Links of the Week: 2013.10

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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?

Links of the Week: 2013.09

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Ashley Inguanta, audience analysis, Ethos3, Garr Reynolds, Janice Tomich, links of the week, presentation, presentation zen, public speaking, storytelling

This week, I’ve been reading some interesting articles to prepare for two new, short class lessons on audience analysis and storytelling.  This articles helped me to teach my class about these concepts, so I hope they help you, too!

First, Ethos3 wrote “3 Ways to Make the Most of Your Next Presentation,” and the article gives some advice on how to be a more audience-centered presenter.  If a selfish presenter focuses only on himself and his message without concentrating on his audience, he is on the fast track to delivering a boring presentation.  My students examined qualities of boring presentations here.  Ethos3 helps us to move away from the selfish, boring approach with these three tips.  They explain that as audience-centered presenters, we must be transparent and honest so that our audience knows we are human beings.  We must focus less on lecturing and droning on and on about what we know; instead, we should convey what we understand (Source).  Lastly, we must help people connect with us after the presentation.  If you’ve presented well and if audiences want to know more, be sure to give them a place to connect with you (email, social media, blog, etc.)  Read Ethos3′s amazing article on how to be a more audience-centered presenter here.

Second, I am using Garr Reynolds’ research for his upcoming book on story to my advantage!  His blog posts have all been related to story, so I’ve used these to help craft my storytelling for presentations lesson for my class.  His latest post asks, “Should we be suspicious of stories?”  Since I love to question everything, the idea Reynolds explores based upon Cowen’s Talk is amazing.  However, as Garr Reynolds writes in his review, “Rather than offering a convincing critique on storytelling per se, Cowen seems to be offering a critique on the reliance we place on anecdotal evidence today. And this kind of ‘story’ is indeed something of which we should be very suspicious” (Source).  Just as we should question everything, we should question the stories we hear.  However, one thing we shouldn’t question is the importance of story to convey a message in a way that resonates with people.

This month, I’m having an expert storyteller, creative writer and photographer Ashley Inguanta, visit my class.  Learn more about Ashley’s work here.  I can’t wait to learn more from her!

Finally, “80% of Presentations Fail” helps us see the connection between my research focus this week: audience analysis and storytelling.  Janice Tomich of Calculated Presentations explains that presentations fail when presenters don’t know their audience and when they don’t tell stories.  You can see why I’m so interested in amping up my lessons to my students on this issue!  Tomich also says presentations fail when we create ineffective slides and when we lack authenticity in our delivery.  Read her entire amazing article here.

What great articles have you been reading this week?

Links of the Week: 2013.08

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color, delivery, Ethos3, Garr Reynolds, links of the week, Nancy Duarte, storytelling

This week, I’ve enjoyed a much-needed Spring Break.  Even though it was my Spring Break, I had a lot of work to get done.  I spent the first part of the week working on my final research paper for my Interpersonal Communication graduate class.  I also worked on and then presented a faculty development workshop for my colleagues.  Lastly, I did a lot of fun reading in addition to research and reading for my paper.  I’d like to share my Links of the Week: Spring Break Edition with you.

I highly recommend following Garr Reynolds’ blog: Presentation Zen right now.  Reynolds is working on a new book about story, and his blog posts share his research and findings.  This week, I loved “Never leave the playground: The key to a long, happy life” as well as “Storytelling, POV, and the power of first-person narrative.”  We can all learn to use the power of story in our everyday lives to be stronger, more powerful communicators.  How do you use story in your career?

Another great read this week was from Nancy Duarte’s blog.  ”When Reinventing Your Environment, Color Can Make All The Difference” was a great post that helps us see the importance of color.  Though author Naomi Kuhmann refers to interior design color, we can still use these tips when considering color for our slides.  Kuhmann writes about the power of color, the way we respond to color, the memories or images we associate with a particular color… I love the way she describes picking out the new color palette for the Duarte space.  I find that I am often inspired by color first before anything else when it comes to designing slides.  For example, I began my Visual Resume deck after seeing three colors together on Kate Spade’s website.  My Audience Analysis deck was inspired by two colors I kept seeing repeated in clothing stores a few weeks ago.  Color seems to be the first thing that I turn to when I’m creating a new slideshow, and fonts and images fall into place after that.  How does color factor into your slide design?  Do you start with it, or is it an afterthought?

Last, but not least, I have to share two great Ethos3 blog posts.  “How To Have Remarkable Presence” relates to the delivery leg of the presentation stool, and “Joseph Campbell and Storytelling” relates to the content leg.  I believe it’s important to continuously strengthen all three of those legs, so brushing up on both presence and storytelling help me to be a better presenter.  What resources do you use to help push you to be a stronger communicator?

How To Be A Presentation God: Ethos3′s Slideshare Presentation

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Ethos3, How To Be A Presentation God, presentation, public speaking, slideshare

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I’ve exhaustively covered Ethos3 CEO Scott Schwertly‘s book How To Be A Presentation God.  However, I recently found the corresponding Slideshare deck and wanted to share its beautiful design with you.  Read my review of Schwertly’s book.  Watch the book preview video here.

What great Slideshare decks have you seen lately?

Chiara Ojeda’s “Real Delivery” Featured on Ethos3

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Chiara Ojeda, delivery, Ethos3, Real Delivery, slideshare

Congratulations to my dear friend Chiara Ojeda!  Not only has her most recent slide deck earned the title of “Top Presentation of the Day” on Slideshare, but Ethos3 featured her in a blog post analyzing the slideshow.

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Check out the Ethos3 article here.  Check out Chiara’s Slideshare presentation, “Real Delivery: Presenting As Yourself” here.

Public Speaking and The Rule of Three

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Andrew Dlugan, Ethos3, presentation, public speaking, rule of three, Scott Schwertly, Six Minutes

“One, two, three… I forget.”  Watch “The Importance of the Number Three in Presentations” by Ethos3 and CEO Scott Schwertly below:

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To learn more about the rule of three, check out “How To Use the Rule of Three in Your Speeches” by Andrew Dlugan of Six Minutes.

Do you use the rule of three in your presentations?

Links of the Week: 2013.05

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Ethos3, Garr Reynolds, links of the week, presentation zen, visual literacy, visual presentation

This has been such a wonderful week!  I’ve been reading some amazing articles for my Interpersonal Communication graduate class, and I’ve also stumbled across some interesting articles on public speaking and presentation…

I’ve been really focused on pushing my presentation design skills to the next level in 2013, so Ethos3′s latest article was just what I needed to read this week!  “Learn By Example: Presentation Design Tips via ‘How To Use Color Wisely’” is an analysis of a Slideshare presentation.  The article explains that an Ethos3 intern created one of my favorite decks, How To Use Color Wisely, and that the slideshow is an example of effective design in many ways.  First, Ethos3 explains that this deck teaches us how to use text wisely in a slideshow (Source).  The deck is also a lesson in organization and focus; each objective is communicated clearly.  The last lesson I learned from the analysis was that I should work to play with content and design a bit more (Source).  I love that Ethos3 looks at Slideshare presentations – even their own – with a critical eye. It pushes us all to be stronger designers!

Visual literacy is an essential skill for a 21st century presenter to possess.  Garr Reynolds’ article “On The Need for Visual Literacy” is an interesting study using video from George Lucas and Martin Scorsese, two experts in multimedia.  What I love most about reading Presentation Zen is that Reynolds focuses on public speaking and presentation but also education, teaching, and training… These are subjects that are so close to my heart that I always learn something from his articles.  Reynolds has also been posting on his blog much more frequently, so I appreciate his renewed commitment to spreading his knowledge and passion with his readers.

What great articles did you read this week?

The Importance of Quality Handouts by Ethos3

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Ethos3, handouts, the importance of quality handouts

Slides are not documents… but most of the time, a presentation does require a handout or two.  Renowned presentation design firm Ethos3 gives us some great advice on the importance of quality handouts:

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I never thought about designing handouts that match the design of my slides!  I am excited to begin working in Pages to create effective documents that supplement my effective slides.

Have you been using well-designed handouts in your presentations?  Or are you still treating your slides as your documents?

For Superteachers: What Teachers Make

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education, Ethos3, slideshare, superteacher, Taylor Mali, what teachers make

While browsing Slideshare this afternoon, I noticed an “old” (2008) presentation from Ethos3 based upon Taylor Mali’s poem “What Teachers Make.”  After a week of superteaching, this poem/deck of slides was exactly what I needed:

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How was your week, Superteachers?  What great things did your students do in the classroom?

Resolutions For A New Year by Ethos3

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advice, Ethos3, goals, life, presentation design, resolutions, slideshare

Ethos3 developed and uploaded “Resolutions for a New Year” today, and I love the advice and inspiration paired with the beautiful design:

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Read my 2013 communication and presentation goals for 2013 here.

What are your resolutions for the new year?