Finding Hell in the Audience Poll

March 23, 2011

“Hell is other people” is a phrase from one of my favorite plays, Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit. A classic existential line, I like to think that it means that other people make you self-conscious. Self-examination can be brutal. Hellish. When it comes to our own transgressions, we don’t like to acknowledge them privately. And we [...]

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Audience or Message: Which Do You Love More?

March 18, 2011

“The real leader serves truth, not people.”  -J.B. Yeats The truth, of course, does not depend upon a consensus of opinion. Speaking to an audience that does not like what you have to say can be a leadership challenge. It can lead to unpopularity. Boos. Hisses. Photo credit: Michael Case You risk alienating the audience [...]

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How to stop a boorish Q&A Hog in 3 easy steps

March 9, 2011

I recently attended a terrific, high-powered panel presentation that unfortunately became hijacked by what I’ll call “a Q&A hog.” You’ve probably witnessed a Q&A hog in action at a conference or presentation. Q&A Hog, defined: an annoying creature that rambles incoherently during the Question and Answer period of a presentation. The hog typically takes up [...]

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Your final words: how NOT to close a presentation

January 31, 2011

I asked folks on Twitter: “What’s the worst way to end a presentation?” My own personal pet peeve is ending with “Are there any questions?”  Q & A is such a weak & wimpy close. Regrettably, I hear it far too often. However, within 12 minutes of my Twitter query, I received even more brilliant [...]

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My Guiltiest Twitter Pleasure: Favstar.fm

November 29, 2010

OK, I’ll admit it. Very few days go by where I don’t check into favstar.fm. Why? Because I like a good grin. And I like to find humor in offbeat and unusual places. Favstar is like an underground Twitter subculture of frustrated writers and wanna-be comics. A Twitter companion site, you can simply go to [...]

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Who Else is Sick of Facebook Messages Already?

November 22, 2010

Last week, Facebook announced that it wants to revolutionize email with FaceBook Messages. In the same week, I inadvertently ignored two important emails that I received in my current Facebook Messages inbox. Interesting coincidence. I’ve already learned to ignore most of my Facebook messages. I scan my Facebook feeds, comment on them — but I [...]

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You might be a dilettante if…

October 4, 2010

By Oldmaison You might be a social media dilettante if… 1) …you raise money for obesity research on your blog one week, then post pictures of yourself on FaceBook overeating hot dogs in the town square the next…to help feed the hungry. 2) …you join a FaceBook group to save the Asian carp… without investigating [...]

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Steal This Press Conference!

September 16, 2010

Actually, the title of this post should be: “If you don’t like the news, why not go out and make your own?” The above question is a quote from “Steal This Book“, a social instruction guide written by Abbie Hoffman in the 1970′s. Hoffman was a master at getting free publicity for his causes in [...]

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Holy Mackerel! What’s the Best Speaker Gift Ever?

August 13, 2010

Recently, I received a can of mackerel as a gift. It wasn’t a speaker gift. It was, however, an unusual gift. It was also an unusually thoughtful gift. How so? A week earlier, I told an off-topic story. I heard an interview on NPR that fish at the bottom of the food chain — sardines, [...]

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How can you help the socially tone-deaf?

July 22, 2010

I’m not a sports fan. There! I’ve said it! However, I know that appreciating sports is a big part of international culture. To this extent, I am mildly conversant in the language of sports. While I don’t enter into sports-related conversations with any depth or passion, I can listen. I can value the enthusiasm of [...]

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