This document summarizes and reflects on information from several seminars attended by the author: 1. A seminar on event planning emphasized the importance of details and allowing a 10% margin for errors. The speaker explained how she works behind the scenes to ensure client happiness. 2. A seminar on global citizenship discussed definitions of the term and had students share their views. The speakers compared universities in Belgium and the Netherlands. 3. The final seminar focused on trust-building skills for business. It outlined credentials, transparency, value creation, and finding commonalities as important for developing trust with partners and clients.

1. Jordy Verbeurgt TMD2 2IBM02
Intercultural knowledge and critical reading
Part 1
Keynote speaker02/05/2016: eventmanagementbyHollyCybulski
Content:
The presentationwasgivenbyHolyCybulski.She isthe ownerof HCConsulting,aprofessoratthe
SenecaUniversityof Torontoandan experiencedpublicist.She isnotjustanordinaryeventplanner,
she organizeseventandcampaignsforthe Grammyawards, the Oscars,CanadianScreenAwards,
she workedinHollywoodandhasorganizedsomanyredcarpet eventsformovie festivals.
In the beginningof the eventshe toldusthateachsingle eventhasitsownpurpose.Ontopof that
she highlightedthatwhenorganizinganeventitall comesdownto details.MissCybulski toldusthat
it are not all red carpetsfor herand partieswhenshe isworking,she emphasizedthatshe isa
publicistandnotonlyan eventplanner.Itwasremarkable thatshe toldusthat she’snota loton the
redcarpet herself,she isbehindthe scenesandhastomakessure that everythinggoesasplanned,
hermain goal isto make the clienthappy.
Miss Cybulski explainedthatthe why-factorisof greatimportance whenorganizingevents.Basically
it all comesdownto wheneverorganizingsomethingthere needstobe areasonfor youreventand
youneedto give the possibleguestsanincentive toattendyourevent.
Secondly,she talkedaboutan interestingaspectwhichiscalled:the 10% rule;she triedtoexplain
that whenyouare organizinganevent,youmustacknowledge the factthatthere alwayswill go
somethingwrongandtherefore,youhave totake a 10% margin.For example whenyouare hostinga
weddingyouhave toadd 10% of the total cost as a marginincase of unforeseenproblems(flowers
arrive too late,cateringdoesn’tshowup,etc…).
Anotheraspectthatwas obviouswasthatyou mustalwaysrememberthatyouhave partnersand
not suppliers.Youmusttreateveryone asitis a VIPperson,nevertreatsomeone astheyare
unimportantbecause thiswillbackfireagainstyou. Anexampleof thisare volunteers,make sure you
thankthemand treat everysingle partnerequallybecause theyare anessential teamplayerwhen
youare organizinganevent.
Workingina dreamteamalsohelpsyouaccomplishingthe mission,aneventplannerisneveron
his/herown.Organizingasuccessful eventisonlypossible withawell-functioningandstrongteam.
At the endof the seminarshe toldusthat Eventplannerwasthe 5th stressful jobinthe world.
(accordingForbesMagazine)
Reflection
Firstof all I wantedtoattendthisseminarbecause the listsaidthatshe isCanadianand since Iwill be
goingto Canada I washopingthisseminarwill teachme more aboutCanadiansandI wantedtohear
the accent I will be gettingusedtonextyear.Itwasa verygoodseminar,itcaptivatedme andI
founditinteresting.She isaverygoodspeaker andhas the abilitytointeractwithheraudience and
keepthemattentive.

2. Jordy Verbeurgt TMD2 2IBM02
What I learned
I learnedthatitis all inthe DETAILS. Payingattentiontothe detailsisimportanttodeliverperfection.
Alsothe 10% marginisveryinteresting,itisimportanttocreate a bufferbecause youhave tobe
preparedforthe worst because asMurphy said:“everythingthatcan go wrong,will gowrong”
Seminar03/05/2016: Globalcitizenship byMandyBinken and Joris Van Heringen
Content:
The seminarwashostedbyMandy BinkenandJorisvan Heeringen whobothlive andworkinThe
Hague in The Netherlands.The cityisalsothe international cityof peace andjustice andhousesthe
peace palace (symbol of Hague),manylaw suitsare closedinthe city.
Mandy isresponsibleforcoachingandtrainingat the university,Jorisisateacherin business
administrationatThe Hague Universityof AppliedScience.
The Hague UniversitycomparedtoArtevelde universitycollege Ghent:
The Hague university Arteveldeuniversitycollege Ghent
55 fulltime bacheloreducations 16 bacheloreducations
23 part-time bacheloreducations
25.000 students 13.000 students
126 nationalities
1947 employees 1100 employees
4 locations 3 locations
Mandy and Joris conducteda researchconcerningthe impressionsandopinionsof the international
studentsonthe Dutch culture andhabits.In general,accordingtothem, “the Dutch” are very
emotional andveryopen.Bikesare usedsomuch,theyeatsandwichesall the time andpublic
transportis veryadvanced.Duringthe seminar,we were eachof usindividuallyaskedtoexpressour
thoughtsaboutglobal citizenship.
Global citizenshipseenby me: Livingina multicultural society,goingalongwithpeopleof different
cultures;unite manyculturesinone place;it’saboutknowingwhat’shappeninginthe world;feeling
responsible foryouractions.Knowingandrespectingeachother,global citizenshipisintegratedin
everything.
Global citizenshipaswe see it:
Learninghowto deal withyourself
Powerto thinkcritical andformyour ownopinion
Awarenessof the connectionsinthe world
(social) involvementandresponsibility
It’simportantto knowthat everybodyhasadifferentview onthe world.
Respectforthe diversitybetweenpeople andcelebratethis
Afterdoingsome researchwe came to the conclusionthatthere are thousandsof definitionsof
global citizenship,the mostaccurate definitionforme is:A global citizenissomeone whoidentifies
withbeingpartof an emergingworldcommunityandwhose actionscontributetobuildingthis
community’svaluesandpractises.

3. Jordy Verbeurgt TMD2 2IBM02
Duringthe seminarthe entire classroomwassplitupintoseveral groupsof studentsandwe playeda
quiz.It wasinterestingtodothis,because we were dividedingroupswithstudentswe didnotknow,
the quizdealtwithdifferentcapitals,countries,flagsandpolitics.Wheneverwe answeredcorrectwe
receivedaflag,at the endof the quizthe winninggroupreceivedasmall gift.
Reflection:
For me thiswas a bad seminar.The whole presentationwasamess.The speakers’level of English
wasn’tthat goodand the constantlycontradictedthemselves.If Iknew thisIwouldhave chosen
anotherone.The title waspromisingbutIwas leftdisappointed.
What I learned:
I have learnednothingnew,unfortunately.
Seminar03/05/2016: ContemporaryTrust-building skillsfor business
developmentbyBruce Anthony
Bruce Anthonyisa well-knownbusinessmanandlectureratthe BCIT UniversityinVancouver,
Canada (Programhead,marketingmanagement-professional sales).
Trust isa veryimportantmatterineveryone’slifeespeciallyinbusiness.Itcanmake or break
relationshipsandisthe foundationof almosteverybusinessdeal.Therefore if youwanttoclose a
businessdeal,trusthastobe built.Inmanycases,trustis builtbyshowingsomeonethatyoutrust
them, afterwhichtheywill usuallyreturnthatsame amountof trust towardsyou.“All thingsequal;
people willdobusinesswith,andreferbusinessto:people theyknow,trustandlike.”Withthis
quote,Bruce wantedtoexplainusthattrust isveryimportant for the foundationof agood
relationship.
A trustworthyrelationshipbetweenthe customerandthe companycan eventuallyleadtothe
customerbuyingyourproducteventhoughthere mightbe betteralternativesavailable.
In our currentsociety,building relationshipsof trustwithotherpeople orjusthavingtrustingeneral
isbecomingharderandharder,and the internetisone of the mainreasonsfor that.
A secondimportantskill isthe commonalityone.Havingsomethingincommonwithyourbusiness
partnersisa bigadvantage,thiscan leadtoclosingmanydealsandbuildingstrongrelationships.
Therefore youshouldalwaysaskaquestionthatallowsyoutoexplore whatyouhave incommon.
Findinganythingincommon,canbe the door openingforyourfuture relationship.Bruce hastoldus
an example of howhe once gotin touchwitha customerthatdidn’twantto know anythingabout
him,evenaftertryingmultiple timestogetincontact. Thanksto the fact that thiscustomeradores
tacos and claimedtohave eatenthe besttacosin LA,Bruce senthiman e-mail statingthatthe best
tacos aren’tto be foundinLA, but inVancouver;withapicture of himeatinga taco. That has been
hisdoor openingtothe relationshiphe now still haswiththatcustomer.
A thirdimportantaspectare credentials.Credence inbusinessequalsthe abilitytobe believable.
These can be company& brandcredentials,personal credentials,presentingcredentialsorbuilding
credentials.Withthat,somethingveryimportantwhendoingbusinessisaskingquestions.The
people whostandout,are the oneswho askthe bestquestions.Askforexample:“If youwere todo
businesswithme;whywouldthatbe?”
The fourthskill Bruce considersasimportantisthe one of transparentmotives.Otherthansales
revenue,whatmotivatesyourbusinessdevelopment?Isitcorporate social responsibility?Isit

4. Jordy Verbeurgt TMD2 2IBM02
personal social responsibility?Itisimportanttobe transparentandto know what customersthinkof
you.Havinga goodreputationsisessential toeverybusiness.
The fifthand lastskill toconsiderisvalue creation.Anothergoodwayof buildingtrustisthrough
creatingvalue andthe lawof reciprocation.RobertCialdini’sprinciplesof persuasionare social proof,
commitment,reciprocation, liking,authorityandscarcity.Whenmakinguse of reciprocation,it
shouldalwaysbe keptinmindthatthe more value youcreate forsomeone else,the more likelyit
will be returnedatsome pointintime.Onthe otherhand,reciprocationissomethingthatshouldbe
treatedwitha lotof care.From the momentthatyou start expectingsomeone toreciprocate itcan
be consideredasa bribe.A bribe anda giftare 2 thingsthat layveryclose to eachother.
To recap:
1. Non-verbal communication
2. Commonality
3. Credentials
a. Credence =be believableinbusiness
b. Company& brand credentials
c. Personal credentials
d. Presentingcredentials
4. Transparentmotives
a. Otherthan increasingsalesrevenue,whatmotivatesyourbusinessdevelopment?
5. Value Creation
a. Partners
b. Prospects
c. Promotors
Reflection:
For me thiswas the bestseminarIhave attendedoutof the three.The speakerwasveryconfident
and the contentwasveryinterestingandcaptivating.He wasaCanadianso hisEnglishwasperfect
whichwasnice to listento.It was an interactive lecture where we hadtodocertainactionsto prove
hispoint.He was friendlyandfunnyattimes.Overall,averygoodseminarhostedbya talented
speaker.
What I learned:
I learnedalot abouttrust buildingandwhyitisimportantto do so. He showedusthe differentways
howto buildtrustand whyit isso valuable.He alsotaughtme how to give a goodpresentation,Iwill
rememberthisseminarinthe future whenIhave to doa presentation,Iwill trytomimichisgestures
and abilitytospeak.
Part 2
Information thatstruckme as particularlytrue:
“BasicallyBelgiumistwonations:aFlemishspeakingone inthe northand a French-speakingone in
the south.The 2 groups donot like eachother”.
Source that supportsthisstatement: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/09/belgium-
flanders-wallonia-french-dutch

5. Jordy Verbeurgt TMD2 2IBM02
“Brusselshasalsobeenappointedthe effective capitalof Europe;25 % of itsresidentsare well-paid
bureaucratsfromothercountries”
Source that supportsthisstatement:http://www.brusselstimes.com/opinion/860/why-did-brussels-
become-the-capital-of-europe-because-belgium-starts-with-letter-b
“Most Belgiansare friendly,hard-workingpeople”
Source that supportsthisstatement:https://www.justlanded.com/english/Belgium/Belgium-
Guide/Culture/Belgian-cultural-cliches
“Punctualityisconsiderednormal,Time shouldnotbe wasted”
Source that supportsthisstatement:
http://businessculture.org/western-europe/business-culture-in-belgium/business-etiquette-in-
belgium/
Information thatstruckme as particularlynot true:
“Antwerp,Europe’ssecondlargestport.” Hamburg has overtakenAntwerpof itssecondspotthe
lastcouple of years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_busiest_ports_in_Europe
“Yet Belgium,inspite of theirsmallness,hasthe 19th
biggesteconomyinthe world” Belgiumhas
droppeddowntothe 26th
spotin 2015. https://knoema.com/nwnfkne/world-gdp-ranking-2015-data-
and-charts
“In GDP percapita, Belgiumalsoranks21st
in the world” They’re 23 on the list.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita
Which information in thisculture is missing?
Flemishtake care of 2/3th of Belgianeconomywhereforethe Wallooninhabitantsonlyparticipate
for 1/3th of the Belgianeconomy. (Larsen)
In what wayis the authorbiased?
For himour governmentisabureaucraticnightmare because of the 66 ministers,thisisquite
personal because forBelgiansthisisalogical system.
If your countryis missing altogetherin the book:
Notapplicable