Have you ever attended a workshop or conference that was really boring?  I have, which is why I try to start my events a little differently just so everyone knows they need to expect the unexpected.

The video clip below is from a couple of years ago when I had designed a 4-day leadership conference for employees in programs receiving funding from the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Deliquency Prevention (NC DJJDP).

Famed youth development expert Elbert Hargrave opens the conference doing his best to be VERY boring and all in attendance wonder what they’ve gotten themselves into.

And then the music starts and things get interesting.

What’s crazy is that it took three days of preparation to pull off this 2 minute stunt.  When I told the conference facility what I wanted to do they just looked at me like I was crazy.  Thanks to Matt McCoy for keeping me safe on the roof.

At the end of the clip you’ll see me call for “back up”. The person on the other walkie-talkie is African drumming teacher Tom Harris who works at Inner Harbour near Atlanta. Tom Harris rolled into the room and had everyone standing up playing “boom whackers” (a percussion instrument). Then master games teacher Jim Cain took over and led 60 minutes of fun icebreakers. By the end of the evening the group was laughing and acting like best of friends.