The theme of this year’s MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Forum was the maker movement. “Being a maker,” explained MarketingProfs, “is not accepting the world as it’s given.” Despite this explicit theme (which I did enjoy as an attendee), another different implicit theme pervaded the experience: empathetic, human communication.

If you were following me or the #mpb2b hashtag on Twitter, you may have noticed the slew of speaker-quotes I was broadcasting during the event. The caliber of speakers was great, and I love the authenticity of preserving their words. So, rather than giving you more of my words, here are theirs, curated to tell the story of my conference experience and takeaways:

• “When we get communication right, it’s like lightning caught in a bottle, and when it’s not, it’s like the lightning caught us.” @tamadear [tweet this]
• “Be human.” @avinash [tweet this]
• “It’s often in the silences—when we stumble—that we reveal ourselves most to each other.” @STurkle [tweet this]
• “Don’t worry about the ink, worry about the think.” @avinash [tweet this]
• “The #1 thing that I see is that marketers are not comfortable with their customers … talk to them.” @ahaval [tweet this]
• “Be more human … the most human company will win.” @markwschaefer [tweet this]
• “Give people a reason to talk to you, and one that benefits them.” @MattTGrant [tweet this]
• “This is not field of dreams—you can build it and nobody’s gonna come.” @cnmoody [tweet this]
• “You have to figure out what problem they [customers] are experiencing … and their problem is not that they haven’t done your thing yet.” @tamadear [tweet this]
• “Tell your story before you ask people to take action.” @oligardner [tweet this]
• “We’re plagued with binary thinking … myth and story take a back seat.” @bobbylehew [tweet this]
• “The root [of all stories] really is empathy.” @bobbylehew [tweet this]
• “Empathy … what does it feel like to actually use this product.” @MattTGrant [tweet this]
• “[We’re experiencing] a crisis in empathy … we can cure it with conversation.” @STurkle [tweet this]
• “Creating this connection, this bond [with customers] is more important than ever.” @markwschaefer [tweet this]

Yes, this is B2B. But, no matter how proficient you are, you cannot sell to a piece of paper or a pile of bricks. The B2B customer is equally as human as the B2C customer. The B2B marketing landscape is changing (I’d be surprised if it wasn’t) moving past the realization that we need to sell to human beings, towards “okay, how do we do that?” This year’s MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Forum provided both tactical and conceptual direction. Empathetic and authentic communication—human connection—is the new CTA for B2B marketers.