Show Me Your Hands

To All Presenters:

Bill Clinton has always had a reputation for being a strong public speaker. However, when he was Governor of Arkansas he developed a bad habit where he would repeatedly point at his audience with the index finger of his right hand whilst speaking. Now, as your Mother always told you, it's very rude to point - in fact most cultures have at least one single-hand gesture which is considered offensive. So,when Bill kicked off his presidential campaign his staff new they had to put the kaibash on the future president's favorite nervous tick without throwing off his popular cadence.

The solution? They taught him to curl the offending pointer inwards, and clamp it down with his thumb. This way he was free to gesture towards his audience, sans offensive finger pointing. The aesthetic end result is the now famous Clinton "thumb point" - to see it for yourself view any of his speeches since he left the Governor's mansion. I particularly enjoy the, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" performance.

Body language represents 55%-65% of all communication - so what you say with your hands matters as much, if not more than what you say with your voice. For this reason superfluous gestures will detract measurably from your ability to deliver your message.

Use your hands to accentuate your performance with solid, intentional motions and emphasize main points with deliberate gestures. If using your hands to represent something related to your content remember, you have two hands - hence you can represent two somethings. More than that, and you start to lose the audience. New movements can be uncomfortable at first, practice your gestures when you reherse your perfromance so they are comfortable to you. And if you don't have something for your hands to say - have them say nothing.

Stage actors will typically keep their arms at their sides when their hands are not in use - it is a natural and relaxed position which does not distract the audience.

THE POINT: Your hands are the only prop you will never leave in the car - use them wisely.

And Santa is Sponsored by . . .

To All Presenters:

So, the modern interpretation of Santa Clause is a symbolic byproduct of a global corporate advertising campaign.

That's disappointing.

While many countries have their own histories concerning "Father Christmas" or "St. Nick" most evolutionary lines have evolved into the amalgamated common image of the modern "Santa Claus" - and from here, Santa has had an evolution of his own.

Prior to 1931 Santa Claus' appearance varied. He oft appeared as a strict looking elf and tall, gaunt, unhealthy looking man - at different points in his aesthetic history he was short, tall, fat and thin. He has worn a bishop's robe and a Norseman's hunting clothes. One of the earliest American representations was provided by Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast when he drew a figure labeled “Santa Claus” for Harper's Weekly in 1862. His Santa was depicted as a small elf-like figure who supported the Union, but dressed in neutral tan colors instead of Union blue. Over the subsequent 30 years Nast drew Santa, the color of his coat evolved to the now traditional red.

Coke Cola began advertising their product in 1920, publishing print ads in "The Saturday Evening Post." At this point Coke was perceived as a summer-time drink so the Coca-Cola Company began a campaign to remind people their product was a thirst quencher year round. This began with the 1922 slogan "Thirst Knows No Season", and continued with a campaign aligning a true winter icon with the sugary beverage. Coke's first corporate sponsored Santa imagery much resembled the stern old elf made popular by Nast.

After a seasonal few fits and starts Coke contracted with the D'Arcy Advertising who devised a campaign that would present a realistic human Santa who could convey all the symbolism of the holiday season. Coke then contracted with Michigan artist Haddon Sundblom to develop the campaign's imagery.

Sundblom based his Santa off the description provided by Clement Clark Moore's 1822 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (commonly called "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"). Moore's description of chubby, happy old St. Nick led Sundblom to create an image of Santa that was jovial, rosy and very human (vs. literal elf). For the next 33 years, Sundblom painted portraits of Santa for Coke which, as part of their international advertising, solidified the now common interpretation of Santa in the minds of children worldwide.

So, this December 25th raise a glass of Coke in honor of a holiday tradition, after all - they paid for it.

THE POINT: Good marketing moves product, great marketing changes culture.

Great Minds Think Alike

To All Presenters:

In an article from "Wired" magazine Edward R. Tufte, professor emeritus of political science, computer science and statistics, and graphic design at Yale states:

"At a minimum, a presentation format should do no harm. Yet the PowerPoint style routinely disrupts, dominates, and trivializes content. Thus PowerPoint presentations too often resemble a school play -very loud, very slow, and very simple.

The practical conclusions are clear. PowerPoint is a competent slide manager and projector. But rather than supplementing a presentation, it has become a substitute for it. Such misuse ignores the most important rule of speaking: Respect your audience."

So . . . I must be smart, because smart people agree with me. That's good for the old ego.

Here is the link to the rest of the article:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html

And here is a link to an educational, inspiring and entertaining presentation by Sir Ken Robinson on the topic of creativity which doesn't use props or PowerPoint, and doesn't need them. Watch and repeat.

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

THE POINT: PowerPoint is a crutch.

Behold . . .Twinkle Lights

To All Presenters:

I have many traditions, today I participated in two of them.

The first is called, "Getting Past my Ten Foot Roof Line With my Six Foot Ladder." The second is called, "Celebration Upon Returning to Earth After Having Not Fallen Off the Roof."

Both involve the annual hanging of Christmas lights, and it is very important to me these traditions operate in tandem.

Why is it perfectly rational people are compelled to risk blunt force trauma in the name of light pollution, and in an effort to raise their electrical bill a few extra cents, each winter?

Apparently, we should blame Edward Johnson. He lighted up a Christmas tree in New York City with eighty red, white and blue walnut-sized, hand-wired electric light bulbs in 1882. He was also a contemporary of Thomas Edison and served as Vice President of the Edison Electric Light Company, which is today ConEd. The fact the Christmas light phenomenon was inspired by a power company executive is, shall we say, noteworthy.

In 1895, U.S. President Grover Cleveland hosted the first electrically illuminated Christmas tree in the White House - it held more than a hundred multicolored lights. The first commercially produced Christmas tree lamps were manufactured in strings of eight sockets by the General Electric Company - each socket held a miniature carbon-filament lamp. By 1900, department stores started using the new Christmas lights for their Christmas displays. However, Christmas lights were too expensive for the average person, and so candles maintained a certain exclusivity until about 1930.

Though General Electric sponsored community lighting competitions during the 1920’s, decorating of houses (and the subsequent risk related traditions) didn't take off until the late 1950's and early 1960's. I suppose it's no small coincidence that tract housing got real popular about the same time.

So, while some will say these decorations symbolize the Star of Bethlehem . . . and others will say the lighting helps Santa find his way . . . it seems we actually risk our necks each year because ConEd and GE executives suckered us into it.

THE POINT: Great products are a part of everyday life, the subsequent cultural symbolism is a projection of the user.

PowerPoint 4

To All Presenters:

Effective immediately, all presenters must apply the Kawasaki formula when selecting a point size for text on PowerPoint slides:

A. ) Identify who the oldest person in the room will be . . .

B. ) Divide their age by 2.

The answer is the minimum point size allowed for your presentation.

THE POINT: If I fail your eye test, you fail to deliver your message.

Your Tie . . . it Speaks to me.

To All Presenters:

What does what you wear say about you?

Mark Twain once said, "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society."

While PETA may disagree with the oft-quoted Mr. Clemens - the fact remains, our attire is a symbology all its own.

And let’s forget context for a moment. Forego the application of rules which state donning a suit in an uber-casual business environment may actually attract the wrong kind of attention, or suggest you should dress for the job you want not the job you have. In the general man-on-the-street-operating-in-a-vacuum-sort-of-way, what does what you wear say about you?

John T. Malloy, author of "Dress for Success", panhandled money around the Port Authority Bus Terminal and Grand Central Station in New York City on two separate occasions. In each he would approach people and express his embarrassment at having left his wallet at home, then ask if he could have the 75 cent fare he needed to get home. Each time the experiment lasted 60 minutes, was performed during rush hour and on a business day.

During the first hour he wore a suit, but no tie and collected $7.23. In the second hour he added a tie to his ensemble and not only collected $26.00, but one fellow actually gave him extra money so he could buy a paper.

Mr. Malloy concludes, "No question then: The tie is a symbol of respectability and responsibility; it communicates to other people who you are, or reinforces or detracts from their conception of who you should be.” In regards to clothing in general – after performing numerous similar experiments Malloy opines, “We all wear uniforms and our uniforms are clear and distinct signs of class. We react to them accordingly."

Clothing is generally an aspect of all human physical appearance, and like other aspects of personal appearance it has social significance. All societies have largely unwritten but well-understood dress codes. Each having its own rules or signals which communicate a message based on an individual’s attire. This message may include indications of the person's class, wealth, occupation, religion, attitude and sexual orientation or availabilty. Clothes also state an individual’s willingness to conform or rebel against cultural mores and express their affection for comfort and functionality vs. trends and high-fashion.

As in all forms of communication, however, if the receiver's interpretation differs from the sender's intended communication, mistakes are made and confusion ensues.

In an attempt to express wealth or power one might wear custom clothes, expensive watches, cufflinks or jewlery. But if the receiver interprets this conspicuous consumption as a waste of money - message received could be very different from the message intended. Again, it comes down to the experiences of the interpreter.

So, a tie apparently makes you more respectable, while what your bling may say depends on who your bling is speaking to.

That’s just two elements of attire – and both could be considered accessories.

THE POINT: So, what does what you wear say about you? A lot.

Tear Down This Wall

To All Presenters:
I get it.

You perceive your audience to be a marauding army of angry Mongolians.

I just don’t know why.

In the mid 1400s the Ming Dynasty was having trouble with nomadic Mongolian tribes attacking the northern areas of what is now mainland China. To deflect the onslaught Ming emperors built (literally) on an idea conceived over one thousand years earlier by the Qin Dynasty. By adding miles of brick and mortar balustrades to an already established collection of “pounded Earth” embankments and natural defenses (cliffs, rivers, gorges, etc.) they created what we now call the “Great Wall of China”.

The wall was an effective means of preventing attack and providing security for the Chinese heartland.

It was, however an ineffective tool for public speaking.

You must see your audience the same way, as an angry Mongolian hoard, since you too have erected a wall separating yourself from us – the dreaded lectern.

From the Latin root meaning “to read” lecterns were designed to improve a presenter’s eye contact and posture. What seemed like a good idea at the time has evolved into a crutch used by persons who lack the confidence to actively engage their audience. It provides a visual barrier between speaker and spoken to which is unnecessary and contributes directly to the mediocrity inherent in so many presentations today. Furthermore, and let’s be honest here, any part of a presentation which involves the phrase “to read” instead of “to educate,” “to entertain,” or “to perform” is generally a bad thing.

Brothers and sisters, cast off the shackles of this outdated construct and be free to connect with the congregation. Step away from the lectern and engage! For few things are as tiresome as one who stands behind a piece of plywood whilst rambling, hoping their PowerPoint skills will distract the crowd.

Be as the Greek scholars, exposed in the amphitheater engaging their audience in dialogue and discussion, educating and entertaining with every exchange. Don’t place visual barriers between yourself and your audience, better to be open and accessible.

Rest assured, we will all be the better for it.

THE POINT: With this improved and more personal connection your audience is more likely to listen to your message, and you will seem like a stronger speaker who knows what they are doing.

Why do I Write This?

To All Presenters:

A blog about communication? Why?

I’m fascinated by the way we communicate with each other. How we present ideas and how we discuss them. How we promote products in a compelling way or distribute a message designed to modify behavior. I enjoy art and music and I explore the way creativity “speaks” to people. I observe communication dissonance, diagnose crossed-wires, cite failures to listen or failures to convey and seek resolution to all of the above.

I just find it interesting – we communicate constantly. The way we walk, talk or look conveys a message. We speak and listen, act and observe –every moment of everyday we send or receive signals. We are constantly encoding and decoding messages.

Sometimes our communication is effective, sometimes it fails. Sometimes it’s creative other times it’s mundane - but the means and methods by which we communicate are always interesting.

Communication is a skill-set, we can learn new skills and make existing ones stronger. We can see how others do right and mimic their behaviors just as we can see how others fail and learn from their mistakes.

Media and social interaction.

Art and advertising.

Politics and pop culture.

Listening and remembering.

Public speaking and private conversation.

Body language and the spoken word.

Images and sounds.

THE POINT: I find it all fascinating – and that’s why I write this blog.

You Are Hereby Charged . . . With Faulty Logic

To All Presenters:

When is a picture of a tree not a picture of a tree?

When it's one A.M. and I'm trying to sleep?

When it's the Bodhi tree!

Right. Wait . . .what!?

Buddhists, baby! A picture of the tree of enlightenment carries with it a whole bunch of spiritual connotations for those who have the cultural experience required to crack the code.

One A.M. You know it's one am, right?

But you said an image has no connotation - it is what it is. The only connotation is implied by the context in which we place it.

Well . . . at least somebody's reading my blog.

I want to be supportive. But you were wrong. What might be a picture of a tree to you is a picture of the place where Buddha achieved enlightenment to millions of Buddhists worldwide - it's a sacred image with it's own implied context. That's a picture with a powerful punch. So, you need to go edit the blog.

Well, obviously.



THE POINT: An earlier post presented a faulty conclusion - but generated good discussion.

Rehearse . . . Please . . .I'm Begging You

To All Presenters:

Stop winging it.

We can tell.

Seriously.

Don't you people rehearse? Do you think the actor playing King Lear arrived downstage left in the first scene of the second act waving a sword in his right hand by accident? No! He rehearsed. He reviewed. He refined and made incrementally better.

He sought feedback and adjusted his movements, he found the best place for his props and assured they were there before the performance began. He listened to his vocal pitch and modulation and made changes as necessary to provide emphasis and increase understanding.

Why don't you put the same consideration into your presentations? Does your audience deserve less because department attendance at project presentations is compulsory? Let's pretend you began to treat your presentations like performances, with all requisite preparation implied, do you think your future audiences will respond better to your message? Will their follow through on your call to action be superior to any such response in previously recorded history?

As the de facto spokesperson for said audience I say, maybe!

But heckfire, at the very least following your future well prepared, and dare I say it, presumably entertaining presentation I will at a minimum be awake, alert, receptive and of the mind that you are no longer the boring unprepared bozo who just consumed an hour of my life I will never get back.

So on behalf of we -the implied audience -please review, rehearse, make ready in advance and otherwise come with clue lest I lead a swift and mighty rebellion against your poor presentation skills and the forcing of them upon us.

THE POINT: While it may very well be the first time you present this material, it NEVER has to look like it.

Sarah's Lament - Context and Visual Communication

To All Presenters:

What impact does context have on a message?


Sarah Palin has complained that a recent cover photo for Newsweek was sexist. The image in question is of her standing in bicycle shorts beside an American flag. The photo was apparently borrowed without permission from an earlier article in Runner's World magazine. Above is the Newsweek cover and below is the original image from the Runner's World story. I present it here in the context of other images (from a series of seven) Runner's World published.

If the image wasn't sexist when it was published in the context of like images by a fitness magazine, how does it become sexist when it's published solo in a news magazine? Frankly, I'm not sure it does - this case seems a bit more bluster than fact by a politico-celebrity with a book to promote. However, while the motivations here are debatable, we shouldn't underestimate the power of context and imagery.

The St. Petersburg Times recently published an article regarding the tragic workplace shooting in Orlando a few weeks back. In the article were two images, one larger - of a smiling Caucasian man. The other smaller, grainier and of a young African-American man in a white shirt.

Viewed separately the images represent exactly what they are - pictures of people. But when you put them below a headline which indicates one man is a murder victim and the other a killer you provide a context. When one image resembles a family photo and the other a mugshot further context is implied. The result? Readers may perceive they are viewing images of a family man and the young minority male who murdered him. It isn't until they read the article the correct context of the photos become known.

And in this case, the opposite of what proved to be the common perception is true.

The fact is Jason Rodriguez shot killed 26 year-old Otis Beckford. But the context of the imagery presented by the newspaper conveys a different message.

In verbal communication there is a code transmitted which must be understood (decoded) to be received. The source of the message (the speaker) encodes their intent (speaks in a recognized language) the message is sent (verbally - out loud), received and decoded (heard and understood) by the receiver (audience). In visual communication there is no code. A picture of tree is a picture of a tree - the image denotes its subject matter entirely, there is no decoding required.

However, once we create a context for images there becomes a connotation which must be properly decoded by the viewer. Assuming different cultures, different socio-economic backgrounds and experiences are at play - the connotation of the images' context may vary by viewer.

So, while all may not have perceived the false implications of the St. Petersburg Times photos, and while I (a middle-aged male) may not find the use of the fitness photo in a news magazine evidence of inherent sexism - there are certainly those who do.

If a visual image has no code, in and of itself, we must be cautious about what message we imply when we provide a context for the image.

THE POINT: A picture is worth a thousand words, what those words say is controlled by the context (or lack thereof) in which the image is presented. Be cautious.

Project Management in Two Parts

To All Presenters (and Project Managers):

If you can't effectively convey the requirements for the project, if you can't speak geek to IT and strategic planning to the CEO equally well, if you can't foster an environment where everyone wants to be part of the team and feels like a contributor . . . you are hopelessly doomed.

You must communicate effectively to be successful. If there is a misunderstanding it will ultimately manifest itself in terms of excess time and expense.

So how do you communicate effectively with diverse groups of people? How do you avoid expensive misunderstandings?

You listen.

You listen as others repeat back your message to assure they understood what you said. You listen for cues from your audience regarding the information they seem interested in. This way you can tailor your own presentation to align with their needs and your language with their level of sophistication on the topic.

You also listen for emotional "tells." Is the team frustrated? Are they tired? Or do they convey a sense of high energy and commitment? If you're not listening, you'll never know.

You write.

You must communicate in both verbal and written form assuring both match. If someone doesn't understand your directives completely their confusion will become apparent when they can't get your verbal and non-verbal communication to jive.

You repeat.

Redundancy gets annoying, but just before it does it is an effective way to assure comprehension and support memory. Don't be afraid to repeat your message. You never know what will trigger the next great question from your team. Better to get questions now then contend with risk and overruns later.

THE POINT: Project Management is two parts communication, one part integration.

PowerPoint 3

To All Presenters:

Clipart = No

Your adherence to this policy is appreciated.

Seriously though, is it me?

To All Presenters:

It has been claimed the average vocabulary of 6 to 14 year olds is currently 10,000 words, a decline from 25,000 words in 1945. Allegedly the sources for these two stats were a book by Henry Rinsland and an unrelated report by Gary Ingersoll.

Reviewing 100,000 student compositions containing six million words total, Rinsland recorded 25,632 distinct words in the sample.

However, according to popular debunker website "The Straight Dope.com" - in 1984 Ingersoll conducted a similar study, but its sample was much smaller, just 5,000 students and half a million words total. With a sample size one twelth of the Rinsland study one would expect a far lower word count. And using rough estimates derived from the American Heritage Word Frequency Book, a 500,000 word sample should have around 60% fewer unique words than a six-million word sample regardless of vocabulary size. Coincidentally, the Ingersoll study reported the aforementioned 10,000 words, (10,265 to be exact) which is about 60% fewer compared to the results of Rinsland's study.

Ingersoll never paired his figures with Rinsland's results. A journalist somewhere along the line (I found references to this stat in Harpers Index, the New York Times and other publications) combined the two numbers and thus birthed an urban legend demonstrating society's linguistic decline. In fact, it is claimed Ingersoll has said he tried to set the record straight on past occasions to no avail. So as Mark Twain once said truly, "there are lies, damned lies and statistics."

Now, this stat may be garbage, but the jury is still out on our declining vocabularies.

To wit:

i can't blieve i had 2 explain 2 some1 that this is not the way 2 rite email 4 work . LOL!

THE POINT: Statistics aside? If this evidence of things to come, I think we might be screwed.

Symbology

To All Presenters:

"If it bleeds it reads," has been a common cliché in the media for generations. Another is, "a picture is worth a thousand words". Taken together, it would seem the ideal story is one with a picture of major damage or death to go along with it.

After you see enough of these images, read enough of these stories - they begin to break down. They are no longer tales of human tragedy but are instead symbols of themselves. Playing the role of the crushed car today will be a 2002 Honda Civic.

In recent days we've seen a number of media outlets get their wires crossed. As result images from one event are stated as being from another. A crowd from a protest years ago is presented as a crowd from a protest yesterday. Oddly enough, while the images were wrong the intent was correct. The media wasn't making an under attended event look like more than it was - they were simply careless when selecting their footage.

In the end it didn't really matter to the audiences - outside of a few competing pundits, no one seemed to care. All the audience expected to see was footage of a crowd, and that's what they saw. The symbol of a well attended event was all that was required, accuracy was not.

THE POINT: If it bleeds it reads, and a picture is worth a thousand words. If accuracy has become less important than symbology - I have to wonder if a body bag full of rocks because a photojournalist was too late to get the "real" shot is very far behind.

PowerPoint 2

To All Presenters:
Some fear guns.

I fear bullets.

PowerPoint sadly prevents us from making terrible mistakes, and thus users of this crutch can place an infinite number of bullets on a single slide. And if the user isn’t creating their own mini-library of congress they might instead choose to write 30-word bullet points designed to assure any viewer the presenter has done nothing to prepare.

Of even less value than long-winded bullets are the always popular emphasized bullets which guarantee the audience pays close attention to points generally of no interest to anyone other than the presenter.

Do us all a favor – remember the rules of 3 and 7. No more than three bullets to a slide and no more than seven words to a bullet. Keep things simple and concise – and in the name of all that’s holy, keep the emphasis in your voice and off your slides.

THE POINT: PowerPoint does not prevent you from being a bozo - you will have to do that yourself.

Reverse Psychology

To All Presenters:

Frederick the Great of Prussia had a thing for . . . potatoes.

He saw the subterranean veggies' potential to help feed his nation and diversify crops, thus mitigating the risk of famine and lowering the price of bread. A good plan, but one which faced many challenges in overcoming his people's prejudice against the plant. When he issued a 1774 order for his subjects to grow potatoes for all the aforementioned reasons, one town replied: "The things have neither smell nor taste, not even the dogs will eat them, so what use are they to us?" Others lamented that if God had intended us to eat potatoes, he would not have buried them in the ground.

Presuming a less direct approach may have better results, Frederick used a bit of reverse psychology. He declared potatoes a "royal vegetable" and had them planted in his royal fields which were then surrounded by royal guards with orders to do their job as poorly as possible. Prussians weren't stupid and quickly determined anything worth guarding was clearly worth stealing and so they soon snuck into the field, snatched the plants, and within months there was a sizeable underground market for potatoes (pun!). Which was, of course, Frederick's plan from the beginning.

So why does this work, why are we motivated by doing that which we are told not to do? Why is the forbidden fruit (or veggie) so tempting?

In a cursory review of dating advice sites and book jackets, playing hard to get remains a well-endorsed and apparently very successful means of getting the guy or gal of your choice to notice you.

I also found a number of parenting books which cited reverse psychology an a key means of convincing kids to follow the rules . . . or rather not follow the rules, reverse psychology can be confusing.

So if reverse psychology works well for kings of Prussia, and people looking for a date, parents trying to control kids and very likely kids trying to control their parents I must wonder . . . when will we see advertisements which state in the clearest possible terms, "Do NOT buy this product!"
Would that work?

THE POINT: Same seller, same product, same target audience . . . different message, better result.

PowerPoint 1

To All Presenters:

PowerPoint offers the user a diverse array of tools and resources which empower said user to completely ruin any chance of delivering their message effectively. So often we find ourselves doing something simply because the tool says we can, that we often forget to ask if we should. Fancy backgrounds only an art major could love and copy flying into and out of the screen may have impressed audiences in the early 90’s, but I assure you, your audience has seen it all before.

So, please keep it simple – monochromatic slides never killed anyone, and no audience has ever been wowed by the creativity of their speaker as demonstrated by their selection of master slide. Furthermore, if your presentation looks like it has collected all the spinning "POWs" and "ZAMs" from the old Batman television series, I have to seriously question what you're trying to tell me.

THE POINT: Delivering your message is the reason why you're here. So, don't distract the audience.

Welcome.

To All Presenters:

UNSCIENTIFIC COMMUNICOLOGY
un·sci·en·tif·ic com·mu·ni·col·o·gy n.
Unscientific communicology is a blog which examines (in wholly unscientific ways) how we communicate in business, in advertising and in social situations through diverse media - and ways we can be better at it.

Meanwhile . . .

COMMUNICOLOGY
com·mu·ni·col·o·gy n.
Communicology is the science of human communication. One of the Human Science disciplines, it uses the research methods of semiotics and phenomenology to explicate human consciousness and behavioral embodiment as discourse within global culture. Including:

(1) Art Communicology

(2) Clinical Communicology

(3) Media Communicology, and

(4) Philosophy of Communicology.

So . . . there you have it. Welcome to Unscientific Communicology!