Communication

With the sailing season started in the Northern Hemisphere, or at least the warmer season for the hearty frost biters, I suspect everyone is eager to see strong participation in the sailing events they plan to attend. There are a lot of variables that lead to strong participation, but I fear that the days of ‘if we build it, they will come’ might be behind us. Motivating people is more vital than ever.

On occasion I reminisce about communication, or at least, how communication has changed. Before the Internet, fleet and class communication was by letter and phone call. One provided a physical reminder and one provided an active reminder. While both were costly in terms of time and/or money, they had key qualities that motivated people. With the Internet, we have made communication so much easier, but I think, much less effective for motivating people.

Our society has shifted from personal communication to passive communication. If your mission is to get boats on the water, this might be a shift worth avoiding.