In 2014 the International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA) asked us to suggest inspiring new ways to open its MOVE Congress, a three-day event for about 300 people from around the world, held that year in Rome. I suggested we get them singing.
Why song
Singing gets 300 people working together immediately. Delegates would not be expecting it, and that was the point. It told them this was not a congress where they would be spoken at for three days, but one that invited their heartfelt participation from the start, and gave permission to think, work and act in new ways.
Having worked for five years in a music business, AudioFuel, I knew composer Howie Saunders, and my close friend Tom Currie is an accomplished conductor and composer. With proper planning, we thought we could run a singing energiser each day and also record the delegates, so the congress would end with its own mixed and mastered anthem. ISCA were brave enough to say yes.
What happened
On the opening evening, Tom drew 300 people into the unexpected with simple warm-up exercises. Walking back to the hotel after the welcome reception, I could hear delegates singing "Now we move" in the streets. On each of the next two days, two fifteen-minute sessions had participants singing different parts.
The recordings went into the final mix, and the congress closed with a video set to the music Tom and Howie had written, featuring the delegates' own voices. It was played a second time with everyone singing, dancing and throwing balls at each other.
What made it work
- It fitted the theme. MOVE is about physical activity, so movement and singing were a natural extension.
- Professionals led it. A good conductor can make a nervous room sound good within minutes, and people feel the difference.
- Short and regular. Fifteen minutes, twice a day, beats one long session.
- A tangible output. The anthem extended the life of the congress beyond its three days.
- The participants. In truth, the delegates were so warm and enthusiastic that very little ice-breaking was needed.
As Tom put it afterwards: "What I didn't know was how the delegates would sound. At the first session I was very impressed by their enthusiasm and, luckily, their voices."
What the client said
"Sean makes you feel comfortable as conference organiser. He is professional and prepared. He is focused on the conference aims and knows how he wants to get there. Sean can walk the thin line of being a strong and connecting moderator without being the centre of the conference."
Mogens Kirkeby, President, International Sport and Culture Association
An energiser is only one part of designing a congress people remember. See conference facilitation, or the nine conditions for brilliant events.
Sean Blair is the founder of ProMeet and Serious Outcomes, an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator and a LEGO® Serious Play® Master Trainer. About Sean.