Category: Writing

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Two Building Blocks of Storytelling

Ira Glass on Storytelling was a “must see” video I watched in journalism class. This is the first of four short videos Glass shares on the topic.

Storytelling is at the heart of many successful strategies whether it’s to sell a product, win over an audience, or move a country to action. For artists who need to market their work, I recommend Seth Godin’s book: All Marketers are Liars: The Underground Classic That Explains How Marketing Really Works and Why Authenticity is the Best Marketing of All.

Ira Glass hosts the radio and television show, This American Life, on National Public Radio (“NPR”). He has spent the majority of his career on radio, and hosted NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Talk of the Nation.

Watch Glass as he talks about the two important ingredients in storytelling: the anecdote and the moment of reflection.

Is digital storytelling any different from other types of storytelling? Read about 7 elements to include.

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3 Reasons to Write Your Own Obituary

I remember in high school a friend’s dad was a reporter at the local newspaper and he had already written his obituary. At that time I didn’t think anything of it. Now, many years later, I’ve had the honor of writing the obituaries of the two closest people in my life and see the wisdom of it.

It is an exercise in literally looking at the where you are with the end in mind. A few reasons to do it:

  1. You gain perspective. What is important? What really matters? What HAS to get done?
  2. You identify what you deliberately want to create that will outlive you. What is your legacy?
  3. You leave out the guesswork so others don’t have to search for the highlights of your life. What’s the ‘who-what-when-where-how-why’ of you? Recently I went to a memorial service for an artist. Her family lived on the other side of the continent. When she died it took several weeks for them to piece together the highlights of her life.

Does pondering “The End” still feel too drastic, sad, or morbid? Here’s an exercise that could get you jumpstarted on writing your obituary. In Chapter Four of The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron, you describe yourself at eighty. Then write yourself a letter from you at eighty to your current age. What do you encourage yourself to do?

Your life is like a stream that keeps on flowing. Where is your energy going?

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7 Ways to Make Your Presentations Sparkle

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Image by Mary Gow
If you have nine minutes to spare watch these two videos. The first is produced by BNET Video, with Carmine Gallo explaining how to present like Steve Jobs. The shorter video below features tech evangelist and author Guy Kawasaki. Here’s a highlight of their tips:

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?

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4 Tips for Creating Your Own Cookbook

Do you have a collection of recipes you’d like to make into a book? Yesterday I participated in a webinar: How to Create a Great Looking Cookbook with Blurb, sponsored by Blurb.com – a terrific website that offers many solutions to publishing your work. The webinar was hosted by Samantha Howe, who stepped us through the process of creating a cookbook on-line. Here’s four tips I garnered from the presentation:

1) If you don’t already have your own images, is to use Getty Images for royalty-free pictures.

2) Blurb.com offers software called Booksmart you can download to create your book. With this software you don’t have to worry about custom-fitting the text since the software will flow text for you.

3) There’s several book formats to choose from including 8” x 8”, standard landscape or standard portrait. Howe suggests using the standard portrait hardcover since cookbooks fare better in the kitchen if they are hardcover.

4) Check out these food blogs for more ideas:

laraferroni.com
smittenkitchen.com
orangette.blogspot.com
mattbites.com

And for inspiration with food photography: ryanmatthewsmith.com

May you find comfort in your favorite foods!