The last three questions of the series of 20 questions asked by Radoslava Leseva for her study aimed to help make conferences inclusive are answered in this series of posts titled ‘Questions On Public Speaking’ subtitled ‘Introverts and Events’. Interview date — Feb 16, 2018.
Cultural specifics
Are conferences in India conducted differently to conferences in the West? If yes, what are the biggest differences?
Yes, there is an unnecessary formality in the way conferences are conducted at least the ones that I have attended since 2012–2017. Change is taking place at a pace that seems slow to the juniors. This formality is not helping us, in the name of culture the present generation is being led to the past. If you have noticed, organization culture is carried on to conferences. Is there a written rule that conferences should function similar to organization culture?
There is an evident lack of dynamic leadership in the organizations because promotion is based on age, or on a certification basis. Not skill-based, completely. Mentoring a newly promoted lead or manager and training them is an unknown concept. If a wise leader coaches the new manager, then the new ones or those that are promoted just to fill the spot can learn a lesson or two. It is true, people with no training are leading and are setting not a good example using the stale bureaucratic methods. Don’t the universities that they attend teach that the dynasty rule is over? Dynasty rule has a new definition in the IT world. If you are from the same region, or state or speak the same tongue, or say ‘Yes, sir’ and do what the management commands you to do without questioning the norms or the written rules then you are the next in line for possession of the newbies. Juniors or any employee for that matter will never need somebody above them but beside them, guiding them. Will we learn this? If you are knowledgeable and are trained to be a leader and not just a mere manager by title, then you can even mentor the new managers to lead better. There are honest ways of leading and by example. Especially with how we treat the next generation, a lot has to be learned. Unless we are ready to become students and learn from the knowledgable, the change will be slow. If these are the same people who think that they have to put up a display of power and are doing so by terrorizing the new joiners, and are creating palpable fear in juniors then yes, it is different from the West. And if the same people led the conferences, then yes it is different from the West. There is nothing wrong with them being promoted as leaders as there is no one trained to be a better manager, but there is a lot wrong with the narrow mindedness in choosing speakers who are also the sponsors of such events. But, if I do not get the funds then how will I run the show? It is possible, try it. Even if a few people attend and it is worthy, then word spreads and sooner there will be attendees to attend a quality workshop/talk at a quality conference. I do not know if anyone else agrees with me or is willing to add on to this perspective, but it is true as of today. There is too much formality right from the garlanding to extra special treatments. Indians are not treated specially when we are in other countries. I am overly considerate(in my own way) which is my true nature and am content with the learning experience. What more special treatment does a speaker, attendee need? But the same is not true when we are in any other country. Learners go to conferences to learn and share and sometimes are paid to learn and share. A special or different treatment, why should that become a part of any conference? Some speakers get used to this special treatment while the others, as I have noticed, are just as normal as they are in their country, do their work and go about with their learning/business. There is a ton of scope for improvement in the conferring scene in India. (I am referring to the testing conferences that I have attended here).
What is the most shocking difference in set up or expectations you have experienced so far?
I personally wouldn’t try and find the difference, but once a fellow conference-goer entered the room allocated to me and expressed that her room was a tad bit different. Until then I was unaware of it, I didn’t give it any thought because I rarely get such opportunities to learn back home and it is always enough for me to self-sponsor or use whatever is allotted and not question it. A friend of mine who is a conference speaker too expressed that ‘We are not treated equally’. But it does affect me when I get to hear such indifference towards others. I have not done any study on ‘why we are not equals’ so I let it pass. At least in my mind, all are equals in trying to learn from a conferring experience. I am starting out as a speaker and did not want it all to end by asking such questions. And because I am used to such a culture and a norm in organizations back home where a question asker is immediately removed from the scene. First, they are not seen in the meetings, they are absent for work and later never seen again in the organization.
When we self-sponsor we never have to become a part of such differences(if it exists). We can stay where we want, do the talk and get going. When we are sponsored we will bear witness to a difference maybe. My focus will be on the talk and all the anxiety will not give me time to think or worry about anything else except the talk. The organizers always ask what we need as an additional arrangement for the talk, and we can ask for or accommodate. In my humble opinion, no one should ever be treated differently based on the land they just last arrived from! If a special need is required then add it to the form when you submit the abstract. Receive it or not accept to speak rather than later complain about it. Thus far, in my limited experience, I have received what was provided and am fine with everything that is made available to speakers at international conferences that I have been to as a speaker and as an attendee. The organizers are doing their work and we can be as humble about it as possible. They are not doing it to create a difference, if we realized this then we will not go looking for differences.
Less is more at times for a speaker whose whole focus is on learning and learning alone.
Everything seems new and wonderful if you have never been to any local or other conferences and are experiencing conferences in all its glory. It is with experience at both local and international conferences that we can gauge the difference. Indian conference organizers treat foreign nationals with care right from visa arrangements to lavish hotel accommodations. Ultimately you only get what you ask for and you can choose to accept or pass up on the opportunity to learn if you are dissatisfied with what’s made available to you as a speaker. There will be other takers, with less or with a different arrangement. If you have had a bad experience, you can always say No to speak at that conference. Plus if you do not have any special requirements, then it simplifies and allows you to be fully present and enjoy the learning at any event. But if you are in need of any special needs then do reach out to the organizers. It is even better to equip yourself with whatever that’s necessary for your travel and travel light(in head and mind) to make the best of any learning experience.
Anything else
I am sure I have only scratched the surface of the aspects of diversity and inclusiveness at conferences and would love to hear your views on other things that matter in your experience.
I once stood for the entire duration (which was over an hour) on a train from Amsterdam airport to Maastricht as I was told it’s closeby. I wish I had questioned this information, it was also not two stops as mentioned and I had booked an overpriced ticket to and fro when I could have avoided that. (When I asked, I got these answers and I didn’t doubt it.)This was when I could clearly not afford to use my mobile phone to connect and make international calls, the phone is as good as dead with no wifi. So trust yourself to be nervous, overthinking is fine and ask more than one person when in doubt. Not knowing the language is also a problem, not understanding the accent can make the whole experience miserable especially on a telephone call. Time zones and airport codes are other aspects to be mindful of as it can lead to mishaps especially when you are traveling alone to a foreign land and do not know that a city has more than one airport. Conference organizers can mention the nearest airport for overseas travelers, this plus other feedback from participants needs to be collected. In my humble opinion, such feedback is never asked for or received. Feedback on the program and event is asked but not this. I rely on complete strangers to guide me when I am in doubt and luckily I have not been misled. I prepare well in advance and meticulously, whenever possible access Google street view, number of entrances, exits, nearest airport, other airports that are nearby, low cost and high safety hotels and those which are within walking distance to the venue. And if it is expensive, I tweet and wait for an opportunity to share a room with the other attendee. Also, I check if anyone from the same city or country is arriving at the airport at the same time as me. How difficult can it be to navigate with all the advancements in technology? But not if you cannot afford it or have been living with less or no travel experience. So I request the elders, the wise, or anybody else from the organizing committee to help out at least the first time conference-goers with some guidance. Or help them share their burden by supporting them not in any special way but try to provide answers to some of the questions that they might have. Try and answer if you receive an email from them. Even ‘I do not know’ is a valid answer, ‘I will not answer’ is a form of acknowledgment too. They are not overthinking or looking for any other help, but are looking for some guidance only.
I was once asked, ‘why did you travel this long a distance?’ when I made it to my first conference as a speaker. I was tongue-tied and truly had no answer.
Yet, this entire experience has only taught me to be braver than before, learn from the introverts, ambiverts, and extroverts. Be positively challenged by those present in the audience, and the brilliant speakers so I can learn from each of these experiences and enjoy the conferring experience. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from so many knowledge seekers. Especially with my humble beginnings, I would never have known that I would be speaking and be able to continue it despite the trouble that every organization that I worked with has caused me and others like me, all because of the biases that they so strongly and closely hold. Why not learn to question the logic behind such biases and unbias? And to come back home and inspire, even if it is just one more learner or an introvert to be up on the stage and experience the exuberance.
Even introverts scream in joy, maybe quietly in their heads in the confines of their own home or room. An introvert speaker who has done a Ted talk on the same topic (Introverts and events) observed himself rushing to the loo to lighten himself after a talk. And yet he continues to get up on stage and shares all that he wishes to share and that which only he knows. The joy or pain in all this is only known to the speaker who wishes to put the effort and make a difference even if it’s to themselves. The joy of sharing their experience, their story on a local or an international platform with fellow learners can be exhilarating to an introvert and mostly to an introvert who rarely gets the opportunity to speak and be heard amidst the loud and boisterous so-called leaders(by title only) and not necessarily the extroverts.
There are other unmentionable experiences that force me to not/never do this again. The not shared (here) experiences that I have gone through at the workplace that I by default serve honestly, at the visa office, at airports, in a cold country, and in an expensive to afford anything country, to make this learning happen. This makes me now wonder about the aptness of that question: Why take all the trouble to come here to learn? Maybe to learn. Maybe to live a little on the stage. Maybe to be heard cause we are always silenced by the terrorizers in the name of leaders(only by title). Maybe to see the goodness and to know that it does exist. Maybe to hear and share what others go through to make a living and maybe because they do rely on someone to share their experience on behalf. Maybe to learn and share that terror culture is not the way forward. Or to know and share that ‘An introvert or an extrovert or an ambivert CAN’. We can all learn without creating more differences than those that exist already and despite the hardship.
BE BRAVE ~ as Gitte Klitgaard puts it.
Be brave for the right causes.
Be good. Choose to do right. Leave the world a better place than you found it ~ From Isabel Evans slides.
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