Archives: April 2013

Presentation Excellence

Tom has given more than 2,500 speeches in the last 30 years. He knows what it’s like to face a crowd, whether it be friendly or skeptical. As his own toughest critic, he’s never been completely satisfied with his performance.

While he has offered pointers here and there, he’s never written at length about speaking until now. We are fortunate that he has overcome whatever trepidation he may have had to tackle this topic. You’ll find in the document below extensive advice and practical wisdom about speaking from a man who has spent most of his life on a stage, trying to share knowledge and spur action. Whether you give speeches for a living or on occasion, and even if you don’t but you want to understand what makes a great speaker, read this piece. Then put it aside and read it a few months from now. It will change both how you speak as well as how you listen.

PresentationExcellence

Algorithms Rule!?

From the extraordinary/chastening book Automate This: How Algorithms Came to Rule Our World, by Christopher Steiner:

“… The audience then voted on the identity of each composition.* [Music theory professor and contest organizer] Larson’s pride took a ding when his piece was fingered as that belonging to the computer. When the crowd decided that [algorithm] Emmy’s piece was the true product of the late musician [Bach], Larson winced.” (*There were three, one each by Bach/Larson/Emmy-the-algorithm.)

” … Which haiku are human writing and which are from a group of bits? Sampling centuries of haiku, devising rules, spotting patterns, and inventing ways to inject originality, Annie [algorithm] took to the short Japanese sets of prose the same way all of [Prof David] Cope’s. algorithms tackled classical music. ‘In the end, it’s just layers and layers of binary math, he says. … Cope says Annie’s penchant for tasteful originality could push her past most human composers who simply build on work of the past, which, in turn, was built on older works. …”

We’ve included more from Steiner’s book, and some related other stuff in an attached PowerPoint mini-presentation.

Coming to Believe
Manifesto X 3

In June 2012, we released the Korea-inspired “Human Capital Development Manifesto.” On January 1st, we added “What I’ve Come/Am Coming to Believe.” Most recently, there came the “Education Manifesto/Polemic.” Now I have combined all three, and put them into two files. First a PDF file; second, a PowerPoint presentation.

Herewith …

Kuwait

Tom’s in Kuwait on the Persian Gulf. He’s speaking to the Institute of Banking Studies in Kuwait City.

Institute of Banking Studies, Kuwait City

Sunrise, NZ

Tom is now stateside, but caught his last sunrise in New Zealand earlier this week and he wanted to share the moment with all of us.

The "Thank You" Tweets

Got going on Twitter re “Thank You”-power. Herewith the riff. Brackets at the end of a tweet are the source when it’s not me—brackets with question marks are “source unknown.”

Herewith, in the order they were made:

Overdoing it on “Thank yous” is a problem—0.0000001% of the time.

Timing is not everything. Thank you is everything. [leadlikeahero]

Overdo thank yous? I am 70. I’ve had far more than my share of “Thank yous.” Love ’em as much as ever! Please feel free to overdo it.

Whenever anyone does anything of any magnitude for me I am literally delighted. An effusive “Thank you” is always in order.

The wee-est of wee “un-necessary” efforts rate mega-“Thank yous.”

Courtesy not only makes things easier, but heartfelt appreciation makes lives better. [??]

If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough. [M. Eckhart]

Saying thank you is a supreme leadership “tool.” Believe it!

Saying thank you is in a way selfish. Reward is huge appreciation for tiny investment.

The more crushing the pressure or nearness of a deadline, the more powerful the pause to say “Thank you.”

The most effusive thanks from a leader should be reserved for someone who has the nerve to bring her/ him bad news in a timely fashion.

“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you?” [William Arthur Ward]

Eye contact may be the ultimate acknowledgement. (Hey, significantly reduces retail shrinkage.)

Sorry to sound like somebody’s mom, but power of thank you multiplied by crystal clear eye contact.

When we’re busy, we often fail to make eye contact. For God’s sake … work on this! (Sooooo common when one is staring at a screen.)

Thank you/eye contact: Great news … you can consciously practice and improve.

Funny, we think about getting better at fly fishing or carpentry, but not when it comes to the likes of saying “Thank you.”

Don’t ruin a good apology with an excuse. Don’t ruin a sincere ‘thank you’ with noise. [??]

When I say “Thank you” to someone, that’s 100% it for that communication. No pollution

It’s like calling to wish someone “Happy birthday” followed by a reminder of a looming deadline

“Thank you” isn’t a starting point of something else. It is “the point.” [Vala Afshar]

Hate to be crude, but someone who is thanked is in your debt. (“Thank you” is a power tool as well as a gracious-humane gesture.)

Re “Thank you”s: I am preaching my Mom’s Gospel … enforced with the Wrath of God.

Over to you …