Where can you find good images?

A lot of people ask me where they can get good-quality images, so I thought it would be good to have one post that I could bookmark and send out to people. Imentioned before that I use iStockphoto.com the most (as well as more expensive sites — though I do that much less now — and high-quality photo discs from Japan). A few people gave links to their favorite free or inexpensive sites as well. Below, then, are links to both inexpensive sites and sites offering free images in searchable databases (but check terms of use). The quality ranges from "excellent" to "not too bad." If you can suggest some other sites which have worked well for you (free or inexpensive "but good"), please let me know and I'll add them below after I check them out. The sites below are not necessarily in order of quality, though iStock is my favorite. (Updated August 22, 2006)

Inexpensive (but good)
(1) iStockphoto.com 
One dollar for low-rez images and two-three dollars for higher-rez images. This is my favorite site.
(2) Dreams Time 
About one dollar for high-rez images for members.
(3) Shutterstock 
750 royalty-free downloads per month for $139 (US) subscription.
(4) Fotolia 
One or two bucks an image.
(5) Japanese Streets 
Excellent source for Japanese fashion, street scenes, people, and much more from right here in Osaka. About $1.50 per pic via paypal. 
(6) Photocase. A German site (English and German versions). Low-costdownload options.
(7) Stockxpert. Great pricing and great images. Easy-to-use site. Uses credit system.
(8) ShutterMap.com. From $1USD to $4USD for high-rez.
(9) Creative Express (Getty Images). With Getty's Creative Express you can buy one-month or one-year subscriptions and download up to 50 stunning images a day. The Express catalog has 75,000 great Getty images. The license works differently for subscription, but this may be a wonderful option for the right project (check out the FAQ). I will be using this for certain.

Free (but not bad)
(1) Morgue File 
Providing "...free image reference material for use in all creative pursuits.
(2) Flickr's Creative Commons pool 
Search the myriad photos people are sharing on flickr by the type of CC license.
(3) Image*After 
From their site: "Image*After is a large online free photo collection. You can download and use any image or texture...and use it in your own work, either personal or commercial."
(4) Stock.xchng
Close to 200,000 photos. Some gems in there if you look.
(5) Everystockphoto. Indexing over 283,000 free photos.
(6) Studio.25: Digital Resource Bank.
(7) Freepixels. About 2000 photos.
(8) The Photoshop tutorial blog. This cool blog has a laundry list of free photo sites.
(9) Robin Good has a good page dedicated to helping you find good images.  

Fonts (free or cheap) 
(1) 1001 Fonts.com. A lot of free fonts. You get what you pay for, but many are pretty good. Find by most popular, highest rated. Articles, message board, etc.
(2) 1001freefonts.com. 4000 fonts for $9.95 (download).
(3) iFree. This Australian site links to free stuff in Australia and worldwide, like fonts, freeware, etc.
(4) Indezine on fonts. There are so many font sites out there, I trust the folks at Indezine to narrow it down. They list about ten.
(5) HighFonts.com. Database of about 3000 free fonts.

Resource: presentationzen.com

Where to get quotations for presentations?

In my presentations, I may have several slides which feature a quote from a famous (sometimes not so famous) individual in the field. The quote may be a springboard into the topic or serve as support or reinforcement for the particular point I'm making. A typical Tom Peters presentation at one of his seminars, for example, may include dozens of slides with quotes. "I say that my conclusions are much more credible when I back them up with great sources," Tom says in this post from May, 2005. (I talked about using quotes a few months back here with examples.)

Like everything else, quotations work best when not over done. Too many quotes or quotes which are too long may bog down your presentation. And of course, if your quote is inaccurate or completely irrelevant to your point, it may undermine your efforts in a big way.

Where to get quotes?
Personally, I do not search for quotations on the internet very often. I almost always get mine straight from material I have read directly. My books for, example, are filled with tags and pages full of my comments and highlighter marks. I sketch a star and write a note to myself next to great passages for future reference. It's kind of messy, but it works for me. Still, there may be occasions when poking around one of the quotations pages may be of help. So below I have listed a few of the many places you can check for quotations. I'm certain there are even better resources, so please let me know and I'll update this post to make it better.

Tom Peters' slides from his website
As Tom says "we post all my slide shows so attendees can go back at their leisure and recall the logic of the presentation and "steal" some cool quotes to use in their presentations!" If nothing else, a look at the sources in Tom's slides may point you to the original material for deeper research.
Tom Peters' "Top 41" quotes and other free stuff
Various PDFs from TP. Excellent.
Wikiquote 
Quotes, proverbs, etc. in several languages (thanks, Pawel!).
Yahoo's list of quotation sites
One of the best places to start. You can search sites on Yahoo popularity or alphabetically.
The brainy quote
Thousands of quotes by thousands of authors. Search by topic, author, or profession.
Famousquotations.com
Good selection. Searchable.
The Quotations page
Over 24,000 quotes, 2,700 authors
Quoteland.com
Many categories.
Quotationreference.com
Searchable by author or subject.
Famous quotes and quotations
Searchable and organized in a few broad categories.
Quotelady.com   
Organized by category here.
Great-Quotes.com
Over 54,000 famous sayings, proverbs, and quotes.
Quotation resources by about.com
Different.
Bartlett's Quotations
11,000 searchable quotations from literature
Business-related
Not great, but may be some gems in there.
Stupid Quotes About Hurricane Katrina
By Daniel Kurtzman
Dr. Gabriel Robins' "Good quotations by famous people"
Interesting list by a CS prof.
Positive Atheism's Big List of Quotations
A lot of categories but especially philosophy, religion, politics...
World's best quotes in 1-10 words
I like this short list from Career Lab.
Zen Quotes
A few quote from the world of Zen
Using quotes effectively
A few tips from the Idea Bank

Resource: presentationzen.com

Five Essential Questions to ask Yourself

It’s graduation time around the United States, and while many speeches are forgettable, some of them stick. Dean James Ryan’s speech at the Harvard Graduate School of Education ceremony was one such speech. Dean Ryan’s central message is that developing an ability for asking good questions is key to one’s path to success and fulfillment. "I would urge you to resist the temptation to have answers at the ready and to spend more time thinking about the right questions to ask,” he says. The entire 24-min speech is here, but it is this six-minute section below that resonates most with me and many others. In this section Ryan says he believes there are five essential questions that we must regularly ask ourselves. Ryan's claim is that, if we get in the habit of asking these questions, we’ll have a great chance of being both successful and happy. And, he says, we’ll be in a better position to answer “I did” to the bonus question at the end of his list of five. (A summary of his list of five follow the video.)



(1) Wait, what?
"Wait what is actually a very effective way of asking for clarification, which is crucial to understanding,” Ryan says. "The wait, which precedes the what, is also a good reminder that it pays to slow down to make sure you truly understand.” Many of us often have an unconscious bias toward information which confirms our own views about the world. In the 21st-century where social media allows completely made up “facts” to be circulated unabated, it's more important than ever to slow down, and to stop, and to question anything which seems too good (or bad) to be true.

(2) I wonder, why/if?
"Asking 'I wonder why' is the way to remain curious about the world, and asking 'I wonder if' is the way to start thinking about how you might improve the world. As in, I wonder why our schools are so segregated, and I wonder if we could change this?” This is perhaps the most fundamental question of all. This is one of the most powerful questions an educated person—regardless of their schooling—can ask. Questions such as: Is it so (I wonder)? Is it really true? How do I know that it’s so? What would happen if__? We begin tackling the really big problems in the world—and the big problems in our personal lives—with the smallest of questions: I wonder why/if?

(3) Couldn’t we at least?
"It’s what enables you to get past disagreement to some consensus, as in 'couldn’t we at least agree that we all care about the welfare of students, even if we disagree about strategy?'” This is a way to obtain some common ground and make progress, no matter how small. Ryan says that it’s also an approach for getting unstuck or for getting started in the first place. I have found this to be a mind-hack of sorts. One of our biggest obstacles to progress in our work is procrastination. Most of us procrastinate because we focus on the enormity of the project or on it’s conclusion, a conclusion about which we are uncertain. So instead of focusing on finishing the project, simply concentrate on getting started instead. Just start it, you tell yourself, don’t worry about how it progresses or about the long road to finish it. Simply start. When you tell yourself that you’ll just get started for a bit and not worry about the size and perceived difficulties of the entire project, it’s very easy to sit down and just have a go at it. Often, we’ll surprise ourselves which just how much progress we make when our only aim was merely to "at least get started."

(4) How can I help?
 "We shouldn’t let the real pitfalls of the savior complex extinguish one of the most humane instincts there is,” says Ryan, "the instinct to lend a hand.” A yearning to help and to make a difference in the lives of others is what fundamentally drives most of us. But, says Ryan, we must remain humble and truly listen with our eyes, ears, and heart to see where we can help best. “…how we help matters as much as that we do help, and if you ask 'how' you can help, you are asking, with humility, for direction."

(5) What really matters?
"This is the question that forces you to get to the heart of issues and to the heart of your own beliefs and convictions.” This is a question that we need to ask ourselves more than only occasionally. These days, professionals and students are asked to do more (or at least are enticed to do more). It’s easy to get pulled in many directions and to attempt to do too much. I say it a lot but if everything is important to you then nothing is important to you. Life is about making hard choices. This is true for business and it is true in life. We must learn to remove that which is not essential to our answer to the question “What really matters to me?” Clarity, simplicity, and focus are crucial for staying on your own path to what really matters.

Bonus question: “And did you get what you wanted out of life, even so?”
Here Dean Ryan recalls a passage in a poem by Raymond Carver that reads: "And did you get what you wanted out of life, even so?” The “even so” tag, says Ryan, is a reminder that life even at its best is filled with pain, sorrow, and disappointments. Still, even so, are you living a fulfilling life? "My claim is that if you regularly ask: wait, what, I wonder, couldn’t we at least, how can I help, and what really matters, when it comes time to ask yourself 'And did you get what you wanted out of life, even so?' your answer will be I ‘did.'"

Resource: presentationzen.com

Prepare for debates and help the community

I was thinking about how to prepare for the upcoming Euros in Tallinn and got to the conclusion that doing more and more debates, as we did in the past is not going to give me all the results that I would like to see until I get to Tallinn.

I spoke to different important and successful debaters in the past and got ideas what else I can do to prepare. The most interesting thing I heard was probably two guys (of course I forgot their names) got together for a beer or two every week and prepared for different motions while drinking beer. This could work for me but on the other hand I really can not stop on the one beer, so being an alcoholic after the EUDC is not one of the benefits from the prep that I would like to see.

But still it is the best idea what to do next to read all the things that you can find, but this is a thing that you should be doing all the time. As people say, the prep for a tournament starts a couple of years before it. But we are too late for that, I'm as smart as I am.

So I'll be preping for debate motions that I expect to see on the WUDC. For the start I believe that preping all the motions from past years WUDC's and EUDC's will be enough. And then using motions from other debate tournaments (well, that's why I made this website in the first place ;) ).

So why does the topic of this article say "help the community?". Well I believe that if we share ideas, we all get smarter a bit. So if you are going to do similar stuff to prepare for EUDC or any other debate tournament, I would be really glad if you send me the ideas that you get. If you would like to stay anonymous for any reason, I won't list your name, but I would like to thank you for your contribution by posting your name at the end of the article.

Resource: presentationzen.blogs

You are creative

"Creative power" or "creative imagination" is not only for "The artists of the world," the painters, the sculptors, and so on. Teachers need the power of creativity too. So do programmers, engineers, scientists, etc. You can see the application of creative genius in many professional fields. Remember, for example, that it was a group of brilliant and geeky-to-the-core NASA engineers on the ground who in 1970 were able jury rig a solution to the life-threatening build up of carbon dioxide in the damaged Apollo 13 space craft. Their heroic fix, literally involving duct tape and spare parts, was ingenious improvisation, imaginative...and it was creative.

     
Back down here on earth, the seemingly mundane business or conference presentation, designed and delivered with the help of slideware, can be a very creative thing. A presentation is an opportunity to differentiate yourself, or your organization, or your cause. It's your chance to tell the story of why your content is important, why it matters. It can be an opportunity to make a difference. So why look, talk (bore?) like everyone else? Why strive to meet expectations? Why not surpass expectations and surprise people? Besides, audiences' expectations are quite low as far as presentations are concerned anyway (unless you're the "Steve Jobs" of your field).
   
You are original, unique, and creative
Even if you are not "A Creative" (artist, designer, musician etc.), you are a creative person. Probably -- assuredly in fact -- far more creative than you think. All people should work toward tapping into their creative abilities and unleashing their imaginations. Why? I think Brenda Ueland (1891-1985) puts it best:

"First because it is impossible that you have *no* creative gift. Second: the only way to make it live and increase is to use it. Third: you cannot be sure that it is not a *great* gift."
                                        
                                                    — Brenda Ueland

"If you want to Write" by Brenda Ueland is one of the most inspiring and useful books I have ever read. The book was first published in 1938 and probably should have been titled "If You Want to Be Creative." The simple (yet sage-like) advice will be of interest not only to writers but to anyone who yearns to be more creative in their work or to help others get in touch with their creative souls. While reading the book (for the third time) I couldn't help but think of parents and teachers who have such a huge impact on their kids in terms of creativity (for better or worse). This book should be required reading for all knowledge workers or anyone aspiring to teach anyone about anything.
12 things to remember about being creative from Brenda Ueland (Part 1)
I could barely read the book the third time through due to all the underlining and scribblings I did in my copy of the book the first two times I read it last summer. There is so much in Ueland's little book (only 179 pages) I'd like to share. Below I list six quotes from Brenda Ueland. The quotation is in bold. I comment briefly after each quotation. Here are the other six tips from Ueland.

(1) "...the creative power is in all of you if you give it a little time, if you do not always keep it out by hurrying and feeling guilty in times when you should be lazy and happy. Or if you do not keep the creative power away by telling yourself the worst of lies -- that you haven't any."

Ah, the big lie we tell ourselves: "I am not creative." Sure, you might not be the next Picasso in your field (then again, who knows?). But it does not really matter. What matters is to not close yourself down too early in the process of exploration. Failing is fine, necessary in fact. But avoiding experimentation or risk -- especially out of fear of what others may think -- is something that will gnaw at your gut more than any ephemeral failure. A failure is in the past. It's done, over. But worrying about "what might be if..." or "what might have been if I had..." are pieces of baggage we carry around daily. They're heavy and they'll kill our creative spirit. Take chances and stretch yourself. We're only here on this planet once, and for a very short time at that. Why not just see how gifted you are. You may surprise someone. Most importantly, you may surprise yourself.

(2) On why the creative power inside of us should be kept alive. "Why? Because it is life itself. It is the spirit. In fact, it is the only important thing about us. The rest of us is legs and stomach, materialistic cravings and fears." 

Children are naturally creative, playful, and experimental. If you ask me, we were the "most human" when we were young kids. We didn't force it, but we loved it. We "worked" at it, sometimes for hours at a time without a break, because it was in us, though we didn't intellectualize it. As we got older the fear crept in, the doubts, the self-censoring, the over-thinking. The creative spirit is in us now; it's who we are. We just need to look at the kids around us to be reminded of that. And if you are 58 or 88 today? It's never too late, the child is still in you.

(3) "The imagination needs moodling -- long inefficient, happy idling, dawdling, and puttering. People who are always briskly doing something and as busy as waltzing mice, they have little, sharp, staccato ideas...But they have no slow, big ideas."

Idling or "doing nothingness" is important. Most of us, myself included, are obsessed with "getting things done." We're afraid to be "unproductive." And yet, the big ideas often come to us during our periods of "laziness," during those episodes of "wasting time." We need more time away from the direct challenges of work. Long walks on the beach, a jog through the forest, a bike ride, spending 4-5 hours in a coffee shop with the Sunday paper. It is during these times that your creative spirit is energized. 

(4) "What you write today is the result of some span of idling yesterday, some fairly long period of protection from talking and busyness."

By "writing" Ueland means any creative endeavor. Busyness kills creativity.  Busyness, for example, leads to the creation and display of a lot of "PowerPoint decks" that substitute for engaging, informative or provocative meetings or seminars where actual conversations could and should be taking place. But people are busy, rushed, even frantic. So they slap together some slides from past presentations and head to their meeting. Communication suffers...the audience suffers. Yes, we're all insanely busy, but this is just all the more reason why we owe it to ourselves and to our audience not to waste their time with perfunctory "slide-shows from hell." To do something better takes time, time away from "busyness."

(5) "...daily life, so much of which is nervous cacophonous, where one's attention is unhappily jerked from this to that, so that the imagination inside cannot accumulate its strength and light."

Creative power, says Ueland, is not something "nervous or effortful; in fact it can be scared away by nervous straining." But we need time, much of it alone. Sometimes we need solitude and a break for slowing down so that we may see. Managers who understand this and give their staff the time they need (which they can only do by genuinely trusting them) are the secure managers, the best managers.

      

(6) "Do not forget to keep recharging yourself as children do, with a new thinking called 'inspiration.'"

Inspiration. Where can you find it? A million places and in a million ways, but probably not by doing the same old routine, or by gossiping with staff in the break room about things that don't really matter. Sometimes we can find inspiration in teaching. When we teach someone something important to us, we are reminded why it matters, and the enthusiasm of the student -- child or adult -- is infectious and can energize us. On helping others see their creative spirit Ueland says "I helped them by trying to make them feel freer, bolder. Let her go! Be careless, reckless! Be a lion. Be a pirate!" We know it's important to be free, free like children are. We just need reminding occasionally.

Resource: presentationzen.blogs

From design to meaning: a whole new way of presenting?

My favorite book of the summer is Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind.  A simple book in many ways, and a most profound and well-researched one as well. At 267 pages (in paperback), it's a quick read. In fact, I read it twice, the second time underlining, highlighting, and taking notes as I went along. "The future belongs to a different kind of person," Pink says. "Designers, inventors, teachers, storytellers — creative and empathetic right-brain thinkers whose abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn't." Pink claims we're living in a different era, a different age. An age in which those who "Think different" may be valued even more than ever.

"...an age animated by a different form of thinking and a new approach to life — one that prizes aptitudes that I call 'high concept' and 'high touch.' High concept involves the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities, to create artistic and emotional beauty, to craft a satisfying narrative....High touch involves the ability to empathize with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction..."

                                              — Dan Pink, A Whole New Mind

The whole left-brain (L-directed thinking) and right-brain (R-directed thinking) exploration put forth logically enough in the first part of the book is highlighter-worthy, even if it's nothing really new for many of us who keep up on this stuff (my mother survived  a very serious stroke on the left side of her brain ten years ago; I have read a good deal and learned a lot about this subject since then). What I found particularly valuable in Dan Pink's book were the "six senses" or the "six R-directed aptitudes" which Pink says are necessary for successful professionals to posses in the more interdependent world we live in, a world of increased automation and out-sourcing. You can quibble over parts of his book if you like, but I think there is no denying that these six aptitudes are indeed more important now than they ever have been. Mastering them is not sufficient, of course, but leveraging these aptitudes may very well be necessary for professional success and personal fulfillment in today's world.

Now, Pink is not saying that logic and analysis, so important in "the information age," are not important in "the conceptual age" of today. Indeed, logical thinking is as important as it ever has been. "R-directed reasoning" alone is not going to keep the space shuttle up or cure disease, etc. Logical reasoning is a necessary condition. However, it's increasingly clear that logic alone is not a sufficient condition for success for individuals and for organizations. "Right-brain reasoning," then, is every bit as important now  — in some cases more important — than so-called "left-brain thinking." (The whole right-brain/left-brain thing, of course, is a metaphor based on real differences between the two hemispheres; a healthy person uses both hemispheres for even simple tasks).

A whole new way of of presenting?
The six fundamental aptitudes outlined by Pink can be applied to many aspects of our personal and professional lives. Below, I list the six key abilities as they relate to the art of presentation. The six aptitudes are: Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning. My discussion is with presentations (enhanced by multimedia) in mind, but you could take the six aptitudes and apply them to the art of game design, programming, product design, project management, health care, teaching, retail, PR, and so on. (I purchased the Japanese translation of A Whole New Mind yesterday. The Japanese translation of the six aptitudes (left) are as they appear in the book, though I added the English word below the Japanese.)

(1) Design. To many business people, design is something you spread on the surface, it's like icing on a cake. It's nice, but not mission-critical. But this is not design to me, this is more akin to "decoration." Decoration, for better or worse, is noticeable, for example — sometimes enjoyable, sometimes irritating — but it is unmistakably *there.* However, sometimes the best designs are so well done that "the design" of it is never even noticed consciously by the observer/user, such as the design of a book or signage in an airport (i.e., we take conscious note of the messages which the design helped make utterly clear, but not the color palette, typography, concept, etc.). One thing is for sure, design is not something that's merely on the surface, superficial and lacking depth. Rather it is something which goes "soul deep." 

"It is easy to dismiss design — to relegate it to mere ornament, the prettifying of places and objects to disguise their banality," Says Pink. "But that is a serious misunderstanding of what design is and why it matters." Pink is absolutely right. Design is fundamentally a whole-minded aptitude, or as he says, "utility enhanced by significance." 

Design starts at the beginning not at the end; it's not an afterthought. If you use slideware in your presentation, the design of those visuals begins in the preparation stage before you have even turned on your computer (if you're like me), let alone fired up the ol' slideware application. It's during the preparation stage that you slow down and "stop your busy mind" so that you may consider your topic and your objectives, your key messages, and your audience. Only then will you begin to sketch out ideas — on paper or just in your head — that will soon find themselves in some digital visual form later. Too much "PowerPoint design," as you know very well, is nothing more than a collection of recycled bullets, corporate templates, clip art, and seemingly random charts and graphs which are often too detailed or cluttered to make effective on-screen visuals and too vague to stand alone as quality documentation.

(2) Story. Facts, information, data. Most of it is available on-line or can be sent to people in an email, a PDF attachment, or a hard copy through snail mail. Data and "the facts" have never been more widely available. In this context, says Pink, "What begins to matter more [than mere data] is the ability to place these facts in context and to deliver them with emotional impact." Cognitive scientist Mark Turner calls storytelling "Narrative imagining," something that is a key instrument of thought. We are wired to tell and to receive stories. "Most of our experiences, our knowledge and our thinking is organized as stories," Turner says.

"Story" is not just about storytelling but aboutlistening to stories and being a part of stories. We were all born storytellers (and "storylisteners"). As kids we looked forward to "show and tell" and we gathered with our friends at recess and at lunchtime and told stories about real things and real events that mattered, at least they mattered to us. But somewhere along the line, "Story" became synonymous with "fiction" or even "lie." "Oh, he's just telling you a big fat story," they'd say. So "Story" and storytelling have been marginalized in business and academia as something serious people do not engage in. But gathering from what college students tell me, the best and most effective professors, for example, are the ones who tell true stories. My students tell me that the best professors (from their point of view) don't just go through the material in a book but put their own personality, character, and experience into the material in the form of a narrative which is illuminating, engaging, and memorable. My hardest course in graduate school was an advanced research methods class. Sounds dry — and the textbook was dry — yet the professor told stories, gave example after example, and engaged the class in conversations which covered a great amount of important material.

In the end, we can all benefit from increasing our appreciation for Story and becoming both better listeners and storytellers. Story can be used for good: for teaching, for sharing, for illuminating, and of course, for honest persuasion.

(3) Symphony. Focus, specialization, and analysis have been important in the "information age," but in the "conceptual age" synthesis and the ability to take seemingly unrelated pieces and form and articulate the big picture before us is crucial, even a differentiator. Pink calls this aptitude Symphony:

"Symphony...is the ability to put together the pieces. It is the capacity to synthesize rather than to analyze; to see relationships between seemingly unrelated fields; to detect broad patterns rather than to deliver specific answers; and to invent something new by combining elements nobody else thought to pair."

                                         — Dan Pink, A Whole New Mind

The best presenters can illuminate the relationships that we may not have seen before. They can "see the relationships between relationships." Symphony requires that we become better at seeing, truly seeing in a new way. "The most creative among us see relationships the rest of us never notice," Pink says. Anyone can delivery chunks of information and repeat findings represented visually in bullet points on a screen, what's needed are those who can recognize the patterns, who are skilled at seeing nuance and the simplicity that may exist in a complex problem. Symphony in the world of presentation does not meandumbing down information into soundbites and talking points so popular in the mass media, for example. To me, Symphony is about utilizing our whole mind — logic, analysis, synthesis, intuition — to make sense of our world (i.e., our topic), finding the big picture and determining what is important and what is not beforethe day of our talk. It's also about deciding what matters and letting go of the rest. Audiences are full of busy, stressed out professionals with less and less time on their hands. A symphonic approach to our material and our ability to bring it all together for our audience will be greatly appreciated.

(4) Empathy. Empathy is emotional. It's about putting yourself in the position of others. It involves an understanding of the importance of the nonverbal cues of others and being aware of your own. Good designers, for example, have the ability to put themselves in the position of the user, the customer, or the audience member. This is a talent, perhaps, more than it's a skill that can be taught, but everyone can get better at this. Everyone surely knows of a brilliant engineer or programmer, for example, who seems incapable of understanding how anyone could possibly be confused by his (or her) explanation of the data — in fact he's quite annoyed by the suggestion that anyone could "be so thick" as to not understand what is so "obvious" to him.

We can certainly see how empathy helps a presenter in the course of a live talk. Empathy allows a presenter, even without thinking about it, to notice when the audience is "getting it" and when they are not. The empathetic presenter can make adjustments based on his reading of this particular audience. You may have had the experience of "changing gears" during your talk with great success. You may have also suffered along with others in the audience when a presenter seemed not to empathize with his audience at all, even droning on past his allotted time, oblivious to the suffering he was causing. The presenter with empathy — who empathizes with his audience — will never go over time, and in fact may finish a bit before his time is up.

(5) Play. In the conceptual age, says Pink, work is not just about seriousness but about play as well. Pink quotes University of Pennsylvania professor, Brain Sutton-Smith who says, "The opposite of play isn't work. It's depression. To play is to act out and be willful, exultant and committed as if one is assured of one's prospects." Each presentation situation is different, but in many (most?) public speaking situations playfulness and humor can go along way. I do not mean "jokiness" or clown-like informality. But many of the best business presentations or seminars that I've attended over the years have had elements of humor. As Pink points out, "Laughter is a form of nonverbal communication that conveys empathy and that is even more contagious than the yawn..."

Indian physician Madan Kataria points out in Pink's book that many people think that serious people are the best suited for business, that serious people are more responsible. "[But] that's not true," says Kataria. "That's yesterday's news. Laughing people are more creative people. They are more productive people." Somewhere along the line we were sold the idea that a real business presentation must necessarily be dull, devoid of humor and something to be endured not enjoyed. And if you use slides — and God help you if you don't — the more complex, detailed, and ugly the better. After all this is serious business, not a day at the beach. This approach is still alive and well today, but I hope in future that this too will become "yesterday's news." It's possible. Remember, for example, that twenty years ago or so business — especially big business — rejected the idea of a graphical user interface for "serious computing" because business should be "difficult" and "serious," ideas that seemed incongruent with a mouse (how cute!) icons, pictures, and color, etc. Today, of course, almost every serious business person users a computer with a GUI.

(6) Meaning. I don't want to put too fine a point on this, but making a presentation is an opportunity to make a small difference in the world (or your community, or your company, or school, church, etc.). A presentation gone badly can have devastating impact on your spirit and on your career. But a presentation which goes insanely well can be extremely fulfilling for both you and the audience, and it might even help your career. Some say that we "are born for meaning" and live for self-expression and an opportunity to share that which we feel is important. If you are lucky, you're in a job that you feel passionate about. If so, then it's with excitement that you look forward to the possibility of sharing your expertise — your story — with others. Few things can be more rewarding than connecting with someone, with teaching something new, or sharing that which you feel is very important with others.

Frankly, the bar is often rather low. Audiences are so used to death-by-PowerPoint that they've seemingly learned to see it as "normal" even if not ideal. However, if you are different, if you exceed expectation and show them that you've thought about them, done your homework and know your material, and demonstrated through your actions how much you appreciate being there and that you are there for them, chances are you'll make an impact and a difference, even if it's just in the smallest of ways. There can be great meaning in even these small connections. Take the time before the presentation to meet people, linger afterwards to speak with as many as you can. This is where the relationships are really formed and where a difference can be made.

Many people find a great deal of meaning by volunteering their time and "giving it away." Think about volunteering to present for free to non-profit groups, schools, etc. When it comes to "meaning" these have been some of the most rewarding speaking opportunities. It's an opportunity for you to share your knowledge and wisdom, broaden your own network, and it serves as good practice for you. What could be better?

    

Resource: presentationzen.blogs

If your idea is worth spreading, then presentation matters

Hats off to TED (Technology, Education, & Design) for making videos from their February 2006 sold-out event in Monterey available — for free — in various formats for "the rest of us." If you don't have time to watch online, download these videos on to your iPod (etc.) and watch later. Remember that none of the  presentations are perfect here. I like to point to "real people" with interesting, relevant content doing their best at delivering their message in front of an audience. Some are more polished than others. But there's something in there to learn from all of them.

All presenters were limited to about 18 minutes or less. That may have caused speakers to rush a bit, but it also forced speakers to plan, to articulate, and to get their story down tight. The time limit surely contributed to each speaker's sense of urgency. Usually, that is a very good sense to have on stage. You could feel it, and that was not a bad thing at all.

You may think that a time limitation is too constraining, too confining, anathema to creativity. But actually absolute freedom of time — "take all the time you need" — can be a great bondage. Working within limitations, including time limitations, can be liberating in a sense. It narrows your options, pushes you to focus...and leads to more creative approaches. Any professional in their field can ramble on for an hour or two. But 20 minutes to tell your story, to give it your best shot? That takes creativity.

If you're going to have ideas worth talking about — and your ideas are, right? — then you've got to be able to stand, deliver and make your case. All six videos below are excellent; I list the videos in order of the ones I enjoyed most.

Sir Ken Robinson
This is my favorite. Great delivery, pace, and a natural, authentic use of humor.Sir Ken Robinsons seems to be saying that it is not so much that we need tolearn how to be creative, rather we need to remember how to be creative.

 

Some good lines from Robinson's talk:

"Professors look at their bodies as a form of transport for their heads."

"We are educating people out of their creative capacities."

"We don't grow in to creativity, we grow out of it...we get educated out of it."
                            
                                                                   — Sir Ken Robinson

Majora Carter
Ms. Carter did a fantastic job. Sure, she would have been even better, at least from a "professional speaker" point of view, if she had not read from a script. She was at her best in those moments when she did not read. But though she used a script, it was nonetheless coming straight from the heart. That was obvious. She let it hang out there. She wore her heart on her sleeve. She connected. Majora delivered the goods. Powerful stuff. She got a huge standing ovation...she deserved it. Oh, and her visuals seem to be quite good as well. 

Hans Rosling
Hans Rosling, an expert in public health from Sweden, does an amazing job in this presentation bringing the data to life. If you want to know how he did all those graphics, go to gapminder.org. It's all there. Hans is saying the problem is not the data, the data is there. But it's not accessible to most people for three reasons: (1) For researchers and journalists, teachers, etc. it is too expensive. (2) For the media it is too difficult to access. (3) For the public, students, and policy makers, it is presented in a boring way. His solution is to make the data free, let it evoke and provoke an "aha" experience," or a "wow!" experience for the public. I loved the way he got involved with the data, virtually throwing himself into the screen. He got his point across, no question about it.(More download options here.)



David Pogue
David is a smart, funny guy. A few years ago I called David up and asked if he would keynote one of the Apple user group events New York. It was a non-paying gig. He very graciously agreed; his performance was a smash as usual. A very charismatic, engaging character who is popular with the "groupies" (user groups). Much of what David is talking about are the very same things we've been talking about here. As David says: simplicity is hard, but it's worth it. Make it great. Keep it simple.



Tony Robbins 
"If we can get the right emotion, we can get our self to do anything." Robbins believes that emotion is the force of life. I believe he's right about that, though this is hardly a revelation for most people. Emotion is clearly also part of his presentation style, and that is a good thing. His slides, however, were surprisingly something from circa 1994, ugly, wordy PowerPoint. Very odd. He was speaking at such a clip, for the audience in the room, perhaps the slides were better than nothing. But honestly, he was the visual for this short talk. Not sure the slides helped much.

I've never been totally sold on Tony Robbins' content by any means, but if his plethora of books, CDs, etc. work for you, that's great. Tony Robbins does not like to be referred to as a "motivational speaker" but he does indeed have a powerful motivational affect on people, on a crowd. The man can certainly work a room. Is it me, or did you feel Tony was pushing just a bit too much? And I am personally not offended by swearing and I am all for informality, but referring to Al Gore as "that Son-of-a-bitch"? Curious. Maybe I've been in Japan too long...



Al Gore
Mr. Gore was engaging as usual in his role as "the new Al Gore." This presentation is a bit different from the "Inconvenient Truth" talks. Funny, self-deprecating stories at the beginning, followed by a more serious look at steps individuals can take to help in the "climate crisis." He, or someone other than his design team, probably made his text slides, though at least the text was big. There's no way a professional chose those transitions. Not too subtle. I like Al Gore and his presentation style, but It would be even better if he did not turn his back to the audience or look up at the screen so much. A monitor or PowerBook at the front of the stage should make that unnecessary.

 

Resource: presentationzen.blogs

The power of the visual: Learning from Down Under promotion videos

The legendary Yogi Berra had a unique way of stating the obvious. Yogi once said "You can observe a lot by just looking around." Obvious perhaps, yet profound in its truth. People are always asking me, for example, how they can learn about graphic design or photography or make better visuals, etc. The first step, I answer, is just to look around you and really see what there is to see. You can learn a lot, I tell them, by really taking the time to see and examine the visuals around you. Design is everywhere. Even non-designers can learn a lot by simply opening their eyes and observing the works of professionals. You just never know where inspiration or good examples will turn up. Sometimes, even a TV commercial or two can demonstrate just what it is that makes visuals effective and powerful.

Some bloody excellent promotional videos
The New Zealand and Australian tourism TV commercials are fantastic examples of the power of visuals. They've been airing on Japan's cable networks for quite some time, especially the spot from New Zealand. Both the New Zealand Travel and Australia Tourism website are great places to catch these videos too. Both sites are well done, but I give the node to Australia for offering a full screenVividas option along with the MP and QT option.

       

Visceral and memorable
Visuals that surprise people, touch them, delight them, and support your story are best because they affect people in an emotional way. People are more likely to remember your content in the form of  stories and examples, and they are also more likely to remember your content if your visuals are unique, powerful and of the highest quality. Yes, a 60-second TV spot promoting tourism is quite different from a 30-minute live conference presentation. I am not suggesting they are the same. But the 60-second TV commercial is a presentation, and most of them are utterly unremarkable and forgetable (there are exceptions). The lesson I get from watching these two promotional video "presentations" from Down Under is simply this: If you are going to use visuals, then for crying out loud, make them insanely great visuals.

Watch these videos a couple of times and ask yourself which one is more memorable. Which one is more effective in telling a story and making a pitch? For TV spots to be effective they need to run a lot. We need to be exposed over and over. In that context, then, which one works better? Both videos are very well done and will prove to be effective (I know they are effective because I keep daydreaming now of ways to move to AU or NZ). But I particularly like the New Zealand commercial simply because no words are spoken at all. There are a couple of advantages to this, for example, the NZ video is ready as is for most markets with no translation needed. In Japan, the Australia video has translation on screen adding noise to the screen visually. Nonetheless, the "Where the bloody hell are you?" spot does capture the brand perfectly, and perhaps the spoken word was necessary to pull that off. And frankly, the more I watch the the Australian video the more I like it. Both make great use of the visual element.

What makes some images so powerful and others unremarkable?
One of the first lessons visual artists and designers learn early is the basics of composition, including the "rule of thirds" and the Golden mean, etc. I'll focus on the "rule of thirds" as it is the easiest to apply (I introduced this in a previous post as well). The "rule of thirds" says that images (video scenes, etc.) may appear more interesting, engaging, dynamic, compelling, etc. if the subject is not placed in the center. Of course dead center is where beginning photographers or novice videographers tend to put their subject. If you try moving your subject away from the center, however, perhaps nearer to one of what are called "power points" (where the gridlines intersect), you can create a more powerful or interesting visual by creating a bit of tension or even drama. Try experimenting with this.

In the case of the tourism commercials, notice when you watch how many scenes are shot with the subject outside the middle of the frame (at least at the beginning of the scene). If you were to freeze many of the frames you would notice that the subject is often near one of the "power points" or placed far from center. To show this I've placed a grid over a few screenshots from both commercials below. This is a simple thing, but it is one of those very basic things that the pros do so well. We too can design better visuals — take better snaps, shoot better video, etc. -— by keeping the principles such as the "rule of thirds" in mind. The "rule" is not a rule at all but a simple guideline. And while it's important to understand, the "rule of thirds" is by no means a panacea for poor design, but is simply one more principle for you to be aware of as you strive to improve your own "design mindfulness."

Screenshots from "Where the Bloody Hell are You?
   

   

  
Above: Notice how many of the subjects are aligned vertically along a "power point" or in the outer or lower third. In the shot featuring the boy (top left), you can see that two walls in the background follow the horizontal lines of the upper and lower thirds. In the shots with the pilot and the waiter you'll notice how the horizon follows along one of the horizontal lines.

Screenshots from "100% Pure New Zealand"
  

  

  
Stills from the 100% Pure New Zealand commercial. Placing the subject in the outer third can give a visual more tension and drama and attract you into the scene.

For the next few days try to pay attention to posters, billboards, etc. Or watch a film and notice how scenes are shot to create mood and tension.

Quick PPT example
 

Resource: presentationzen.blogs

How is debate different from an argument?

Well, it is interesting, when I go to a company, to ask for a sponsorship,and explain it all to them, they look me weird, and often I get the question "Should we give you the money to go and speak with people????".

Well it is not really like that, and let me give you some of the differences about why debate is something else.

1. You do not argue what you believe in Well the debate topic or the debate motion, as we call them is provided to you by the organiser of the tournament or any other debate activity. That means, that you can not influence what you will debate about. And more than that, you will have to argue the side, that you are delegated to. Again, you are not able to choose, witch side you argue. That means, that even if you are strongly against abortion, you will have to debate for abortion. This is sometimes hard, but on the other hand, good debaters will always find ways to argue something, and not to get too much against their own personal believe. 
2. You have a time limit The time limits in the British parliamentary debate are 5 or 7 minutes. And no, you can not extend your time. Ok, you can, but only for 15 or maximum, and for real maximum 30 seconds. There will be always someone that will keep your time, and the judge will stop your speaking, if you will go on too long. This normally doesn't happen in real life.

3. You have a role to fulfill Well, the basic role, that you have as a debater is kinda similar to what you should do in a real life (RL) argument. You need to provide some arguments, material why you believe something is true or not. But sadly in RL people mostly do not do that. But in debate you have a judge, that will closely listen to your speech and will examine, if you had any arguments in your debate.

4. You have a judge Well this is kind of similar to a RL situation, because when trying to convince someone in RL, then you also get some feedback, because you will see, if the person is going to agree with you or not. But in the debate the judge won't look only into that, but will look also on other stuff, like other role fulfilment, cooperation with your team partner and other teams, time allocation and maner of your speech.

5. You will learn something from it Well, this is not true for every debate, but I can say, that there are topics, that I learned much about while having a debate. That of course means, that I lost the debate, but gained some knowledge, that I was able to use later in another debate. Also, when you discover a topic, that you don't know much about, you probably will go and start reading about. And will gain knowledge.

Resource: presentationzen.blogs

How to make a public speach - Hand gestures

This article is the first in the series called “what to do to be a good speaker”. The articles are going to speak about different aspects of what is a good thing to do and what isn't while making a public speech.

This article is going to speak about the hand gestures.

Everyone is using hand gestures while speaking in the every day life. The gestures that we already use are those, that we should use while having a public speech. But there should be some modifications to what we do.

But before we go there, we should ask the question, why do we want to make gestures. It will make your speech more interesting, because if you hold still while having a speech, well why do we need a real person up there? Just bring a recording and play it. The other a bit more serious thing is, that you need to support your words with the body language. Some of the research has shown, that 70-80% of the message that the audience receives, is the non-verbal message, and a big part of it comes from the gestures. So don't forget to send the biggest part of your speech with your hands.

The gestures that we use are normally done in the narrow place in front of our stomach. They are ok, but if we have a public speech, the gestures are not going to be visible enough. That is why we have to lift them, so that we make them in front of our lunges. The other thing is, that we should make them a bit wider, that means that we should use more space in front of us.

The other thing that we should think about while having a public speech is that you should use different gestures. If you are going to use only a coupe of gestures, than the audience will get bored with the gestures and you will not be able to transmit your message efficiently.

Let me say, that there is nothing wrong, is there is a time, when you do not use gestures. You don't have to look like a bird that is trying to fly, because you make gestures all the time. Your gestures should say the same as your words do. If you are excited any so is your speech, you should use more gestures. If not, don't gesture that much.

There are a couple of things, that you should not do with your hand. Don't touch your head or face, or scratch it. It stops the transmittion of the sound, and the audience will not be able to hear you clearly and the won't be able to see the expression on your face, so again the message won't be transmitted in the best way.

Don't and I mean don't, like ever, take a pen with you when you go and start speaking. You will play with the pen and this is going to distract your audience, and they won't pay attention as much as you would like them to. You will have the pen in your hand, you will swirl it around, or you will drop it etc. And next to all the distraction it will make you look nervous. And even if you are, you shouldn't show that to the audience.

The other thing that you should leave on the desk are the papers, if you have any. And you should have something written down, so that if you get lost, you can remember fast, what is the next thing that you should say. But don't hold the papers in your hand. You will make less gestures, if you will hold the paper in your hand and we don't want that. If you hold your papers in your hand, the shaking of your hands will be more visible to your audience, and they should not know, that you are nervous.

Resource: presentationzen.blogs

British parliamentary debate - roles of the speakers

1. Government:	- defines the motion whichever way they like, do not complain about it!
	- unreasonable definitions and bad debates which come from them go   against them
	- expectable cases are rewarded

 
1- OPEN MOTIONS:

THB that coke is it (you could debate 1. American culture and US policy, 2. Globalization and the spread of popular culture, 3. Cocaine, …)

 2- SEMI CLOSED MOTIONS:

THW send the boats back (you could debate 1. Immigration, 2. Fishing rights, …)

 3- CLOSED MOTIONS:

THB representative government has failed (you could debate: 1. The European Parliament (EP), 2. The house of commons, 3. US Congress, …)

THW get tough on crime (you could debate: 1. Mandatory prison sentences, 2. The 3 strike rule, 3. The death penalty, …)

 

Roles of each team/speaker:

First Table:

1.      Government:

-         Defines the topic and provides a debatable case, not a truism,

-         Should predict the oppositions arguments,

-         Should cover as much controversy as possible,

-         Should have the best possible arguments you can come up with.

Prime minister:

-         Defines the motion,

-         States the case division/split between the speakers,

-         Produces his positive matter (2 to 3 arguments)
→1 sentence to state your position

→explain it further

→2 major forms of support (examples, philosophical points, quotes, …)

→develop your arguments

→summarize this

-         A powerful rhetorical conclusion

→so because we need to confront this challenge … we are proud to propose …

Deputy prime minister:

-         Rhetorical introduction,

-         Preview your speech,

-         Answer the oppositions criticism,

-         Point out what part of their case they didn’t deal with,

-         Don’t be polite to the oppositions arguments,

-         Continue with your part of the constructive case

-         spend a half of your time on your constructive matter

1.      Opposition:

-         Responds to the governments case,

-         Creates its own positive matter,

-         Covers as many of the opposing arguments as possible.

Leader of opposition:

-         A powerful introduction

-         Mention that you accept the governments definition, if you do,

-         Preview your case,

-         Rebut the government’s case,

-         You need to be specific and organized,

-         Spend no more than half of your speech on the governments arguments,

-         Develop at least two of your arguments,

-         Do not use defensive arguments (such as: not everyone will cooperate), but offensive ones (it is dangerous and harmful),

-         Conclusion.

Deputy leader of opposition:

-         Answer the governments defense (defend your attack),

-         Spend more time on their new argument (rebut it),

-         Sustain your speakers arguments,

-         Present your new constructive matter.

Second Table:

-         Plan but be flexible,

-         Prepare for as many contingencies as possible,

-         The government and the opposition both need an extension.

Extension:

-         Produce a new positive case,

-         Is consistent with the first table, but provides a different perspective,

-         It cannot contradict the first table (do not backstab),

   Resource: presentationzen.blogs