Participation...

I tell people that the bi-weekly call with partners discussing event marketing strategy is one of my highlights of the month.

Not this morning. For some reason, most people weren't in to it.

I don't know why...usually, there are those who are facing a problem around their event, volunteer what it is, and get valuable feedback from the group.

Today, try as I might, I couldn't light a spark and get the natural conversation flowing.

I'll take some of the blame...perhaps I need to re-think how the calls are run. Matt Rothman from Guru already gave me one...'ask more people more direct questions."

On the other hand, I think I can assign some blame.
Seth Godin recently posted on how to be a great audience and I think it holds true for a call like this.

This call isn't an informational call, it's an educational call. You're going to get out what you put in.

The emotional part of me wants to say:

"If you're going to join anonymously, keep us on mute, and not give anything in the way of meaningful contribution, maybe you're better off not joining."

Now, that's my emotional side talking because I HATE it when we don't have GREAT calls...and, of course, I realize, not every call can be great.

But, when we all get on this call, we make a commitment to each other to share ideas and make each other better marketers. That's why we're all here. If the call isn't working for you, tell me how I can make it work for you. Leave a comment, email me, call....whatever. Just don't be complacent. You deserve to be the best and it's my job to help you.