Dahle Communication

Mercator versus Peters Projection - why change is a difficult process

When I was growing up studying geography, my school, like every other school in the world, used what is referred to as the Mercator Map. This map, as shown above, is something that you will probably recognize. I thought this map was correct. Why would we be studying something that was wrong? It had to be correct. Then I saw an interesting episode of The West Wing and it forced me to re-think what I thought I knew. The episode had a fictitious group (the Cartographers for Social Justice) present to some staff members the problems with the Mercator map and why it should be replaced with Peters Projection map (seen below). 

At first I thought it was just an amusing part of the show. This can't be real, how can a map that every kid has studied be that blatantly wrong. However, after doing some research I found that the Mercator map was indeed wrong. The position of countries on the map and the size were wrong. Interestingly, this debate has been going on for quite a long time and it is getting fixed. While companies do still print the Mercator Map for wall maps, most schools have begun to switch over to the Peters Projection map. While students do see the Mercator Map, they are at least introduced to a different version and can see why they are different.

Change can be difficult. It took geographers decades to get the correct maps printed in textbooks and taught to kids. Yet today, there are still schools who have not completely switched over. Most of us don't like change - we like the comfort of knowing things stay the same. It is this comfort that prevents us from changing.

This is a main reason why a lot of people don't like to give speeches in public - it is something different. If you are not used to giving a speech in public, it is a change from what you are comfortable with. You don't want to change what you have been doing because you are comfortable NOT giving a speech. Sometimes we need to become uncomfortable - we need to fight that comfort zone and do something different. Being able to give a speech in front of an audience is a skill everyone should develop. It needs to replace the idea that you don't have to give a public speech. Change is a good thing.

So, when you look at the two maps and realize that what was right took some time to fix, apply that to your speaking fears. If you are afraid, that is fine. But realize that unless you fix it and step out of your comfort zone and change, you'll never become a great public speaker.

Stay true to yourself when speaking - a lesson from Alice In Chains

Growing up in the 1990's meant that I grew up with certain music: Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains. Each band had their own distinct sound but were lumped together into the "grunge" genre because of their timing and where they came from. I was never a big Nirvana fan but loved Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains. Over the years, I saw Soundgarden break up and with the death of Alice In Chains lead singer Layne Staley they broke up as well.

Much to my surprise though, Alice In Chains has re-grouped with a new singer and put out a new album. I wasn't sure what to make of that idea and was pretty skeptical at first - then I heard the album. It is a fantastic piece of work. Even with their new lead singer, you can tell this is an Alice In Chains album. The guitars, rhythm section and harmonies drive the sound of Alice In Chains - and all are there.

Alice In Chains decided to stick with who they were. They weren't going to change their sound to try and "modernize" themselves. While this can be dangerously seen as just re-treading old material (see almost any 80's band like AC/DC, etc) they actually do themselves justice. They created a great album with some new twists that was at its core - Alice In Chains.

Unfortunately when it comes to public speaking, people tend to not be true to themselves. They might have been told to do something differently or that they needed to be something they are not. When this happens, more often then not, it doesn't look good! When you are giving a speech, you have to do what is comfortable for you. If you try to do something that you are not comfortable with or try to be something you are not, it will just end up badly.

Take a note from Alice In Chains - stay true to yourself. Does that mean you shouldn't get some tips to improve your speeches? Absolutely not. What it does mean is that when you are improving your speeches and getting some tips from a speech coach, make sure those improvements stay true to yourself. 

Pick up "How to Win a Pitch" if you want to succeed

One of the great things that has happened to me over the past year has been getting to know all of the immensely talented individuals in the communication world. People like Brent Duncan with Marketing in Progress, Jan Schultink at Slides That Stick and Jon Thomas at Presentation Advisors to name just a few.

Several months ago, Joey Asher asked me if I would be interested in looking over his book 'How to Win a Pitch' and talk about it on my blog. I was flattered that he had thought of me and was more than happy to do it. Unfortunately I got caught up in too much stuff for a while and had to put the book on the back-burner for a while. Of course when I did this, it fell off my radar for a while and I never got back to his wonderful book - until now.

Even though the book has been out for some time now, I decided to write about it for a couple of reasons. First off, it is a wonderful book that needs to be promoted by anyone dealing with communication. I am always looking for great books that can inspire me to become a better communicator and that is exactly what Joey Asher's book did. One of the biggest things I liked about was the structure and simplicity of it. The book is not overly wordy and it breaks things down to the key ideas you need to incorporate to be successful.

Secondly, his book in now available in audio form for those who would rather listen to the book rather than read it. So, if you are too busy to read or you do a lot of driving or if you just like listening to audio books - pick up Joey Asher's 'How to Win a Pitch'. Hopefully, it won't take you as long to read it (or listen to it) as I did - because you'll just lose clients by not reading it!

Do we all need an editor?

While listening to the NFL pre-game shows on ESPN Radio on Sunday I realized something. The age of twitter, blogs and social media in general has created a paradox of sorts. All of us can within seconds share our thoughts with the world - that's the good news. The bad news - all of us can within seconds share our thoughts with the world!

Larry Fitzgerald, a wide-receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, is a super-star. He is regarded as one of the best wide-receivers in the game. After one game, his brother tweeted some not so nice things about the Cardinals quarterback. Needless to say it created some issues. One of the analysts discussing the topic later stated "In this day and age - there is no one to filter your words."

Unfortunately this is true. Too many people can say anything they want at anytime - without thinking of what they are saying. It is easy to type up a blog or add comments to a blog post or put something down on Twitter and hit the 'publish' or 'tweet' button. It takes minutes or seconds to do. This is what causes some disasters. Sometimes it is the heat of the moment that causes some anger to go through that shouldn't have or it is just typing to quickly that cause some mistakes in our language.

Communication is a very important tool. However, in this day and age of instant communication, we have a tendency to forget that point. Before blogs came along, if you wanted something published, you had to either be a professional writer - meaning you went to school specifically to write - or you wrote a letter to the editor. In both cases, those articles, letters - communication - were all edited. Blogs are, for the most part, not edited. As my friend Michael states "We all need an editor."

Don't let a bad communication experience hurt you or your business. Before you put something up on a blog or comment on a blog - make sure to edit it! We can't put a filter on our mouths when talking, but we can put an editor to our written words.

Keep researching because you might just surprise yourself - like finding water on the moon!

via www.npr.org

Sometimes we get stuck in a rut. We think we know it all. We stop doing our due diligence. We get up to give a speech that we've given a hundred times without thinking about it because we already know it all.

Then it happens. An expert in the field we are talking about who has done more research asks a question at the end of our speech that throws us off. It is a slap in the face - a dousing of cold water - we are caught off guard and now look a little foolish.

This is sort of what has happened to scientific researchers. Our knowledge of the moon, the closest celestial body to earth, was thought to be pretty strong. We knew there was no water on the moon's surface - it's dry isn't it? Surprise! There's water on the moon! Needless to say, this has become a shock to researchers.

Don't let something like this happen to you. If you are giving a speech that you have given numerous times and feel like you know it all - look it over again. Make sure you've done your research. Maybe you'll discover something new and exciting that you can then add to your speech. That way, you won't be shocked when someone tells you that there is water on the moon.

Persistence is Key - build a following like Muse did

via muse.mu

Before the days of internet radio stations like Pandora and last.fm and before on-line music stores like iTunes and Zune there were two places where you could go to find new 'non-radio friendly' music: an independent music store or college radio stations. Luckily in 1999, I had the chance to work at a college radio station - KSDJ at South Dakota State University - and had to opportunity to find some new music. One of those bands was Muse.

In 1999, Muse was a little known band that didn't get a lot of radio play. In fact, if you listened to them, you probably thought it was a new album from Radiohead (which is what one of my friends thought when I played him their album). However, Muse continued to play, record, tour and adjust their sound. They were persistent. They continued to play and gain a following. Over the past couple of years they have appeared on the Guitar Hero video games and the massively popular movie Twilight. And most recently, their latest release has been featured on the front page of iTunes. It looks as though their persistence has paid off. Not only that, but their sound has gotten better and their albums are fantastic.

There is a lesson here for people giving speeches and presentations. If you want to become successful, you need to show that persistence. Giving a speech or presentation is not easy - it takes hard work and persistence to do well. If you are not doing well at first, that is okay! Just keep working on becoming better, fine-tuning your presentation and giving it again. If you do that, you can become a great speaker and start getting invitations to speak again and again.

Presentations to watch: xBlog: Did You Know 4.0

via www.xplane.com

In case you missed it, XPLANE has been putting out a series of presentation videos called "Did You Know." The videos are very well done and have a lot of great information. If you are interested in communication, how people communicate, new technology or just statistics in general you should check out the series - its quite good (thanks to Slides That Stick and Presentation Zen for posting it this morning). Note: because of my settings, the widescreen presentation is cut off, so you want to go to their site to view the video.

What I have liked about them is the style. If you are putting together presentations, this type of style clearly takes more effort than a regular slide presentation. However, I feel that it shows all of us what is possible if we work hard at something and want to do well and it is something that I plan on working towards. 

Embrace Church 'Embracing' New Technology - How Twitter can be used for good

via www.keloland.com

There have been numerous articles and blogs written about Twitter over the past year. Some of those articles have been good and others have been bad. I have commented several times about twitter and how it can be used for good. Embrace Church in Sioux Falls is doing just that. Embrace Church is a fairly new church that is not your typical setting. Pastor Adam Weber is a young pastor who wanted to build a church that can become a place for a younger generation that has increasingly become disillusioned with organized religion. 

For full disclosure, Adam is my first cousin and I have been able to talk with him on occasions about Embrace and what they are trying to accomplish. I like some of his ideas, but mostly I love his approach. He wants to communicate with the audience and have a conversation with them. He doesn't just want to preach AT them, he wants them to be a part of the communication process. This is why he has encouraged his parishioners to use twitter during the service. It is this feedback that he can use to try and make the service even better.

I think all of us in the business world can learn something from Pastor Weber's approach. Let's not shrink away from feedback and twitter, but embrace it (no pun intended). We should try to expand our communication to include our participants. If we can do that, then maybe we can increase our own following for our businesses.

Sometimes it takes a miracle - but you better be preparred

Miracle's happen - at least any Denver Broncos fan believes that now. In case you missed it, the Denver Broncos - after being tied or leading the Cincinnati Bengals for 59 minutes and 20 seconds of a 60 minute game - were down by 1 point with 38 seconds to go. The Denver Post sums up best what happened next.

 And there was one of the most incredible touchdown receptions in Broncos history, by Brandon Stokley, who went 87 yards untouched Sunday with a deflected pass.

Stokley, who is known as a very smart football player, used his instincts and his experience to help him with this improbable play. His experience told him to go towards the play, even though the ball wasn't intended for him and once he caught the ball to sprint to the end-zone. The Broncos needed a miracle and got one. However, without some heads up play and preparation, would it have happened at all? Who knows - but being prepared no doubt helped the Broncos and Brandon Stokley.

There is a lesson here when it comes to giving a speech. Sometimes you are going to be caught off guard by something. Maybe you'll be asked to give an important speech at the last minute. Maybe you'll be asked a question that has never come up before. Maybe you're projector or computer will crash and all of the great slides you had prepared can't be shown. All of those can and do happen. However, what you do in response to those situations comes down to preparation. If you have continuously prepared yourself for the worst case scenarios, you can make it look like you pulled off a miracle.

Don't take things for granted. Don't assume that everything will work with your equipment or that no one will ask you to speak on something because you weren't the go-to guy. The Broncos could have thrown in the towel and assumed they were going to lose - instead they got a miracle. What's going to happen to you when it looks like all of your chips are down? Can you pull off that miracle? If you are prepared - you should be able to.

Blogs I follow: Slides that stick

via stickyslides.blogspot.com

There are several blogs that I follow each week (or at least attempt to follow if my schedule allows) that more people should know about. One of those sites is Slides that Stick run by Jan Schultink.

Jan posts quite often and all of them have some great ideas when it comes to giving a presentation. Jan's focus is all on improving the use of powerpoint presentations. He almost always has examples of what he is talking about and practical tips that you can use. Additionally, his blogs are short and to the point. A lot of times blogs can get very wordy and that is never the case with Slides that stick.

If you are looking to improve your powerpoint presentations with better images, then you need to check out Slides that stick - I do.