Sunday 8 July 2007

10:20:30

A rule of thumb for presentations I am using a lot at the mo:

10 slides  MAX

20 minutes MAX

30 point font MIN

 

Try it - it works !

Shamelessly borrowed from Guy Kawasaki

Wednesday 4 July 2007

Philosophy for 7 year-olds

These bright, young pupils have been asked to consider "whether it is possible to step in the same river twice?".

  

One  says: "You could step in the river one day and then go home. Then the next day you could come back to the same river - as long as you know the way - and do it again."

In a flash of inspiration, one of the boys who has been waggling his hand impatiently says : "If you step in the river on Saturday and then you went to step in the river on the next day - where you stepped on Saturday would be gone because the river keeps on moving."  

Einstein says, once a mind has been stretched over a new idea - it cannot be stretched back

One of the teachers says  "Philosophy teaches you how to think things through, solve problems and deal with moral dilemmas."

The head teacher adds: "Our children are going into such a changing world. We can't predict what they're going to need in terms of knowledge, but one thing we can give them is confidence and a sense of how to learn. Philosophy gives them those skills."

CONFIDENCE and a willingness to QUESTION  - key skills in an ever changing world. I think it's a great idea ....I wonder if they take challenging 4 year olds.....?

Tuesday 3 July 2007

Speaking as a Performance

Doug Lawrence has been a singer, music director and speech coach - singing in places such as Carnegie Hall. He suggests singing and speaking have a lot in common. The main goal is to engage your audience and make them listen to you, so everything a singer does, a speaker ought to do too.

Not totally convinced on all points but this is what he says. Take the best - leave the rest.

  1. Circulate with your audience.

  2. Command attention.

  3. Snarl.

  4. Bite your tongue.

  5. Always perform a sound check before you speak.

  6. Use your eyes all the time.

  7. Move away from center to make your point.

  8. Get quiet.

  9. “Underline” certain words with a pause or repetition.

  10. Take a risk and be vulnerable.

  11. Tee it higher.

  12. Know when it’s time to go.

  13. Use Q and A as an “encore.”

  14. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.