May 2010

Your brain is like a surfer on the waves. When the surfer sees a big wave coming, he rides that wave. And then he zigs and zags to keep his balance, as the wave rushes madly to shore. But right after the ‘surfer’s wave’ is another wave. And another. And dozens of others. But the [...]

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If you’ve been to a presentation, you’ll find that part of the presenter’s agenda is to take questions at the end. Which means you make your presentation, and then you call for questions—just in case someone needs something clarified or in case your presentation has raised some questions. But do you have to take questions? [...]

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Examples have a singular goal: They help the reader understand a concept. But could the wrong example actually alienate an audience? And how would you know which kind of example would alienate you? Let’s look at a simple example of a ‘rocking chair.’ So if were to talk about a ‘rocking chair’, for instance, you’d [...]

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In any article writing outline you could start with just about any point of view. Your article could start off answering the questions “why, how, when” etc. So why start with “What”? And when do you start with “What”? There’s a simple answer… “What” brings all your readers on the same page in a microsecond. [...]

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Have you ever seen a rock concert where the singer holds out the microphone in the middle of a song. And not surprisingly the audience sings the lyrics of the songs, while swaying madly to the music. Your audience should be so adoring, eh? Well, if you can’t exactly be a rock star to your [...]

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If you’re a trainer, there’s one scenario that’s almost impossible to avoid. It’s the scenario where you see a hand going up. The participant is about to ask a question. And there’s nothing wrong with the question, except that it’s out of left field. The participant is asking: How do I blazaboo the configulation spectroconfiture [...]

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Imagine it’s a rainy night. And suddenly you hear a drop of water coming from the roof. One drop, two drops. Five hundred drops and a bit of mopping up later, and you’ve got a bucket under the leak. So what do you do next morning? Do you leave the buckets or do you resolve [...]

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Put a two year old child in front of a Barney video for the first time, and watch the child’s face. It’s intent. It’s focused. And not very relaxed at all. But put that child in front of that same Barney video for the seven hundredth time, and watch the anticipation on her face. She’s [...]

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One of the biggest marketing tools you have at your disposal is the power of video. If you don’t have video on your site, you’re missing out on a big opportunity to showcase your credibility. In the end, customers don’t give a whit about your products or services. They want to know that they can [...]

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Articles bloat. You start writing an article, expecting it to stay well within the boundaries, and then it just takes off. And about two hours later, you’re wondering where things went wrong. Why is your article looking like a dog’s breakfast? There are two reasons for article bloat Reason 1: Avoiding Outlines Reason 2: Bullet [...]

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There’s a difference between presenting and conversation. Do you know the difference? The presenter’s tone is almost like a parent’s tone. It’s telling you to do this, and do that. It follows a script that’s either in the presenter’s head or on paper (if the person is reading off a script). And that tone while [...]

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At 7 am, once a week, across New Zealand, a group of between twenty-thirty people assemble. These groups of people don’t belong to a sect. They have no secret handshake. No password or code. They’re simply networking. So what makes this group so interestingly different? The difference is insourcing. So what’s insourcing? Well, it’s kinda [...]

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