Truth-telling and the Organising of Events
I don’t understand why people always pretend, and many times forcibly do so, that their conferences, seminars, bazaars and other events are successful when they obviously aren’t. Here are a few possible reasons:
1. Their sponsors might get upset if they say the event failed. They might never sponsor them ever again.
2. Their egos get hurt admitting the truth. It diminishes their abilities.
Is it a bad thing? Yes, it is. It’s bad for sponsors, organisers and the people who come. Here’s why:3. They’re in denial. (More symptom than cause, but perhaps can also be a major cause.)
1. Sponsors may invest in you again and go on wasting money.
2. You can’t see the problems and therefore cannot improve.
3. Future participants will not get to maximize enjoyment and have to go through your ill-organised nonsense again.
4. In the long run, nobody will trust you.
I’ve been to a number of events this year, both by NUS students and larger, more professional companies. I’m afraid to say that the same cheery and exciting advertisements go hand in hand with each. The text and the pictures all paint such lovely images, but the actual thing seldom ever matches up. These have shaken the trust I had for advertising, and by extension, for the people who produced them and those who commissioned them. I wonder how many people feel the same way.
The moral of the story is, we have to tell the truth. It’s not really something that is right or wrong. It builds trust, improves skills, increases investment profits and produces reputation. Simply put, it makes good business.
