Geronimo Leadership Coaching

A Totally Millennial Birthday Card!

Saturday November 28th, was my birthday.

Usually, I receive a one or two hilarious & creative electronic birthday cards, mainly from my American friends .

I also have still some faithful friends (2) who write by hand and post by traditional mail a hand picked birthday card.

Mainly, I'm lucky to have my big family around to give me birthday hugs, and that's the most precious.

This year, however, was different...

Look at what I received,thanks to my wonderful friend @elizeweiland, from all other the world!

Boulder, Colorado, London, Mubai India, Brussels, Montreal, Hadrian's wall UK, Warsaw, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Fort Collins, Colorado, Ascott UK, Mexico

 

This is a personalized & worldwide video birthday card

Are these international friends geeks , professional actors, or both?                                                        Well, most of them aren't, except maybe @TanveerNaseer..., from StarTreck Production. But look at what they've created, altogether, with "genuine fondness" (@TimDouglasHR 's quote!)

Apart from the fact that it moved me to tears of joy, and will remain one my best birthday surprises,it also shows us the impact of new technologies in our daily life and the necessity of adopting with simplicity and confidence this new online media.My tittle, "Millennium Birthday Card" refers to Gen Y, also called "Millenniums", who grew up with social media and the web 2.0. (More about Generations in Five Generations Of Speakers, Which One is Yours? )

Here are a few tips for you!

Recording a video may be easier than you think.                                                                                

 " Maybe your laptop comes with a camera. If you have a Mac, click on your QuickTime Player, select File, and then New Movie Recording.  Click on the red button at the bottom of the screen, and viola, you’re recording!  Easy, peasy! You can record and trash as many attempts as you need. (I must have tried a couple of dozen times until I got my recording down to :14 seconds.)

If you have a PC, here’s one link that might help you get started. You can search & find others, as well:

http://dvr.about.com/od/tvcapturemethods/ht/ht1.htm

You can use a fancy home video camera and upload it to your laptop and then to our site. Even small digital cameras often have video features that allow you to do the same." 

by Janice Jensen, Executive Producer , creator of TweetaVision.

Follow her on Twitter, she's creating the Next Generation of Television!

My warmest thanks and hugs to , (in order of appearance...) :

Elizabeth Weiland Boulder, Colorado, USA.

Tim Douglas Ascott UK.

Amy Bryant Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Skip Zilla Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

Gurrpriet Siingh-Joy Mumbai, INDIA.

Dorothy Dalton Brussels, BELGIUM.

Tanveer Naseer Montreal, CANADA.

Monica Diaz Mexico City, MEXICO.

Colin Lewis Warsow, POLAND.

Sharon Eden London, UK.

Kendall Thiessen Boulder, Colorado, USA.

Andrew Crane Adrian's Wall, Northern UK.

Lolly Daskall New York City, USA.

Peg Rowe Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Ava Diamond Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.

Each of them is exceptionally talented, with a genuine gift that can change your whole life. Visit their websites, blogs, twitter streams, believe me, they're precious and you'd better watch them in the coming years, they're going to "Play Big"!

Five Generations of Speakers. Which one is Yours?

Are you a Traditionalist, a Baby Boomer, a Gen X, a Gen Y or Millennial, or a Gen 2020? (well, I doubt you're reading my blog now if you're under 12...)

In 2020, companies will have to adapt to five generations at work. Read in the excellent Harvard Business Blog the article by visionary writer Jeanne Meister Are You Ready To Manage Five generations of Workers?

 

Quick recap (and ages do change according to the sources, this one is from Grown Up Digital, by Don Tapscott, quoted from Jeanne Meister's fantastic blog, New Learning Playbook.

1. Traditionalists, born prior to 1946
2. Baby Boomers*, born between 1946 and 1964
3. Gen X, born between 1965 and 1976
4. Millennials, born between 1976 and 1997
5. Gen 2020, born after 1997

How will it impact you and your business presentations?

• Getting familiar with each generation and developing curiosity and tolerance
• Developing flexibility to adapt to different generations
• Adopting new technologies (mobile devices, interactive presentations on line, podcasts...)
• Integrating social networks (Twitter, LinkedIn,You Tube, etc...)

Are you ready?

If not, what new skills will you need to develop?

What other skills do you think we might need in order to better collaborate together, all generations ?

*I thought I was a Gen X. Born in late 1962 (my birthday's tomorrow!), I definitely identify with Gen X"s tastes and preferences  The proof is that I used to love Scoubidoo!:-)

I think generation isn't so much a matter of chronological age, as it is a matter of what your cultural touchstones are. What events define your personal recollection, the differences in upbringing and outlook on history. But that's another story...

The Future of Story Telling

 "Don't worry sweetheart, I 'll bring my iPhone!"

Just imagine yourself, with your kid or grandchild, reading his (her) favorite bedtime story,with a classic children book

 and ...your iPhone!

Watch this incredible (very short 1:53 min) video where a classical children book is being read WITH the kid, thanks to an iPhone touch screen inserted in the book (I love the moment when the little red fishes are attracted like magnets by the finger)

"I was completely blown away by this video the first time through. Such a simple, low-tech, solution produces such an amazingly rich, engaging experience that’s just bursting with possibility for further creativity.

While it’s just a concept at this point, you can see how it can make a new kind of storytelling available to the masses in a way that wouldn’t have seemed possible not that long ago."

Alex Rainert. His twitter bio:" I love design. I'm partial to the intersection of mobility & social behavior. Years ago I co-founded dodgeball. I currently run the Design group at Schematic NY".

So, what does it have to do with Presentation Skills and Public Speaking?

I see the future of Presentations including Storytelling, interactivity and creativity.

I'm not sure yet how it will be implemented, but there is room for innovation, and this could just be fantastic!

Imagine if we could design workshop books and masterclass like that?

Our audience would be able to follow what we say and show and at the same time experience with their touch the discovery of new concepts..., at their own rythm.

Therefore, we need to develop storytelling skills, as well as creative narrative design and skills.

I'd love to collaborate with designers and learning experts to create innovative learning tools...

Mixing the most ancient oral tradition with the most sophisticated technology.

Anyone interested?

How to Give a "Presentation ZEN"

In The Naked Speaker, I imagined how the worse scenario( = being unable to use any visual aid at the last minute) could actually be a blessing.

Here, you can relax, you have a performing high tech equipment, projector and laptop are wired and synchronized, lights are dim, temperature is cool, everything is perfect...

Your biggest enemy could be the temptation to fill your slides with information, to use special effects, to transfer all your focus and the audience 's attention to your Slides Show, at the expense of your Presence.

Imagine if, just like on this picture, you wanted to add an extra stone...

Now,thanks to people like Garr Reynolds, who brought some innovation, thinking and design into the world of business presentations, the concept of simplicity and “Zen” in visual presentations is slowly developing.

He has been one of the first to use Make Your Presentation Naked metaphor (back in 2005!)

Zen, that means following these three principles:

• Moderation
• Simplicity
• Natural
  

Moderation in preparation.

Simplicity in visuals.

Natural in presenting.

The focus is now back on the presenter, the message he or she wants to communicate, rather than on the medium, the PPT slides and its horrible beam in a dark room, sending executives to sleep or play with their iPhones or multifruit berries…

I strongly recommend you read Garr Reynolds's blog Presentation Zen , actually already in my blog roll since last year, and it was also the first post I wrote, in French, on the 14th of November, 2008.

As I advised recently to Bengt Wendel, who was looking for some help and valuable book in order to prepare his conference, "If I had only one book to recommend, that would be Presentation Zen".

He ordered it and prepared his slides thanks to the simple and brilliant tips shared by Garr Reynods. He's just back from Malmo, Sweden, where he gave his speech at the Oredev  Conference last thursday.I am sure he did an Outstanding talk.

Actually he even wrote a post about Garr Reynolds 's book, and another one about his coaching experience with me!

Please share your experiences and stories with us, like many did generously and creatively on the previous post, The Naked Speaker.

Can't resist to quote Dorothy Dalton's comment:

"I experienced this in reverse when I was working with a partner who insisted on a ppt - I felt as if I was on a beach in a ski-suit. Over dresssed and overwhelmed! I was not good and reverted after one more attempt in this mode to a more fluid interactive approach."

If you want to read More on Getting Naked, Enjoy!

 

 

The Naked Speaker

How To Present Naked?

By naked, I mean without the whole set of classy and sleeky powerpoint slides, latest projector, remote control, laser pointer, giant screen with latest videos and dolby stereo....This post was triggered by reading the brilliant article written by Martin Shovel, "What Power Point can't show you" in Creativity Works Blog. 

What happens when technology fails?

Commenting on Twitter last week about Peter Senge 's performance, without Power Point, here are the reactions I got from Angie Chaplin, Leadership Speaker and Trainer

Recently, I had to facilitate a TeamBuilding seminar for International MBAs. I had designed a very “Zen like” short and sleek, design & Chic ppt with pictures purchased in iStock photos, few words, big fonts, very “Steve Job” styled…(without the black turtleneck, though)

I was very proud and eager to “make my show", I had rehearsed and prepared carefully.

I had not anticipated I would spill my coffee on my laptop, the day before, ruining my unsaved ppt.(The laptop, a brand new MacBook, is still alive with a mouse and keyboard transplant). Oh, lala! Désastre! Malédiction! (28 days later, it resurrected. I'm a Re born Mac Believer, now)
When I showed up the next morning, after a night trying to bring back my bonniemac to life,apart from my high stage of internal panic and lack of sleep,I had in fact all the presentation ready in my mind and was completely available for the participants.

I felt myself "naked".

Like in naked truth. Simply, naturally,..naked.

I told them many stories, I listened to them and asked them plenty of questions, I was more flexible and available than if I had sticked to my initial plan, which was ,more secretly, to make a Marion show.
Of course, I had integrated the components of the presentation and was in fact making it “Live”.
It was the best presentation ever. I felt free, natural, spontaneous, close to my audience and gave them more space too.

Why do I think Peter Senge is a naked Speaker?

Watch this very short (2.40 min) video "Closing Circle" 

He's speaking with simplicity , he's open and aware of others.  Very natural. He's standing in the middle of a circle and telling us a story.

This is called "presence".
Conclusions?

If you really have to use Power Point
Preparing with visual aids, ppt slides and even better mixing with mindmaps , can be a fantastic way to get sharp and ready . Ready to do without, too...

1.  It enables you to anticipate and structure your presentation, to think about the illustrations you might want to use.Then you use homeopatic dose.
2. You hand pick the best quality slides, the “wow” effect illustrations. That’s all.
3. You rehearse and rehearse, and eliminate. You “prune”
4.  It’s a great discipline and framework, from which one has to free oneself and move out of the ppt box.
5. It’s a means and should be used with only one question in mind: What added value is it bringing to my audience?

A wonderful way to do this is to embrace the Magical Story Frog Prince.

You tell stories, you ask for stories from your participants, you make an imaginary fire and warm yourself around!

As Terrence Gargiulo says “If a picture is worth a thousand words, a Story is worth a thousand pictures.”

Visit his site Making Stories, and his blog.

5 Fantastic Presentation Tools

If you had to bring with you just 5 things in the desert and lonely Island of Professional Presentations ...

This post has been mainly inspired by Michael Hyatt's wonderful blog 
 1. Start with writing down the content on a mind mapThe most frequent mistake is to start writing and designing your presentation with your presentation software. This is restrictive and kills creativity.

 

   

Instead, use post-it of different colours, illustrating each topic, or a specific creativity booster software like mind mapping (there are so many you can find free).

Use paper and pencil and explore what you really want to say, what THEY really need to know, and then only, decide HOW you would like to illustrate it.

        

    

 2.   Choose Keynote rather than PowerPoint 

Try it, you'll see!

     3.   Always take your remote control with you!

This is mine and I just love the freedom of movements it gives me,

plus it's "handy", reliable, small and the design is just great!

I have not even tried yet Apple's own Keynote Remote (your iPhone!), because I have been using this for years now,

and it's so simple.

This is Garr Reynolds, the author of Presentation Zen, being perfectly at ease when performing on stage, with great slides, (a big picture and  a few words), his remote control and , most important, keeping the connection with his audience (eye contact, posture, smile, enthusiasm...)

I shall post soon about the art of designing Slides with Impact, Simplicity and Enthusiasm (yes, I really like this word!)

  4.    I learned only recently how to include a screen shot in my presentations
Using built-in capability with Macs, it's so simple and free.

Here is a narcissistic "auto google" of my professional identity on the web...mirror, mirror, tell me you is first to appear !

How to do this for free with your computer?

Apple Pro Tip Super Clean Screenshots!

5.    The ultimate most fantastic presentation tool is...YOU, of course!

Never forget it.

• Accept to be seen, to be visible, ...and to see others
• Learn to accept yourself.
• Develop self confidence and take yourself lightly.
• It's OK to make mistakes.
• Keep your focus
• Do it plenty of time , take every opportunity to practice.
• Get some help, ask for feedback.
• Observe people who are great speakers. What do they do that inspire you?
• Rehearse, practice and be passionate about what you want to talk about.