This past week I spoke twice in Bogota, Columbia. I was wonderfully hosted by Hi-Cue speakers bureau and presented at the International Customer Service Forum hosted by El Tiempo, the leading newspaper.
I very much enjoyed the people and energy of Bogota. President Alvaro Uribe enjoys an incredibly high approval rating for the progress he’s lead in Columbia. While there are still areas of violence and terrorism, I saw nothing in Bogota that fits the stereotypic imagery of the drug cartel years. There is a vibrant restaurant and nightlife scene that would appeal to any visitor. (Citizens there are frustrated by how difficult is has been to overcome the negative perceptions of the past.)
At the end of each presentation, I did a period of questions and answers, something I never do elsewhere. My experience has been that Q & A sessions typically fall flat for these reasons: 1. people are hesitant to ask questions in front of their peers, 2. the questions they do ask are often limited in the teaching application to others (i.e. the questions are narrowly focused or self-serving) and 3. many questions aren’t really questions but an exhibition of how much the asker knows.
I experienced none of those things in Columbia. What I found was a wealth of participants who were eager to ask very insightful questions. Nobody grandstanded their knowledge; the questions were an attempt to learn. I had the best Q & A sessions of my professional speaking career in Bogota.
I can’t explain why that happened, but I think Columbia in general and Bogota in specific are focused on growing their businesses and participation in the global marketplace. The relatively new stock market there has been growing in leaps and bounds, and Columbians in general impressed me as professionals who are eager and anxious to learn.
My experience in Bogota was exceptional due to my new friends at Hi-Cue as well as the terrific audiences I got to engage when I spoke.
Mark,
I really appreciate your writing these impressions of Bogota. Indeed I am hearing great things of their current situation and am eager o go back there to do some consulting, as I did a few years ago. Your comments on Q&A sessions also were quite useful and I have taken a good note about them. Congratulations!