Communication Arts
Everybody take a seat in the auditorium. Turn off all phones, smart phones and any other distractions. No drinking or eating, with the possible exception of water and glucose tablets for diabetics in the audience. No talking. No texting – well you already turned of your devices, right? In any case, focus, focus, focus. Focus on the speaker, the slides, the message, and take good notes. Well, that’s the old way. The traditional way. Not the way to start a new media conversation, because you can’t have a conversation while sequestered in a dimly lit room. New media is about disruption, except that you can’t be disruptive while focusing on one thing.
This may or may not be the message from a presentation at Minnesota Public Radio’s “Wits” series. The featured guest was John Hodgman, an author, editor, actor (as a PC in Apple commercials) and self-described cheesemonger – he dreams about cheese. Hodgman touted the value of distraction and digression – the brain chemistry during social media distraction is the same as the brain chemistry during combat. Instead of a straightforward storytelling style, he embraced his inner absent-minded professor, wandering from topic to topic – don’t give a man a free computer, he’ll only use it for a day; attack ads could be good for winning a fight but henchmen, widely available in a bad economy, shouldn’t be ruled out.
Meanwhile MPR allowed audience members to use various devices to Tweet and Text about the conversation in the auditorium. While some complain about today’s excessive distractions, Hodgman and others at the presentation claim that there have always been distractions, and that said distraction is the food of creativity. Of course, John Hodgman is a humorist and has a way with presenting material. But ultimately, the audience at the event was quite engaged and entertained, and they were able to use social media to spread the word across a much wider audience in the Twittersphere. If only distraction didn’t require so much time.
Life in a day is a historic global experiment to create a user generated feature film documenting a single day on earth. On July 24, 2010, people around the world captured a glimpse of their lives on camera and uploaded the footage to YouTube and others submitted it via SD cards.
Here are the results >>>
“Good leaders make people feel that they’re at the very heart of things, not on the periphery.” So says Warren Bennis, who is considered to be one of the leading experts on leadership. And it could be said that if you’re an expert on leadership, you should be a leading one else you wouldn’t have any followers, in which case, you may not be a leader and your expertise would be in jeopardy. There could be entire essays full of quotes from Bennis, who has spent probably six decades discussing leadership. “People who cannot invent and reinvent themselves must be content with borrowed postures, secondhand ideas, fitting in instead of standing out.” And, “Leaders must encourage their organizations to dance to forms of music yet to be heard.” Presumably, we can all name at least a few organizations that dance.
Looking ahead, Bennis believes future leaders will be those who best understand people. The first step to this is to understand oneself. “Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself.” As he sees it, those who understand themselves will also be more comfortable engaging in open communication with others in the organization, thus building trust. Trust is at the foundation of consistently and reliably meeting customer expectations. Additionally, a good leader is an optimist who believes that obstacles are meant to be conquered. Such a leader is Intel’s Andrew Grove who though he grew up in dire circumstances, believed that he could win the Nobel Prize. And finally, “There are two ways of being creative. One can sing and dance. Or one can create an environment in which singers and dancers flourish.”
While some debate the idea that English should be the official language in cities or counties, it turns out all of us in America do not speak English in quite the same way. From North to South and East to West, and the middle ground in between, each region has its own subset of vocabulary words, not commonly used beyond those regional borders. In New England a dropped egg is not one that fell out of a basket but rather one that was poached – or dropped into boiling water. In Wisconsin they go out for “bakery,” which are the products at the bakery. In some cases a garden house may be in a garden but it’s not a place for plants. It’s a privy or outhouse. Honeyfuggle means cheating. A blue norther in Texas refers to the wind.
Such variation in the English vocabulary used around America resulted in a project called Dictionary of American Regional English or DARE, which has no relation to that other DARE. As it turns out, a group of experts spend time around the country checking in with locals and just generally hanging about to get a handle on local words. Not every place in the country is familiar with the brat – on a bun, that is. But just when things were getting interesting, the researchers discovered that alas, regional words are an endangered species. With everything from sandwich franchises to business travelers popularizing terminology, regional words are being assimilated into the general English lexicon in America – so one day, we may all speak the same English – except that it would still be different from the original English. Meanwhile please pass the goozlum (so I may pour it over my mashed potatoes).
It is said that, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever;” that “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder;” that soccer is the beautiful game and that while beauty may be skin deep, ugliness is to the bone – or something along those lines. But now it turns out beauty may be the path to better health and happiness. So it is written in, “Beauty and the Soul: The Extraordinary Power of Everyday Beauty to Heal Your Life,” by Piero Ferruci. In study after study, though one can never be sure who commissions any given study, beautiful surroundings or attending beautiful concerts, poetry readings and theatre can lead to faster healing and longer life. Who would have guessed?
However, according to the author, we in Western societies are suspicious of beauty, possibly because it requires time and energy, not only to discern beauty but also to enjoy it. Instead we have become obsessed with speed and technology and the world of digital, which is a cold and not very beautiful world. And perhaps we should be suspicious of those who think technology is cold and possibly ugly but Dr. Ferruci seems to be such a nice guy that his charming manner is just beautiful and it makes us happy to be in the presence of his words – perhaps.
In any case, here is a sampling of Dr. Ferruci’s words on finding beauty: “Beauty is spontaneous. Like the shape of clouds, the flowers in the fields, a brilliant idea, a flash of lightning. We cannot say beforehand how it will be, and this is just what makes it special. Beauty comes when it will; it is up to us to be ready for it… Less thinking equals more beauty…. Attention is nourishing. Anything we give our interest to grows and develops. Anything we neglect or ignore atrophies… Beauty is everywhere. We find it in music, poetry, a face. But we also find it in a wilted flower, moss on an old wall, rusted iron, a concert of croaking frogs…”
When a radical change is desperately needed, a Visionary leader is best. But in the face of a crisis, with lots of problems and the need for an urgent turnaround, go with a more Commanding leader. When trying to strengthen connection during stressful times, it’s best to have Affiliative leadership. A Democratic leader helps to build consensus while a Coaching style leader can improve team performance. Pacesetting leadership drives the team to perform and deliver the numbers. These are the most recognizable styles of leadership as outlined by Daniel Goleman, in his book, “Primal leadership.”
A given leadership style should fit the needs of the times, the people and the organization otherwise it just won’t work. But leaders beware. Each style comes with its own set of problems and if applied incorrectly can probably lead to something disastrous. While an affiliative leader is good for group harmony, the individual accomplishments may go unnoticed and un-recognized, leading some to believe that mediocrity is okay. So while it is often said that we should, lead, follow or get out of the way, it seems leadership isn’t so much about math as it is about art.
Actually, from Daniel Goleman’s viewpoint, leadership could be more about maturity. He’s the guy who advanced the concept of Emotional Intelligence. In this respect, the best leaders have a high degree of self-awareness and are also aware of the “emotional reality” of the various members of their team. Topics to be considered include, communication style, interpersonal issues, office culture and the overall “emotional tone” of the team. Good leaders explore and expose unhealthy group habits and work to change them. Barring such deep team understanding, the best solution may be to throw foam darts at each other – real darts are counter-productive. The last not really included in the book but highly recommended by amateurs.
What if you could cut through the clutter and truly position your new technology for success? What if you always knew the right thing to say whenever and wherever you needed it? What if you could own a hybrid vehicle that was beautiful inside and out? What if you could have an incredible driving experience every time you drove your Porsche? Imagine living in a city with the perfect blend of high culture and small town charm and beauty. Imagine if your new best friend could be made out of snow… What if? What if? What if? Imagine the possibilities.
So begin the sample sales pitches from Buzzuka.com. Recognizing that we now live in the “140 character world,” the folks behind Buzzuka want to help you refine and reduce your sales pitch into a concise and “unique” message. For example, one featured pitch is, “Singer Construction is your friendly, neighborhood remodeling contractor. We not only build houses, we build relationships.” Right away, we learn that this construction company is unique in that it is building relationships. No need to wade through an essay about construction practices and techniques. Who has time for that? From Buzzuka’s point of view, a pitch worth its salt ought to be Tweetable.
Whether it’s a new product, a new company, a new idea for a product or the quest for a new job, your pitch should be able to stand the elevator test – get it done in an elevator ride. It isn’t clear on the optimum number of floors required for the perfect elevator pitch – 50 or 3. Regardless, Buzzuka wants to help you drill down to the most basic yet positive elements of your product, service or brand. They want to put “the power of pitch-making in the palm of your hands.” One example of a successful pitch is, “Intel inside.” The revelation may have actually come from a marketing executive’s viewing a box of Pop Tarts with “Smucker’s jelly inside.” Who would have thought?
“I guess I should warn you: If I turn out to be particularly clear, you’ve probably misunderstood what I said.” - Fmr. Fed Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan