Dahle Communication

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.

High School Debate -- Tomorrows Leaders

In a couple of hours, I am going to be judging a High School Debate Tournament.  However, this is not just any tournament, it is the tournament of the year for Northern South Dakota -- the National Qualifying Tournament (schools south of Interstate 90 have their tournament next week).  The top two to three students in each division will advance to the National Debate Tournament held in June of each year.  Needless to say, it is an intense tournament that will last well into the night on Saturday (South Dakota has a rule that says students can't compete on Sundays...we're old school).  There are 9 events at this tournament: Policy Debate, Public Forum Debate, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Original Oratory, Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking, International Extemporaneous Speaking, Dramatic Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation and Duo Interpretation.

If you don't know what high school debate is, I would recommend two movies for you to watch.  The Great Debaters and Resolved.  The Great Debaters shows debate how it used to be and Resolved shows what Policy Debate has become.  I will say this about Policy Debate, which is what is portrayed in Resolved: it does not help your speaking skills.  The other types of events that students participate in however are great ways for students to learn public speaking skills, much like the Great Debaters movie (which is a lot how Public Forum works).

The students that I will be judging this weekend are the leaders of tomorrow.  They have learned the skills necessary to be confident when they speak in front of an audience, the ability to research and prepare themselves as needed and the confidence to comprehend anything that is thrown at them in the workforce.

If you ever get a chance, I would recommend that you find a local tournament in your area and watch some rounds or even offer to judge a Public Forum round (we actually encourage people who do not have a background in debate to judge Public Forum).  You will be amazed at the level of intelligence and professionalism that high school teenagers can have.

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