag. For one, his message was important enough to stop and take a stand, for the other, an equally important message, with a much greater price tag… and yet, he would continue. Could the corporate leader have done much? Perhaps he could have acknowledged the impairment and isolated the few responsible in an inconspicuous, possibly humorous manner, but realistically, other than that, he was trapped.
In the end, the ultimate issue at hand for both scenarios was preparation. Did they have the proper equipment? Did they have audio experts who thoroughly tested the equipment? Was there a solid understanding of the room, the capacity, and the impact capacity would have on space and sound? Had they considered the ROI of the communications impact on the personal and corporate reputation of their brand? Did they have a plan B, or even a worst-case scenario plan C?
Many, many hours go into writing a song, and very precise detail goes into developing a corporate speech. Equally as many hours go into rehearsal and perfecting the delivery. When personal or corporate brand, image, and investment are at risk, how much time and effort do you or your company put into preparing the tools that you need to deliver your message? If your cost and ROI are high, then all parties had best be sure that the right steps have been taken to deliver an uninterrupted, clear and concise message, otherwise, you may as well be stomping around in rubber boots, banging hollow tubes together communicating like we did thousands of years ago.
Written by Paul Hobbs
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