10th Upper Bavarian Knowledge Forum
How do I reach my goal? Around 1000 seminar participants approached this topic with very different approaches on Friday at the 10th Upper Bavarian Knowledge Forum at the Rosenheim Culture and Congress Center. With rhetorical finesse, the experts at the Speakers Excellence event captivated the success-oriented participants from business, management, and politics, providing them with impulses for implementation in their own companies or teams.
BY NINA KALLMEIER
Rosenheim - Alexander Schungl can only smile today about the skepticism he initially encountered regarding his idea of a knowledge forum. "In recent years, the company has grown from four to 40 employees, and we organize 13 knowledge forums per year," emphasized the organizer and managing partner of Speakers Excellence Alpine GmbH at the opening of the tenth edition of the Upper Bavarian Knowledge Forum.
Mayor Gabriele Bauer also congratulated the event on its milestone anniversary. She cited the quality of the speakers as the secret to the success of the Knowledge Forum, as they provide seminar participants with something for their everyday lives.
"Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it," said Thomas Fuller. The Knowledge Forum offers this key," Bauer emphasized the power of language. "The dialogue between people is most effective when it comes to convincing and motivating someone." Therefore, language - whether formal or dialect - must be handled carefully.
The power of language and the art of rhetoric were also the focus of René Borbonus' presentation.
"The first impression of a speech is the most important. Leaders tend to communicate the obvious." Phrases like "Nice to see you all here" were seen by the communication trainer as a guarantee that listeners will tune out. Instead, he showed through examples that there are other ways: using a quote, a short story, or an information deficit. Language and communication, according to the speaker, also have to do with respect - trivializing or using fake, suggestive "why questions" do not contribute to it. With his conclusion "Watch your words!", he seemed to strike a chord and received much applause from the participants.
Success through Perseverance and Discipline
Two themes that ran through many of the presentations were perseverance and discipline as factors for success. This is especially true for success trainer Klaus J. Fink when it comes to sales.
"Terms like manipulation, door-to-door salesman, or cold-caller are associated with a salesperson. The profession does not receive the social recognition it deserves." Selling is primarily about dealing with people. "Even a job interview is nothing more than a sales pitch. There are rules for that, and they can be learned." Fink gave seminar participants four factors for sales success: the attitude of the salesperson, their identification with the company and the job, as only then will they have the necessary passion, marketing, especially for existing customers, and the need to be authentic in sales.
However, authenticity is of no use if the individual parts of a company do not work together. Motivational speaker Richard de Hoop compared teams to an orchestra: each instrument has different characteristics and arouses different expectations. The bass: down-to-earth, disciplined, practical. The drum: setting the beat, motivated, setting goals. The violin: harmonious, the social glue in the team. "The art is to combine the strengths of all instruments. Then you have successful teams." And as in an orchestra, listening to each other, playing together, is an important prerequisite for success. Frustration and thus less engagement always arise where there is a lack of trust - the most important foundation of a successful team.
Without enthusiasm, there is no success. This was made clear by Smart-Selling expert Paul Johannes Baumgartner. "Enthusiasm is the starting point of every value chain." Every company starts with an entrepreneur who is enthusiastic about an idea. This dynamic is carried outward, inspiring employees and through them, customers. Baumgartner cited, for example, the WNFB fee of a helicopter company. WNFB stands for "Who doesn't ask, pays." "For those who do ask, they are kindly informed that there is no justification for the fee, but the unclaimed money supports a charitable organization. Few people want the money back." The key is an emotional connection, uniqueness, and surprise.
Being enthusiastic about oneself was also the focus of management trainer Sabine Asgodom's presentation. "Knowing one's strengths and being proud of them is not arrogance." The tendency is to belittle oneself - even though one's interests and strengths are not visible at first glance. As an experiment, she had each seminar participant share with their neighbor strengths they are particularly proud of. It is also important to approach things with serenity, dedication, patience, and humor, emphasized Asgodom. However, the "self" should not be forgotten in everyday work and family life.
Parallels between Sports and Business
Swiss Dominik Neidhart, a sailor in Team Alinghi, which brought the XXXI. America's Cup to Europe for the first time, and extreme athlete Joey Kelly drew parallels between sports and the job. For Neidhart, teamwork was paramount. "The crew is only as good as its weakest member. You need to trust that everyone knows their task." In addition, for him, the interaction between the team on the boat and the shore team, which extracts the best in areas such as research and development, is crucial. "Success lies only in cooperation." For Neidhart, this is an analogy to the business world.
The epitome of perseverance and discipline on this seminar day was Joey Kelly. As an extreme athlete, he vividly conveyed to the seminar participants through his many projects what perseverance and discipline - but also teamwork on the way to the South Pole with the German team - mean. He also drew a parallel to the musical success of the Kelly Family, a "totally crazy but strong" team. Success as a street musician was only possible due to perseverance. Overall, the success factors for Kelly are always the same, whether in sports or in business: courage, perseverance, passion - and a goal.
To provide entertainment and lighten the mood at the Upper Bavarian Knowledge Forum, cabaret artist Bernd Händel took the stage. As a voice impersonator, he entertained the audience with impersonations ranging from politicians to entertainers and sports figures. Händel received much applause for his version of the Bavarian comedian Michael Mittermeier. Alexander Schungl will not rest on the success of the 10th Upper Bavarian Knowledge Forum. The eleventh edition next year is already in the works. It will also feature a business talk for the first time.
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