Currently Reading… How To Be A Presentation God

Tags

currently reading, Currently..., Ethos3, How To Be A Presentation God, Scott Schwertly

Since I learned about Ethos3 last year, I’ve been a superfan.  Not only do they post amazing articles on their blog about all things public speaking and presentation, but they also design gorgeous slideshows.  Check out their most recent stuff on Slideshare here.  And how can you not love that description?

“Stop! Please don’t present those bullet point ravaged slides. We’re here to save you from yourself. Hand them over. Seriously, give them to us. We’ll streamline and beautify your deck so your audience will be spared death by PowerPoint. We’re Ethos3, a presentation design agency in Nashville, TN. We’ve worked with some pretty huge clients, like Google, Coke and NBC. Visit our website at http://www.ethos3.com for more information on how we can help you change the world with your next presentation” (Source).

About a month ago, I also blogged about the company’s CEO, Scott Schwertly, and his book, How To Be A Presentation God.  Read my original post here.  Now that I re-read my own words, I agree that the post sounds like a desperate plea for a free, autographed copy of Presentation God… and Scott was generous enough to answer my prayers!

When I got home from teaching my precious angels this afternoon, I found a hardcover copy of the text in my mailbox.  And when I opened it, I was sucked in for about a half hour before I realized I needed to accomplish something on my enormous “To Do” list.

My first impression?  The book is insanely good.  Scott is a great writer, and the pages I read were funny and engaging with practical examples (Ron Burgundy!).  Characters like The Smoke Monster and O2-E reinforce textual material, and Scott shows off his design skills to prove Ethos3 definitely deserved their Slideshare “World’s Best Presentation” first place award for the business category.  I have quite a few other books to read, but this one definitely jumped to the top of the list.  You’ll have your official review posted soon.

Thanks again, Scott!

Currently Reading… Bryan Goodwin’s Simply Better

Tags

Bryan Goodwin, currently reading, Currently..., education, leadership, pedagogy, Simply Better, student success, superteacher

While doing a little research on John Medina’s Brain Rules, I stumbled upon an article on a website called ASCD.  After investigating the website, I discovered that ASCD stands for the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and is an organization dedicated to education and developing an educator’s learning, teaching, and leadership potential (Source).  The article was based on a book written by Bryan Goodwin called Simply Better: Doing What Matters Most to Change the Odds for Student Success, and the entire first chapter was actually previewed on the ASCD website in this article.  This first chapter hooked me by its title alone: “Guaranteeing Challenging, Engaging, and Intentional Instruction.” After reading the entire Chapter 1, I was blown away.  Read it here.  It ties back to a book I recently read that really influenced my teaching philosophy: Carol Dweck’s Mindset.

After reading Chapter 1, I was so fascinated that I wanted to look into the author.  Bryan Goodwin has an impressive background.  Learn more about him here and here.  Personally, I love that Goodwin’s degrees are in rhetoric, communication studies, and professional writing because I pursued similar college degrees.  His company, Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL), is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educational research and development.  Clearly, many people are inspired by Goodwin and the work they do at McREL because it was awarded one of Denver, Colorado’s Top Work Places in 2012.  Learn more about McREL here.

Through my researching, investigating, reading, and stalking, I came to really admire Goodwin’s work.  I bookmarked the article and vowed to purchase his book soon.  But, as luck would have it, the week I read the article, a few sweetheart co-workers voted for me to win a faculty award at work, and for my prize, I was allowed to pick a “trinket” of my choice.  What did I pick?  You guessed it…

I’m re-reading Chapter One, and I can’t wait to dive into the remaining chapters on “Ensuring Curricular Paths to Success” and “Creating High-Performance School Cultures” among others.  As soon as I’m finished, I’ll write my review so that you can determine whether or not you’d like to purchase your own copy of Simply Better.

Currently Reading…

Tags

Alone Together, currently reading, Currently..., graphic design, Sherry Turkle

When I got home from our monthly department meeting on Thursday, I found two bright blue packages on my doorstep, and when I opened them, I was excited to see two books I’ve been waiting on for weeks now: Alone Together and Becoming A Graphic Designer.

I originally watched Sherry Turkle’s TED Talk back in May, and I’ve been excited to read the book upon which her TED  Talk was based.  It’s called Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other.  Though I haven’t yet finished the first chapter, I am already thrilled with this book.  Turkle is an amazing writer, and her ideas about social media and technology really pushed me over these past few months to change my lifestyle.

Image Credit

The second book I requested is called Becoming a Graphic Designer by Steven Heller and Teresa Fernandes.  It’s essentially a survey of the graphic design market, and I wanted to read it because I am obsessed with learning how to tell a story using the visual medium.  When I earned my first B.A. and M.A. degrees in English, it was because I was obsessed with story; literature and communicating through the written word was my whole world.  Since graduating in 2008, however, I’ve realized I have so much more to learn about story and communication.  After nearly three years and hundreds of hours of self-study, I’m returning to school for a second M.A. in Interpersonal Communication so I can feel as accomplished in the area of story and communication through the verbal medium: speech and conversation.  After I finish the second M.A., I’ll set my sights on storytelling and communication through visuals; a degree in graphic design is most certainly in my future.  My goal is to be an accomplished storyteller and communicator across all mediums and in both academia and the business world.

I stumbled across an amazing quote last week while perusing Pinterest.  It’s by fellow Chi Omega sister and Southerner Harper Lee.  Lee says, ”The book to read is not the one that thinks for you but the one which makes you think.”

What have you been reading lately?  Are your book choices pushing you to be a stronger person?

Currently Watching… Capote

Tags

Capote film, currently watching, Currently..., Truman Capote

One night last week, I decided to watch a movie on Netflix.  I take my movie watching very seriously and hate wasting my time on something ridiculous. After browsing the new releases, I stumbled across Capote starring Philip Seymour Hoffman.  Check out the trailer here:

Source

Now, this might surprise you, but I’ve only been a fan of Capote’s since 2011. Even though I’m hugely supportive of many Southern writers and adore William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Flannery O’Connor, Harper Lee, and Cormac McCarthy, I read my first Capote piece only last year.  Luckily, I started with Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  Trust me when I say the novella is a thousand times better than the movie.  After being blown away by the quality of Tiffany’s, I moved to In Cold Blood, easily one of the best books I’ve read in years.

Watching Capote taught me a lot about the man’s life, and I find him fascinating.  While I knew that he was considered a Southern writer and that he was friends with To Kill A Mockingbird‘s Harper Lee, what I didn’t know was that their friendship blossomed in a small town in Alabama less than 200 miles from the town where I was born and raised. Monroeville, Alabama is a city a stone’s throw from my father’s childhood home: Jay, Florida.  I grew up listening to stories of him playing basketball games in Brewton and Flomaton.  Seeing Monroeville on a map and understanding EXACTLY where Capote spent part of his childhood just blew my mind.

Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Tom McGuane and James Kirkwood

Image Credit

The movie was phenomenal.  If you are a Capote fan, watch it.  If you are a fan of literature or writing, watch it.  More than that, it’s a movie about the creative process and about your success being tied to something very, very dark.  There’s an enormous struggle here.  Capote, like many artists, has a self-centered desire to be successful and to share a great work with the world, but his creative piece is tied to someone else’s crimes/failure/death.  We see that this struggle isn’t easy for him.  He lapses into alcoholism and depression; he tries to sever the ties between himself and Perry; he even runs away to Spain.  However, the book must be published, and the last chapter relies on the “ending” of Perry’s life story.  In Cold Blood is a tremendous book.  Coupled with this movie, the work is unparalleled.

What great movies have you watched lately?

Ethos and The Case of Jonah Lehrer

Tags

currently reading, Currently..., ethos, Imagine, Imagine: How Creativity Works, Jonah Lehrer

This month, I began reading Jonah Lehrer’s Imagine, and I was so excited to finally get my hands on the book after such a long wait.  Now that I’m halfway through the book, I learned today that Lehrer was doing a lot of imagining; he made up some of the Bob Dylan quotes from an early chapter in the book, and he lied about it.  He lied a lot.

According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, “Writer Jonah Lehrer resigned from the New Yorker on Monday after admitting that he had fabricated quotes from Bob Dylan in his nonfiction book Imagine: How Creativity Works. The book has been recalled by publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt” (Source).

I stopped reading the book and plan to return it to the library tomorrow.

Ethos is an important concept in my public speaking and presentation class.  It’s about a speaker’s credibility and character; his or her trustworthiness and reputation.  Without ethos, a speaker doesn’t have a leg to stand on.

It’s the same way with the author of a book.  Consider, for example, A Million Little Pieces by James Frey.  In this particular case, Lehrer purposefully manipulated information as means to his own personal gain.  He lied in the book by making up false Dylan quotes.  Then, when people began investigating the origin of the quotes, Lehrer lied to cover up his lies.

Andrew Dlugan’s article on ethos is a great place to begin examining why an author’s character and credibility are so important.  In “What is Ethos?,” Dlugan says we can use four characteristics or traits to examine a person’s ethos: trustworthiness; similarity; authority; and reputation or expertise (Source).  Let’s examine the Jonah Lehrer case using these four traits.

First, Lehrer has proven time and time again that he’s untrustworthy.  Can we really read a book and accept the contents of Imagine knowing the author is unethical?  Can we just skip over part of the text, the part with the lies, and still take something from the rest of the text?  I think not.  Once a person has established that he or she can’t be trusted, we call that person’s character and motives into question.  If Lehrer is willing to misrepresent Bob Dylan quotes, what else is he lying about that we haven’t yet discovered?  Why would he lie?  Does he want to manipulate us, his readers?  We can’t take his words as true because he’s proven he can’t be trusted.  Can he regain his trustworthiness?  Can he repair his reputation and be seen as someone with good moral character?

Dlugan writes, “If you are similar to your audience, then your audience will be more receptive to your ideas in the same way that you are more likely to open a door at night if you recognize the voice of the person on the other side” (Source).  The second trait Dlugan defines is similarity.  We certainly don’t feel similarity with Lehrer at this stage because he’s a proven liar, manipulator, and unethical person.  He’s proven that he lacks character and that he’s false and fake.  Since we all consider ourselves “authentic” and “real” people, it’s hard to identify or find similarity with Lehrer.

Third, Lehrer lost all previous authority on writing or being a writer since this incident.  Do you think a person can regain his or her authority after such a grave misstep?  How could Lehrer regain his authority?  Fourth, and finally, Lehrer’s reputation is ruined.  Any accolades he had and any recognition from Imagine will be forgotten.  Instead, people will only associate “liar” with Lehrer’s name.

Would you read Imagine knowing what we now know about Jonah Lehrer?

 

Sally Hogshead’s Fascinate

Tags

content, currently reading, Currently..., Fascinate, persuasion, presentation, public speaking, Sally Hogshead, Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation

Several months ago, I first heard of Sally Hogshead’s Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation.  It is most certainly next on my “must read” list.  Check out more from Hogshead here:

Source

Have you read Fascinate?  Any reviews on the book?

Currently Reading… Imagine

Tags

currently reading, Currently..., Imagine, Imagine: How Creativity Works, Jonah Lehrer, NPR

My husband always says that my patience is my finest quality… If you know me, you are laughing out loud; I certainly don’t have a single patient bone in my entire body! However, I was willing to wait weeks and even months for Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer after I heard NPR first rave about it back in March.

Four months later, the library home delivered the book to my house in Orlando while I was in Phoenix for Convention. While on the phone, my husband told me I had a package from the library. Confused, because I didn’t request any books recently, I asked him to open it. Lo and behold, it was Imagine! It was finally my turn after going through a waiting list of 20-something readers. Of course, my patience worked overtime as I waited an additional three days to get home and read the darn thing.

Imagine has definitely been an interesting read so far. I enjoyed Chapter One on insight and how creativity relies on that “Ah ha!” moment. Titled “Bob Dylan’s Brain,” Lehrer covers a bit of neuroscience while also telling the story of Dylan’s creative process for “Like A Rolling Stone” (learn more here).  This exhausting but fulfilling process is explained very well, and as a creative type, I identify with the lows, those moments of frustration and loss, as well as the highs, those lightbulb moments of brilliance.

The first chapter reminds me a lot of Elizabeth Gilbert’s TED Talk on how we should view creativity.  Watch it here:

Source

I’ll be sure to post my review of Imagine next week when I am finished.

What great books have you been reading lately?

Currently Reading… Update on Reality Is Broken

Tags

currently reading, Currently..., Jane McGonigal, Reality Is Broken

On the flight back to Orlando from Phoenix, Arizona, I had a chance to dive into Jane McGonigal‘s Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change The World after I finished the latest issues of Vogue, Lucky, and Allure magazines.  My superstar student, Will Kim, gave me a copy of the book as a “thank you” present a few months ago, and I blogged about my excitement to receive the book exactly one month ago on June 16.

After the flight, I’m now almost finished with the book.  It’s inspiring, eye-opening, and motivating.  It completely changed my perspective on my husband’s video game playing.  It changed the way I think about the current system of education by actually offering realistic solutions.  Look for my official review soon; in the meantime, you need to read this book immediately.  Purchase your copy here.  I’m serious.  Buy this book right now.

Convention was amazing!  I went as the Recruitment Advisor for my sorority’s chapter at Rollins College, and I learned a heck of a lot and came back excited for recruitment in January.  Though it wasn’t an actual “vacation” (I worked from sunup to sundown each day that I was there), it was a wonderful break from working: answering emails, grading, and being in the office or on campus.  Now that I’m home, I’m ready to get back to the job I love so much.  Check back later this week for an official Chi Omega National Convention update.

I also have a super exciting announcement!  Look for it in the coming weeks on Creating Communication.  I seriously cannot wait to share this news with all of you.

What have you been reading lately?  What new blogs, articles, or ideas did you discover while I was away?  Please share your findings with me!

Review: Carol Dweck’s Mindset

Tags

Carol Dweck, currently reading, Currently..., education, fixed mindset, growth mindset, Mindset, superteacher

After a morning of hysteria from snapping my work laptop in two, I curled up in the guest bedroom to finish reading Carol Dweck’s Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.  This book is incredible, and Mindset is definitely a must-read for superteachers.  Dweck focuses on what makes an effective teacher as well as an effective student, parent, athlete, businessperson, and leader.  Her ideas about switching from a “fixed” mindset to a “growth” mindset really resonated with me, and I hope you’ll find the same inspiration from her work.

Dweck explains that there are two mindsets: “fixed” and “growth.”  People with fixed mindsets believe traits, personalities, talents, and relationships are fixed – permanently set in stone.  A fixed mindset believes we’re born a certain way, and we can’t do much to change that position.

People with growth mindsets believe everything is  work in progress.  Traits, personalities, talents, and relationships can always grow with hard work.  A growth mindset believes we’re born a certain way, but we have the power to develop exponentially.

Image Credit

Dweck gives us example after example showing the difference between a fixed and a growth mindset.  Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are two examples of growth-mindset athletes; John Wooden is an example of a growth-minded coach; and Jack Welch is an example of a growth-minded CEO.

Some reviewers found Dweck’s central message from Chapter 1 all they needed from the text.  For example, Daly writes, “I found the ideas she presents – or rather, singular “idea,” since there really isn’t more than one – to be quite interesting, as I’d hoped. Unfortunately, the book itself isn’t. As I said earlier, reading a single chapter gets the point across: intelligence is not fixed, it can be changed. It is only our “mindset” that holds us back. If we believe we can’t learn, if we believe our abilities are restricted, then they will be. Our limitations are learned and set by ourselves. If we think we can improve ourselves, we will. If we insist that we’re unable to achieve, we won’t” (Source).  Chapter 1 definitely lays out Dweck’s core idea, but the best way to really digest that message is to read the examples in her industry-specific chapters.  She covers sports in Chapter 4, business in Chapter 5, relationships in Chapter 6, and education in Chapter 7.  This approach worked for me, as it allowed me to see a larger picture.  Another reviewer writes, “What makes Mindset particularly compelling is the avalanche of vivid stories from lives of the ordinary and the celebrated in the worlds of business, science, education and sports. [...] Each chapter is filled with anecdotes from everyday people as well as names still making headlines today, demonstrating how a fixed mindset can constrict a life while a growth mindset can liberate and empower” (Source).

Sometimes, I tend to agree with the first reviewer when I’m reading.  For example, I didn’t much like the book I read before Mindset because I felt Chapter 1 was all I needed to understand the core idea.  Sometimes, though, I tend to agree with the second reviewer.  Clear examples and stories to support the main idea help me better understand that argument.  With this particular book, the chapters helped me develop a better understanding of what it means to be a truly empowering leader, mentor, and superteacher.

What have you been reading lately?

Currently Reading… Out Of Our Minds

Tags

creativity, currently reading, Currently..., Out Of Our Minds, Sir Ken Robinson

Source

On Friday, when I came home from an insanely long day of work, my husband handed me a package from the library.  I’d forgotten I’d even asked to check out Sir Ken Robinson’s Out Of Our Minds, and since the book had been such a long waiting list, I assumed I’d get it in sometime in 2013.  I started reading it this morning, and I love it!

What great books have you been reading lately?