• Winter 2008 President's Message
• 2009 Awards Gala Committee Welcomes All
• MPI Aloha Chapter Community Outreach
• MPI Tailgate
• Hawaii Motivates Meeting Planners
• THRIVE During MeetDifferent 2009
• New Members
• Zap the Generation Gap
• Strategies For Successful Communication
  • Picture Gallery
• Year of the Paniolo

As professionals in the meetings and events industry in Hawaii, a large part of our job is communication. Having the skill and ability to communicate effectively and efficiently with potential customers and associates is paramount in building successful relationships. This was the theme of September’s educational luncheon with guest speaker, Annabel Chotzen.

The luncheon was held on Wednesday, September 17th at the new and beautifully renovated Westin Moana Surfrider. The turnout for this luncheon was by far one of the largest we’ve seen with over 50 persons in attendance. The hotel’s new function space easily accommodated our group and offered beautiful views of the beach and banyan courtyard. However, it was Ms. Chotzen’s presentation that captivated the audience. Through her storytelling and many life examples, she shared with us proven strategies on how to identify the five different personality types. According to Ms. Chotzen, it is important to be able to identify the “personality type” of people you either work with or deal with on a daily basis to help you achieve greater success in your communication with them.

Typically, leaders choose the triangle; the circle denotes a strong people orientation/sensitivity; the rectangle is picked by somebody who is open to change, they tend to go with the flow; the square is the detail-oriented person, prefers things in writing and is one to do things by the book; and the squiggle is picked by the more creative types, those who tend to be all over the place and prefer direct face to fact interaction.

This exercise in pop psychology was good clean fun but it also carried a powerful lesson - that understanding your own personality and the personalities of the people you deal with is as essential for being successful managers as it is for being successful sales persons. Through this method, Ms. Chotzen noted that you will be better able to understand a person’s perspective and approach them accordingly. This rich and powerful exercise showed us, not only who were the squiggles and squares in the room, but also gave us a better appreciation for the fact that everyone not only communicates differently but based upon his or her shape affiliation, responds differently to various communication approaches.

To close the program, she had us participate in another exercise. However, this one was more spiritual in nature. On each table, she had placed kukui nuts, one for each individual at the table. In Ancient Hawaii the kukui oil was used to make light. The wicks where made from the spine of the frond leaf of the coconut palm, the first candles were made of candle nut. When many nuts were used together, they would burn for many hours and these were the first torches. For Hawaiians, the kukui tree also has a Spiritual meaning of light, hope, and renewal.  In this exercise, we each picked a kukui nut from the table. Holding the kukui in the palm of our hand, she asked us to close our eyes and focus on a goal or dream we had. When we opened our eyes, she told us that our dreams and goals were now infused in the kukui and each time we looked at our kukui nut it served as a reminder that in order to achieve our dreams and goals, we need to create a sense of urgency, take action, constantly keep focused, persevere, and believe and we will accomplish all that was envisioned in this exercise.

Ms. Chotzen’s award winning session provided us, as leaders, managers, sales persons, and professionals, with the knowledge and tools to communicate with different types of people, prevent problems, overcome obstacles and achieve a higher level of success. Her presentation provided not only insight into how to better interact with others, but also how to better listen to ourselves as well.

For more than fifteen years Annabel has presented corporate training sessions and motivational speeches to thousands of people on becoming more successful at communicating with clients and co-workers. Ms. Chotzen has a Masters degree in Public Administration from Harvard University and has been a Professor of Business Communications, Public Speaking and Negotiation at the Hawaii Pacific University and the University of Hawaii.