Monday, 28 May 2018

Dance to My Tune

Dance to My Tune



This is the background of the Salon at the Melbourne Recital Centre. I was fortunate enough to attend a performance by the Ensemble Gombert there this week.

Now I must confess, it is not the kind of performance I would usually attend but one of my fellow members of the Ice Haloes performs with them so I thought it would be a good opportunity to see what the sophisticated people do.

Oh my lawks a lordy! It was stunning.

While the entire performance was in German, it didn't matter. The harmonies and the emotion of the music jumped out and grabbed you. I had the translation of the piece but I just listened and enjoyed it without trying to work out what it meant at the time.

They performed two pieces. Hugo Distler's Totentanz and Bach's Jesu, meine Freude. While the Bach was great, the Distler was a production of it's own. It is a Motet, which Wikipedia defines as a mainly vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from the late medieval era to the present. 

They had kindly provided an English translation of the piece, which was about when Death comes to us all, how will we be seen. The first dialogue from Death was very powerful.

To the dance, line up for the dance:
emperor, bishop, burgher, farmer,
poor and rich, great and small,
come to me! Mourning will not help.
Lucky is the one who mindfully
did good things during his life,
thereby detaching himself from sin -
Today I say: Dance to my tune!

The motet showed how different people meet death. Life has shown us that no-one is spared death. Yet many live as if Death will never come.

I am so grateful to my friend Vic for introducing me to this piece. Listening to how Distler felt people would meet death reinforced that life is to be lived and to be lived well.

To try new experiences, treat all people well, to give what you can, to not be blinded by ambition or be arrogant with any authority we may hold. We will all Dance to Death's Tune one day so let's make today as good as possible for those around us. By doing so, we will make life (and death) good for ourselves.

Yes, this piece is old. It is based on text written in the 17th and 19th centuries. But the message still holds true.

So Dear-Reader, if I may be a bit dark and somber, before you need to Dance to Death's Tune, how will you live so that you may die well?

PS You can listen to an unrelated but lovely piece by Ensemble Gombert here
PPS Vic is fourth from the left
PPPS The latest Get More Success show has an interview with Dianne McGrath. She is one of the final 100 people who may be going to Mars. Listen to the show here. She may die well but on another planet!

 

 

Warwick Merry - The Get More Guy, is your high energy, results focused, action oriented, no holds barred tour de force Master MC, keynote speaker and Exhibiting Specialist. He ensures your attendees Get More from your event. His MC work is like insurance for your event. It guarantees things will run smoothly and on time. As a speaker, he is like a dose of sparkling mineral water – a bubbling, burst of healthy, sustainable energy for your attendees.  If you need a burst of inspiration, cogitation and celebration at your next event you MUST book The Get More Guy, Warwick Merry.

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Monday, 21 May 2018

Ice Bucket Challenge Upgrade

Ice Bucket Challenge Upgrade

Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? A fund raiser for ALS or those suffering Motor Neurone Disease. I remember at the time thinking, "Luckily I don't know anyone suffering from that" and I never did the challenge.

I can't say that anymore.

My buddy Leanne was diagnosed about 6 months ago. It seems even worse for her as she is/was a fitness trainer and now she wobbles when she walks and no longer has full control of her body. Not only that, but she and her hubby now are focussed on her recovery so can't work as much, need expensive treatments and have spent a shitload on special equipment.

Being the type of gal she is, there is no self pity but there is a big party!!

So we are upgrading from an Ice Bucket Challenge to a FUNdraiser. Let's Eat, Drink and be Giving for Leanne's MND FUNdraiser. We have some fun games, auction items and whole lot of other stuff going on.

I am delighted to be hosting this event at the Sandown Racing Club and would love for you to come and join us if you are in Melbourne at the time.

Even if you can't attend, a donation of a product or service to the auction or to Leanne's GoFundMe would be appreciated.

Let me know if you need more details.



 
Warwick In Action

Warwick Merry - The Get More Guy, is your high energy, results focused, action oriented, no holds barred tour de force Master MC, keynote speaker and Exhibiting Specialist. He ensures your attendees Get More from your event. His MC work is like insurance for your event. It guarantees things will run smoothly and on time. As a speaker, he is like a dose of sparkling mineral water – a bubbling, burst of healthy, sustainable energy for your attendees.  If you need a burst of inspiration, cogitation and celebration at your next event you MUST book The Get More Guy, Warwick Merry.

© Get More Pty Ltd
+61 408 592 158 getmore@warwickmerry.com

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Monday, 14 May 2018

The Most Discussed Element of Events

The Most Discussed Elements of Events



When it comes to events, there is one element that is the topic of discussion above all else.

If you get it wrong, Lord help you. You will be trashed talked on social media and there will be an undercurrent of dissatisfaction throughout the event. But if you get it right, while it won't give you rock star status, it will reflect positively and will give you some peace and quiet.

Naturally, I am talking about the catering!

While it is not the reason you went to the event, it is the most talked about element. With todays large number of Special Diet Requirements, it makes it even harder to get right.

I have heard comments like, "The sessions were ok but how good was the food. The food alone makes it worth it" or "The sessions were good but that food was rubbish. I am not coming back if that is all they can do."

While it seems crazy, it does have an impact. So make this potential problem disappear. Make sure the catering is great and that you NEVER run out of food.

Oh if you are after a winner, for afternoon tea serve fresh scones with jam and cream. I have seen loads of "gluten free" people line up for them! They are the perennial favourite.

Then when you do get the catering right, make sure you reinforce it. Here is something I did for the 2017 Professional Conference Organisers Conference.

As I say, while the positive impact is not huge when you get it right, you don't ever want to get it wrong.  





PS The latest episode of the Get More Success Show is out.
The edition we talk with Chris Wildeboer from Balance Central about what it takes to be successful AND have vibrant blue hair.
Click on the image below to listen.





Warwick Merry - The Get More Guy, is your high energy, results focused, action oriented, no holds barred tour de force Master MC, keynote speaker and Exhibiting Specialist. He ensures your attendees Get More from your event. His MC work is like insurance for your event. It guarantees things will run smoothly and on time. As a speaker, he is like a dose of sparkling mineral water – a bubbling, burst of healthy, sustainable energy for your attendees.  If you need a burst of inspiration, cogitation and celebration at your next event you MUST book The Get More Guy, Warwick Merry.

© Get More Pty Ltd
+61 408 592 158 getmore@warwickmerry.com

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Monday, 7 May 2018

The Power of Yes And

The Power of Yes And



For over 10 years I have been studying, training and performing with Impro Melbourne. They are an amazingly talented bunch of people.

What they don't know is that I have been using the principles of Impro with my coaching clients and in my consulting.

You see the underlying tenet of Impro is the concept of "Yes and". What that means is that you treat the idea that your fellow performers have as the perfect idea for the moment - that is the Yes. Then you build on and add to that idea - which is of course, the And.

Even if your personally think the idea is rubbish, you hate it, oh my goodness why did they say/do that, you just go with it. You treat it like the perfect idea. Time and time again, what happens is that it evolves on the fly and becomes a fabulous scene.

As a manager, obviously sometimes your team are wrong. But when you point that out to them, you are shutting them down. Once they are shut down, they are less likely to make a suggestion or give a thought next time. Using "Yes, and" allows you to build on what they are saying and divert it away to are more valuable response AND they still feel like they contributed.

For example, if you are coming up with ideas on how to cut costs and one of your team says, "We could close the store earlier to save on staff costs." Rather than saying, "No we can't do that" you may respond, "I like what you are saying on saving staff costs. How about we focus on re-stocking during the early shift so we don't need as many staff for the late shift?"

The person has given an idea, you have validated them and then tweaked it to come up with a workable possibility.

"Yes and" takes lots of practice to become a comfortable part of how you operate but the results make the effort worth it.

Dear-Reader how will you use "Yes and" today?  

PS Impro Melbourne have a great range of shows and training happening. Check them out here or check out your local Impro troop to fast track your "Yes And" skills.  


Warwick In Action

Warwick Merry - The Get More Guy, is your high energy, results focused, action oriented, no holds barred tour de force Master MC, keynote speaker and Exhibiting Specialist. He ensures your attendees Get More from your event. His MC work is like insurance for your event. It guarantees things will run smoothly and on time. As a speaker, he is like a dose of sparkling mineral water – a bubbling, burst of healthy, sustainable energy for your attendees.  If you need a burst of inspiration, cogitation and celebration at your next event you MUST book The Get More Guy, Warwick Merry.

© Get More Pty Ltd
+61 408 592 158 getmore@warwickmerry.com

Link with me on Linked In 

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Get More, 38 Winmalee Drive, Glen Waverley, VIC 3150
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