The presentation at SF WordCamp 2011 that had me closest to tears was this one. John Kleinschmidt spoke about CURE International. Zack Berke shared his work with UNICEF in Uganda. See the slides and be inspired.
Feeling Stuck? How to Overcome Inertia in 60 Seconds
Do you find the week gone by and your “to do” list is longer than when the week began? Or have you given up on the list?
No need to feel ashamed. Sometimes inertia sets in and it could be that sunshine motivates you and there isn’t any! (as I write from foggy San Francisco).
Getting unstuck could take less than 60 seconds! One of the beliefs of feng shui, the art of placement, is that if you move 27 things you change your life.
Well 27 sounds a bit overwhelming, doesn’t it? Why not take a baby step? Move one thing. A lamp, a coffee table, a bookcase, the TV.
In under 60 seconds I moved one small bookcase (I put pads on the bottom so I could slide it) and the results have been astounding! My living room has it’s mojo back! The positive vibe I get from this one change is delicious. So what’s one thing you could move?
So next time you feel challenged, try moving a table, a chair, the lamp. One big or little thing. See how it feels. One thing.
5 Key Ingredients for Your Bragologue
Recently, I went to a presentation of “The Art of Bragging” by workplace communication and leadership expert Peggy Klaus, whose client list includes movie stars and mega-businesses. Klaus has been on Nightline, The Today Show, 20/20, and her advice has been seen in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Fortune, Business Week, and O Magazine.
According to Klaus, there is such a thing as “good bragging.” She defines it as “A way of talking about your accomplishments in a very conversational, fluid, story-like manner using a few (not a laundry list) brag nuggets or tidbits of information about you and your accomplishments, said with passion, a sense of urgency and delight to be in front of your audience.”
Like an elevator pitch with more pizzazz, a bragologue (Klaus’ term) is story-like and invites dialogue unlike the on-and-on monologue of a braggart that inevitably tries to one up you, drop names, exaggerate, steal credit, and repeatedly begins sentences with “I.”
Here’s some key ingredients of a bragologue. They include five to ten “brag bits,” which come from tidbits of information about you from:
1. What you love about what you do;
2. What you do with what you love;
3. Some of your career successes you’re most proud of;
4. New skills you’ve learned in the past year; and
5. Obstacles you’ve overcome in your life.
You can find more of Klaus’ guidelines for crafting your own bragologue in her book, The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It. What are some of your brag bits?
7 Ways to Make Your Presentations Sparkle
1) Set the theme with a single headline;
2) Provide an outline and verbally open and close each section with a transition;
3) Be big on visuals and short on bullet points;
4) Make your numbers meaningful (for example “75,555 iPhones are sold every day”);
5) Use video clips, surprise guests, memorable props (like he unveiled the mac air by pulling it out of an interoffice envelope;
6) Use Guy Kawasaki’s 10-20-30 presentation rule: use 10 slides, talk no longer than 20 minutes, and use 30 point type (or a point size that’s the age of the oldest member of the audience); and
7) Rehearse rehearse rehearse. Know your material (so you can captivate your audience as you talk through your compelling images).
Do you have any tips to add?