The Dare conference is an exciting new event about learning how to make change, and I’m part of the team behind it. The presentations cover a range of themes that will help attendees learn skills and techniques for getting better outcomes. It’s aimed at digital professionals, I’m going to explain why the ideas are also valuable for people who work in health care (or social care, or charities, or anywhere with other people!)

At the conference people will be talking about:

• learning from mistakes,
• dealing with uncertainty,
• redefining success,
• responding to negative feedback,
• being honest,
• and failing to launch new projects.

When I think back to my time in the NHS, these were all huge issues for my team. Let me give you an example.

When a friend returned to work after her year off on maternity leave, she asked where we were up to in terms of the projects she’d been working on before she left. I was horrified to realise that in a year we hadn’t launched a single project. We’d got stuck – our bosses told us not to tell families about upcoming changes, we were making the same mistakes again and again, and judging our service by meaningless metrics, like number of client contacts. I’d spent my time in unproductive meetings where people responded: “no, but…” to other people’s ideas. No one was taking responsibility for change, including me.

There was also a blame culture. We didn’t respond to individual pieces of negative feedback in a thoughtful or sensitive way, so these escalated into formal complaints. Which led to everyone looking for someone else to blame instead of trying to figure out what we could learn from the situation.

If you’re facing these challenges today come to the Dare conference and learn how to get unstuck. The speakers at the Dare conference aren’t superheroes who have all the answers; they’re going to share their struggles and what they learnt along the way. I think these lessons don’t only apply to folk working in the digital community. We all need to learn how to really listen, to build on each other’s ideas and make changes, in order for our teams to be successful.

The Dare conference is taking place at the South Bank Centre in London on the 23 – 25 September. Check out who’ll be speaking and all the details here.

Are you trying to make a difference in people’s lives but experiencing barriers to making changes? This conference is for you. If you’re a health professional use the discount code ‘therapyideas’ to buy a ticket for £299 +VAT.

Help us spread the word about this event; send the conference details to everyone you think might benefit from support to make change. Tweet about it, or post a message on Facebook or LinkedIn. I hope to see you there!

I’m on holiday in Tunisia! Travelling is a wonderful adventure, the food, architecture and landscape are exotic and exciting. Communication can be a challenge; although I’m a Speech and Language Therapist I’m not a natural linguist. My high school French is rusty and my Arabic skills stretch to hello & thank you, here in Tunisia I’m trying a total communication approach!

My French comprehension is better than my expression, so as long as people speak slowly I can understand the general gist. To respond I use the key words in French, muddled grammar, lots of facial expressions, and gestures. I sometimes find myself using Makaton signs. I’ve observed others using these naturalistic gestures too: looking for a table in a crowded cafe I made eye contact with a man who appeared to be done eating, he stood up and signed ‘finished.’

I’m fascinated by what we can communicate without words. Waiting in a mobile phone shop in the middle of the Medina, I had a whole conversation with the woman cleaning the floor, through eye contact & facial expressions – she gave me a look which told me how frustrated she was that someone had dragged a muddy trolley across her floor, I commiserated with another look and we’d connected.

There are interesting cultural variations in communication, such as volume! We’re staying in a fantastic Dar (mansion) in the Medina, with a view over a narrow, cobbled lane. We’ve heard quick-fire conversations in Arabic at a volume that at home would indicate a serious argument, but here seem to be a friendly chat!

Before I left for Tunisia I took a National Autistic Society webinar on PEERS, a social skills curriculum for adolescents with ASD. Elizabeth Laugeson talked about the importance of using concrete rules to teach teenagers how to have successful conversations. She discussed how they teach eye contact: coaching the students that they need to use it, but not to stare. With my limited (French & Arabic) language skills I’m reminded how important and powerful the non-verbal aspects of conversation are.

People in restaurants have been warm and welcoming, without using any words. However, my expressive skills in French are hampered by my reluctance to have a go—I feel self conscious. I don’t want my clients to feel this way. I try to cultivate the same warm, welcoming atmosphere in therapy sessions and demonstrate that it’s okay to make mistakes, so clients know it’s a safe place and don’t feel awkward or self conscious.

Tonight we’re heading out for dinner, and after writing this post I’m committing to practising my French by just having a go. I’m sure I’ll make lots of mistakes– it’s all part of learning!