Last weekend I was lucky enough to visit one of my most favourite places on the planet, Blackpool.
For those of you who know me, you’ve probably already been bored to death with facts and figures about various aspects of the mighty town. I’ve done many speeches on the topic of Blackpool, I’m a lifelong Blackpool FC supporter and I am a walking Blackpool encyclopaedia!
But this visit to my favourite place had a hidden surprise. A master-class in communication skills!
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “just like buses, you wait forever for one and then three come along at once”. Well that saying occurred to me last week, but it was nothing to do with buses and everything to do with learning styles and dementia.
If you have used any form of public transport recently, you will undoubtedly have noticed a distinct lack of communication. It’s part of a worldwide challenge where the art of Human Connection is being dragged kicking and screaming to a slow and painful death. Sadly, I see this everywhere I go.
Even something as simple as eye contact or a pleasant smile would be a good enough starting point for some human interaction, some communication. But it rarely happens.
This week I had the pleasure of speaking at the largest business exhibition in the North-East, the Newcastle Expo. The topic was a particular favourite of mine, the demise of conversation and its effect on business relationships. I was also asked to write an article for the expo magazine about how to attract visitors to your stand. Sadly not many of the exhibitors seem to have read my article!