Fun Facts About Pinterest Users
10 Friday May 2013
Posted in Infographic and Data Visualization
Why You Need A Visual Resume: Part One
08 Wednesday May 2013
Posted in Design, Visual Presentation
For the past six months, I’ve been writing articles for the Full Sail University blog and student/instructor platform: Connect. ”Why You Need A Visual Resume: Part One” debuted today, and I’d love to share it with you:
Please click here to read my article on the Full Sail University blog.
Effective Classroom Presentations
07 Tuesday May 2013
Posted in Education, Public Speaking and Presentation
Slideshare’s Twitter feed always introduces me to new slide decks and creative uploads from its users. Yesterday, Slideshare Tweeted this deck by Mohit Chhabra who says he “delivered [this] talk at Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) on May 03, 2013 addressing a group of nearly 50 higher-ed educators on the use of technology in the classroom to build engagement” (Source). Scroll through his deck below…
What I like most about Chhabra’s deck is that he focuses specifically on the teacher as a presenter. I never had this realization until I began teaching Public Speaking in 2010: a teacher’s job is to present for a living! This was a huge “ah-ha!” moment for me, so I decided that if I was going to be an effective teacher, I dang sure needed to know how to be a strong presenter.
Chhabra’s slides #25-27 talk about “the dip,” and this is something we as educators need to take seriously. If we let our students play on their laptops and their phones during class instead of paying attention to class material, they’re not even going to make it through those phases of “the dip.”
We have to work on teaching students the way that they learn, and Chhabra references John Medina’s Brain Rules. This book is essential for any educator. The lessons from Brain Rules apply directly to our classroom lectures/presentations, so we must work to develop content and slides that reinforce student engagement and learning…
Chhabra’s deck is helpful for all superteachers. I only wish I could have attended his conference presentation!
What was your “ah-ha!” moment as a teacher? Did it relate to public speaking and presentation? Share with me in the “comments” section!
The “I” in Simple by Chiara Ojeda
06 Monday May 2013
Posted in Design, Visual Presentation
Chiara Ojeda’s “Simple Design” series debuted on Slideshare earlier this year, and she is breaking down each piece on her blog. Read the introduction and first post of the simple design series here.
The “I” in simple is all about simplicity and displaying one idea per slide. To read Chiara’s second blog post in the Simple Design series, please click here.
Have you made the decision to join the presentation revolution? How do you work to design simple slides?
Juan Enriquez: Your online life, permanent as a tattoo
05 Sunday May 2013
Posted in Advice, Communication
Tags
advice, communication, Juan Enriquez, permanent as a tattoo, social media, TED, TED Talk, Your online life
Another huge reason I deactivated my Facebook account was because I found the social networking site becoming more and more invasive and terrifying. People complain about their work on Facebook; post really negative images and ideas; document personal details about their lives; and forget that their every move is behind recorded for eternity.
Juan Enriquez’s TED Talk “Your online life, permanent as a tattoo” explains the now-blurred lines between public and private life. Everything we do on the Internet is our “online tattoo” that will live far longer than we will. To me, this idea is scary.
Of course, Enriquez doesn’t focus exclusively on Facebook, though, I would argue, this is the place people share the most about their private life. Enriquez’s four lessons can help us navigate the online world: 1) be careful what you post; 2) don’t look too far in the past of those you love; 3) remember the purpose (don’t get distracted by those “golden apples”); and 4) don’t fall in love with your own reflection. To be able to follow these lessons, we definitely need perspective. Can you imagine being 13 or 14 years old and understanding the magnitude of what you’re doing online?
What did you think about Enriquez’s TED Talk? How do you maintain your online persona? Is your online tattoo largely positive or negative?
Two Years Without Facebook: Part Two
03 Friday May 2013
Posted in Advice, Communication
Back in May 2012, I wrote one of my favorite Creating Communication blog posts called “My Year Without Facebook.” This May will mark a milestone… I’ve lived Facebook-free for two years. Check out “Two Years Without Facebook: Part One” before reading the second half of the article.
In “9 things I learned from deleting my Facebook account,” college student Kendra Benner offers some lessons on her experiences living Facebook free. These lessons reveal it IS possible to live without Facebook; that social media gives an artificial sense of connection; that birthdays are more special; and that Facebook can hurt real life relationships. I’d like to explore these four lessons after my two years of living without Facebook. Today, we will discuss Benner’s final two points…
It’s true. I didn’t get as many “happy birthday” messages on April 4, 2013 as I would have in 2010. On my birthday this year, I got phone calls and in-person best wishes along with a few texts. Instead of 100 people wishing me a happy birthday, I had about 10… my family and closest friends. For me, the day was even more special than it would have been if I’d had Facebook because these people took the time to remember my birthday and – without the prompt of a Facebook calendar – reached out to me. Now that was special to me.
Benner’s article included this gem from a former Facebook user named Kristina: “When I was on Facebook I had all of these people saying ‘Happy birthday’ to me, but it was insignificant because they wouldn’t have said that otherwise. I guess it shows you who cares enough to pay attention to those things versus public information” (Source).
This goes back to the question of quality versus quantity. Is it better to have 600 “Happy Birthday” messages on your Facebook page, or is it better to have 6 people reach out to you in different ways (a phone call, a present, a card)? For me, quality has become much more important.
Facebook encourages stalking. Benner’s article explains that Facebook can cause rifts in close relationships, especially romantic ones. For example, college student Kristina says, “I was seeing a lot of people Facebook-creeping on their boyfriends’ friends who were girls — ‘He posted this,’ and, ‘She posted that on his page.’ It was a manifestation of jealousy or curiosity beyond what’s healthy” (Source). Being able to learn more about a person you just met through old photos and posts from other people is a double-edged sword. Yes, it’s interesting to learn more about someone who makes your heart flutter, but the mystery is part of why dating is so much fun. Facebook takes out a bit of that mystery if you know what your crush is doing at all hours of the day.
Facebook stalking a crush happens about as often as Facebook stalking an ex. In “The anti-social network,” four people tell their stories about deactivating their Facebook accounts. The CNN article says, “A bad breakup: Nothing can be as emotionally tumultuous for a young heart… Except maybe finding out via your Facebook newsfeed that your college ex is dating someone from your fraternity. That was the defining moment that eventually led Brolin Walters, 24, to ultimately break up with something else: Facebook. ‘I didn’t want to see what was going on with them,’ said Walters. ‘So I deactivated my account’” (Source). Walters’ self control is uncommon; most of us jeopardize our emotional stability and mental health on a daily basis by stalking everyone: former and current friends; former and current boyfriends; co-workers; bosses; our boyfriends’ ex-girlfriends; and even strangers.
People without Facebook are a rare breed, and they are suspicious to the outside world according to Forbes (Source). I can attest to the disbelief I hear every day when I tell people I don’t have Facebook. One afternoon in early 2013, I was in the parking lot at work and crossed paths with a co-worker. She said we should connect on Facebook, and I told her I didn’t have an account. ”What world are you living in?” the co-worker asked with a laugh. I paused for a minute to think about her question. ”The real world,” I replied. ”I am living in the real world.”
What world have you been living in? Have you made the choice to limit your Facebook time or to deactivate altogether? Share your Facebook story with me in the comments section!
Two Years Without Facebook: Part One
02 Thursday May 2013
Posted in Advice, Communication
Back in May 2012, I wrote one of my favorite Creating Communication blog posts called “My Year Without Facebook.” This May will mark a milestone… I’ve lived Facebook-free for two years. How much time do you think you’ve spent on Facebook during the last two years? The average American in my age bracket spends 3.8 hours per day on Facebook (Source). That’s nearly 3,000 hours in a two year timespan. WOW! Would you consider any of those 3,000 hours productive? I’d venture to guess that most of that time was wasted. What else could you have been doing? What important goals could you have accomplished? What classes could you be taking… what exercise could you be doing? Who could you have been developing relationships with in the real world?
The BBC reports that this generation of young people are out of control with their Facebook usage. When they are asked to report their favorite hobbies, they don’t say dance or football, going to the mall or going on a road trip. One of their favorite things to do is to check their Facebook (Source). I have a serious problem with that.
Since I deleted my Facebook account, I find myself becoming less and less patient with people who use the social media site. My students can’t wait until we get a break or until lunch so they can get on Facebook. I sit at a red light shaking my head incredulously as I watch the girl in the car next to me access Facebook from her phone. Facebook is what we do when we’re bored, when we’re lonely, when we have a single second of down time. We can’t just wait in the checkout aisle of the grocery store; we have to get on Facebook. As I watch the world around me live and breathe Facebook, I consider my experiences during the last two years. I don’t hesitate to say that these years have been the most productive of my entire life. I don’t waste time on Facebook, and I find that I don’t waste time generally speaking, either. Breaking my social media addiction for me meant becoming a more productive version of myself.
In “9 things I learned from deleting my Facebook account,” college student Kendra Benner offers some lessons on her experiences living Facebook free. These lessons reveal it IS possible to live without Facebook; that social media gives an artificial sense of connection; that birthdays are more special; and that Facebook can hurt real life relationships. I’d like to explore these four lessons after my two years of living without Facebook. This two-part article will contains all four lessons. Today, we will discuss the first two…
Everyone I know has Facebook. Everyone I know who deleted Facebook went back to it after a short period of time. Consider Creating Communication commenter Miguel. After a successful 30 day Facebook fast, his goal was to go 365 days without the social media website. He had initial problems with family and friends not wanting him to deactivate; he found himself logging in and reactivating his account a few times a week; and after only four months, he felt peer-pressured by friends into rejoining. Check out Miguel’s journey here.
Miguel’s story is common. People initially feel excited and more productive without Facebook; however, the desire to “connect” and stay in the loop with friends proves strong. Our desire to fit in trumps our desire to lead healthier lives every single time.
What do I mean by “healthier” lives? Staring at a computer screen harms our eyes. And sitting around on a computer all day is literally killing us. We much prefer staying in and playing with a computer as opposed to going out and exercising. Experts can say it until the cows come home, and even though we know it’s true, laziness is far easier than productivity.
The same is true with cell phones. Instead of living in the real world and experiencing life as it happens, we’ve come to rely on our cell phones as security blankets. We whip them out so we don’t feel alone, so we can connect with others… It is frightening that we have a difficult time being alone with our thoughts.
For me, based on my 7 years using it and 2 years without it, Facebook is almost synonymous with laziness and insecurity. What do you think?
Benner writes, “If you have whatever amount of Facebook friends, you feel like those people care about you and you actually have this community, but that’s not always the case. I definitely value quality friendships over quantity, so it was kind of a superficial sense of connection” (Source). I agree that social media provides an illusion of friendship and connection with others. Reading Sherry Turkle’s book and watching her TED Talk sold me. ”Face-to-face interaction teaches ‘skills of negotiation, of reading each other’s emotion, of having to face the complexity of confrontation, dealing with complex emotion,’ Turkle says. She thinks people who feel they are too busy to have conversations in person are not making the important emotional connections they otherwise would” (Source). I first discovered Turkle after listening to her half-hour interview with NPR’s Terry Gross, and I highly recommend the story.
Many people report feeling anxious if they post something on Facebook and don’t immediately get a “Like” or a comment. The constant reaffirmation that what you’re doing is “right” or “supported” shows how vulnerable and self-conscious we are. Facebook preys on our insecurities, on our vulnerabilities, and on our need to belong. All-day Facebook users are addicted to that reaffirmation, and that isn’t a good thing.
Most of us collect Facebook friends. We meet someone in a bar or at class and add them to our growing list. Do we have 800 friends? 2,000? 4,000? The popularity contest we engage in on Facebook reminds me of a celebrity collecting fans. The person with the most friends/fans wins, right? Not quite… Studies show Americans have – on average – two real, trustworthy friends (Source). If most of us have two best friends, what is the point of the 2,548 others we’ve collected on Facebook? To brag about our amazing lives? To show off? To prove something? To compare our lives with others?
I’ve found that since I deleted my Facebook, I focus on cultivating real relationships with people. What does that mean? During the past two years, my goal has been to spend less time on the Internet and on the phone and more time in person with people I care about. Because of this personal commitment to nurturing in-person relationships, I’ve had more brunches, more cocktail hours, more workout sessions, and more fun face-to-face with people than I would have two years ago. How do YOU balance connecting on Facebook with connecting in real life?
Stay tuned for Two Years Without Facebook: Part Two tomorrow for the remaining two lessons.
Debunking the Mehrabian Myth
01 Wednesday May 2013
Posted in Advice, Communication
I’m not afraid to admit it… The first time I heard it, I totally believed the Mehrabian Myth! Mehrabian’s research claimed that the meaning of a message is communicated 7% by words, 38% by tone of voice, and 55% by body language (Source). I quickly bought into this idea because body language and tone of voice are so important to the meaning behind a message.
Upon further investigation, however, not only was this idea a myth, but it was also hard to believe I once thought it was completely logical! ”Busting the Mehrabian Myth” is quite possibly the best “debunking” I’ve seen. Public speaking coach Lisa Braithwaite shared this on Twitter this week:
After checking out the video, I also spent quite a bit of time on Coach Lisa B’s website. Visit her website, Speak To Engage, here. She has quite an interesting blog called Speak Schmeak which you can read here. Her most recent post on Miss America introductions is really funny.
What great communication blogs have you stumbled upon this week?
Nilofer Merchant’s “Got a meeting? Take a walk!”
29 Monday Apr 2013
Posted in Public Speaking and Presentation
Instead of meeting for to coffee or in conference rooms, what if you went on a walking meeting? I’ve been excited about Nilofer Merchant’s TED Talk since I first heard she was presenting at TED. Her short and sweet presentation definitely didn’t disappoint!
Nancy Duarte interviewed Nilofer Merchant in December 2012, and I have been following Merchant on Twitter ever since. Learn more about Merchant’s work here.
What great TED Talks have you been watching lately?
Links of the Week: 2013.10
28 Sunday Apr 2013
Tags
Andrew Dlugan, Conor Neill, Ethos3, links of the week, metaphor, presentation, public speaking, Sally Hogshead
This weekend, I decided to power off the laptop, ignore all emails, and push the cell phone away to take an actual vacation. Hooray! Feeling rested and a bit sunburned, I’ve spent the evening catching up on my reading. I learned about the power of a visual metaphor from Ethos3 and how to fascinate my audience from Conor Neill.
Ethos3′s blog contains some of my favorite posts on presentation and public speaking. What I like most about Ethos3′s blog is the length and writing style: they focus on short, concise posts that pack a punch. This week was no different, and “The Power of a Visual Metaphor” explains the importance of metaphor to explain complex ideas more simply. On Friday of last week, my students and I analyzed Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in class, and we all felt the “blank check” metaphor Dr. King used resonated with us. Have you ever listened to a speech and felt the power of an unexpected metaphor? If not, take another listen to “I Have a Dream” for the blank check metaphor along with many, many others. (Andrew Dlugan provides a great analysis of many of Dr. King’s metaphors here). What we learn from Ethos3 is that a strong metaphor “takes the technical concept and makes it digestible for a wider audience; the visual makes it stick” (Source). Learn more about the metaphor by reading Ethos3′s blog post.
Conor Neill’s “How to Get Attention: The 7 Triggers of Fascination” explains the importance of the introductory hook, the first impression, the punch. Neill references Sally Hogshead’s 7 triggers of fascination and her TEDx Talk, and I’ve been excited to read her book Fascinate for several months now. The idea that a presentation needs a powerful hook is not new; however, the way Hogshead approaches how to fascinate people or audiences is interesting. Neill’s article references Hogshead’s 7 approaches to fascination: 1) power, 2) passion, 3) mystique, 4) prestige, 5) alarm, 6) vice, and 7) trust. Have you read Hogshead’s book? Do you know which of these is your primary trigger? Which do you use the most in a presentation to captivate your audiences? Which do you think is least effective?
What great articles on public speaking and presentation did you stumble upon this week?
