Selected by dramagirl

• 
  Holy Kaw!

• Google Buzz's official demo [video]

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:25 am

  Google has just unveiled its latest attempt to become more relevant in the social media space—Google Buzz. The product is integrated within Gmail and will be rolled out gradually to all of the webmail service’s users over the next few days. While this development is still unfolding, you can check out Google Buzz’s two-minute demo of Buzz in action both online and via mobile. What are your initial reactions? Another soon-to-be-forgotten Google product like Wave, or a Facebook/Twitter killer? Full story at Mashable. Total Google coverage. Permalink | Leave a…

• Darth Vader’s original wimpy voice [video]

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:15 am

  Imagine a galaxy far, far away where Darth Vader sounded like any other British bloke strolling down the corridors of the Death Star. Before James Earl Jones provided the menacing voice of the Dark Lord of the Sith, English actor and bodybuilder David Prowse delivered the lines from inside the Darth costume. While George Lucas never intended for Prowse’s voice to make the flick’s final cut, it’s weird to imagine how different Star Wars would have been with a different Vader voice. Full story at Huffington Post. Tons of Star Wars tidbits. Permalink | Leave a…

• 7 things you didn’t know about condoms

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:14 am

  Rubbers. Raincoats. Inconvenient. Whatever you call 'em, condoms remain a must-have in the safe sex tool box. Long before the days of Durex and Trojans, men used animal intestines to protect their willies (that sounds lovely, eh ladies?) and still to this day use lambskin condoms for latex allergies and supposed extra sensitivity. Want to learn even more fun facts about condoms that will surely impress your friends and potential lovers? Check out Asylum's seven things you probably didn't know about condoms that includes tantalizing tidbits like: Vaseline + condoms = Disintegrated rubber and…

• Horror flick mirror scare mash-up [video]

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:25 am

  Horror movies love to rely on cliches to scare the bejeezus out of us, but does it really surprise anyone that the axe murderer is going to pop in the reflection of a mirror? Ok, yes, it still totally sparks a few pee-in-pants moments. Check out this mash-up of mirror scare moments (fair warning: don’t watch alone in a big, dark, scary house): Full story at Four Four. Boo! Tons of scary and not so scary movie news. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

• 7 things you shouldn't do on Valentine's Day

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:13 am

  Ah, Valentine’s day. February fourteenth marks that special moment in the year when Hallmark cashes in on our emotions and cupid gets busy shooting arrows. Whether you’re indifferent, excited, upset, or madly in love—there are seven things you just shouldn’t do on this lovey-dovey holiday. See a few do-not-do’s below: Go on a first date. First dates are hard enough, why add the extra pressure? Call your ex. Abort mission! On a day like this, it’s normal for your thoughts to drift to the one you used to be with, but you broke up for a reason. So, spare…

• 
  Groundling

• This Week in Queensland Theatre: February 8-14

  Admin

  7 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  Image by Dramagirl via Flickr For dates and times check company websites This week is marked by the start of Queensland Theatre Company’s Season 2010 and two opening nights of productions by the two full-time professional company Artistic Directors: The Little Dog Laughed directed by Michael Gow for QTC, and La Boite Theatre’s own production of Hamlet directed by David Berthold.  Chasing the Lollyman by Debase TC and the WTF program continues at the Powerhouse and elsewhere in the city. Opening: The Flowering by Donna Cameron dir Sue Rider JWCoCA (Tuesday) Hamlet by William…

• World Theatre Day Goes Digital Again

  Kate Foy

  3 Feb 2010 | 10:39 pm

  This is the second year in which theatre lovers around the world have used online social networking apps to hook up, promote theatre, and have a generally good time celebrating the art form we all love.  World Theatre Day is held on March 27 each year, and last year Brisbane companies joined in with gusto.  This year, the global organisers are hoping more groups and individuals will come on board again for what turns out to be a very long day of celebrations. In March 2009 NZ and Australia were among the first in the world to begin the global party on the stroke of midnight.  As the day…

• Musical Theatre in Australia: where to now?

  Admin

  31 Jan 2010 | 9:30 pm

  Harvest Rain an independent theatre company  based in Brisbane recently hosted a forum on The Future of Musical Theatre in Australia.  This formed part of their Summer School activities. Here’s Part 1 of the forum chaired by performer Queenie van de Zandt.  The introduction of the participants is longish, so you might want to skip forward to around 3′40” to legendary performer Nancye Hayes’ quick summation of how musical theatre in Australia has changed since the early 60s when she began her career with J C Williamsons.  John Kotzas CEO/Artistic Director of QPAC…

• 
  Cambiare Productions

• Walking the Talk

  Travis Bedard

  20 Jan 2010 | 8:29 am

  There is a guideline/rule/rubric/something I heard this one time about never responding to your critics. Or maybe it was never respond to your critics publically or some such… I’m mostly well behaved about such things. But I want to point anyone who knows the formentors of rebellion who sic their fans and subscribers on someone who doesn’t like a show to what a grown up response looks like. Mr. Don Hall and his 5-Ring WNEP production The (edward) Hopper Project have gone before the review stand and while you might assume that you can guess Mr. Hall’s stance, would it really be Don…

• Quick thoughts on Outrageous Fortune

  Travis Bedard

  13 Jan 2010 | 12:22 pm

  I’m not through Part One yet, but I really need to jot thoughts as I go or I’m just going to lose it all. AD’s honestly believe that there are no good plays anymore. Because of course Really Good Play means Tartuffe.It is really not clear to ADs at major shops who have been running Shakespeare, Moliere, Shakespeare, Chekov, O’Neill for a decade that reading a new unproduced play isn’t going to have the same effect on them, not because it isn’t good, but because: A.) You’ve only been working with Hall of Fame scripts distilled by 500 years of production winnowing the field B.)…

• Fences and Walls

  Travis Bedard

  12 Jan 2010 | 2:28 pm

  I wrote a glorious, witty, self-serving piece about the need for big tent tolerance in both religion and theatre. Oh my god it was bad. As Treplev says in the the Nina Variations (by Steven Dietz – buy now), “Nothing makes an audience run from the room faster then the phrase, ‘I had a dream…’, except perhaps for this phrase, ‘When I was a young boy…’” You need my personal history like you need a panel of rabies shots. The summary line of that post was: Some people like musicals, light comedy, Sarah Kane, Shakespeare, and improv. Stop complaining that X Style/Production…

• Bottled Lightning(tm)

  Travis Bedard

  3 Jan 2010 | 11:34 pm

  It seems in the aftermath of Diversity Weekend and the subsequent release of Outrageous Fortune that the fog of war has lifted and the folks are seeing the enormity of the problems in front of us. Of course the problems that face theatre are insurmountable. T’was ever thus. We are trying to perform communal alchemic creation in a hastily pasted on corporate structure. We have no funding mechanism that doesn’t involve the kindness of strangers and a talent base that pays lipservice to the good of the artform while silently chafing that they’re not paid on the level of their similarly…

• Happy Anniversary to Us

  Travis Bedard

  2 Jan 2010 | 1:17 am

  Two years ago on another windy and cold First Night in Austin Cambiare Productions was born under the 1st Street Bridge. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel like a million years ago. I’d be lying if I hadn’t claimed more than once that this company was three years old. I wasn’t lying it’s just… that was a REALLY long time ago. Since that time we produced one final show with Gobotrick Theatre Company, Will produced and I performed in (20% of) a five play cycle of Manuel Zarate’s work, I got married, we presented a reading of Seven Jewish Children, and we wrote and produced…

• 
  BackStage - NYC Theater Reviews

• Tosca e le altre due (Tosca and the Two Downstairs)

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:35 am

  This well-tuned U.S. premiere of Italian playwright Franca Valeri's peppery, two-character comedy, inspired by Puccini's "Tosca," is enormously pleasing.

• Tosca e le altre due (Tosca and the Two Downstairs)

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:35 am

  This well-tuned U.S. premiere of Italian playwright Franca Valeri's peppery, two-character comedy, inspired by Puccini's "Tosca," is enormously pleasing.

• The Enchanted Pig

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:30 am

  An intergalactic adventure teaches a plucky princess about the true meaning of love in this impressively scored and imaginatively staged opera.

• When Joey Married Bobby

  7 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  A very funny and moving comedy about doing the right thing for your family, even if you're a Southern Republican.

• Fanny (in Concert)

  5 Feb 2010 | 3:01 am

  As a work of art, "Fanny" aspires more than it succeeds, despite arresting moments. The wan Encores! concert version manages neither.

• 
  The Guardian (UK)

• How tall are Taki's tales about Salinger?

  Michelle Pauli

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:33 am

  Socialite journalist Taki says that he has hundreds of letters from JD SalingerIt's tacky, for sure. But then it comes from Taki. The revelation that the Spectator's society commentator had a personal (in every sense) correspondence with JD Salinger is causing consternation around literary desksTaki is claiming that he has "hundreds of letters" from the author of The Catcher In The Rye and that "as soon as my pen pal died I contacted both the sainted editor of the Speccie as well as our executive editor. Both doubted my story but immediately changed their minds when I produced the proof."Even…

• Guardian book club: Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey

  Sam Jordison

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:53 am

  Returning to this modern classic, I like it more than ever. Has it grown on you folks also?Oscar and Lucinda, this month's book club choice, presents a small problem for this web column, because I've already reviewed the book here. But then again, it's an excellent opportunity to talk about how the passage of time can change one's view of literature – for better or for worse.This theme is especially relevant to Oscar and Lucinda since it's one of those books that resonates long after the first reading. At this month's book club event, members of the audience repeatedly mentioned how…

• Does literature of the homeless exist?

  Ben Myers

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:09 am

  Writing in a warm room is hard enough, let alone when you've no food or money. No wonder there is so little authentic literature of the homelessI used to see a homeless man perched on a curb out the back of Safeway in Camberwell. Although it looked as if he hadn't had a bath or a square meal in a while, I'm ashamed to say the thing that always elicited the most sympathy from me was that he was a passionate reader. His head was always buried in a book. Any book. Horror, science fiction, romance – he was always reading.Writing while homeless, however, may be tougher to sustain. Doing it at a…

• Radical reading at the Israeli-Arab book club

  Chris Cox

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  A groundbreaking new literary event offers new paths to understanding in what often seems an intractable conflictThe Middle East generates huge amounts of news coverage, but as the New Yorker pointed out last month, only recently has literature documenting people's daily lives in the region started winning western readers. In the case of the Israel-Palestine conflict, while some writers (Amos Oz and David Grossman spring to mind) are closely associated with it, many more authors don't make it onto the radar. A new public book club recently took some small but heroic steps towards addressing…

• In theory: Mimetic desire

  Andrew Gallix

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am

  Nearly 50 years on, René Girard's theory remains a powerfully illuminating insight into both literature and the worldMany thanks for your insightful comments on "The Death of the Author" and interesting suggestions concerning future discussion topics – please keep them coming. All this feedback confirms the utility of a debate on the purpose of literary theory at a time when critics have all too often retreated into academia or become appendages of publishers' marketing departments. Talented critics can do so much more than just test-drive the latest products for consumers. They can shape…

• 
  Writing for the Web

• Getting paid (or not) for webwriting

  Crof

  30 Jan 2010 | 2:52 pm

  I have Google Alerts out for "webwriting" and "writing for the web," and the articles they bring me are really pretty discouraging.One common theme is "make big money writing freelance for websites." This is supposed to be especially attractive for "wahms," which I gather means "work at home moms." If the money is so big, why are people writing "make big money" articles instead of making big money writing real articles for websites?Dianne Jacob, on her blog Will Write for Food, strikes a more realistic note: Is Lower Pay for…

• UK: Web Editor, 3 month contract, c.£150 per day

  Crof

  26 Jan 2010 | 5:34 pm

  Via Futureheads Blog: Web Editor, 3 month contract, c.£150 per day (ref j176). Excerpt:We are looking for web editors with significant experience of working on major consumer websites and large-scale web launch or relaunch projects. This is a great opportunity to contribute to the launch of a major new website for a well known organisation in the third sector and to help rewrite their content to work with a new brand and web strategy. Working with content contributors from around the organisation, the Editor will rewrite and edit content in accordance with new brand guidelines,…

• Online headlines should entice readers

  Crof

  23 Jan 2010 | 5:11 pm

  Via The Editor's Desk, the blog of Andy Bechtel at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UNC-Chapel Hill: Guest post: Online headlines should entice readers. The guest is Daniel Bethea, a journalism student. Excerpt:The headline is typically the first thing that a person reads, but a recent study shows just how important online headline writing is. The study found that 44 percent of Google News readers only read the headlines and did not actually follow the link to the publications’ Web sites.  What does this tell us about headline writing for the Web? First,…

• Arizona job

  Crof

  23 Jan 2010 | 1:36 pm

  Via AZjobz.com: Web Content Writer. Excerpt:Phoenix based corporation it’s seeking a Web Content Writer who has a strong understanding of SEO to help support the Internet Marketing and Writing Department. If your editorial skills can't spot the error in that excerpt, don't bother to apply.

• Webwriting jobs

  Crof

  23 Jan 2010 | 1:22 pm

  I'm starting a new feature: Posting webwriting and web editing jobs as I become aware of them. If a job looks totally awful, of course I won't waste your time with it. But maybe you're just the vampirophile person to respond to this: Twilight News » Help Wanted!

• 
  The Screenwrightist

• Novels Invented Film Editing

  Kim H Peres

  31 Jan 2010 | 6:18 pm

  Writing can be confusing at times because the way things were done at one time are not always the best way to do them, it is just all they had back then. At one time novels were the highest form of storytelling technology. Anything you can think of can be done in a novel, but often not well. Films were originally single long takes and at that time the idea of film editing was already used in books. Filmmakers stole these ideas from novel writers and they turned out to work better in films than words. photo: moirabot Change POV Films at first were from the very obvious perspective of a camera…

• Eternal Sources of Character Story Conflict

  Kim H Peres

  27 Oct 2009 | 5:09 am

  Playwriting and much television writing is mostly dialogue. What people say to each other can come off as simply talk if there is no character motivation behind it. When writing dialogue it is easy to bless whatever comes out of your head as gold, but a yardstick can help keep the drama taut and the situation believable. Nearly anything that comes out of a character's mouth is an action, an attempt to get something from the other person or make them do something. Though a character may have a different long-term goal in mind, these subjects are constant possible sources of conflict among…

• TV Writing is Mostly About Dialogue

  Kim H Peres

  31 Jul 2009 | 1:22 pm

  Writers often put on paper whatever comes into their minds first. Freewriting is a great skill to have, but a consideration of the media you are writing for can help you communicate in it best. Just as novels cannot as accurately describe things like a photograph, there are certain things television does well that should be played to. photo: crostinii Although television does include moving images, dialogue is the driving force behind it. This is best proven by the way television is produced and consumed. Small Screens Are As Good As Big Televisions screens vary in size from huge to tiny, but…

• Why Write a Short Film

  Kim H Peres

  30 Apr 2009 | 3:27 pm

  Many writers overlook short form material, concentrating on full-length works such as novels, films, and plays. Though longer works can seem more fulfilling and more in demand than shorter pieces, there are some great reasons to put effort into short writings. A short film especially holds a lot of value for a writer in that it could be produced more easily, possibly by the writer. With internet video distribution so ubiquitous and its focus on short form content, it is much easier to get people to watch such videos. photo: Samuelraj Aside from opportunities to get short films seen online,…

• Writers Should Learn Story Structure

  Kim H Peres

  25 Mar 2009 | 1:43 pm

  photo: oscheneMany writers just write whatever comes in their head and when it feels "finished" they bring it to friends and then share it with the world. They do not believe in any kind of act structure and feel constrained by the idea of craft. These writers yearn to be able to do whatever they want and do not feel the need to impinge their creative juices. Though story structure is a set of restrictions it is not much different than many other restrictions that we take for granted. Writers do not rail against the tyranny of the English language and how if it just were not for the words we…

• 
  Watercolor Artist Network

• Free Acylics Tutorial

  Sarah

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:09 am

  Looking for an easy way to spice up your acrylics? Try treating the medium more like oil. Terry Harrison shows you how to paint trees using two variations on this technique in this free video sample.

• Henry Fukuhara (1914-2010)

  Jessica

  5 Feb 2010 | 7:39 am

  Thanks to Tom Fong, fellow artist and friend of Henry Fukuhara, for informing us of Fukuhara's death on Jan. 31. Click here to read the L.A. Times obituary. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. this Sunday, Feb. 7, at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica. The beloved watercolor painter and teacher was featured in the October 2008 issue of Watercolor Artist; click here to watch a slide show of some of the artist's works. Please feel free to leave a comment and share how Fukuhara inspired you and your own creative pursuits.MORE RESOURCES FOR ARTISTS * Online Seminars for…

• Amazing Watercolors by a 7-Year Old

  Jessica

  3 Feb 2010 | 7:27 am

  Last summer The Daily Mail introduced us to the watercolors of then 6-year-old Kieron Williamson. The young British artist is now represented exclusively by Picturecraft Gallery, who's hosting an exhibition of his paintings in August—and a documentary is slated to be produced this year, according to the gallery. Check out his incredible works here and here.Photo courtesy of Picturecraft GalleryMORE RESOURCES FOR ARTISTS * Online Seminars for Fine Artists * Instantly download fine art magazines, books & video workshops * Sign up for your Artist's Network email newsletter &…

• Must-See Show: Robert Highsmith Watercolors

  Jessica

  1 Feb 2010 | 11:18 am

  Marigold Arts (in Santa Fe, N.M.) presents a solo exhibition of watercolors by Robert Highsmith Feb. 5-March 18. The landscapes, such as On Route 28 (above), portray New Mexico in fall and winter seasons. (You might recall Highsmith's work from the February 2007 issue of Watercolor Magic.) Stop by and meet the artist at the opening reception, 5-7 p.m. this Friday.pictured: On Route 28 (watercolor on paper, 7x21) by Robert HighsmithMORE RESOURCES FOR ARTISTS * Online Seminars for Fine Artists * Instantly download fine art magazines, books & video workshops * Sign up for your…

• Watercolor Advice and Inspiration at Your Fingertips

  Kelly

  25 Jan 2010 | 9:06 am

  Space-saving? Sure. Portable? Absolutely. But for my money the best advantage of having a year's worth of magazine issues on CD is the handy search function. If our research holds true, you likely keep every dog-eared issue of Watercolor Artist tucked away somewhere near your workspace—all within easy reach for when you need a little technical advice or motivation. That's great if you know just what you're looking for and exactly where to find it, or if you just want to browse your favorite issues for inspiration. But what if you're struggling with your drybrush…

• 
  The Human Element

• Are you ready to deal with enragement as well as engagement?

  Alison

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:05 am

  A quick follow-on from Friday’s post on climate science and the need to engage the public.   Science’s vision of ‘the public’ is typically a bunch of  respectful yet unfortunately undereducated folk.  In reality, there are many publics,  including the respectful and the occasionally hostile. Yesterday’s Sunday Times carried an interview with Professor Phil Jones, the head of  UEA’s climate science unit, and as such at the centre of the furore over leaked emails from the unit that appear to suggest scientists suppressing Freedom of Information…

• Climate science and the need for engagement

  Alison

  5 Feb 2010 | 3:51 am

  (I don’t talk much here about my science communication research, but here are some personal observations on climate change reporting.  I worked for an organisation involved in crop science back in the late 90s, so I saw that particular debate from very close up.) Climate science reporting is increasingly beginning to resemble the debates on MMR vaccine and genetically modified crops – in other words, any rational discussion of the underlying science becomes totally sunk beneath polarised media coverage and divergent political standpoints. The furore over leaked emails from the…

• Show and tell: finding lovely communities

  Alison

  3 Feb 2010 | 4:21 am

  After Christmas, I got a bit weighed down by the Twitter-created business blogosphere – often wonderful but increasingly like a giant webring where you know you will eventually come back to Seth Godin.   This web-fatigue is part of the cycle, I think, because I see it in other online settings. My overwhelm got to the point where I couldn’t summon up the will to comment.   I don’t like that.  So I stopped reading-for-work, and just played around for a bit; and in so doing I found blogs, message boards and websites which are still entirely packed with comments. It’s…

• The Dark Art of the Telephone Depth Interview

  Alison

  14 Jan 2010 | 6:45 am

  Old telephone by macinate, on Flickr People aren’t very keen on telephone interviews.    The phone interview tends to be seen as the (deeply) impoverished relation of the face-to-face interview.  There are plenty of obvious negatives: on the phone, you have no eye contact, no body language, and precious little context. It’s true that the lack of visual information is a distinct drawback.   There are advantages, though.  Personally, I love telephone interviews.     They can be direct, freeing, and incredibly stimulating to conduct.  People have told me things on the phone…

• Wisdom of Mobs: the feedback loop

  Alison

  29 Dec 2009 | 2:50 am

  It’s that eerily calm pause between Christmas and New Year frenzy.  There’s a number of half-formed posts in my head, but we’ll go with a swirling scarcely-formed one about crowds, audiences and mobs. Desirable audiences and undesirable ones. Thought one: the way that the internet has caused unknown mass audiences to become active participants.  I’m thinking of the people who complained to the Press Complaints Commission about Jan Moir’s piece on Stephen Gately; and on a lighter note, the people persuaded to download Rage Against the Machine in preference to…

• 
  Mashable!

• Google Buzz: The Official Demo [VIDEO]

  Adam Ostrow

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:08 am

  Google has just unveiled its latest attempt to become more relevant in the social media space: Google Buzz. The product is integrated within Gmail and will be rolled out gradually to all of the webmail service’s users over the next few days.We’re still digesting all of the implications of Buzz (and will have more coverage throughout the day), but in the meantime, here’s the two-minute demo of the product in action both on the Web and via mobile that Google showed off during today’s press conference:What are your initial reactions? Another soon-to-be-forgotten Google social product? A…

• BREAKING: Google Goes Social with Google Buzz

  Ben Parr

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:21 am

  It’s official: Google has just announced Google Buzz, its newest push into the social media foray. This confirms earlier reports of Gmail integrating a social status feature.On stage revealing the new product was Bradley Horowitz, Google’s vice president for product management. While introducing the product, Mr. Horowitz focused on the human penchant for sharing experiences and the social media phenomenon of wanting to share it in real time. These two key themes were core philosophies behind Google Buzz.“It’s becoming harder and harder to find signal in the…

• Facebook Kills Lexicon, Focuses on Analytics for Page Admins

  Samuel Axon

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:20 am

  Facebook has removed its Lexicon analytics app, blogger Steve Rubel noticed last night.Don’t know what Lexicon was? That’s OK, a lot of people didn’t; it was announced very quietly, but it was a neat tool. You could use Lexicon to see how frequently, and when, certain terms were trending in status updates, just like you can use Google Trends to do the same with search terms.For example, our own Stan Schroeder was a bit perplexed a couple years back when the word “sex” had a massive spike in usage on May 30, 2008. It was the launch day of the Sex and the City…

• 7 Ways to Promote Your Offline Event Using Social Media

  Susan Payton

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:10 am

  Susan Payton is the President of Egg Marketing & Public Relations, an internet marketing firm. She blogs at The Marketing Eggspert Blog, and teaches marketing courses at Marketing EggSchool. Follow her on Twitter @eggmarketing.We all know about Tweetups and online events, but what about events that you didn’t specifically invite the Twitterati to attend? Conferences, meetings and parties are all events that might not have started online, but which can definitely benefit from online promotion and mention.Leverage your offline event with some smart social media marketing. Here are…

• WordPress To Posterous Users: Graduate to a Full Blog

  Jennifer Van Grove

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:57 am

  In an effort to remind you that WordPress can be just as flexible and e-mail-friendly as Posterous, the company has released a Posterous importer for users who want to “graduate” from the mini-blogging site to “a full blog with the features, flexibility and reliability of WordPress.com.”The new WordPress.com utility can be found via the Tools section within the Dashboard. All that’s required to run the import is your Posterous host name, user name and password, and it can import all of the following: posts, tags, comments and images.On the flip side, Posterous…

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  Lifehacker

• Google Buzz Is Google's Approach to Sharing and the Social Space [Social Networking]

  Adam Pash

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:00 am

  Google today announced a new service called Google Buzz (URL not active just yet), automatically brings social networking to Gmail. Whether or not you're a big on social network sites like Twitter or...

• Move the Users Directory in Windows 7 [How To]

  Roobs

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:30 am

  Ed. note: If you've tried moving the Windows Users directory to a location other than the default, you know it can be quite an undertaking. Reader Roobs wrote in detailing how he moved his Windows 7...

• Gadget and Gear Deals of the Day [Dealhacker]

  Jason Fitzpatrick

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am

  Whether you're looking for a new HDTV, laptop, camcorder or even a boot dryer, we've got you covered with today's Dealhacker roundup. If you're here for the freebies we didn't neglect you, you'll...

• Add Universal Keyword Control to All of Your Browsers with Quix [Saving Time]

  Kevin Purdy

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am

  Imagine typing the same few keystrokes from any browser to email or clip a page, or start any kind of search. Quix is a universal browser commander, on your desktop or mobile, and it's my favorite...

• Grill a Perfect Grilled-Cheese Sandwich [Food Hacks]

  Jason Fitzpatrick

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:30 am

  If your grilled-cheese sandwiches never achieve that perfect diner-style golden grill but instead end up a shade too far into burnt-marshmallow territory, a simple tweak or two can make your sandwich...

• 
  Macworld

• Neo Nectaris strategy game arrives on the iPhone

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:51 pm

  Hudson's nifty turn-based strategy game, Military Madness, enjoyed a revival on Xbox Live last year with Nectaris. Now it's spreading the love to iPhones with Military Madness: Neo Nectaris.

• iHound aims to help you find your missing iPhone

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:31 pm

  At this week's Macworld Expo, iHound Software will hand out stickers aimed at aiding people who find lost iPhones to reunite them with their owners. And for the month of February, iHound has dropped the price on its iPhone app.

• Report: Google to make Gmail more social

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:22 pm

  Google will add social features to Gmail, according to the Wall Street Journal.

• Review: McSweeney's for iPhone

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:07 pm

  A $6 app that provides pieces of random fiction may not be for everyone. But McSweeney's delivers great content in a simple, classy interface.

• Adobe apologizes for 16-month-old Flash bug

  8 Feb 2010 | 1:44 pm

  Adobe apologized over the weekend for letting a 16-month-old bug in Flash Player languish without a patch, even though it updated the popular plug-in four times since the flaw was reported.

• 
  Daring Fireball

• What’s New in Aperture 3

  John Gruber

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:59 am

  Faces, places, and brushes.  ★ 

• ComScore Reports December 2009 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

  John Gruber

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:52 am

  Palm, RIM, Microsoft losing market share; Apple and Google gaining. (RIM has the most to lose, of course.)  ★ 

• BashFlash

  John Gruber

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:52 am

  Nice complement to ClickToFlash — BashFlash monitors Snow Leopard’s Flash Player process and lets you kill it when it starts using excessive CPU time.  ★ 

• LESS CSS App for Mac OS X

  John Gruber

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:51 pm

  CSS nerds: have you checked out LESS? If so and you dig it, you might be interested in this.  ★ 

• Panelfly

  John Gruber

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:49 pm

  Gee, I wonder if e-comic-book distributors are excited about the iPad?  ★ 

• 
  Downloads - Mac OS X - Just Added

• Barcode Studio 9.4.4

  4 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  About Barcode Studio Generate high-quality bar code images for pre-press requirements and for desktop publishing applications within minutes. Barcode Studio operates on its own, no additional software is required. Barcodes: PDF417, MicroPDF, DataMatrix (ECC200), Maxicode, QR-Code, Codablock, EAN-UCC-Composite, RSS, GS1 DataBar, Aztec.

• Mu Voice 1.3

  4 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  About Mu Voice Allows you to tune your vocal recordings, apply special effects and add natural sounding harmonies when mixing your track. The proprietary spectral analysis and synthesis techniques set new standards in vocal processing providing a unique tool for your recording studio. Tedious pitch curve editing is history now. An internal delay of only 5.8 ms makes Mu Voice the ideal vocal processor to perform live on stage.

• New Star Tennis 1.05

  4 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  About New Star Tennis Unlike any other tennis game out there. It couples a fun and addictive game of tennis with a detailed career mode that gives you a glimpse into the life of a young tennis star. Starting out as a 16 year old newcomer to the circuit you must train hard and win tournaments around the globe as you compete on the NSG World Tour. As you earn points you will move up the ranking chart, earning cash and sponsorship deals along the way. It’s not all tennis though! To keep your spirits up you can spend time in the casino, go karting, play darts, or even buy and train race horses!

• Radioshift 1.5.3

  4 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  About Radioshift Listen to and record Internet and AM/FM radio from around the world on your schedule. Radioshift’s built-in guide provides over 100,000 listings for radio programs and stations, in all manner of audio formats. Listen in live in one convenient player. Even better, with one click, you can subscribe to any radio program. Radioshift will then record it for later listening in iTunes or on your iPod!

• Flip4Mac Windows Media Components for QuickTime 2.3.1.2

  4 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  About Flip4Mac Windows Media Components for QuickTime With Flip4Mac Windows Media Components for QuickTime you can play Windows Media files (.wma and .wmv) directly in QuickTime Player and view Windows Media content on the Internet using a Web browser.

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  Ethos3

• Stuff Presenters Like

  Scott Schwertly

  4 Feb 2010 | 11:10 am

  It’s time for a personal confession. My name is Scott Schwertly and I am annoyed. No, I am angry. People can care less about their presentations. Don’t believe me. Look around you! Most of them are lame. Hence, I have created a personal blog (think of it as an extension of Ethos3) to point out the flaws, weaknesses, and dumb crap that presenters do each and everyday.  It’s a reaction to both Stuff White People Like and Stuff Christians Like so I am calling it Stuff Presenters Like.  In a nutshell, it’s a blog about the good, the bad, and the lame things presenters do…

• A Brief Introduction To Introductions

  Scott Schwertly

  1 Feb 2010 | 6:45 am

  If you find yourself making your fair share of presentations for your company or business, there is a good chance you may also be called upon to introduce another speaker – maybe at short notice. Don’t panic! If you know your way around a presentation, you can make a great introduction. Essentially, you’re being asked to deliver a very short speech. Many of the same fundamentals that apply to a presentation apply to an introduction, with a few special points to keep in mind. How Long Is Too Long? When making an introduction, it’s important to remember that brief is best.

• Amazing Stories – Presentation Tips from Steven Spielberg

  Scott Schwertly

  29 Jan 2010 | 5:51 am

  Even in the midst of these economic hard times, people are still finding the extra cash to check out a movie now and then. Recent films like Avatar and The Book of Eli show that the public is still hungry for blockbusters, and when it comes to blockbusters, one name stands above the others – Steven Spielberg. Love him or hate him, no one walks the line between innovative, artistic film making, and popular success like Steven Spielberg. In fact there was no such thing as a blockbuster film until Spielberg made Jaws. There had been very successful films of course, but Jaws remade film…

• 6 Techniques to Make Your Presentation Unforgettable

  Scott Schwertly

  27 Jan 2010 | 6:04 am

  It’s great to find yourself at the front of the room, speaking clearly, shuffling confidently through your perfectly-chosen slides, seeing looks on the faces of your audience members that seem to say “Yes, I am listening. No, I cannot turn away.” If only it was always that easy… It can be helpful to think about attention in terms of presentations in three ways: First, we need to grab the audience’s attention. We need to find some way to capture them quickly and make sure that they are invested in our message right from the start. Secondly, we need to hold their…

• 5 Presentation Brainstorming Warm-ups

  Scott Schwertly

  25 Jan 2010 | 6:14 am

  Everyone knows that productive brainstorming sessions are imperative to creating stellar presentations. Everyone also knows that the practice of brainstorming has become a little weary. Our brains are over-stimulated and tired. Even after cups and cups of coffee, sometimes we just can’t WAKE UP! Jumping into a brainstorming session these days seems a lot like jumping into an ice cold swimming pool in early Spring. With that in mind, below are five warm-up exercises that will help ease your team into the brainstorming pool. Opposite Day To help jump-start your team’s brains, try an…

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  Duarte Blog

• Favorite fan mail…that has made it through

  Nancy Duarte

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:03 pm

  I *heart* fan mail. There is nothing better than hearing from you guys. We’ve been getting so much mail that we’ve decided to take the load off by setting up specific accounts for different needs. Our goal is to stay better organized so we can respond to your questions faster. If you’re interested in working with us on a project, contact: info@duarte.com If your question is specific to our workshops or webinars, send it to: training@duarte.com For all things media-related, including speaking engagements, contact: tracy@duarte.com All fan mail, and additional questions/comments go…

• Beyond Bullet Points: Interview with Nancy Duarte

  Paula Tesch

  5 Feb 2010 | 5:30 pm

  If you’re interested in presentation design, you’ve heard of Cliff Atkinson. His best-selling book, Beyond Bullet Points, has inspired many people to break away from the traditionally bullet-heavy presentation format. His book has also inspired a blog, to which Meryl Evans is a frequent contributor. Meryl recently interviewed Nancy Duarte on behalf of the Beyond Bullet Points blog. (Say that ten times fast.) Nancy and Meryl chatted about what makes a presentation effective and memorable (a story), what makes a story good (it moves your audience), and why sketching and drawing at…

• Product Launches Should be a Big Deal

  Nancy Duarte

  1 Feb 2010 | 4:39 pm

  Matt Lauer said that the launch of Windows 7 was the most important launch Microsoft had done in ten years. If that’s true, why’d it suck so much? Each month I receive a publication called “Vital Speeches.” Last month’s issue included a transcript of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s launch presentation. Please don’t let this speech discredit the folks at Vital Speeches, it’s a great publication. But really, couldn’t Microsoft’s herd of press folks have come up with a catchier title? While writing the next book, I’ve been in speech analysis-mode, and have considered…

• Five Predictions for 2010

  Nancy Duarte

  22 Jan 2010 | 10:47 am

  Last year was our first year for making predictions: http://blog.duarte.com/2009/01/five-predictions-for-presentations-in-2009/. I’m late to the party again this year, but I feel pretty excited about what 2010 will bring. In the year 2010… 1. Presentations and social media will blur. Audience and presenters will have 2-way communication. It won’t just be about the audience twittering to the backchannel. 2. There’ll be another movie about a slide show. Or, if there isn’t a movie about a slide show… there might be a movie about slides. Or a celebrity will use slides to create a…

• Your Data Wants a Makeover

  Nichole Nye

  15 Jan 2010 | 3:23 pm

  Simplicity does not necessarily mean skimping out on the meat of your presentation. When handled correctly, complex scenarios and data can still be included while being transformed into something that is easily comprehensible to the average audience member. No, this does not mean packing seemingly endless charts, tables, and graphs onto every slide. What it does mean is that with the right finessing, even incredibly complex data can be picked apart and rearranged in a simple and engaging way. “The Power Gap” (a new animated infographic by Airside) is a great example of making a…

• 
  Speaking about Presenting

• What you need to know before using a cartoon in your presentation

  Olivia Mitchell

  31 Jan 2010 | 3:02 pm

  I was reviewing a technical presentation for a client. The topic was the latest dental procedures. Every few slides a cartoon popped up. Cartoons about people with bad teeth. They were tangentially relevant to the topic of the presentation – but didn’t help to promote the message of the presentation. When I asked the client why she had included the cartoons she said: “My presentation is soooo boring. I need something to keep the audience awake.” Can you relate? Philippa Leguen de Lacroix It’s a great temptation to do this. But is it justified? This list of pros and cons regarding…

• 6 presentation tips from a professional speaker

  Olivia Mitchell

  26 Jan 2010 | 6:27 pm

  Scott Berkun speaking at the Web2.0 Expo 2009. Photo by James Duncan Davidson. Scott Berkun’s book Confessions of a public speaker is an entertaining and enlightening read on what it what it takes, and what it’s like, to be a professional speaker. I’ve shamelessly cherry-picked the presentation tips from Scott’s book that I most agree with. 1. Let go of perfection If you’d like to be good at something, the first thing to go out the window is the notion of perfection. Every time is I get up to the front of the room, I know I will make mistakes. I so agree. I get so annoyed by…

• What’s my best presentation tip for the presentations that you do?

  Olivia Mitchell

  19 Jan 2010 | 11:05 am

  Every type of presentation has its own challenges. As part of a “Public Speaking and the New Year” blog carnival organized by Angela DeFinis, I’ve identified what I see as the major challenge or trend for each presentation type in 2010 and given you my best presentation tip to overcome it. Best presentation tip for a training session Running long (sometimes all-day) training sessions is probably the worst possible method of learning. So, as trainers we have to compensate for the terrible format. John Medina, author of Brain Rules, delivers 50 minute lectures. His experience, backed up…

• How to handle a texting audience

  Olivia Mitchell

  13 Jan 2010 | 9:25 pm

  A reader asked me this question: Some of us who are 45+ are finding that younger people text and use computers during presentations to the point of rudeness. This happens even when others in the presentation give great evaluations.  We think we’ll be seen as “old farts” if we ask them to disengage.  How do we bridge this generation gap? Strip the generation language from this question and this is a question about attention. What’s the assumption? The assumption is that people paying attention will be looking at you, the speaker. If they’re not looking at you, or they…

• How to propose a toast

  Olivia Mitchell

  14 Dec 2009 | 1:55 pm

  Propose a toast: Image by Waldo Jaquith Give the gift of public speaking this holiday season. It’s the time to show your love and appreciation for your family and friends. Here are some tips for proposing a toast: 1. Plan your toast in advance It might be tempting (particularly if you’ve had a a few drinks) to spontaneously stand up and propose a toast. Your toast will be immeasurably better if you put some thought to it in advance. An unplanned toast can easily turn into a long-winded ramble. 2. Use tidy notes Too often I’ve seen people at family occasions stand up and peer…

• 
  Dave Paradi's PowerPoint Blog

• PowerPoint Tip: Drawing on top of graphs

  Dave Paradi

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:41 am

  Web content is becoming more and more important to include in our presentations. Whether it is traditional research we do or new content like blogs and Twitter, we need to use our access to a broader range of information to bring the latest perspectives to our audience. I’ll be doing a program in May for the DPI-PDW Conference in Ottawa that includes ideas on how to find and incorporate content from the web. Today’s tip deals with how to effectively use a graph that you have as an image, whether it is from the web or an internal source.The problem with graphs that are images is that you…

• Training sessions don’t need to be boring

  Dave Paradi

  4 Feb 2010 | 3:52 am

  In his latest column for BusinessWeek.com, communications consultant Carmine Gallo shares an example of PowerPoint used well to train employees. Training sessions often use PowerPoint, but too often it is not done well. Carmine uses an example of employee training at Wente Vineyards. I’ve been to their location in Livermore, California, so it caught my attention. Here are a few observations about what is described in the article.First, the presenter, Dan Carroll talked about making it relevant to the audience by using something they are already familiar with. This is the In Context step in…

• PowerPoint Slide Makeover #44 - Making Definitions Interesting

  Dave Paradi

  2 Feb 2010 | 5:25 am

  Just a quick note to let you know that a new Slide Makeover Video Podcast based on the ideas in "The Visual Slide Revolution" is available for your viewing through the iTunes Store, online or through my YouTube channel. In too many training and teaching presentations, the definitions of key terms are read verbatim from text on the slides. This makeover shows that defintions can be interesting if you connect with the audience and leave them with a definition they will remember.This slide is based on a consulting assignment, but many of the slides are submitted by one of the participants in a…

• How will the iPad impact corporate presentations?

  Dave Paradi

  28 Jan 2010 | 4:27 am

  Jan Schultink gives us his first thoughts on the iPad and presentations here. In the information and videos I’ve seen, I think Apple has addressed Jan’s fourth point because I saw a video of a marker and a highlighter being used on a Keynote presentation in full screen mode (watch the video at Engadget starting at 0:50). But here are my thoughts from a corporate perspective, remembering that all I have to go on are the reports and videos from the launch event, I haven’t seen an actual device.First, the size. It is too big to carry in a pocket, so I am not sure how much more convenient…

• Call an audible during your presentation

  Dave Paradi

  27 Jan 2010 | 5:02 am

  On Sunday I was watching the AFC Championship game between the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Jets. Even if you are not a football fan, stick with me on this one. I like watching top performers in their fields and in this case I got to watch Peyton Manning, one of the best quarterbacks in football. He is this year’s Most Valuable Player in the NFL. One thing he does better than any other quarterback is change the play at the line of scrimmage based on what he sees the defence doing. Often, he will line up, call some signals and see how the defence reacts. Then he steps back, decides…

• 
  Six Minutes

• Average Speakers Suck. Don’t be Average.

  Andrew Dlugan

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

  If you are an average speaker, you suck. So do all of your colleagues with average presentation skills. Let’s see why this is so… Cookies and the Cookie Police Suppose you are baking cookies. After mixing up the dough, you scoop up a bit with your fingers, roll it into a ball, and plop it on the cookie sheet. Repeat this 50 times, and you’ve got an oven full of cookies. Repeat this 500 times, and you’ve got a freezer full of cookies — or, perhaps, enough for a bake sale. Now, suppose that you were being investigated by the Homemade Cookie Police. After you plop…

• 15 Tactics to Establish Ethos: Examples for Persuasive Speaking

  Andrew Dlugan

  7 Feb 2010 | 10:44 pm

  Your speaking ethos is critical to ensure that your audience is present, listening, and open to being persuaded by your ideas. But, how do you maximize your ethos for a given speech and a given audience? Is ethos fixed before you open your mouth? Is there anything you can do during a speech that makes a difference? This article shows you practical tactics you can employ to establish and increase your ethos. Definition of Ethos The previous article in the Ethos, Pathos, and Logos series defined ethos along four dimensions: Trustworthiness Does your audience believes you are a good person who…

• Public Speaking Tips: Weekend Review [2010-02-06]

  Andrew Dlugan

  6 Feb 2010 | 12:05 am

  Twice each month, Six Minutes weekend reviews bring you the best public speaking articles from throughout the public speaking blogosphere. Please share them with anyone you feel would benefit from the tips and techniques. This review features topics including: recently released public speaking books; storytelling and details; remedies for voice malfunctions; handling hecklers; thanking the audience; cartoons in presentations; rehearsal strategies; a speech critique of Sir Ken Robinson; and more! From the Six Minutes Archives One Year Ago from Six Minutes… Speech Analysis: Barack…

• Psst! Readers’ Speaking Confessions and Lessons

  Andrew Dlugan

  2 Feb 2010 | 9:09 pm

  Have you ever fainted in mid-sentence? Have you ever shown up for a 1-hour seminar only to be told you had to give it eight times in a row? Have you ever had your blouse pop open while speaking? These were just a few of the confessions shared by Six Minutes readers in our contest to win a copy of Confessions of a Public Speaker by Scott Berkun. Thank you to everyone who participated. The responses are collectively funny, surprising, and educational. A few of the most shocking confessions and the most valuable insights are featured below. Click here to read all of them back at the original…

• What is Ethos and Why is it Critical for Speakers?

  Andrew Dlugan

  31 Jan 2010 | 10:52 pm

  Is your audience listening even before you speak your first words? Do they have high expectations? Are they prepared to be convinced by what you have to say? If not, you are suffering from poor ethos. The first article in the Ethos, Pathos, and Logos series introduced these core concepts for speakers. In this article, we define ethos, we look at ways that an audience measures your ethos, and we examine why it is so critical for a successful speech. What is Ethos? Ethos was originally defined by Aristotle in On Rhetoric as being trustworthy. He stated that we are more likely to believe people…

• 
  A PowerPoint Blog

• Convexion PowerPoint to Silverlight Converter: The Indezine Review

  Geetesh

  4 Feb 2010 | 12:13 am

  With the proliferation of PowerPoint to Flash converters everywhere, you might have wondered why there are almost no PowerPoint to Silverlight converters anywhere. After all, Silverlight is considered by many as Microsoft's response to Adobe's Flash. Add the fact that PowerPoint and Silverlight are both from the Microsoft stable, and the complete absence of PowerPoint to Silverlight converters is like a puzzle with no solution!Luckily, someone listened and created the first ever PowerPoint to Silverlight converters -- and in this review we are looking at Convexion, a PowerPoint add-in from…

• SlideShare Channels: Conversation with Rashmi Sinha

  Geetesh

  3 Feb 2010 | 6:03 pm

  Rashmi Sinha is cofounder and CEO of SlideShare, the world's largest community for sharing presentations. She manages design and business development at SlideShare. Rashmi blogs at www.rashmisinha.com about social software and running a startup.In this conversation, Rashmi talks about the new Channels feature on SlideShare.Geetesh: What exactly are SlideShare Channels, and how can they help target content for an audience?Rashmi: SlideShare channels are custom branded spaces for businesses and brands. If you have content on SlideShare, this gives you a place to have all your content in one…

• Presentation Tree: The Paul Tumey Interview

  Geetesh

  3 Feb 2010 | 12:23 am

  Paul Tumey is the founder and director of Presentation Tree, a 10-year old PowerPoint design company in Seattle, Washington. Paul's background includes notable achievements in graphic design, writing, public speaking, publicity, and marketing consulting. In this conversation, Paul shares some wisdom about creating PowerPoint presentations, and talks about Presentation Tree, how it was founded and the type of work they do.Read the interview here... Categories: design, interviews, powerpoint

• 25 Million Brainshark Presentation Views: Conversation with Joe Gustafson

  Geetesh

  2 Feb 2010 | 1:08 am

  Joe Gustafson, CEO of Brainshark, Inc., founded the company in 1999 to help knowledge experts accelerate the flow of information to their audiences in a highly effective format. Under Joe's leadership, Brainshark has become a leader in on-demand business communications and a successful Software-as-a-Service company, with more than 1,100 world-class customers, including a third of the Fortune 100. Most recently, Joe has led Brainshark to a series of significant company milestones – with Brainshark presentations netting more than 25 million views, and the company doubling its profits in the…

• Learn PowerPoint: Changing Chart Types in PowerPoint

  Geetesh

  28 Jan 2010 | 1:21 am

  Learn how you can change your existing PowerPoint charts to other types -- for example, changing a column chart to an area chart. PowerPoint provides ample choices in chart types for almost every kind of graphical data representation. There are some basic chart types such as column, bar, line, pie, etc. -- and advanced charts like radar, surface, bubble, doughnut, etc.Follow these steps change the chart type in PowerPoint 2002 and 2003...Categories: charting, powerpoint_2003, tutorials

• 
  The BBP Blog

• Interview with Nancy Duarte

  Meryl Evans

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:02 pm

  What makes an effective presentation?  I recently interviewed Nancy Duarte, CEO and principal of Duarte Design and author of slide:ology,  to find out what she thinks. You don’t have to go far to figure out Duarte is passionate about story-telling and using effective visuals to tell the story. Meryl Evans: A person is trying to create a presentation that tells a story, but struggles to make it flow. What’s a good way to turn your topic into a story that flows? Nancy Duarte: Seems to me, if you don’t have a flow, the story isn’t really quite there yet. There are many…

• Webinar: “The Backchannel – A Presenter’s Nightmare or a Dream Come True?”

  Cliff Atkinson

  14 Jan 2010 | 11:34 am

  Join me at 10am Pacific Time on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010 for a webinar sponsored by SlideRocket titled The Backchannel: A Presenter’s Nightmare or a Dream Come True? The session description is below – I hope you can join me! Register now at this link. The Backchannel: A Presenter’s Nightmare or a Dream Come True? with Cliff Atkinson Ready or not, the backchannel has arrived! Armed with laptops and smartphones, audiences are no longer sitting quietly while speakers are talking – instead they’re using Twitter and other tools to create a backchannel where they chat with one…

• My new book “The Backchannel” now available at online retailers

  Cliff Atkinson

  3 Dec 2009 | 4:47 pm

  Buckle your presentation seatbelts, because the backchannel is coming! I’ve spent the last part of the year writing my new book The Backchannel: How Audiences are Using Twitter and Social Media and Changing Presentations Forever, which is now available at online retailers and soon in a bookstore near you.  The Backchannel explores the dramatic changes that are coming soon in the field of presentations. The idea of the book was conceived at the South by Southwest Interactive Conference in March 2009, where I witnessed how audiences there were using Twitter to communicate with one…

• Getting Started with the BBP Story Template

  Meryl Evans

  9 Jul 2009 | 8:32 am

  The BBP story template helps you organize and outline your thoughts for a presentation before working with PowerPoint. I recently created a presentation on the value of Twitter to businesses, and worked through the sequence of Act I: the Setting, Role, Point A, Point B and Call to Action slides. Act I sets up your story with key elements to identify the setting, main character and conflict. Sound familiar? We all learned this in grade school English. The easiest one: main character. That would be your audience. Setting Setting doesn’t point to the location of the presentation.

• 8 Ways to Extend Your Presentations

  Meryl Evans

  29 Jun 2009 | 4:03 pm

  With social media growing as a popular resource for businesses to reach out and connect with customers and prospects, presenters need to look outside of the room where they give presentations. Sharing them on the Internet establishes your expertise, shows how you think, spreads your brand and provides yummy link juice. Here are eight ways you can squeeze more out of your hard work in creating your beautiful bullet-free presentation. Record your presentation. With so many digital cameras and technologies readily available for low prices today, it’s easier to record your presentation.

• 
  Speak Schmeak

• Super Bowl SUCCESs

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:09 pm

  Download audio here. Even if you didn't watch the Super Bowl, you can still see one of the better ads right now on YouTube. There are a lot of reasons this commercial for Google worked. I'm going to approach it from the perpective of Chip and Dan Heath's "Made to Stick." Let's see how it stacks up against their acronym SUCCESs as a memorable or "sticky" message. First, watch the commercial if you haven't already: Simple: You can't get much more simple than showing a person searching on Google. Google is the tool and the product, and that's all you see. No dialogue, no actors, and only a…

• Eye can't see you

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:57 pm

  Download audio here. Waiting with my husband in the emergency room this morning (he's okay), I noticed three signs on the wall of the exam room, typed on 8 1/2" x 11" paper in 12- to 14-point font. They were placed opposite the bed. One sign read, "Our Promise to You;" the second one was a handout with information for waiting patients; the third was titled, "Please Help Us Help You" and went on with a list of suggestions, like minimizing trips back and forth to the waiting room and having only one family member visiting at a time. What struck me about these signs was that there was no way the…

• Speaking for (and to) the average Joe

  4 Feb 2010 | 11:21 am

  Download audio here. While watching news shows, I often feel my eyes glaze over and my brain go somewhere else while pundits and their guests discuss the finer details of political and financial matters. So when someone comes along who can put these complex concepts into easy-to-understand language, I practically jump off the couch. That's how I felt the first time I saw Elizabeth Warren on The Rachel Maddow Show. Warren is a Harvard Law School professor and the chair of the congressional oversight panel on TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program), more commonly referred to as "the bailout." I…

• Does your presentation taste as good as it looks?

  4 Feb 2010 | 11:18 am

  Download audio here. Thank you to fellow speaker and trainer Bert Decker for today's food and public speaking analogy. Last night on Twitter, Bert mentioned making Coq au Vin for the first time and forgetting to ask the butcher to cut up the whole chicken required for the recipe. Last I heard, Bert said the cutting was sloppy but the smells of the meal cooking were great. This reminded me of a previous post I wrote about two speakers at the same event, one polished, professional and slightly canned, the other disheveled and passionate. The one I connected with was the one who gave more than…

• Four lessons for speakers -- from Broadway

  4 Feb 2010 | 11:04 am

  Download audio here. I saw the musical Avenue Q last night, and while I found it entertaining, original and funny, I also found some lessons for speakers! 1. It's okay to have help In Avenue Q, the puppets are handheld on stage by the actors who play them. The puppets, while technically the stars of the show, would be useless without the bodies and voices of the actors. It takes a few minutes to get the hang of mentally integrating both the puppet actions and the actors' facial expressions and movement, but then it works. A lot of speakers have a fear of appearing fallible. They want to hide…

• 
  Business Innovation Speaker and Consultant Stephen Shapiro

• Three Innovation Distinctions (Part 3): Diversity not Homogeneity

  Stephen Shapiro

  1 Feb 2010 | 10:16 am

  This is the third of my “innovation distinctions” entries. In the first part of this series, I wrote why you should focus on “Challenges, not Ideas.” Next, I addressed the distinction of “Process, not Events.” In this final entry, I discuss why innovation requires “Diversity not Homogeneity.” Be sure to read the previous two articles before [...]

• More Blog Entries Coming Soon

  Stephen Shapiro

  25 Jan 2010 | 12:01 pm

  I have been working ’round the clock to finish my Personality Poker manuscript.  It goes to the publisher Feb 1.  After that, I will be back and blogging in full force…

• R.I.P. Robert B. Parker

  Stephen Shapiro

  19 Jan 2010 | 3:40 pm

  Today I learned that one of my favorite authors, Robert B. Parker, passed away. He is probably best know for his “Spenser” books.  These fast-paced crime stories are based in Boston (my hometown) and were the  inspiration for the ’80s TV show, “Spenser: For Hire.”  I read every book and loved them all. He is also the [...]

• Three Innovation Distinctions (Part 2): Process Not Events

  Stephen Shapiro

  18 Jan 2010 | 6:00 am

  In the first part of this series, I wrote why you should focus on challenges, not ideas. You should read that article before proceeding. In this second entry, I will focus on “Process, not Events.” I first shared these three distinctions with a bunch of speakers and authors.  In the speaking industry, conferences/conventions are the primary model [...]

• I Need Your Help: Personality Poker Book Subtitle

  Stephen Shapiro

  8 Jan 2010 | 9:21 am

  I need your help! I am in the process of finishing the manuscript for my next book, “Personality Poker.”  The book will be published by Penguin’s Portfolio books and is expected in stores September 2010. We have been working on a subtitle for the book – and I would love your input. I realize that you don’t know [...]

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  The Extreme Presentation(tm) Method

• Prezi: the compromise breaker

  Andrew Abela

  25 Jan 2010 | 8:54 am

  I am very excited about Prezi.  I commented on it briefly in a post some months ago, and have been spending some time with it since then.  Yesterday they announced an upgrade, including revisions to their editor, including simple addition of YouTube video and easier text editing.    Here's why I'm excited about it.  I think Prezi is one technology that can actually bridge the gap between Ballroom and Conference Room style presentations.   People who who follow this blog, or who have read Advanced Presentations by…

• Extreme Presentation workshops in Australia and Asia

  Andrew Abela

  25 Jan 2010 | 7:05 am

  We are happy to announce that the High Performance People Group of Melbourne, Australia are now offering the Extreme Presentation workshop in Australia and Asia.  Justin O'Brien, founder and President of the group, came to Washington DC in December for his advanced training in the Extreme Presentation method, and is now certified to deliver the Extreme Presentation workshop.  Justin blogs here.  

• Advanced Presentations by Design on sale at Amazon.com

  Andrew Abela

  8 Jan 2010 | 7:55 am

  Good news.  Advanced Presentations by Design is now being offered by Amazon.com at a more competitive price of $32.18, 28% off it's list price of $45.oo. 

• Pre-emptive Strikes: how to field tough questions

  Andrew Abela

  19 Nov 2009 | 3:33 pm

  Tom Antion is a renowned public speaking expert; I asked him if he could share a few thoughts on fielding tough questions from your audience, and I'm grateful for this guest post he has written in response: Here are some rules to follow when you are expecting tough questions tocome up during your presentation. 1. Show that you understand their point of view. Restate yourunderstanding of how they feel before you offer your answer. 2. Use appropriate Self effacing humor. One time I took a large archerytarget and hid it on stage before the audience arrived. Near the beginning of my speechI…

• Audience Analysis - Speak to Different Personality Types

  Andrew Abela

  16 Nov 2009 | 3:58 am

  The first step in the Extreme Presentation method for designing a presentation is to identify the communication preferences of the different personality types that are likely to be in your audience.  I like to use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator for this.  For example, your audience will contain Introverts, Extraverts, or (most often) both.  Introverts need some kind of pre-reading--they need to be thinking about your material in advance.  Extraverts need lots of Question and Answer (Q&A) time, so if you have a one-hour presentation to a bunch of extraverts,…

• 
  Great Public Speaking

• Presentation Skills: Good Presentation Tips

  Tom Antion

  8 Feb 2010 | 1:02 pm

  Making a good presentation is easy when you know the right techniques.Learn to build a speaking business of your own!

• Great Public Speaking Media Training

  Tom Antion

  5 Feb 2010 | 10:18 am

  I make no outbound cold calls whatsoever. I can not even stand the thought of it. One of my main sources of bookings comes from stories placed by me or about me in the media and from radio and TV appearances. I can not really even say I am tremendously successaful at getting these placements, but here is what I am doing to get better and also how it makes me money.A few lines in entrepreneur magzine has made me about $11,000.00 so far for two speeches. An article I wrote for SalesDoctor Electronic Magazine made me $5500.00 for a speech and almost made me over $40,000.00 on one deal. The…

• Tom Antion: Business Humor

  Tom Antion

  3 Feb 2010 | 7:30 am

  YOU KNOW YOU WORK IN CORPORATE AMERICA IF ...You sat at the same desk for 4 years and worked for three different companiesYour company welcome sign is attached with VelcroYour resume is on a diskette in your pocketYour company logo on your badge is applied with stick-umYou order your business cards in "half orders" instead of whole boxesWhen someone asks about what you do for a living, you lieYou get really excited about a 2% pay raiseYou learn about your layoff on CNNYour biggest loss from a system crash is that you lose your best jokesYou sit in a cubicle smaller than your bedroom…

• Public Speaking: Pick Your Audience

  Tom Antion

  1 Feb 2010 | 8:32 am

  (Did he say "pick" my public speaking audiences?). Yes, I did say pick your audiences. Some of you may not have this luxury because you must do speaking as part of your job, but those of you that do, will move up faster in the speaking world. When you are a beginning public speaker it is important for you to experience different types of audiences just FOR the experience. As you climb the speaking ladder where the audiences are bigger, or more important to your career, and the stakes are higher, you must learn to just say no.Most top speakers don't accept every request to speak even if they…

• Public Speaking: Certified Speaking Professional

  Tom Antion

  29 Jan 2010 | 7:02 am

• 
  Slides that stick

• Message arrived - nobody understood it

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:30 pm

  My attention was drawn to this Vodafone ad that uses the NATO alphabet to say C-O-M-M-U-N-I-C-A-T-E  C-L-E-A-R-L-Y. An excellent example of the difference between delivering a message (i.e., writing your bullet points on a slide) and getting someone else to understand/internalize what it says. I am not sure yet how to use it yet, but this NATO alphabet is a good thing to remember when thinking about chart concepts. Via Ads of the World.

• The audience wants you to succeed

  7 Feb 2010 | 7:30 pm

  Fear of public speaking often stems from the speaker thinking that the audience's main objective is to criticize her performance. The opposite is true: the audience wants you to succeed. First of all because of selfish motivations; nobody wants to be bored.But there is an emotional driver as well. People (in the audience) do not like to subject themselves to an embarrassing situation. Watching this movie clip from the film "About a boy" creates that exact feeling in your stomach (I cannot embed it for some reason).The book "Confessions of a public speaker" has a great section on public…

• Browsing for books about design

  4 Feb 2010 | 9:06 pm

  The Internet and the place I live (Israel) have cut me off of those great large book stores where you can browse endlessly for books you did not know you missed. Presentation blogs (this one included) often talk about the same limited set of books about public speaking and presentation design. Here is a list of design books compiled by graphic designer Jason Santa Maria full of titles that look really interesting. Found via SwissMiss. Image credit Google LIFE, an excellent source of images for non-commercial use.

• The entire Jobs' iPad speech in 180s: passion

  3 Feb 2010 | 8:19 pm

  Presenting is not a casual discussion, it is a performance. When you are not passionate about what you are presenting yourself, do not expect your audience to be. This short video compilation of Steve Jobs' iPad launch speech shows how he packed his talk with enthusiasm. Something to learn from, but also to make you smile.

• You should follow this blog

  2 Feb 2010 | 7:30 pm

  Mark Suster is a venture capitalist (VC) who is quietly building one of the world's most-read blogs about entrepreneurship and VC investing. I suspect most people who read my blog subscribe to other blogs in areas such as (graphics) design and public speaking. Most of these blogs (including this one), are run by people who write presentations. Mark's blog is different.Most of the time he sits in the audience listening to people trying to pitch a venture to him, but in an earlier stage in his career he was an entrepreneur himself sitting at the other side of the table (hence the name of his…

• 
  Professionally Speaking

• Winter Weather Wallops Writers

  Ian

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:12 am

  No sooner had I posted the announcement about going to the 2010 Ragan Speechwriters Conference than word came from the organizers that the event has been canceled due to the snowstorms that have hit the Washington DC area. I was looking forward to presenting at the event and meeting colleagues. Seeing the city under a [...]

• The 2010 Ragan Speechwriters Conference

  Ian

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:26 am

  I’m off this week to the 2010 Ragan Speechwriters Conference in Washington DC. It’ll be my fourth conference and the second one at which I’ve presented. As in 2009, I’ll be podcasting interviews with attendees and presenters and grabbing some video with my Flip video camera to post to YouTube. It all fits with the [...]

• Life Caching

  Ian

  3 Feb 2010 | 8:57 am

  Candid Camera Springwise reports that a wearable camera has been developed in the UK which can document a person’s life. Promising “Memories for Life” the Vicon Revue has been created as an aid for people with memory loss. The device can operate either on a timer—taking photos every 30 seconds—or it can be set to take [...]

• Book Review: The Backchannel

  Ian

  27 Jan 2010 | 6:39 pm

  How to augment your live presentation using social media Effective public speaking is a challenge for many executives. They must prepare interesting content, overcome stage fright and deliver a speech that will hold the audience’s attention. As if that wasn’t difficult enough, they are increasingly likely to find themselves looking out at a sea of faces [...]

• Interview: Frauke Schorr - Centered Leadership Coach

  Ian

  25 Jan 2010 | 11:07 pm

  In order to gain a competitive edge it is essential for professionals to strive for both professional and personal excellence. Frauke Schorr’s work focuses on professionals who struggle and need outside expertise to bring their careers, businesses, and teams to the next level. As part of her PhD in Organizational Psychology Frauke interviewed highly accomplished [...]

• 
  SpeakerSue Says...

• Why your “elevator speech” may be so 2009

  speakersue

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:29 am

  “So what do you do?” they ask. You’re prepared (or at least you think you are). You know this “elevator speech” shouldn’t be more than 30 seconds. You even practiced the skill at some workshop you attended last year. I‘m a sales manager for ABC, you  start off. With seconds left, you explain more:  ABC  has/offers/can do X and Y and Z and… you go on until your 30 seconds are up, or their eyes glaze over. Stop. Now. Be smart! Do you really think they want to know what you do? They want to know how they can relate to you. (Think of the Twitter…

• With love from China

  speakersue

  25 Jan 2010 | 5:26 pm

  Your comments about this morning’s post are wonderful! I can’t respond directly through Twitter or FB, though this blog seems to make it through the government scrubbing. There are many wonderful customs here in China. At dinner, a tiny amount of wine is poured and to drink it, you must toast someone. Because there is only a sip’s full of wine, everyone keeps toasting everyone throughout the meal. Instead of interrupting the flow of the multi-course (and very delicious) dinner, it sets its on rhythm. So, Scott McKain, here is a toast to you and your comments about my earlier…

• Presentation Mastery: Why being technically perfect may be the worst thing you can do

  speakersue

  25 Jan 2010 | 6:20 am

  There are a lot of technically perfect people in this world. Don’t be one of them. I’m not saying that technical expertise isn’t needed.  I wouldn’t want a brain surgeon without it. But if that’s all you have, you’ll always be less than great, no matter how proficient you are. As a presenter, and even as a brain surgeon, if you don’t also show compassion, respect and even love for the other person, no matter how good you are, you aren’t. The other day, we had a technically perfect customer service agent “help” us. She absolutely…

• What one thing changes results? Increase friendliness now.

  speakersue

  15 Jan 2010 | 5:03 am

  Short post today. Every single thing I research and know points to just one concept: Increase friendliness now. But… and it’s a very large but… it has to be real. Pretending to care and caring are as similar as light cream cheese and the fat free (ugghhhh!) kind. One is worth the calories and the other isn’t even worth tasting. What can you do to create more friendliness in the emails you send? How can you communicate in a friendlier (more caring, more compassionate, more respectful) manner? Can you care more about them than you do about your agenda? Whether…

• Sales Mastery: Are you shooting yourself in the foot?

  speakersue

  11 Jan 2010 | 12:47 pm

  Before you read this sales letter, please hope you didn’t send it to me. I have not been kind enough to remove or change anything (though I graciously omitted his contact info and name). Here is what’s wrong with it: 1. Hey Sue. Occasionally, I use Hey Name. Except I save it for my good friends and clients I know well enough to know they’ll take it the way I mean it. I don’t know this creep. 2. He says he is “eating the cost for me.” I don’t want him doing anything for me. Ever. 3. Pitiful punctuation, stupid spelling, and ghastly grammar. (Yes, I…

• 
  More than PowerPoint...

• Why You Should Never, Ever Crowdsource Your Presentation Title

  26 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am

  Intro to XX 101X for BeginnersUgh.What presentation titles could possibly be more overused? If you're going to a presentation with one of these titles, you can be almost certain that the presentation is going to be every bit as boring and cliched as its headline. These kinds of titles are a red flag that show a lack of creativity and imagination on the part of the presenter.In his hilarious + helpful book Confessions of a Public Speaker, Scott Berkun states very clearly that taking a strong position in your title is utterly essential. In his chapter titled "Eating the Mike", Mr.Berkum states…

• How Twitter is Like Public Speaking

  12 Jan 2010 | 11:59 am

  "I just don't know what I would say...""I can't believe anybody would care...""I think I'll make a fool out of myself..."Speechwriters and presentation coaches often hear these three objections from new clients.Today, I hear the same objections from clients when they talk about approaching Twitter.Stage fright is being replaced with Twitter fright.It makes sense, in an odd way. Twitter, in part, is a public speaking platform. It's much more, of course: it's a public listening platform as well. And it's much less, of course: each Twitter utterance is limited to 140 characters.But more…

• PowerPoint Deaths Climb in 2009: But at Slower Rate

  15 Dec 2009 | 11:17 am

  Every year, I Google the phrase "Death by PowerPoint" (without quotes).Exactly one year ago today, this "Death by PowerPoint" inquiry yielded 366,000 search results - over 4 times as many results as 2007.Today, if you Google "Death by PowerPoint", you'll see 980,000 results -- only about 2.7 times as much as 2008. The year-to-year death rate appears to be dropping.The PowerPoint death rate keeps climbing -- but at a much slower pace than 2007-2008.Why do you reckon the rate of death mentions is slowing? With more people participating in social media channels, the opportunity to mention this…

• Presenting with Twitter - Free Ebook

  20 Nov 2009 | 11:25 am

  The Twitter backchannel is changing the way speakers deliver presentations. Twitter is also changing the way conference planners promote and manage events.What do teachers, trainers, speakers, and conference planners need to know to keep up with these fast-breaking changes?You can find out in a wonderfully written (and totally free!) ebook written by "Speaking About Presenting" blogger Olivia Mitchell. The comprehensive ebook, How to present with Twitter (and other backchannels) is available today for free download.My one-word review of this e-book?"Wow!"Olivia gave me the opportunity to…

• How to Be a Great Audience Member

  11 Nov 2009 | 1:07 pm

  When I'm presenting live, I look for a friendly face in the audience. I like to focus on attentive, smiling, thoughtful faces. They give out a good energy that I respond to as a presenter.Often, just one friendly audience member can make me a better, more confident presenter.So when it's my turn to be an audience member, I try to pay the good audience vibe forward. I feel that a presenter will do a better job if someone in the audience gives the performer "good face". I try to radiate "positive face energy" to the performer. I make eye contact. I smile and nod at the presenter. If it's…

• 
  Nick R Thomas - A Public Speaker's Blog

• I am speaking to you again and here's why...

  Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking)

  29 Jan 2010 | 8:30 am

  Lyndhurst Probus, HampshireOn 3 September I was back at the Forest Lodge Hotel in Lyndhurst for my second talk to the town's Probus Club, this time about Patrick Campbell.The nature of a speaker's presentations to the same organisation can vary. For example, the last time I spoke to this club was in December 2003 at their Christmas Dinner, a black tie event with members' wives and widows as guests. This time, it was a morning meeting with an all-male audience numbering around 40.With repeat bookings, I always find it useful to remind them that they have heard me before, however long ago it…

• Rescheduling a presentation

  Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking)

  9 Jan 2010 | 7:42 am

  Happy New Year to readers of this blog. I still have a number of speaking engagements from late 2009 to tell you about, starting with a repeat booking forThe Probus Club of the New ForestOn 1 September I spoke for the second time to the Probus Club of the New Forest at Shorefield Country Park near Milford-on-Sea. This engagement had actually been scheduled for November but a few days earlier I had received a call from the speaker booked for their September meeting to ask if we could swap dates as he wasn't going to be able to make it due to personal circumstances. I agreed to this and so…

• Coining an anecdote!

  Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking)

  2 Dec 2009 | 8:05 am

  Fordingbridge 93 Club, HampshireOn 20 August I spoke for the third time to Fordingbridge 93 Club, a men's group similar to a Probus and named after the year of its formation.This is a popular club (they have to limit the attendance at their meetings to 80) and their morning talks are delivered from a low stage at the award-winning Sandy Balls Holiday Centre following a lively business meeting.As I was setting up for my talk, assisted by a very helpful Speaker Host, I noticed a 1p coin on the floor at the back of the stage. My presentation about Groucho Marx includes the story of the Marx…

• Public speaking: no show is a no no

  Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking)

  30 Nov 2009 | 5:35 pm

  Yateley & District U3A, BerkshireI spoke at a Monthly Meeting of Yateley and District U3A at the Sandhurst Community Hall on 4 August, my second booking for them,I arrived at Bournemouth station in good time, got on the train and waited for its scheduled departure at 08.45. And waited. And waited... This happens so often but delays on the roads in my area can be even worse (accidents and road works on the A338 can leave motorists stuck there for up to several hours).There was no way that I was going to make the connection at Basingstoke in time to be picked up from Fleet station at the…

• Public speakers' audiences can multitask!

  Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking)

  28 Nov 2009 | 5:14 am

  Forever Friends, SouthamptonBack in February, my return visit to Forever Friends, Southampton had to be cancelled due to the snow but they rebooked me for 4 August.My journey from the station to the venue was made easier by the excellent free CityLink shuttle bus service and, as with my last booking, there was an audience of about 80, mainly female, at the Masonic Hall. My subject this time was Patrick Campbell.The venue was absolutely sweltering at this time of year and warm conditions can make audiences restless. One thing a speaker must get used to during the summer months is audience…

• 
  The PowerPoint® Blog

• PowerPoint Heaven's eConvention

  Troy Chollar

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

  I am bit late in posting about this inspiring event that fellow Microsoft PowerPoint MVP Shawn Toh "Tolhz" from Singapore hosted on his website back in December. The eCon Awards are for PowerPoint Animation, Artwork, and Game of the Year. This year there are also a number of entries from PowerPoint communities from China. I pride myself on developing presentations that have people questioning if it is PowerPoint being used, through creative layout, lots of custom graphics and of course animation. But I am inspired by downloading and viewing the entries at the eCon! Preview, download and be…

• Need to Access a Mac Hard Drive ?

  Troy Chollar

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

  We live in a cross platform work environment with Windows computers and Mac computers. But they do not necessarily work together 100%. Mac sytems do not like Windows NTFS hard drive format. They can read, but cannot write to them. Windows systems do not like the Mac 'macdrive' format. It cannot read or write to them... And this is a problem when someone hands you a USB drive and says "My presentation is on this." MacDrive by MediaFour is a Windows computer best friend in this situation. It seamlessly recognizes macdrive formatted hard drives and they work just as any other drive, all accessed…

• Superscript with Keyboard Command

  Troy Chollar

  2 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

  If using PPT 2007, you may have found the super and subscript buttons missing from the ribbon. My first solution is to make use of the QAT (Quick Access Toolbar) and add these valuable tools to it. But you can also make any text superscripted with a keyboard command. This works in PPT 2007, 2003, XP, and 2000 (cannot remember if works in PPT 2000, so this is just a guess). A few notes about using the keyboard options from my use and observations: 1. PPT 2003 CTR+SHIFT+(plus) superscripts. Do it again and it returns to standard text. 2. PPT 2007 CTR+SHIFT+(plus) superscripts. Do it again and…

• Who is BUSTER WELLS?

  Troy Chollar

  31 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am

  This is Buster Wells in December: This is Buster Wells today: And this is Chris Wells, Buster's owner - who I work with at corporate meetings. I learned the story of Buster's bad winter experience while working with Chris last week in (warm) Phoenix, AZ (it was a great show). Apparently Buster had a bad grooming appointment. He went in small and fluffy, but came out small and completely shaved. Oh, and Buster lives in Boston where it is very cold! CALL TO ACTION: Turns out an unnamed mischieveous person (not me) decided Buster needed a Facebook account to share his nakedness with the world. I…

• Animated Timer

  Troy Chollar

  29 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am

  On a recent show I was asked (minutes before needed onscreen) to display a timer for some group interaction. Of course the answer was 'no problem'... and I got to work. Here is the result: Making this visual timer is easy. 1. Here is my sample slide, using PPT 2007's Civic template. 2. Next I created 2 cirlces of identical size. For the "timer" cirlce I made it red and applied some Shape Styling. 3. Using the alignment tools both circles are set to stack and then positioned on slide. 4. Apply an entrance animation to the top/red circle: - Wheel - 1 Spoke 5. Customize the time (of the entrance…

• 
  Humor Power

• Joke Writing Contest — Quirky Medications

  John Kinde

  1 Feb 2010 | 4:14 am

  Our February Joke Contest theme is Quirky Medications. New Joke Contests are announced on the first of the month, alternating months. New Cartoon Caption Contests are announced on the first of the month, alternating months.  The next Cartoon Caption Contest is March 1, 2010. For this month’s contest you are challenged to create names for new, non-existant medications and drugs.  Here are three examples: Dramaflu:  Neutralizes the impact of drama queens. Tetracycling:  Gives you the stamina to ride a bike for four hours. Blowtox PM:  Eliminates the urge to be a late-night wind-bag.

• Observational Humor — Case Study #50

  John Kinde

  28 Jan 2010 | 8:36 am

  Here is another Observational Humor monologue from the second day of a Fripp Speakers School. THE SET-UP (What happened and what was said during the workshop) 1.  Someone sitting next to Isaak mentioned that her fingers were tingling.  Someone else joked that it wasn’t BECAUSE she was sitting next to Isaak. 2.  Fripp said that Botox, used in facial cosmetic surgery, causes the face to lack expression. 3.  Fripp used a gesture when she said “the words” (fingers sweeping from below the chin to in front of the mouth).  She said that it had an obscene meaning in Italian,…

• Cartoon Caption Contest Results — Health Care

  John Kinde

  22 Jan 2010 | 6:23 pm

  We had a lot of fun entries for our January Cartoon Caption Contest.  The cartoon featured professional cartoonist Dan Rosandich. New Cartoon Caption Contests are announced at the start of the month, alternating months. New Joke Contests are announced on the first of the month, alternating months. Here are this month’s top captions: ** FIRST PLACE ** I was right!  My ex-boyfriend was spineless!      Carol Sauceda, Santa Barbara, California, USA ** SECOND PLACE **   Let’s speed it up! The other “Iron Surgeon America” team is almost ready to close.      Sol …

• Observational Humor — Case Study #49

  John Kinde

  6 Jan 2010 | 1:19 pm

  Let’s look at some Observational Humor from a Toastmasters meeting which highlight some humor techniques:   – Call backs and running gags.   – Dropping yourself into the story.   – What this means is.   – What everybody is thinking. Here are some of the set-ups (what happened at the meeting), followed by the observational humor remarks. The first set-up.  The Toastmaster of the evening (emcee) selected a meeting theme of Star Wars.  He said that he had obtained genuine Star Wars story boards from a vendor in Nigeria.  He had created humorous story boards…

• New Year’s Humor Resolutions

  John Kinde

  1 Jan 2010 | 6:16 am

  Another year begins.  And with it comes New Years Resolutions. Here are a few you may consider adding to your list to help you tune your humor radar and exercise your sense of humor.  1.  One of the challenges of a New Year’s Resolution is that the goal is so massive that you don’t know where to start.  As a result, you don’t!  You can solve that problem by breaking the resolution down in to smaller bites.  What is the First Step toward achieving that desired goal?  2.  Enter one of our contests this month.  First Step:  Take just five minutes to look over the…

• 
  Pivotal Public Speaking

• Public Speaking and Adult Learning Principles

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:02 am

  If you haven’t already–as a public speaker, you should dedicate yourself to a lifetime study of adult learning principles. It will pay you colossal dividends. And there’s a lifetime of “adult learning stuff” to learn. Today we’ll look at one such principle; Elaborative Rehearsal. It’s more than practice. It’s a proactive approach of making the most out of past learning in order to maximize new learning. For your audiences to make the most out of this proven learning and memory technique, you will have to teach them. Most adult learners just…

• Eight Speakers Look Ahead to 2010

  6 Feb 2010 | 6:08 am

  Kate Mytty writes: Like many industries, the speaking and publishing businesses have just breathed a sigh of relief that 2009 is over, and are looking forward to a better 2010. All the experts are saying that the recovery will be slow; that’s the conventional wisdom. But for a deeper, more thoughtful look ahead, we went out to some of our favorite speaker-authors and asked them what they’re thinking about right now as they ponder the year to come. And they came back in great form, with unusual insights and perspectives. Here’s a sneak peek what they’ll be telling audiences around the…

• Seating Strategies to Engage and Involve Your Audience… and Boost Back-of-Room Sales

  6 Feb 2010 | 6:06 am

  with Paul O. Radde, PhD Your normally well-received presentation isn’t going so well. You are used to people laughing, nodding, and being engaged, but this room is set with rounds of 8 and people’s backs are to you. And the last row is so far back you can’t see their eyes. Or maybe you’re a light-hearted speaker and the rigid straight-across rows don’t allow anyone to see each other, which you know is critical for humor. What is the right setup for your presentation? How do you specify and educate meeting planners to set the room to get more engagement from the…

• Using Computer Presentation Programs effectively

  5 Feb 2010 | 6:22 am

  People are tired of worn-out power point presentations! Does this mean we should jettison the technology and go back to the “stone age”, as one person put it, in giving our presentations? No more than we should ban television because of the likes of Jerry Springer and Temptation Island. The medium itself is not to blame, it is how that medium is used that falls short. Too often, presenters rely solely on their software to provide every bit of their presentation’s creativity. The problem with this approach is that the entertainment value of PowerPoint and other programs,…

• Add to Your Speaking Revenue as a Professional Emcee

  30 Jan 2010 | 6:06 am

  Add to Your Speaking Revenue as a Professional Emcee with Mark Standriff Are you looking for additional sources of income in these difficult financial times? Have you ever considered being an emcee? Marketing yourself as a master of ceremonies not only provides value-added opportunities for potential clients, but also gives you access to high-profile events for which you might never be considered as a main speaker. Emceeing is a different skill from delivering a speech. It requires different marketing, and certainly demands different preparation — there are a number of challenges you should…

• 
  DeFinis Communications

• Great Public Speaking – Right in Your Own Backyard

  Angela DeFinis

  5 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

  One of the many reasons why I enjoy living in the Bay Area is the seemingly endless opportunities to hear good speakers. I am a member of Left Coast Writers (LCW), and recently attended our monthly Literary Salon held at Book Passage Independent bookstore in Corte Madera, CA. Under the direction of author and speaker, Linda Watanabe McFerrin, LCW provides the literary community with resources, readings, writing tips, networking, literary chat and generally great fun. If you’re a writer, you want to be there. Our meeting began with Linda taking the podium to welcome the enthusiastic audience…

• Public Speaking and the New Year

  Angela DeFinis

  26 Jan 2010 | 6:19 am

  For many, 2009 was a struggle. Fortunately, the worst of the economic downturn seems to have passed. In its wake, many people were left wondering what had just happened and what they could have done differently. But as we enter the new calendar year, most of us switch from reflection to resolution. Responding to adversity with hope is a beautiful element of humanity, and the inspiration behind dedicating this latest installment of my public speaking blog carnival to the New Year. Below you will find many inspiring compositions from an exceptional group of public speakers. I offer my deepest…

• Content Tips: How Much is Too Much?

  Angela DeFinis

  22 Jan 2010 | 10:46 am

  I’ve been working with a group of technical professionals this week and am running into a familiar techie issue. My technical guys love monologue. And the longer, more data packed and deeply obscure the better. They make the case that if they are speaking to a technical audience, a complex presentation is expected; and, as long as that presentation is well structured, I can go along with it. The problem is that most of these presenters are techies speaking to a non-technical prospect. And that prospectis far more interested in the solution to his/her problem than in hearing the technical…

• Sorry to have to ask. Will you please stop apologizing?

  Angela DeFinis

  19 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am

  I recently had lunch with a friend who I haven’t seen in a long time. It was a wonderful reunion and great to catch up with her. As we sat and talked I realized that my friend spent a great deal of time apologizing. Once I heard this pattern emerge I listened more carefully. Here’s what she said: “I’m sorry to tell you this.” “This might not be something you want to hear.” “I’m sorry, I know this sounds silly.” “I know you’ll think I’m nuts.”“Please don’t think I’m crazy.” “This may completely turn you off.” “I hate to even bring this up.” “I’m…

• Dying to be a Public Speaker?

  Angela DeFinis

  14 Jan 2010 | 8:59 am

  I got a call today from a woman who owns a bakery that specializes in selling gluten free products—cookies, biscotti, scones and other wonderful wheat free foods. She has a good niche market but wants to grow her business—and someone told her to look into public speaking as an avenue to get the word out. I told her I thought it was a great idea and I’d love to help. Then I asked, “Do you like speaking in front of groups?” She gasped (literally) and said “why no, I’m scared to death. That’s why I’m calling you.” She was hoping that I could help her overcome her fear.

• 
  Business Presentations

• Take Your Meetings to a New Level with Facilitation Techniques

  Business Presentations

  4 Feb 2010 | 1:27 pm

  Do your meetings fall flat? Do you have difficulty getting a discussion going? Do discussions go off track? Leading a meeting requires more than good presentation skills. When the purpose is to get information and opinions from others it's imperative to have good facilitation skills. There is a process to asking good questions and eliciting participation from everybody.Learn four facilitation techniques from this brief video.DiResta Communications, Inc. Communicating With Impact!

• Jobs, Obama Say, “Welcome To My World!”

  Business Presentations

  29 Jan 2010 | 2:26 pm

  Ruth Sherman recently wrote an article for Fast Company comparing the presentation styles of Steve Jobs launching the ipad and Barak Obama giving the state of the union address. Their styles are different but they each have their own strengths. Read what Ruth had to say in this interesting article.http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ruth-sherman/lip-service/jobs-obama-say-welcome-my-world?1264802296DiResta Communications, Inc. Communicating With Impact!

• Press Release: Women in Power: Are You Living On Purpose?

  Business Presentations

  21 Jan 2010 | 1:43 pm

  Westport, CT (1/21/2010): Diane DiResta, top speaking strategist and founder and CEO of DiResta Communications, a communication skills consulting company, was invited to be one of four panelists, all successful women entrepreneurs, at the Women in Power networking event on Wednesday at the Westport Woman's Club. DiResta and fellow panel members discussed how to increase passion in the areas that matter most to business - Business Planning, Communications Impact, Financial Strategies, and Networking that works. The theme was "Living on Purpose: The Foundations for Successful Business Building…

• The Biggest Mistake in Sales Presentations

  Business Presentations

  17 Jan 2010 | 12:58 pm

  So what do you think is the biggest mistake in sales presentations?Selling features instead of benefits?Talking too much and not listening?Not knowing the product? In a recent presentation, Ron Karr, of Karr Associates, Inc. and author of Lead, Sell or Get Out of the Way, asked the audience, "What are you selling?" People responded by calling out their products and services. Ron went on to say that one of the biggest mistakes in sales is selling the "how" instead of the "what"."You're selling outcomes", declared Ron. He challenged the audience to get clear about the outcomes their audience or…

• 911 for Speaking Bloopers

  Business Presentations

  12 Jan 2010 | 6:09 pm

  If you've ever seen the outtakes of a movie or TV show, it can be quite funny. The actors make mistakes and then they laugh about it.But what about public speaking bloopers? Suddenly it doesn't seem so funny. I watched a man give a presentation with his fly open. Another presenter had the slides in the wrong order. President Bush frequently mispronounced words. And I once knocked over a cup of coffee while giving a seminar!We're going to make mistakes. That's a given. But how you handle the mistake is what counts. What's your recovery strategy?I ask my audiences to think of their worst fear.

• 
  Public Speaking Advice and Commentary

• Basic principles of persuasive rhetoric – 3

  Nick Morgan

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:48 am

  Principle III:  Persuasive rhetoric deals with problems and solutions.  Think of a communication — whether a formal meeting, a one-on-one discussion about some issue the business faces, a speech, or a chance get-together in the hall — as a twofold exercise. The first step is to get agreement about a need, a problem, or an issue that you have in common. The second step is to explore solutions together. It’s that simple: problem first, then solution. Thinking in these terms will help you structure your informal comments in conversations, meetings, and off-the-cuff remarks.

• Basic Principles of Persuasive Rhetoric – 2

  Nick Morgan

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:11 am

  Principle II:  Persuasive rhetoric has a clear goal in mind and is usually transparent about it.  When you negotiate, you have a BATNA (the best alternative to a negotiated agreement): the minimum that you’ve decided you must achieve or you walk away. The same should be true in communications. Is the meeting you’re calling with an important client to do some specific business or just to keep the connection strong? Let the other party know, so that there are no broken hearts along the way. If the agenda hasn’t been set beforehand, get agreement on it in the first few minutes…

• Basic Principles of Persuasive Rhetoric – 1

  Nick Morgan

  4 Feb 2010 | 2:22 pm

  Principle I:  Persuasive rhetoric is about phrasing your arguments so that your listeners can hear them.  I’m going to do a series of blogs on persuasive content – aka rhetoric – to match the series I just finished on nonverbal communication.  I have seen good speakers – and speeches – go bad time and time again because a well-intentioned person or a good idea didn’t meet the audience halfway.  If you want to connect with someone, or some group, you have to do your homework and learn how that person or group communicates.  In short, you need to speak…

• Basic principles of nonverbal communication – 10

  Nick Morgan

  3 Feb 2010 | 10:50 am

  Principle X:  Authenticity and charisma derive from becoming open, connected, passionate and listening with and to your audience.  Authenticity comes from aligning your content – the things you say – with your nonverbal communication – your body language.  Another way of saying it is that you have to align your emotions and your message.  In the end, it’s a matter of believing what you say and saying what you believe.  The alternative is to pretend, and most of us are not very good actors.  The few that have that skill are already living in…

• Basic Principles of Nonverbal Communication – 9

  Nick Morgan

  2 Feb 2010 | 8:22 am

  Principle IX:  To be perceived as an authentic public person, you must align your nonverbal and verbal ‘conversations’.  This means aligning your emotional intent with your conscious thought.  Most of us in the work world spend a good deal of our time saying one thing and doing another.  By that I mean our body language is at variance with our overt verbal messages.  We’re in a meeting, say, and it has been going on for an hour, and lunch is approaching, and what are we doing?  We’re trying our best to conceal our signs of impatience and…

• 
  Presentation skills ~ tellingpeople

• Lectern lesson two for presenting

  simon

  3 Feb 2010 | 5:51 am

  I recently blogged briefly about a presentation skill I picked up from a crying baby in church and this (even more brief!) blog follows on from that…. Now to talk about presentation pitch…. I listened to the singing in the service. Over 200 people should make quite a decent amount of noise, especially as the hymn in [...]

• Presentation Lessons From the lectern

  simon

  1 Feb 2010 | 1:27 pm

  … and on this occasion I mean the lectern in my local church, last Sunday morning. Maybe it makes me a bad person who’s going to go to hell, but there were a couple of things I picked up from the service on Sunday which had less to do with God and more to [...]

• Is this thing on?

  simon

  25 Jan 2010 | 1:24 am

  I used to think it was a (bad) joke when I heard presenters checking the microphone was turned on by asking if it was. If it is, or course, the whole audience can hear you asking and your credibility takes a tumble before you even start. If it isn’t, no one knows you’re [...]

• presentation zen

  simon

  22 Jan 2010 | 5:12 am

  Long term readers will know I’m a great fan of the whole style of Presentation Zen. The books cool – but if you want to get a brief overview, this video takes less time to watch than the book takes to read!

• Index card notes

  simon

  17 Jan 2010 | 8:02 am

  I read a blog recently which suggested that putting the content of your presentation on 3-by-5 Index Cards wasn’t such a good idea. I don’t think I agree with the logic. (I should add, before I go on, that I like the blog in general – and in fact I wouldn’t have read-it-to-disagree-with-it [...]

• 
  Great Speaking Coach

• Audiences Applaud When You Give Them More with Less

  Susan Trivers

  4 Feb 2010 | 5:32 am

  A CEO is listening impassively as I describe to her my Write a Speech Now system. Write a Speech Now is a clear structure upon which you build your speech. It's like a road map or a blueprint. Her first comment in response was that she couldn't tell me her three key points right then. She had too much in her mind. That was fine because I know that you don't walk around with three key points clearly in your head. I asked her some questions: what does the audience care about--for their organizations, for their customers, for themselves? What are the obstacles they face to achieve…

• Shaking Up (Your Audience) is Hard to Do...

  Susan Trivers

  1 Feb 2010 | 6:41 am

  when you're boring them to death with slide after slide, drowning them with facts and logic, force-feeding them with all the content YOU want to tell them. Every single business person I have coached--CEOs, key execs, marketing, sales and technical presenters, professionals, entrepreneurs--has been in audiences when they've experienced these horrible speeches and presentations. Yet, they are poised to do the same to their audiences! The good news is that they don't want to do the same and that's why they've come to me for help. I tell them to keep these three…

• Left Brains Need Their Right Brains

  Susan Trivers

  28 Jan 2010 | 6:10 am

  You'll be speaking to an audience of customers who are desperately searching for solutions to solve their difficult problems. Everyone is tense because the need is great. Your company has state-of-the-art technology that can help and you really want to make the sale. I guarantee that you will go to your computer, start searching for slides you've used before and assemble them into a deck for this audience. Your slides will be dense with bullets describing every feature. You'll have process flow diagrams covering every imaginable decision-point. The visuals you have will show…

• Simple Words Evoke Many Interpretations

  Susan Trivers

  27 Jan 2010 | 5:55 am

  What does customer service mean? Or leadership or business process re-engineering? Your definition may barely resemble the way your colleague defines any word. In recent Presentation Skills workshops I've been leading I ask the group--10 colleagues who've worked together for at least several years--to write down the 10 words that come to mind when they hear a ve simple word--the word 'run'. After 30 seconds they pair up and compare lists. Of the 5 pairs in each group, not one pair had 3 or more matching words. In fact, only one pair had 2 matching words. For a simple…

• Get Close to Your Customers

  Susan Trivers

  21 Jan 2010 | 6:13 am

  You're giving a speech or presentation to a roomful of prospects, clients, industry experts, other stakeholders--how can you possibly "get close" to them? 99.5% of the time, someone has asked you to speak. (The other .5% you invite the audience yourself.) First step to getting close to your cusotmers is to have an enlightening conversation with the person asking you to speak. Second step is to call some of the people who will be in the audience. This is all part of your preparation for your appearance. Do not shirk this duty! What do you ask these people? Three specific…

• 
  Public Speakers Blog

• Should speakers thank the audience?

  steve

  2 Feb 2010 | 9:36 pm

  Seems like a pretty easy question to answer, but speakers have different beliefs about this. We get this question at every session of the Bill Gove Speech Workshop, and we give the workshop philosophy to the participants. Bill Gove, the father of professional speaking, felt very strongly about this. Listen to this 2-minute audio post and let us know what you think.

• Audience “Shocked and Stunned” by Senior Executives Comments on Speaking Business

  steve

  23 Jan 2010 | 8:32 am

  I interviewed a senior executive last weekend in Atlanta at the Siebold Success Network meeting for almost 2 hours onstage, and the audience of speakers was shocked at what she had to say. This executive hires some of the biggest speakers in the business, and she told the truth about what it takes to get hired at this level. As I’ve been saying over and over again in this blog, there’s a large group of speaker trainers getting rich telling people how easy the speaking business is and how you don’t have to be a good speaker to make it. They’re telling the masses of new…

• How to get booked as a professional speaker in the Fortune 500

  steve

  11 Jan 2010 | 11:47 am

  If you’re interested in speaking for the biggest, richest companies in the world but you haven’t been able to figure out how to do it, don’t feel bad. Fortune 500 companies have multiple gatekeepers whose only job is to screen and block calls from unknown vendors. The good news is there’s a secret to cracking the code, and there’s a group of speakers from 10 countries around the world who have banded together to help each other make it happen. All this group is missing is you!  Listen to this post and then visit www.sieboldsuccessnetwork.com    Steve Siebold

• To All Aspiring Professional Speakers: What are you waiting for?

  steve

  31 Dec 2009 | 11:11 am

  In mental toughness training, I speak to Fortune 500 sales teams about critical thinking to increase sales. For all of you who have the dream of being a fee paid professional speaker, I have a critical thinking question for you. I ask this question completely out of love. After all, I dreamed the same dream 15 years ago. We are kindred spirits. Listen to this post and do some soul searching this New years eve. I really want you to make it in this business. The reality is as good as the dream!  YOU can do it!  Happy New Year, 2010! Steve Siebold

• Is The Speaking Business Really That Easy?

  steve

  20 Dec 2009 | 5:38 pm

  There’s a group of people in the speaking industry telling emerging speakers how easy it is to become a successful professional speaker. Back in 1996, the year I started my full time speakering career, I heard the same thing. It turns out the people perpetuating this lie are profiting from it. Chances are they’re trying to sell you a seminar, book publishing deal, or CVD or DVD product that tells you how to make it. Some of these people are even telling speakers they don’t have to be good on the platform to make it. Of course none of what they say is true, but new speakers…

• 
  Guy Kawasaki

• How to Avoid Gullibility

  GuyKawasaki

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:45 pm

  We’ve all been sucked into doing something stupid, right? Fortunately, Steven Greenspan has written a book called Annals of Gullibility. In its conclusion he explains how to avoid gullibility, and I’ve provided a synopsis for you. Read the full story at the American Express Open Forum. More on psychology if you need the advice.

• How to Be Empathetic

  GuyKawasaki

  4 Feb 2010 | 10:24 pm

  By definition, good marketers are empathetic. That is, they have a capacity to understand and care for the needs of others. Bruna Martinuzzi explains how to be empathetic over at the American Express Open Forum.

• How to Not Be Annoying on Twitter

  GuyKawasaki

  4 Feb 2010 | 10:19 pm

  Amber MacArthur explains how to not be annoying on Twitter over at the American Express Open Forum. Sage advice for you to develop a great reputation and following on Twitter. More Twitter tips.

• The Elements of Guyle: British Blogging

  GuyKawasaki

  27 Jan 2010 | 10:06 pm

  Want to make your blog classier? You should blog like a Brit. I explain how to do this in ten easy steps.

• How to follow the Apple announcement

  GuyKawasaki

  27 Jan 2010 | 7:56 am

  Follow the Apple announcement at Apple.alltop. We aggregate over 200 sources there.

• 
  The Heart of Innovation

• Innovation from the Inside Out

  3 Feb 2010 | 7:58 am

  These days, almost all of my clients are talking about the need to establish a culture of innovation. Some, I'm happy to report, are actually doing something about it. Hallelujah! They are taking bold steps forward to turn theory into action. The challenge for them is the same as it's always been -- and that is, to find a simple, authentic way to address the challenge from the inside out -- to water the root of the tree, not just the branches. Guess what? Systems are not sufficient to guarantee change. In the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes, "Systems die. Instinct remains."

• Get Deeply In Touch With the Passion to Create!

  30 Jan 2010 | 6:48 am

  If you want to CREATE something extraordinary, you're going to need some of the spirit that Dean Schambach exudes. When the true force of creativity is burning bright in every cell of your body, all the rest will follow. Hats off to David McDonald, Woodstock filmmaker, for this pearl of brilliance. More Dean More David

• Want a Brainstorming Breakthrough? Get the Right Question!

  28 Jan 2010 | 1:06 pm

  There's a simple reason why so many brainstorm sessions are a waste of time. The problem statement being pitched to participants is the wrong one. This is not surprising -- especially when you consider how little time most facilitators put into preparing for a session. Here's what happens: The person who calls the session is usually scrambling -- overwhelmed, over-caffeinated, and running from one meeting to the next. Out of breath, they pitch the topic to the group, but the topic is either vague or secondary to a more essential challenge that remains unspoken. G.K. Chesterton, one of the…

• Facilitating a Brainstorm Session Is Like Going to a Casino

  27 Jan 2010 | 6:41 pm

  Facilitating a brainstorm session is like going to a casino. You show up, find your favorite game, place your bet, and pray for luck. Sometimes you win. Most of the times, you lose. And the odds are always stacked against you. That's the way it is for most of us -- casual visitors to Vegas or Atlantic City or a neighborhood poker game. Then, of course, there are the professionals -- people who gamble for a living. They have a different approach. They know how to find an edge. They count cards. They calculate the odds. They read body language. They know when to hold 'em and know when to fold…

• If You Want to Spark Bold New Ideas, Facilitate (Don't Lead)

  26 Jan 2010 | 8:18 pm

  Here's one of the dirty little secrets of corporate brainstorm sessions: When they are led by upper management, department heads, or project leaders, they usually get manipulated. Because honchos and honchettes are heavily invested in the topic being brainstormed, it is quite common for them to bend the collective genius of the group to their own particular point of view. Not a good idea. Participants -- out of respect for the expertise (or position or parking space) of the facilitator -- will invariably moderate their input. And while this can sometimes lead to good results, the results are…

• 
  Zen Habits

• On minimalism

  Leo

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:26 pm

  Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter. How does ’simple’ differ from ‘minimalist’? That’s the question someone asked me on Twitter recently, and it’s a good one. Zen Habits has become known as a leading simplicity blog, and at the same time I recently started mnmlist, a blog about minimalism. Why the two blogs? What’s the difference? It’s an important question as it forces us to examine each concept a little more closely. First, let’s acknowledge that the two concepts are related, and in some ways are two ways of saying the…

• 12 Classic Zen Habits Posts You Might Not Have Read

  Leo

  6 Feb 2010 | 4:37 pm

  “There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter. This morning I found myself lying around, enjoying a lazy weekend with my wife and kids, basking in the peaceful simplicity of today. It’s in these moments that I find not only my greatest happiness, but my purpose in life. I am here not to achieve or even to change the world, but simply to live. Life is a gift, and I’m happy to accept every moment of it. And so, in this spirit, I thought I’d dig through my archives and share a few favorite posts, to…

• 9 Unconventional Steps to a Thriving, “Very Small” Business

  Leo

  4 Feb 2010 | 7:00 am

  Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Non-Conformity. For more than ten years I’ve operated a string of one-man businesses. My model is: keep it lean, hire no one, and outsource very little. I’ve made my share of mistakes (a long list!), but one thing has remained constant—I want to add extreme value to my customers, and I want to make a good living without simply creating a job for myself. Here’s what I’ve learned. 1. Hire no one. My Unconventional Guides business took off in early 2009, and for a while I felt an internal…

• Zen Habits Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  Leo

  1 Feb 2010 | 2:57 pm

  Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter. I get asked a lot of questions, many of them repeatedly, and I figured instead of answering them all over and over, I’d compile my answers for everyone here. Of course, there’s a lot more about me and this site on the About page, and I’d always love it if you checked out the Books page. I hope you find this useful! 1. Why did you turn off comments on Zen Habits? This has been the most difficult decision I’ve made since starting Zen Habits, as I truly loved comments here. I love hearing from readers, and it was my…

• How Not to Hurry

  Leo

  28 Jan 2010 | 4:56 pm

  “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” ~ Lao Tzu Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter. Consider the above quote from Lao Tzu, (perhaps mythical) father of Taoism: how can it be true? Is it possible to never hurry, but to get everything done? It seems contradictory to our modern world, where everything is a rush, where we try to cram as much into every minute of the day as possible, where if we are not busy, we feel unproductive and lazy. In fact, often we compete by trying to show how busy we are. I have a thousand projects to do! Oh yeah? I have 10,000! The…

• 
  Design daily news

• Featured designer: Adrien Quartenoud

  Mirko

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:51 pm

  Can you introduce yourself to our readers? My name is Adrien Quartenoud and I’m a freelance graphic designer in Fribourg, Switzerland. I work under the name of “Fluide Graphic Design” and my activities include print design, web design and video. What was your motivation to start learning design? My parents own a country-wide famous company. They always were full of ideas to find new projects, new ideas. In primary school used to already enjoy suggesting designs to them for these projects! Then I directed my studies toward this job that I liked before I could name it. How do…

• Information is beautiful: 30 examples of creative infography

  Mirko

  1 Feb 2010 | 10:09 am

  Unfortunatly I never had the opportunity to do client work on an infography, but it seems to be one of the most challenging task for a graphic designer. The perfect infography must synthetize complex information in a simple visual representation, which is not easy. The following examples take information architecture to another level by making it beautiful. 1. Ancient Hebrew Cosmology 2. The modern listener guide 3. Missions to Mars 4. Food infography (I resized this one for the blog, click the link to see the original one that looks much better) 5. The hierachy of Digital distractions 6.

• iPad Nano: the iPad that fits in your pocket

  Mirko

  31 Jan 2010 | 1:30 pm

  I stumbled upon this picture this afternoon and found it quite funny. I’m wondering what are your thoughts on it? Is the iPad just a big ass iPhone for you or a new kind of device? What I saw from demos didn’t make me want one, but it seems that less tech-saavy people like it a lot. I’m curious to see how it will do, take your bets in the comments and we’ll take a look back in a year. Download animals vectors --- Post from: Graphic design blogiPad Nano: the iPad that fits in your pocket

• 50 amazing iPhone wallpapers

  Mirko

  28 Jan 2010 | 1:13 am

  With the iPad recent announcement, we should for sure soon see some cool iPad wallpapers appear. For now, many of you still own an iPhone and will probably want to make it look a little better and more customized. Displaying one of these fine looking iPhone wallpapers created by talented artists, for other format just take a look at my desktop wallpapers article. 1. The Art Lover 2. Inner asia 3. Ghostbuster 4. Old school biker 5. Google library 6. The Declaration 7. Metal type 8. Tiger 9. Doing good thanks 10. Two 11. December abstract 12. Aurora 13. William Morris 14. Vortex 15. Grungy 16.

• Thoughts on multilingual web design

  Mirko

  26 Jan 2010 | 6:53 am

  The moment you upload your meticulously constructed web pages onto the internet, you’re global. Internet users from Nebraska and New York, to Norway and the Netherlands all have equal access to the very same information you upload. If all you’re looking to do with your website or blog is to develop a strong global following, then you might just be fine with your English language website: after all, over half of the European Union (EU) alone speak English to some degree. However, if your plan is to build a successful, profitable international online enterprise, then you’ll need to plan…

• 
  TEDTalks (video)

• TEDTalks : Peter Eigen: How to expose the corrupt - Peter Eigen (2009)

  Peter Eigen

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:40 am

  Some of the world's most baffling social problems, says Peter Eigen, can be traced to systematic, pervasive government corruption, hand-in-glove with global companies. At TEDxBerlin, Eigen describes the thrilling counter-attack led by his organization Transparency International.

• TEDTalks : Tom Shannon: The painter and the pendulum - Tom Shannon (2009)

  Tom Shannon

  5 Feb 2010 | 7:08 am

  TED visits Tom Shannon in his Manhattan studio for an intimate look at his science-inspired art. An eye-opening, personal conversation with John Hockenberry reveals how nature's forces -- and the onset of Parkinson's tremors -- interact in his life and craft.

• TEDTalks : David Agus: A new strategy in the war on cancer - David Agus (2009)

  David Agus

  4 Feb 2010 | 7:00 am

  Traditionally, David Agus explains, cancer treatments have had a short-sighted focus on the offending individual cells. He suggests a new, cross-disciplinary approach, using atypical drugs, computer modeling and protein analysis to treat and analyze the whole body.

• TEDTalks : George Whitesides: A lab the size of a postage stamp - George Whitesides (2009)

  George Whitesides

  3 Feb 2010 | 7:01 am

  Traditional lab tests for disease diagnosis can be too expensive and cumbersome for the regions most in need. George Whitesides' ingenious answer, at TEDxBoston, is a foolproof tool that can be manufactured at virtually zero cost.

• TEDTalks : Jamie Heywood: The big idea my brother inspired - Jamie Heywood (2009)

  Jamie Heywood

  2 Feb 2010 | 7:37 am

  When Jamie Heywood's brother was diagnosed with ALS, he devoted his life to fighting the disease as well. The Heywood brothers built an ingenious website where people share and track data on their illnesses -- and they discovered that the collective data had enormous power to comfort, explain and predict.