Dahle Communication

Would 9/11 be different today? MIP asks a compelling question

(image from the cover of The Economist magazine)

Like most Americans, I remember exactly where I was, what I was doing and the rest of the day on 9-11-01. This year we observe the 10th anniversary of that tragic day when thousands of Americans lost their lives. I first wanted to recognize those who lost their lives that day and those since figting in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

Now, this is a communication blog, so what does this have to do with communication?

I was going to talk about how the conversations changed regarding terrorism, wars and United States intervening.

However, after reading this post by Brett Duncan at Marketing in Progress it really changed my thoughts.

Brett brings up the question of what would happen if the 9/11 attacks were attempted today. I think its an amazing question when you consider how much technology has changed. Cell phones, videos, texting and twitter are instantly posted on-line in live time.

Would it have helpd alert people? Would it have done anything?

I'm not sure. I just think it is an amazing question to ask. Brett agrees with me, stating:

I marvel at just how much more we would know because of these commonplace technologies that weren’t even available 10 years ago. I wonder how that day would have changed had they been available. I dare even wonder if that day would have even happened the way that it did.

Technology has changed so much in the way we communicate over the past ten years. While I've talked about the good and the bad that comes with it, I think most of us don't sit back and reflect on those changes and what it means for us as a species, as a nation and as invidivuals.

Its got me thinking about history and technology and how it has affected us, how it will in the future and the what ifs of the past. It's something that I probably will continue to look at because I think it is an excellent topic of discussion.

Green Drinks - A Great Way to Converse About Sustainability

 In Sioux Falls, Astronaut Studios has been putting together an event each month called 'Green Drinks.' Their website explains that:

Sioux Falls Green Drinks is an informal monthly mixer for people who are interested in conversation and learning about sustainable business, design, policy and living. It’s organized locally by the 
Sioux Falls Green Project and Astronaut. Fun is in our nature

The Green Drinks events have been a lot of fun and have really stimulated a lot of discussion around sustainability. Previous events have included speakers from various backgrounds including Poet (a major Ethanol producer in the US), the Plain Green Conference, Copenhagen Climate Change Conference attendees and a Mayor's forum.

 Along with the speakers, the rest of the time is spent just meeting people who believe in sustainability. During this time, people can discuss projects that they are working on regarding green projects or ideas that they have and want some discussion on. The nice part about the events is that they are usually at a bar or restaurant, which gives the meetings a very laid back feel to them. This allows the people who show up to feel comfortable and not feel like it is some big event that they have to be tense or dress up for (even though a lot of them come straight from working, so they are in their business clothes).

They have also did a great job with their branding. They have had some great artists create posters for each meeting and each of them have been great, which a couple of them I have included on this post.

If you are in the Sioux Falls area, you should try to check it out. The communication on sustainability and green innovation, jobs, energy, etc. has been a great way to get a discussion started on those topics. 

One Year Down - A review of my favorites

 One year ago today I published my first post on communication here at Dahle Communication. I wasn't quite sure how much I was going to be able to spend posting articles or what I would talk about all of those times. After one year though, I have realized that there is a great deal to talk about and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon!

With that said, here are my top 10 posts from the past year. They are not the top ten in views or comments, but what I feel are the 10 bests posts. Best can mean a variety of things, but to me it represents a post that was thought provoking, got some good feedback and has continued to attract interest not only from everyone out there, but me as well.

10. Presentations to watch: xBlog: Did You Know 4.0 - I put this post in the top ten because of how good the video from xBlog is. Its a great presentation that has given me some inspiration and has also gotten me to think about the world.

9. Prezi - A Revolution in Presentations or Just Another Program? - Prezi is a presentation application that has made me re-think the way presentation CAN be done. However, much like anything new, its novelty has worn off some for me. However, I think it is still a great presentation tool that can be added to any successful presenters repertoire.

 8. A Good Story Helps Propel Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor - Justice Sotomayor's profile has decreased quite a bit since she was nominated and confirmed as the most recent Supreme Court justice. Her rise to fame however allowed the Obama administration to show all of us how to use a story to get your audience on your side.

7. Watch the context of your language - why MSNBC should learn slang - The reason I put this up on the top 10 list is that I am a political junkie. I follow politics a lot and like to follow how candidates and activists use communication - either to their advantage or disadvantage. Sadly, a lot of people apparently need to learn slang, because this issue is still around. Besides, this has quite possibly the funniest clip from The Daily Show ever!

6. Macworld 2009 Keynote - Minus Steve Jobs - All of us know how good of a public speaker Steve Jobs is. So when he didn't present at the Keynote address of Macworld people were concerned - about Steve and the status of Apple. Apple is so tied to Jobs and his ability to present eloquently that unless his successor can follow in his footsteps as a confident speaker, Apple might be in trouble.

 5. Pearl Jam Ten Redux CD - Addition by Subtraction - I put this post up simply for the fact that music is a big part of my life and I have used music on several occasions to prove a point. Other posts include one talking about Allison Krauss & Robert Plant, The Watchmen Trailer, Alice In Chains, Chris Isaak and Muse. Music can teach us a lot about communication.

4. Destroying a Brand the Tiger way - This has turned out to be a huge story. What's more amazing is that is it still unfolding in front of our eyes. By the end of 2010, we might know everything - but I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't.

 3. Are things like Twitter, Texting, Facebook and Blogging hurting communication? - This was one of many posts regarding communication and how it is being affected by on-line media. A lot of people have simply forgotten how important effective communication is.

2. Twitter vs Facebook - Why Simplicity Matters - I have posted several times about Twitter because of its impact on our world as communicators and on society as a whole. 

 1. Mantras versus Mission Statements? How about a Passion Statement - This post got a lot of responses from people about the idea of a passion statement. While reading Guy Kawasaki's book Reality Check, I liked his idea of a mantra instead of a mission statement. However, I like the idea of a passion statement even more - which is why you will find one of our pages on our website titled "About Our Passion"

These were just 10 of the 88 posts I had over the past year. I can't wait for the next year and what communication will have in store for us.

An ambidextrous pitcher? Really - now that is an eye opener

A video from ESPN today baffled me. It showed a minor league pitcher who can pitch both left-handed and right-handed. While there are numerous switch hitters in the major leagues, Pat Venditte is the first ambidextrous pitcher in a hundred years. What is more, he is quite good. He has one of the best strikeout to walk ratios, pitches up to 93 mph on the right and 86 mph on the left - so he is not just a freak show.

What I found interesting about this video is that he is making history. Whether or not he makes it to the MLB is unknown. However, I don't watch any minor league baseball (except for the occassional Sioux Falls Canaries game), which means I don't know any minor league player - except now.

How does this deal with communication? Pat Venditte uses his skill to his advantage. He is able to pitch to the side of the batter that they don't want to face -- every batter. This is giving him a step up against other players, which will help him be successful. Being able to give a great presentation is a great skill that a lot of business professionals do not have. If you can gain that skill, you will get a step up against your competition. Don't think that it is something that you can't learn - you can. Working on a becoming a great presenter is something, that if worked on,  can lead you to great success.

Travis

Walter Cronkite and the Death of Communication

Over the years, there are certain individuals that have made an impact on American culture. Martin Luther King Jr., JFK, and Ronald Regan are just a few of those who have made that impact. Walter Cronkite was one of them. Over the past few days, we have seen the enourmous impact that Mr. Cronkite had on a generation of Americans and beyond. 

I am too young to remember watching the CBS News with Walter Cronkite since he retired when I was only 4. My memories of him come from those instances when was doing a special report or an interview or when studying history and listening to his reports on certain events in American History. His report on JFK's death, the landing on the moon, his commentary on the Vietnam war and every other major event that happened during his time as the face of CBS News are times that people will never forget. Bert Decker has a great post about how Walter Cronkite was trusted and why, which is a great post and a must read.

Walter Cronkite was a communicator. He was able to communicate with his audience what was happening in America and people felt like he was communicating with them instead of at them. It was a sad day for communication when Mr. Cronkite passed away. I hope that others can learn from his example.

Travis

 

A Good Story Helps Propel Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor

There are many people in the communication field that have talked about the importance of telling a compelling story when giving a speech. Duarte Design, Bert Decker, Garr Reynolds, Guy Kawasaki, and Dr. Simon Raybould of Presentation Skills have all talked about the importance of telling a good story when giving a presentation or a speech.

Beyond that, if you had any doubts as to the importance of having a good story, then all of us were given a great example with President Barack Obama's nomination of Justice Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Right away there were various newspaper accounts discussing her story and not her judicial record. A New York Times article summed it up well by starting a major article on Sotomayor with the following:

She was “a child with dreams,” as she once said, the little girl who learned at 8 that she had diabetes, who lost her father when she was 9, who devoured Nancy Drew books and spent Saturday nights playing bingo, marking the cards with chickpeas, in the squat red brick housing projects of the East Bronx. She was the history major and Puerto Rican student activist at Princeton who spent her first year at that bastion of the Ivy League “too intimidated to ask questions.” She was the tough-minded New York City prosecutor, and later the corporate lawyer with the dazzling international clients. She was the federal judge who “saved baseball” by siding with the players’ union during a strike. Now Sonia Sotomayor — a self-described “Nuyorican” whose mother, a nurse, and father, a factory worker, left Puerto Rico during World War II — is President Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court, with a chance to make history as only the third woman and first Hispanic to sit on the highest court in the land. Her up-by-the-bootstraps tale, an only-in-America story that in many ways mirrors Mr. Obama’s own, is one reason for her selection, and it is the animating characteristic of her approach to both life and the law.

Notice how there wasn't anything that dealt with her decisions on certain cases or her stance on certain issues. This was not a coincidence. The Obama administration is using a good story to help them ensure that their candidate gets through the senate confirmation hearings and placed on the Supreme Court.

Don't get me wrong - I am not claiming that Sonia Sotomayor is not qualified for the position or that the Obama administration is trying to fool anyone. I have not researched her qualifications nor have I delved into the debate about if she should be appointed to the Supreme Court or not. My point is simply this: the Obama administration is doing what all great speakers and presenters do. They are using a compelling story to get people on their side. 

In the same way, this can help your speeches and presentations. Knowing how to tell a good story gets people interested in what you have to say. Regardless if you agree with Obama's choice or disagree with it - you should recognize how effective their story is.

Travis

Fareed Zakaria - Intelligent Communication

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Fareed Zakaria
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

In today's world of instant and constant news, it is hard to figure out what is worth listening to, reading about and/or watching. However, whenever I can, I try to listen to and read what Fareed Zakaria has to say. If you don't know who Fareed Zakaria is, check out the clip from the Daily Show and then go to his website for more info. He is considered by many to be a leading figure on world affairs and is one of the most intelligent commentators in the media today. One thing that I really like about Zakaria is that he breaks down the news without using gimmicks or being showy.

What Zakaria has done over the past few years is continued to do what he does best - break down international affairs and discuss them with us intelligently. He has been able to increase his profile not by being flashy or trying to be something he wasn't.

What I think has really made an impact in Zakaria's influence is his communication ability. He is someone who is clearly intelligent, and yet he is able to communicate his thoughts and concerns to us in terms that are understandable, clear, concise and effective. There are a lot of really smart people out there, but unless they can communicate their thoughts to us effectively, their message is going to be lost. Additionally, there are a lot of great communicators out there, but their message doesn't make you think about something on a deeper level. Socrates called them Sophists and thought they were essentially windbags who didn't say anything worth learning. While I don't think the art of Rhetoric should receive that label, there are definitely a few worth giving that title to.

Combining the intelligence of Zakaria with his communication ability is something we should all try to achieve. All of us should strive to be eloquent in our speaking and communicating while still contributing to an intelligent discussion. So work not just on your communication ability, but what your content is as well.

Travis

Do Something Daring: Steal Home Plate!

I'm not a huge Major League Baseball fan (outside of cheering for the Twins). I would rather spend my time watching the NFL, playing Golf or maybe going to a minor league game with my kids. However, there are certain stories that I enjoy following because that story is compelling. As much as I like the Twins and don't like the big markets dominance, I do enjoy the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry. The history, the hatred, the back-stories - there is a lot involved. This weekend was the first of their series this year at Boston. In case you missed it, yesterday, the Red Sox Jacoby Ellsbury decided that he didn't want to wait for J.D. Drew to get a hit to score a run - he decided to just steal home - with two outs, the bases loaded and the Sox holding onto a 1 run lead. This sent a spark through the Red Sox and helped propel them to their 10th straight win and a sweep of their hated rivals. This is something that just doesn't happen on a regular basis (despite what we've seen in movies like "Major League"). The announcer was so surprised by it that he was stumbling over his words. It was a big gamble, but one that paid off and one that is going to be talked about for some time.

There is a lesson here for you when it comes to preparing your speeches. Are you surprising your audience? Are you giving them a spark to get excited about and rally around? If not, you should think about doing something daring. Is there something that you've been wanting to say, but not sure if it would work? If you have, I would say now is the time to try it out. Be bold and daring. Sitting on the sidelines is the safe strategy, but if you want to get your name out there and get people excited about what you are doing, you sometimes have to steal home.

As always, don't do it without planning it through. There is a good chance you might get tagged out at home. You want to make sure that if you do, it won't be the end of the game - just a small set back that you can recover from. So be daring, but PLAN on being daring - don't just do it on a whim. I am sure that Jacoby Ellsbury has stolen plenty of bases and he planned it out in his head what he was going to do. It was an exciting play that was fun to watch and is going to be discussed for a while. Do the same thing.

Travis

Articles you should have read

Instead of delving into something new today, I wanted to highlight some of the great posts and articles that I have found over the past couple of weeks that I felt needed to be discussed more. With so many posts out there, it is sometimes hard to find the good articles and a lot of times someone will post a great blog and for whatever reason, it is just missed. I'm not saying this happened with these posts, I just wanted to highlight a few of those that I really enjoyed and want people to check out.

1. Audience on the Stage - Duarte Blog

Chris Iufer of the Duarte Blog talks about getting the audience to participate and helping Nancy Duarte prepare for the Web 2.0 Expo. They wanted people at the expo to be able to answer questions without having to shout out the answers. They looked at Twitter, SMS Polls and a Chat room. Its an interesting discussion looking at the feasibility of using Twitter in your presentations.

2. Lessons for 6th Graders (and us) - The You Blog

John Windsor has a great article about working with 6th graders and giving them advice on how to prepare slides for their presentations on the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs. If you have ever had to give a presentation to middle schoolers you will relate to John's post - and even if you haven't, you should still read this. 

3. 1. Experience the world instead of talking about experienceing the world - The first of 21 Principles from Metacool

Diego Rodriguez is putting together quite a series on his blog Metacool. He is going through 21 principles that you should follow. The link above will take you to the first one and as of this post he was on number 9. These are not just one or two sentences of advice either. He goes into a lot of detail to talk about them.

4. 27 Visualizations and Infographics to Understand the Financial Crisis - Flowing Data

If you have never read Nathan's blog Flowing Data, this is the perfect post to start reading. I like statistics and numbers, but being able to see those numbers placed visually and in a compelling manner is even better. If you have had a hard time putting your numbers into a presentation in a compelling way, take some tips from Nathan and attempt to do what he does.

5. PowerPoint make-over artist tricks for newbies - Slides that stick

One thing I love about this blog is that it is usually concise and is updated almost everyday. This means that I will usually learn something or have something make me think on a daily basis. This post is really good if you are just getting started with presentations.

6. Ashton Kutcher, CNN and the Twitter Celebrity Effect - Marketing In Progress

Brett Duncan has some great thoughts on Twitter and its impact as of lately. He also adds some great points in the comments section about the future of Twitter. A great start to a blog that will have you looking at marketing in a new way (and yes I stole this idea of putting together a few of my favorite links from him...thanks Brett for the idea).

Is Twitter Getting too big? A lesson for your speeches

A recent post by Brett Duncan of Marketing In Progress really made me think about twitter. It wasn't even the post so much as his comments at the bottom of the page. When discussing the growth of twitter he states "Early adopters like a product as long as they are the early adopters for it. Once it reaches that majority status, early adopters start looking for something else to adopt . . . early." 

This is an interesting thought. Is Twitter getting too big? Is it starting to grow too much? I am guessing that those who are invested in the growth of twitter would say no, but I think it is a fair question. I think Brett's point that people who are early adopters of something do tend to get upset when whatever they have adopted becomes mainstream. I equate this to the music fan who thinks that their favorite band was much better when no one knew who they were.

I have to admit, I wasn't sure what I would think of Twitter. I was a little skeptical at first and didn't know what all the fuss was about. However, after trying it out I have really liked it and use it almost every day to keep up on news, new blog posts and just banter with other people. I was not one of the "early adopters" but have sort of jumped on the bandwagon just before it exploded with the likes of Oprah and Ashton Kutcher. However, I have noticed the explosion of twitter as of late and I'm not sure what to think of it. Will people leave? I think they will. At what point will that saturation get? If you know then you are a smarter person than I.

Take a lesson about Twitter when you are preparring a speech. Know when to say when. You want to leave the audience waiting for more. If you start putting too many things in your speech or your presentation you are going to start losing your audience. If people start to feel overwhelmed or that you are putting too many things in your speech, they will start to lose interest and they are going to be looking for a way out to something better.

Is this going to happen to twitter? Probably not for quite a while, and I am sure they will do just fine. However, something will probably come around that will challenge it, much like they have challenged facebook. Were you an early user of Twitter? Are you starting to feel like Twitter is getting over-exposed? If they are, is it that big of a deal? Are you looking for something new?

Travis

Watch the context of your language - why MSNBC should learn slang

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Nationwide Tax Protests
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

One of the sad things about not having cable anymore is that I don't watch The Daily Show on a regular basis. I try to catch it on-line the next day if at all possible, but have missed more than a few episodes. I was lucky enough to catch Thursday's show about the tax protests that were organized by the republican party. While the commentary on the protests was quite funny, it was how the major news sources covered the event that was so entertaining. MSNBC decided to use the phrase "tea-bagging" because of the references to the Boston Tea Party protests that the protest organizers wanted to emulate (it is near the end of the clip above). Unfortunately, the phrase "tea-bagging" has taken on quite a different definition than the one that MSNBC was aware of. As the Daily Show pointed out, that type of phrase is used by The Daily Show!

While funny, speakers also need to be aware of current slang and use of phrases when they are talking. While you might think that there is nothing that can be misconstrued in your speech, you should take another look. Maybe have someone younger look it over to see if they notice anything. Words take on different meanings over the years and slag terms can change quickly. It is better to be safe than sorry.

While I love a good laugh and unintended humor is usually the best, I don't want to see you do something that people are going to laugh about. You want people to remember your speech and presentation for its content - not your unintended humor.

Travis

How do you communicate with someone you disagree with?

Seth Godin posted an interesting blog this morning title "What do you call things you disagree with?" Well, since he doesn't have a comments page to discuss what we would call it, I figured I would post about it here and if anyone wants to add to the discussion they are more than welcome.

What I think is most obvious in Seth's post is his comment that when we get annoyed with something or afraid of something, we "lose eloquence and start calling things names." Evidence of this can be seen every single day if you watch any type of news commentary, read blog posts on politics or marketing or listen to AM talk radio. When people disagree with something, they get angry and just delve into name calling. While I think he is talking more about marketing, I see it more often than not in politics.

For me, I call things that I disagree with by their names. If I disagree with someone, I don't delve into name calling and trying to degrade them. What I try to do is see things from their perspective, analyze it and then disagree with them in a civilized manner. Unfortunately, people forget that they are talking to another human being when they are arguing with them and they are passionate about something. This is one of the main reasons why I got out of politics.

It is also one of the reasons that I love teaching debate. It forces students to learn how to see things from both sides of an issue and be able to defend both sides of that issue. This is also why I want to extend my knowledge and teach people that communication is about talking to another human being. They are not someone who you should throw names at and try to disparage them. Disagreeing with someone is a necessary component of our democracy...calling them facists, left-wing radicals, communists, socialists, right-wing bigots or anything in-between doesn't solve anything. All it does is create more hatred in this world.

As Seth Godin says, "there's never a shortage of boogy men available to the people in the community that you're frightening." This is true. But don't get sucked in with them. Raise above it and try to engage them in an intellectual discussion. Be civil. Most importantly, remember that they are just someone who disagrees with you...and that's okay.

Travis

Timothy Geithner Needs a Speech Coach

When I was on the high school debate team, my partner and I were by far the most succesful team from our school during our junior and senior years. We may not have been the smartest people on our team, but we were the best debaters. The reason for this is simple: we could communicate our ideas and arguments more persuasively than our peers on the team. The lesson we learned was a simple one: while you want to be smart and knowledgeable, you also have to be able to communicate those ideas persuasively if you want to be effective. Unfortunately, Timothy Geithner didn't learn that lesson until recently.

The Seattle Times had an interesting piece about President Obama's economic team and how most of his top advisers were selected on their expertise and NOT their abillity to communicate. The first time Geithner stepped in front of a TV audience to explain the generalities of the plan to save the economy, the Dow dropped 382 points. Last week when those generalities were made specific, Geithner didn't go in front of the TV cameras...the Dow went up 500 points. Needless to say, if Geithner needed to defend himself in an Athenian court in front of 500 people, he would have gone the fate of Socrates.

The point is simply this: it doesn't matter how good your idea is if you can't effectively communicate that message to your targeted audience. You could have a plan to save the planet, but unless you present it in a way that is engaging and interesting, the message will be lost. Look at what An Inconvenient Truth did for Al Gore and his message on global warming. No one really listened to Al him except for people who wanted to believe him already or were previously involved in the green movement. However, once the movie came out, because it was done so well, people sat up and listened.

President Obama needs someone who can communicate his economic message to the public. Until he does this, he is going to have to continue to be the person talking about it, which I don't' think he minds, but it would be nice if they could find a spokesman who understood the economic policies that they are implementing and can communicate them effectively.

So ask yourself this question when you are planning on speaking: are people going to understand what you are saying or are they going to walk away more confused then ever. If they are going to walk away more confused, its time to work on your presentation.

Travis

Twitter getting so big its being mocked...or at least a good comic source

Being a kid at heart, I try to keep up to date with a few comic strips that I enjoy.  While they are no Calvin & Hobbes or The Far Side they do keep me laughing and remembering to not get too serious.  In the past two weeks two of those cartoons, Doonesbury and Fox Trot, have sort of mocked or paid tribute to Twitter.

Additionally, listening to ESPN Radio on my drive to work I got to hear the hosts of Mike & Mike in the Morning talk about Twitter.  I guess I should say they tried to talk about it since they had no idea what it was.  People were sending in messages correcting them and helping them out a little bit.  The hosts only reference was to Facebook and someone even sent in a message saying "Facebook is so 2008."  

In the Doonesbury comic strip, the news journalist Roland Heley keeps updating his twitter status while he is suppose to be reporting a story.  The entire week is spent following his thoughts and comments on twitter instead of him reporting the news.  It was a complete mockery of what Twitter is and it exemplified how bad twitter can be and how out of control some people have gotten with updating everything that they are doing and every thought that they have (the Monday strip of Doonesbury has Roland tweeting 'about to scratch myself').  Shaquille O'Neal actually updated his status during halftime of one of his games, which seems a bit excessive.

While Doonesbury showed the excess of it, I liked how Fox Trot showed two things: how overuse can hinder you and how it can help you.  The kids benefited because they could hide before the parent got to their room and the parent was hurt by it because she couldn't find the kids.  

So needless to say, Twitter has not only arrived, but it has gotten so big that it is now being mocked/paid tribute to in the world of comic strips.

As far as communication and presentation goes regarding twitter, I just wanted to say this: make sure you use Twitter to your advantage instead of a hindrance.  Don't get sidetracked like Roland Heley and tweet every single thought because you can, but use it like the kids in Fox Trot -- to your advantage.  Use it to get a step up on the competition, keep informed on issues or other blogs and get your name out there.  Or if anything else, know enough about it so you can understand the Sunday Cartoon strips.

Telling a Story - Broadcasting Legend Paul Harvey Passes

One of the most well known radio broadcasters has passed away.  Paul Harvey was known almost as much for his news broadcasts as he was for his segments titled "The Rest of the Story."

Paul Harvey was a story-teller.  He built up a fan base before twitter, blogging, websites and everything else we have in this technological age.  In fact, he rarely gave any interviews or released any archival recordings of his shows -- what he did do was communicate.

Listening to NPR yesterday, they had a few clippings from his shows and they ended their show All Things Considered with this sound bite from Paul Harvey:

It is for us that one must grieve tonight for a generation which has so refined its intellect that it can split atoms and communicate with the moon and yet remains at the mercy of its own undisciplined emotions.  If the world is one day destroyed, it'll come just like this, you know.  It'll not be the H-bomb that did it, it'll be the greed or the fear or the hate that set it off.

Paul Harvey, good night.

He was speaking that evening after John F. Kennedy was assassinated.  He didn't go on about his policies or the tragedy of it.  What he did do was use his words to convey a meaning that went beyond just simple communication.  I grew up listening to Paul Harvey.  I remember listening to the news as I did my chores on the farm and hearing a lot of the stories he would tell.  While I disagreed a lot of times with some of his political thoughts, I enjoyed listening to him.

The world lost a great communicator this weekend and to honor him I just wanted to say....thank you Paul Harvey, good day.

-Travis

The New York Post - Images gone awry

Using images in your speeches and presentations is an important feature that can help you deliver your message in an effective manner.  As the saying goes 'A picture is worth a thousand words.'  However, you want to make sure that your image portrays the CORRECT image.  As with most things, people can interpret the image or picture that you use in a different manner then you intended.  If you haven't heard, the New York Post is experiencing some negative feedback from a cartoon that has been interpreted a lot differently than the cartoonists intended.

Supposidly, the cartoonist and the paper are saying that the cartoon was an implication that the people running congress and our country are a bunch of chimps.  If you are thinking in these terms, it reminds me of the Career Builder commercials where the monkeys were running everything and the one human kept getting irritated by them.  In this sense, it is a pretty benign cartoon.  However, what most people are interpreting it as saying that the money is President Obama and it is a racist cartoon that should never have been run.  A Huffington Post column talked about the cartoon and at the time of this blog, there were already well over 5,000 comments.

Whether or not you think the image is benign or you think it is a racist cartoon, there is something very important that you can learn from it -- make sure you use an image or picture that is not going to be misinterpreted in a negative way.  While there is no way to ensure that 100% of the time 100% of the people are going to understand why you used a certain image, just being aware of the possibilities is a good thing.  Additionally, have a couple of other people look at it and get their reaction.  If anyone brings up a concern, take that into account.  

Are you going to be using something like the New York Post cartoon?  I doubt it.  However, being congnisent of the possibilities can never hurt and getting some feedback on the images that you use is always a good thing.

Travis

How Communication can solve problems - Iran looks to talks with America

In my post titled "Solving Problems With Communication" I discussed how President Obama's  interview with Al-Arabiya and his overtures to countries like Iran was a great move in regards to communication.  Too many times we let our problems grow bigger and bigger because we just don't communicate with each other: in our personal lives and/or our professional lives.  It now looks like Obama's communication is starting to pay off.  Over the past few years, we have listened to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran call America "the great devil" among other names and watch as their nuclear capabilities have grown and grown and our influence in the middle-east drop and drop.  According to an article from the International Herald Tribune, Ahmadinejad has stated that Iran is open to having some dialog with the United States now, mostly because of the way that President Obama has approached the situation.  

Regardless of your political affiliation, I think this shows how opening up and being willing to put aside your differences can lead to good things.  Will this lead to better relations with Iran?  Who knows, but if you are able to open up your communication with your boss, your colleagues or anyone you are around, at least you will know where you stand.  From there you can figure out if you need to do something else, but at least you will know...and that alone is worth it.

Travis

Allison Krauss and Robert Plant -- an odd couple

In all types of presentations, there are set standards to which people follow.  Once in a while though, there are those who will break the mold and try something different and that person will have great success.  Music is the same way.  There is usually a formula that people follow (especially pop music) and no one strays too far from that process.  However, you do occasionally get those artists who push the envelope and do some experimenting and it just works.  Robert Plant and Allison Krauss did the latter with their Album 'Raising Sand' and last night at the Grammy's they won five awards including album of the year.

If you haven't listened to the album, go to iTunes right now and pick it up.  I have had the CD for almost a year and love it.  It is an interesting combination to be sure: the voice of one of the greatest rock bands ever and the biggest name in bluegrass team up to make an album.  I wasn't sure what to think of the combination when I first heard they were putting an album together, but the results were amazing.

So when you are planning on a project, don't always rely on the same things that everyone else is doing.  Step out sometimes and add something new and exciting.  Do something different -- but be careful!  Doing something different can be good, but you have to know when to use it.  So while I am suggesting that you try something new, be confident enough that you are not going to be burned in the process.

Travis

Pay Attention To Detail

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Being a fan of The Daily Show and have met former Sen. Tom Daschle on several occasions, I had to include this video.  If you haven't heard, Sen. Daschle had to pay well over $100,000 dollars in back taxes when the Obama team was vetting him for the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services.  I think Jon Stewart sums it up perfectly when he says "Pay you **** taxes!"  

So I ask this of you in regards to presentations, your business and your brand: Are you paying attention to the details?  Sometimes small things that you don't think are that big of an issue can become a big issue in a hurry.  This can create serious issues for you in a variety of ways.  If you are not paying attention to the details in your presentations, you can make some critical mistakes that might cost you some business.  Also, make sure you are paying attention to details in other aspects of your business...it might be a simple mistake that you had no intention of creating...but it is still a mistake that you will be held accountable for.  I don't think Tom Daschle was trying to avoid paying his taxes and create a problem for the Obama administration...but he did.

Travis

Combining Music with Imagery -- The Watchmen Trailer

I am not a big comic book fan.  I've bought a few here and there as a kid, but I never got into it.  The same thing with Graphic Novels, it just wasn't my thing.  However, a good friend of mine gave me 'The Watchmen' graphic novel about a year ago and I was amazed at how good the design, the literature, the imagry and everything about it was.  On 3-6-9 (hopefully) they will be releasing the movie version of the graphic novel.

If you haven't seen the trailer that is posted above, watch it and pay attention to the music that is used from about 1:20 into the trailer right up to the end.  The song, from one of my favorite bands Muse, was edited perfectly with scenes from the movie.  The combination of the visual and the music is very powerful and it makes me want to see the movie even more than I already did.  Having parts where the video is slowing down with the type of music playing, the phrase "You'll Burn in Hell" being repeated in the song with the images of fires being started and a mushrome cloud in the background and how it just stops before the last line is the perfect combination of video and music I have seen in a movie trailer for some time.

What does this have to do with communication you ask?  Good question.  What I want people to think about is this: are you effectively using your resources in your presentations?  While the trend has been going towards being as minimal as possible, there are times when an image or a combination of pictures and video or music can put an emphasis on your project.  Is it going to be movie trailer worthy?  No, and it doesn't have to be.  But think about when you are presenting, that sometimes you need more than just simple text and simple graphics.

I will say to be very cautious -- don't go overboard just to be flashy.  It's a thin line to tread, but it is definately worth looking at.

Travis