I am usually on the production side of a conference– managing the timeline, confirming details, communicating with speakers, running the show onstage, etc. It is a blast and I love what I do.
I had the opportunity to be on the other side of a conference today as an onstage performer. One of my dance teachers runs a company that puts on flash mobs and dance pieces for marriage proposals, live events/conferences and special occasions. Since we are a part of his community we are lucky enough to get the opportunity to perform in these pieces.
Now, this one would be unique. It was for a conference for the customer success community and the pieces would be Disney and 90’s inspired. Um, yes please.
The lyrics of the songs were changed to tell the story of how a customer success manager does their job. For example, one of the songs was “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. Instead of the lyrics being “I can show you the world, shining, shimmering, splendid.” they were changed to “I can show you a demo, Monday Tuesday of next week.” “Circle of Life” was all about a customer’s lifecycle, etc. It was brilliant and So. Much. Fun. And just about as cheesy as you can imagine.
The audience was in the 2,000+ range so there were definitely nerves. In the end the performance went great and our client was absolutely thrilled.
The brilliance of this performance was that it was created for the purpose of getting the message and content of the conference across in a more impactful way. The song and dance aspect made the content more memorable and broke up the familiar Keynote and Panel formats that you typically have at conferences. I hope that this signals an oncoming trend for how companies revamp the way content is presented at conferences. I sure hope so! Creativity doesn’t have to live by itself– it can be intertwined with business and yes, even at a conference about customer success!
Whenever I dance, sing, perform, or express myself in a creative way it brings me back to a place of being young, free and unburdened. And if I can be lucky enough to do it for a purpose, I am beyond elated. I’ve always felt that I had this performer in me but growing up I was too afraid to really put myself out there. I didn’t feel good enough and was afraid of what others would think.
These past few years in my “adulthood” I decided that I owed it to myself to put myself out there a bit more; to seek ways to be creative and to fumble around a bit with expressing myself. I decided to not focus on being perfect and to look at each opportunity as the chance to grow. There would be no intention to do it full-time but perhaps I am able to have some sort of creative expression in my life on an ongoing basis.
I am continuing to play around with what this looks like in my life so will stay open to what opportunities are out there and what calls to me.
Some images and videos from the performance
Kicking it off at @GainsightHQ Pulse in #PulseConf2016 style! pic.twitter.com/mblfZOb0bO
— Corey Pudhorodsky (@CoreyPud) May 10, 2016
A whole new tool! #pulse2016 pic.twitter.com/VqdJnAbdQr
— Madeleine Davis (@madeleinedavis4) May 10, 2016
The best start for a user conferance- Sales Musical – way to go @Gainsight #pulse2016 pic.twitter.com/iyN6tOPp3x
— Eitan Saban (@EitanSaban) May 10, 2016
The @GainsightHQ #Pulse2016 kicks off w/ clever musical montages. pic.twitter.com/yAbd63oK8A
— George K. Mathew (@gkm1) May 10, 2016
Update: Here is the video of the performance!
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