BetterBizComm

Multiple Cites Don't Make a Right

2011-12-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

My psychology paper was finished. The data was supported and the conclusions were valid, yet my paper remained woefully incomplete. I still hadn’t tackled an antiquated requirement of modern education– I hadn’t formatted my sources.

So yet again I ended up spending hours of what could have productive editing time on Purdue’s website, looking again at where those stupid parentheses go in APA format, and where exactly the italics segment ended. (I must not have done it right even then, since I got points taken off later for inappropriately italicizing the commas.)

Maybe right now you're thinking of citation machines. Well, they've never served me much better. The act of putting each piece of “vital” information in its specified box is almost as bad as simply following the citation procedures online.

Writing professor Kurt Schick reflects my frustration in his impassioned Chronicle of Higher Education essay titled “Citation Obsession? Get Over It!” Schick argues that students’ writing should not be judged based upon their ability to flawlessly place periods and italics. The prose, content, and style of their work should be the most essential facets of evaluation, yet more often than not, these elements somehow takes a back seat to how well students can format the copyright information of the materials they used for research.

Half of my Psychology labs were wasted on exactly how to write a paper in APA style. My exam even had a section in which we were asked to recite the exact format for a journal citation. Major portions of as much of a third of my essay grades are based on citations in classes ranging from Understanding Music to Business 1.0.

Writing these essays require tremendous investments of time and intellect, yet worrying about the punctuation of copyright information is in no way intellectual or useful. I have no quarrel with acknowledging my sources or even with citations in general; I just wonder why my life and the lives of most other college students have come to revolve around formatting, instead of insight.

--Swan (guest blogger & undergrad Kogod student)

Perry Lives Every Public Speaker's Nightmare

2011-11-10T08:02:00.000-08:00

Rick Perry’s debate gaffe last night is every public speaker’s nightmare: what do you do when what you want to say flies out of your head faster than the post-Halloween candy stash disappears?

I tell my students that at times of panic, to pause, breathe, and ask yourself “What am I trying to communicate with this audience?”

The word “communicate,” with its connotations of civility and collaboration, always calms me down. So, after a pause which always seems longer to me than it does to the audience, what comes out of my mouth is, “I guess what I’m trying to communicate is such-and-such…” I find my brain perks up and the words come tumbling out.

If Perry had followed my approach, he might have been able to say, “Well, the third agency will come to me in a moment. The bigger point I’m trying to communicate here is that we need to eliminate wasteful government agencies.”

That wouldn’t have been a total save, but it would have kept the debate moving forward. Memory experts tell us that thinking about something else is the way to remember something, not staying frozen on the missing thought, especially while millions of Americans are watching with varying degrees of empathetic discomfort, hostile delight, or some combination of both.

One thing Perry did right was to forthrightly acknowledge his mistake: “Good thing I had my boots on, because I stepped in something deep just then,” he said, according to the New York Times.

It’s cold comfort for Rick Perry, but anxious public speakers should also keep in mind that this latest slip-up comes on top of a series of misstatements and foot-in-mouth moments.

Ultimately it’s the cumulative effect of poor speaking abilities that is turning off potential Perry supporters—not this one lone gaffe.

2011-04-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

Be Careful What You Market For

When two Domino workers filmed a prank video at work, nobody was laughing. Less so themselves, when they ended up unemployed and facing felony charges for distribution of prohibited foods.

In the video (broadcast on the Today Show back in 2009), the two employees are in the kitchen of a Domino's restaurant, preparing food. One of them puts cheese up his nose and sneezes on a meal. Their antics go on as they get more creative with illegal kitchen practices and scatological humor.

The pair then posted the video on YouTube. Soon after, the blogosphere caught on and posts of the video cropped up like garden weeds on a rage. Two blog readers even sleuthed out the location of the Domino's restaurant of honor (North Carolina).

Like rapidfire, the video attracted thousands of viewers, and Domino rushed to palliate the publicity disaster that inevitably ensued. News of the video spread to Twitter, and though the culprits tried to take down the video from YouTube, the video-sharing community persevered valorously: the video was reposted by other users.

This, and Rebecca Black (more than 84 million viewers and escalating), are one of many examples of viral going very big and very bad.

2011-03-25T08:22:00.000-07:00

A Simple Kind of Magic

When Rita Skeeter coerced Harry Potter into a broom closet and forced him to spill his wizarding guts, little did she know that Livescribe’s Smartpen could have given her magic quill a serious run for her Gallions.

If you’re more of a Lord of the Rings devotee, I’m talking about the magic quill that Rita Skeeter dictated into. With a life of its own, the ebullient quill would absorb what the interviewees said and pour out fully fledged sentences.

In the real world, Livescribe created the SmartPen. This regular-looking pen comes with special paper. At the bottom of the paper, tap the word ‘Record’ with the pen’s tip. Next, write and speak at the same time. Solving a math problem? Utter your thinking process. Interviewing an AUSG candidate? Take brief notes and let her talk all she wants. Finally, tap the stop symbol at the bottom of the paper.

The SmartPen allows you to tap onto any word you’ve written and listen to the playback of what you were saying at the time of writing that word. What’s more, with its embedded camera, it lets you upload the notes and recordings onto your computer. On your screen, click on whatever note you want to revive, and watch as it gets animated before you. Magic.

The SmartPen is your memory storage outside your brain. It combines the archaic necessity of penning our thoughts—I’m thinking caves and walls—with the utility of audio tracing. Used right, it’ll help you take less vigorous notes, that are backed by the storage of exactly what you were thinking, rather than the elaborate coding I find in my notebooks long after I forget my meaning. From my Anthro class:

key distinguishes joking manner not from serious manner

secondary text needs to be framed as not misconceived as the primary text and cause butt offence

I no longer recall what I meant by ‘butt.’

The New York Times tells us, “A growing number of schools across the nation are embracing the iPad as the latest tool to teach Kafka in multimedia, history through “Jeopardy”-like games and math with step-by-step animation of complex problems.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/education/05tablets.html)

Stanford professor, Larry Cuban however points out: “There is very little evidence that kids learn more, faster or better by using these machines.”

Tablets are novel because they are multi-functional. Being multi-functional is also what makes them forces of distributed focus.

Since the iPad can do things your brain can’t (like access the web), it sometimes feels like your own brain is not doing the doing. But in education, no tricks or artifice should replace a learner’s mental work-out.

There’s also a cognitive distance when we use a not-there keyboard that somehow the pen in your fingers does not engender. Perhaps our traditional form of note-taking has been hard-wired into us evolutionarily.

So why not keep the $750 per iPad and invest instead in things like the SmartPen? It blends the agility of new, clever gadgets with the promise of old habits.

2011-03-03T23:26:00.000-08:00

Generation BM (as in, Business Model)

When Zach Allaun, BSBA '13, and Jorge Espinoza, SOC '11 won the Brigham Young University business model competition, naturally I had to corner Zach and ask him for input about presentation and communication brilliance. Turns out, Zach’s largesse with such input is considerable, and you can now hear the many useful things he has to say at http://vimeo.com/19668109 and http://vimeo.com/19668189.

For the BYU competition, contestants had to outline the concepts and metrics that lead them to an innovative product. For Zach and Jorge, this product is Gamegnat, a gaming site that will—with the blessing of the $15000 award—expedite and sharpen the way gamers look for gaming reviews.

In the preliminary round of the competition, Zach and Jorge sent in a video presentation. In the final round, however, they presented live before Brigham students and a panel of judges. That comparison helped them see what’s ‘special’ about presenting before a live audience of 500. ‘We wanted to do something different. It’s not trying to get as much information in ten minutes. In a video, people can go back, they can rewind to better understand the material. In a live presentation, there’s no rewinding.’

Indeed, examing that difference between the cryogenically frozen (video, or text) and the organic (live) may help you understand the role of your presentation. What are the dynamics of a real spatial and temporal relationship, between speaker and audience, that you can use to your advantage?

That’s how the pair came up with the winning presentation: one that followed a narrative arc of sorts, that told the story like a story, with chronological ‘plot’ development and a lead-up to a ‘morale.’ And Prezi helped them narrate.

‘Prezi…set us apart. Because we used Prezi, everything [was] animated.’ They used bubbles to represent their various ideas. ‘It was kinda silly and cheesy but we were able to create a very clear "We’re moving on to the next point"…a clear delineation between step 1, step 2, step 3. Our presentation was completely different.'

Chronology and clarity then. What about characters?

‘Did you bring Jorge and yourself into the story?’ I asked.

‘Yeah, we did,’ Zach said with a smile. ‘Our presentation had quotes for things we were saying [while brainstorming for the product]. Little things like that.’

Zach and Jorge enriched the story with a personal touch and a strong visual (of themselves as the out-loud thinkers of the process). Rather than saying, ‘This was done,’ they said ‘We did this.’ Just like active verbs (instead of passive) can give a story vigor, so can “characters” sometimes give your presentation a stronger voice.

Would he recommend the narrative-arc presentation? Certainly, ‘if you’re in a competition that’s similar in nature. We identified early on that this competition was gonna be about input rather than output.’

What about Q&A? This is arguably the most difficult thing about comps. Luckily, Zach and Jorge both have debate backgrounds that trained them in rapid-fire speech and responsivity to the unexpected. ‘This is where we shone above. We were [good] on our feet.’

‘The biggest thing is confidence,' he adds, 'even if you’re saying something you’ve never thought of before. Saying “I don’t know” and being confident in not knowing the answer to a question is better than being unconfident.’

By the way, you may want to check out the two books that gave fodder to Zach and Jorge’s business model trope: The Four Steps to the Epiphany, by Steven Blank, talks about startup success, and The Business Model Generation, by Alexander Osterwalder, lays out the 9 quintessentials building blocks of a business. Zach, indeed, seems to be part of this very Generation. He emailed me the next day with some closing tips for presenters. In true entrpereneurial form:

The presentation that wins in a competition is likely going to be the presentation that stands out from the crowd…The ultimate winner will be the team that the judges remember. A safe and conservative presentation that breaks no boundaries will only give you a shot at beating the other safe and conservative presentations, because there will always be at least one team that tries something different, and that's who people will remember, good or bad.

All else held equal, the guy who spoke too fast and stumbled over his words because he was so excited about what he was saying will beat out the guy who gives a textbook delivery. Textbook deliveries are commonplace in these kinds of competitions. True passion, however, is not.

I Challenge You to Do Nothing for 2 Minutes!

2011-02-21T04:34:00.001-08:00

With its relentless focus on productivity and efficiency, the business environment tend to stress, well, stress over relaxation.

But now researchers are finding that doing nothing is actually really good for the brain. It turns out that down time is as important as sleep for allowing the brain to consolidate learning.

Especially downtime outside.

But what if you can't get outside and are stuck at your screen? Try a visit to

http://www.donothingfor2minutes.com/

which the New York Times reporter Matt Richtel, who writes about digital distraction, posted to his blog.

A while back I aired this radio commentary about a related topic--falling asleep while listening to the sounds of the surf. There's something almost primal in the soothing sounds of the ocean.

Anyone else trying to build a little downtime in their busy days?

The Incredible Tale of Cognitive Overload

2011-02-02T14:40:00.000-08:00

As instructors, or students looking to instruct, we use slideshows a lot. With every new slide we impart a chunk of the story: the story of a product’s evil half-sister, the story of how an industry found happily ever after. With every slideshow we want our audience to acquire meaningful learning (deep understanding of the story and its many characters) through multimedia instruction (teaching that uses words and pictures).

Ideally, the listeners can not only recall the story (retention), but can also integrate their acquired knowledge with stories of their own (integration).

But sometimes we get swept away by our narrative potential: we use too many words and pictures. It is the equivalent of the writer who obsessively pounds her reader over the head with metaphors (much like this post). In Nine Ways To Reduce Cognitive Overload in Multimedia Learning, Richard E. Mayer observes that multimedia learning is acutely sensitive to cognitive overload. He reminds us that audiences have a limited capacity for cognitive processing. Handling that capacity, feng shui’ing the space in the listener’s brain, can mean the difference between "good" and "meaningful" story-telling.

There are infinite ways to overload, and you have done or seen half of them. Possibly the most egregious is simultaneous appeal to two cognitive channels. Suppose you want to represent a product’s life cycle with words and animation. Teaching too much and too fast means listeners will not meaningfully translate the visual into the verbal, and the verbal into the visual. By the time viewers select germane words or picture from one segment, the next one is underway, stifling the ability to retain and integrate. Life cycle? What life cycle?

But alas, the Fairy Godmother brandishes her presentation wand. She cuts the presentation into bite-sized segments, with time in between so that the viewer can complete each cognitive process. Ever the erudite mentor, she also suggests pre-training which means first teaching the components and terms of the to-be-learned idea. For instance, tell your audience what ‘growth’ and ‘maturity’ signify before unveiling the life cycle graph.

And you're off to the ball.

2011-01-18T14:50:00.000-08:00

Silly Little Things

I'm kicking off the blogmester with lexical habits we should kick! Topping the list are puns like the one I just used.

Ok, if you have a penchant for puns, and direly need them in your life, that's fine - I can't change you. Overused puns are hardly a pressing matter, just an irksome one. Don't be confused, though, by the many raised eyebrows, eye-rolls and other eye-proximate facial expressions that people are shooting at you (yes, shooting).

More salient is the ubiquitous use of everyday words in a way that disregards their intended use and their most fitting context. They're words that slip in and out of colloquial speech haphazardly. As speakers, we have transplanted them into so many contexts, that we often stray from their actual meaning. And as speakers, we can get away with that. As business writers, however, it is a cause for distraction. Not because misused words are an offence to the Queen's English -- linguistic purity is not the goal here -- but rather because they offend clarity of meaning.

Even in 2011, clarity and sense should be the quintessential sisters of business writing.

So here they are, the viral perpetrators. Let's call them,
SILLY LITTLE WORDS (inspired by the book Grammar Grams, by Stephen K. Tollefson):

basically - In speech, we use it as a loose connector, flying everywhere, or to help us go into an explanation ('Basically, CBC is awesome because...') In writing, it can dull the formality and freshness of your text. Opt instead for essentially, ultimately, in effect, and only when you must point to a 'so what?'

actually - This is basically's spoiled cousin.

real - as in, 'a real big problem.' The word is more of a problem. Use instead considerably, or simply very.

etc. - More appropriate for memos or lists, and less so for extensive reports and research papers. Go with and so on, and other concerns...

factor - This is the word that tries too hard. Reason, cause, consideration are all good, humble substitutes for the less scientific portions of your text.

reportedly - You are reporting it, so it's redundant. Or if you read about it, it has been reported, so it's redundant. It's a 'duh' word.

correlate - Is relate what you mean? A smaller word can often carry your meaning more clearly, without confounding the reader.

And here's something as silly as these words, from http://tpdsaa.tumblr.com/. Recognize the symptom?

2010-11-17T17:43:00.000-08:00

At Facebook, Dot Com

According to this Forbes article, Facebook’s latest novelties will not only be the college kid’s playground, but a boon for companies as well. Gone are the days, says Forbes, when employees would block workers’ access to social networks. Integrated networks like Facebook may very well be the language of business communications.

What are these novelties? On November 15, Facebook announced that it will soon launch an upgrade of its messaging service, Facebook Messages. This new and improved communication platform will merge the most popular communication media: Facebook Messages, SMS, chat and email.

This allows a live conversation to happen through a juggling of any of these media. If you’re a fan of SMS, for instance, you can reply to a Message using your phone, directly to the inbox of the sender. The inbox, soon to be the ‘Social Inbox,’ will act as a ‘net,’ trapping any sort of message sent or received. The Facebook Message may become Every Message.

That’s not all. Facebook will give an @facebook.com email address to everyone who wants one, whether they have a Facebook profile or not. @facebook.com will also be merged with the Social Inbox.

Many predict that if Facebook can match the functionality of email clients like Gmail, it will give the Hotmails and the Gmails a run for their money. On a similar vein, Gartner says 20% of workers will use social networks as their preferred vehicle for business communications by 2014.

The Facebook blog claims that the idea behind Messages is to tear down barriers to communication. If there is something worth saying, the message should reach its recipient right away, unimpeded by something as technical as the recipient not currently being online on MSN messenger, or not checking their Yahoo!mail often enough.

Perhaps the idea beneath this idea is that Facebook wants to ensure that people’s attention is on Facebook, all the time, everywhere.

For a change.

It Says To Be Human is To Be Wired

2010-11-11T09:50:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Lenore for alerting me to this AT&T video, It Says, which I am adding to my short list of brilliant if nefarious ads which promote technology as benevolent, empowering, and totally embedded (or about to be, or should be) in our day-to-day lives and key rituals--

--here represented by bedtime, driving, shopping, and dating, and culminating in getting married!

Anyone else uncomfortable with this representation or have comments?

2010-11-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

Business, Evil Business

Some schools are stepping it up from a nondescript honor code to a more specific honor code of business.

Leslie Wayne tells us more in this New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/business/30oath.html?_r=2. According to this, 20% of Harvard's business grads have signed 'The MBA Oath,' which urges tomorrow's business managers to care about how they fill up their bank accounts; to pursue their "narrow ambitions" less and to serve society a little more than, say, the Enron days.

Basically, it's an affirmation of CSR's increasing importance in business. It is probably naive to roll out the peace signs, but it is true at least that business schools are offering a lot more business ethics courses than they did twenty years ago.
Modern life seems to be squeezing business down a funnel, forcing it to reshape itself into a more ethical social actor. More than ever, we are aware of the admonishing fingers pointed at Business, evil Business. We are now raising kids who will have the weight of the gasping environment on their shoulders. We are also still licking our wounds (and stiching up our wallets) after an economic let-down that was so much more than a "technical blip." At face value, it seems business is starting to reflect people's desire for lives that mean more, and for organizations that care more.

And beyond face value? Time, and products, will tell. But for now, let's assume that all the rallying for sanity is starting to pay off. Pun decidedly not intended.

Should we disconnect? Or just teleport to China?

2010-10-28T07:06:00.001-07:00

My student James Fine brought the video "Disconnect to Connect" to my attention. What do you make of it, especially given the fact that it appears to be sponsored by Thailand's second-biggest cell phone provider?

Also worth viewing, on only a slightly different topic, Cisco's video starring Ellen Page (image to the right) contrasting the seeming joys of virtual field trip to China with the horrors of a real-world field trip (who knew cows could be so scary?)

(Also, note how Ellen is ACTUALLY in the classroom--she is not virtual.)

Could someone please explain these two videos to me and what they say about our current age of digital distraction?

High Frequency Trading

2010-10-14T07:29:00.000-07:00

This 60 Minutes story about how Wall Street traders are making money off of what are called “high frequency trades” kind of reminded me of Office Space.

The project has nothing to do with value, creating value, or even companies. It’s just a way to make a profit off of the slight fluctuations in stock price, but of course doing so with a high volume of stock.

Another interesting story from This American Life about the mentality these days on Wall Street, and why traders, analysts, and CEO’s feel glum. See Act One.

-Pete

2010-10-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

Chronemics: A Mini Science

Scenario: DC-born Judy is sitting in a café in Piazza Navona, in Italy, on an irresistible day of marauding tourists and Italian sunshine. She and her new Italian friend, Carla, had agreed to meet for coffee. Their exact words were: “How about Saturday afternoon, at three or four?” “Perfect, perfecto.” [Giggles] It is now 3:45, Judy has been waiting since 3:00 and Carla is still a no-show.

Carla’s tardiness incenses Judy’s annoyance and indignation. Alas! if only she knew about chronemics, she would spare herself the grief and sip her frappé more happily.

Chronemics is the study of the use of time in non-verbal communication (chronos is Greek for ‘time’). The way we perceive time, structure it and put it to use can carry meaning and color relationships. Interestingly, just like language and gestures require translation, so too does the cultural approach to time.

People from the U.S., Switzerland, Germany, to name a few, are called monochronic: they partition time into precise units according to the tasks they must complete. Appointment times are deferentially adhered to and work schedules have a precise start and finish. Anthropologist Edward T. Hall points out the importance of time management for the U.S. business person, for whom time is a precious commodity that requires respect in order for things to work: ‘time is money,’ ‘time is wasted,’ ‘time is of the essence.’

On the other hand, Latin American, Arabic, southern European and Indian cultures are polychronic. They focus on the relationship rather than the clock, striving for interactions that are good and look good to others. They don’t mind crossing time boundaries, which are fluid anyway: they’ll get there when they get there. Theirs is a high-context form of non-verbal communication, meaning there are many codes and cues that they intuitively take for granted.

So, for Carla, it is not an issue that she will arrive as late as “three or four in the afternoon” allows, especially because she was lunching with family and it was baby Beppe’s birthday (he said “boopa,” people cooed). Judy expects an apology, but Carla won’t think of providing one…at least, until she sees how much redder Judy’s cheeks look than the day before.

That is not to say that a Chilean will be late for everything. In fact, business people on either end of the cultural spectrum will have to recognize and tweak their habits for the sake of effectiveness. But if your Italian client walks in late, the mini science of chronemics will help you understand why you’re so mad and she’s as cool as a lemon gelato.

2010-10-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

Banned Books (For the Whole Family)

In honor of Banned Books Week, DC’s very own Takoma Park library hosted a Read-Out this past weekend, where volunteers read excerpts of selected children’s books that have been challenged. Examples of “misbehaved” books were Heather Has Two Mummies, Daddy’s Roommate, and Elbert’s Bad Word. (Visit http://www.takomapark.info/library/children/archives/002343.html for more spicy titles.)

For the record, “challenging” a book means attempting to ban it, but not quite achieving the goal. As for “banning” a book, sanctions come in degrees. Hitler’s autobiographical manifesto, Mein Kampf, for instance, is explicitly denounced in Germany. There, it cannot be republished, sold or even held under possession. The Netherlands, on the other hand, allows lending it and reading it but prohibitis people from selling it.

On the subject of book banning, there isn’t a prevailing consensus. Some people feel that the amorality of a book never, ever trumps the amorality of prohibiting free speech and free access to information. Others think that silencing these rights is worth it if a book threatens public health.

Really, it’s one thing condemning The Catcher in the Rye for dropping f-bombs. That’s conservatism gone astray. But when a book like Mein Kampf is the building block for one of the most calamitous events in recent history, maybe banning is the good way, the only way.

Or how about The Global Bell Curve, by psychiatrist Richard Lynn, whose premise is that intelligence is racially inherited and that Sahel Africans are at the bottom of the…erm, race? According to loon Lynn, East Asians are the most genetically intelligent. Frankly, it reminds me of the scientist who claimed that Caucasians are more intelligent because he managed to fit more marbles in a Caucasian skull. I wish I knew more about this, but I also regret hearing about it at all.

The First Amendment does protect free speech. But in no way does it endorse the license to harm.

In my mind’s ear, however, I can’t stop myself from hearing German playwright, Heinrich Heine, whispering: “Where they burn books, so too will they in the end burn human beings.”

2010-09-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

Drama King

One of my favorite authors is coming to campus: Andre Dubus III, mastermind behind House of Sand and Fog.

When I found out he’d be in town, I said to myself that I hadn’t been this excited since fourth grade, when Picachu evolved into Raichu for the first time. This particular novel was a New York Times bestseller, a National Book Award finalist and—wait for it, it’s intense—an Oprah Book Club selection.

The eponymous movie also garnered quite a bit of attention, as well as 3 Oscar nominations. But let’s not go into Ben Kingsley and DreamWorks SKG. It is the flesh of the novel’s pages and the blood of its beautifully embroidered drama that matters.

The story is bi-fold: it tangos back and forth between the perspective of Kathy Nicolo, a recovering divorcee who is losing her house to the inclement government (yes, taxes tax even those among us lucky enough to have been wrought by Dubus’ imagination), and Massoud Behrani, a Persian immigrant who is buying the house from the government in the hopes of giving his family a morsel of their once dignified lifestyle.

Far beyond realty disputes, however, the narration delves so deeply into the bruised lives and minds of Kathy and Massoud that the reader can’t help but develop an attachment to both of them; until you, the reader, realize that you cannot love both their fates at the same time. One’s path grinds against the other’s. Dare I say Kathy is fog and Massoud is sand?

Just like when you were watching Crash, or The Titanic, you know in your heart of hearts that this story probably won’t turn out well for everyone. And down goes Jack…The book is steeped in bitterness, reminiscence, the putrid smell of things lost, desperation disguised as racism and, just to really keep your attention, furtive sex.

More about Dubus’ visit is revealed on this CAS Literature webpage, http://www.american.edu/cas/literature/news/visiting.cfm, which gives info on the whole host of writers visiting AU in the upcoming months. This site is where I found out that the handsome Mr Dubus,

is a quasi-ringer for Harrison Ford.

Successfully added to Dubus' look is the furrowed brow of writers beleaguered by their plot-twisting brilliance. Do you see it? I know I do.

Elevator Pitches

2010-09-06T06:14:00.001-07:00

While the elevator pitches that we work on will be slightly different than the kinds employed for the MIT Entrepreneurship Competition (the ones we focus on at Kogod deal with selling yourself and your skills, rather than an idea), this may provide some chuckles. This link will provide another resource to think about when you’re selling your big idea.
-Pete

Facebook and Job Hunting

2010-08-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

I’m curious to hear your thoughts on whether employers should be able to peek at your Facebook page to help them decide whether to hire you. Apparently, Germany is moving against this policy. Should the U.S. do the same, or should job hunters be smarter about what they put on Facebook? (Or, should Facebook make clearer their privacy policy?)
-Pete

Transcendent

2010-08-17T06:08:00.000-07:00

Rather than examine what texting, computerizing, and general electronic multi-tasking does to our brain, this article follows the researchers who study this sort of thing for a few days on a camping trip. What I got a kick out of was seeing the head of a lab for which I volunteered my brain when I was a graduate student at Johns Hopkins. I want to get in touch with him to get the free images of my brain that I never received (I did get about $20).

I don’t know if it’s much of a surprise that we think more clearly when less is going on around us, or when we are “in” nature. It does kind of surprise me to know that multi-tasking doesn’t really help us think better or more on our toes. What I think would be most interesting would be to examine the “why nature?” question. In other words, would we enjoy more clarity in an empty room, a quiet car, or on an airplane?

And if we were thinking our best in nature, would I be able to solve one of most unsolvable math and computer science proofs of all time – the P versus NP proof? Find more our here. If you can solve it, stop by the CBC and you will get a prize!
-Pete

Keeping Up With the Joneses

2010-08-11T14:15:00.001-07:00

Don’t you hate it when you get hedonically adapted to your Ferrari after a couple of years? Or when the recessed lighting on your G5 jet doesn’t seem so rosy?

Maybe it’s no surprise that we suffer from this—hedonic adaptation—or losing interest in the stuff we’ve bought, but are we really going to stop buying those treats?

This article suggests that doing so may make us happier. Or rather, that spending on the vacation, golf lesson, or cooking class—purchases that are more experiential—will indeed make us happier. Evidently, little research has been done on the subject of which things you buy make you the happiest.

One of the effects of the recession has been this push towards purchasing experiences, or goods that foster an experience, and Wal-Mart and other retailers are taking notice. The implication for potential business professionals and marketing professionals seems evident, and I’d love to hear what you think.
-Pete

Crashing the Boards

2010-07-30T07:45:00.000-07:00

If it’s the case that you don’t necessarily need to be pre-med to do well in medical school, as this article examines, should a student be pre-business before going to business school?

What is the most valuable course one should have under their belt before entering business school? Economics? Accounting? Business ethics? Or British Lit? This New York Times article explores how certain medical schools value and permit a number of humanities students into their programs, and what kind of success those students enjoy later on as doctors.

Looking further out, if there is one class an entrepreneur should take, what would it be?

-Pete

The Fine Print

2010-07-23T07:26:00.000-07:00

We recently got an HDTV as a gift, and I’ve tried to hook up my computer to it to watch Netflix. I’ve just embraced Netflix, believe it or not. It’s terrific. What’s not terrific is that when I use this special cord, an HDMI cord, I don’t get audio. An hour later, after some research, I discover that it’s a very common problem. Thousands of people have encountered it, but when I go to call Dell, who makes my computer, I discover that because my warranty is expired, I can’t so much as online chat with a technical representative.

So I ask you: future inventors, sellers, and distributors of products, how long should a company stand by its wares? I have an Eddie Bauer backpack that must be fifteen years old that I could return today, for a full refund (at least according to Eddie). Break it down for me—why backpacks but not computers? Is this just based on cost, and if so, is that based on the number of users, difficulty of correcting the problem, or what?

And can anyone help me get audio from this HDMI cable?

-Pete

Crystal Clear?

2010-07-16T07:25:00.000-07:00

Confusing times. While Goldman Sachs is required to pay $550 million (part fine, part investor restitution), it is not required to admit it did anything wrong. Technically. Read more about what this really means here and here.

Clarity is at issue: the lack of clarity in Goldman’s marketing materials and lack of clarity in the design of the financial instrument in question, the CDO. What do you make of all this?

Wall Street isn’t the only place plagued by reversals and upheavals. Apparently, Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are engaged, again!

-Pete

Cat and Mouse

2010-07-09T08:03:00.000-07:00

It would seem that this New York Times article about cheating misses the point to some extent. It’s not about whether a student cheats, it’s about whether a student recognizes that what they are doing is cheating. Much of the discussion I’ve been involved in has been in the context of writing, and has centered on hashing out the minutiae of what constitutes cheating, or plagiarism.

When Turnitin.com or SafeAssign brings back a report after you’ve run a student’s paper through their program, what often happens is that you’ll find a student has failed to appropriately cite, not that they were purposefully aiming to pawn off someone else’s work as their own.

I like how The New York Times characterizes it all as a cat and mouse game. Perhaps a better example is this…

Apples and Oranges and Bananas

2010-06-24T07:50:00.000-07:00

How to compare these two problems: the Gulf oil spill and the Haiti earthquake? On the surface, it would seem as if the Gulf oil spill is the result of a particular problem, which is itself the result of certain failures. Corporations are easy to blame, and in hindsight, shortcomings easy to identify.

But in a case like the Haiti earthquake, a natural disaster, placing blame is more difficult. However, what this piece on This American Life does so well is examine how the fallout from the earthquake is part of a systemic failure to improve a country over long periods. Listen to Part I and find out why.

On a lighter note, if you’re in search of finding out what you know and what you don’t know, take this short survey offered by PEW Research, and let us know how you did.

-Pete

The Big Guns

2010-06-18T06:36:00.000-07:00

An interesting examination of the Toyota recall was aired on CNBC. You can check it out here. Business communication, crisis communication, corporate social responsibility, and corporate personhood are all players in the story.

The other famous crisis communications case that came to mind was the 1982 Tylenol recall, which you’ve probably heard about. Find out more here.

-Pete

The Field of Battle

2010-06-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

An interesting side-effect of the BP oil spill is raised in this article. It feels like a no-brainer to blame Britain-based BP and to demonize them, as oil spreads across the Gulf. But the British say Halt! Thou forgetteth my pension!

I suppose I might have more complicated feelings on the matter if I stood to lose a portion of my retirement. Rather than ratchet up international tensions, it’d be a lot easier if these matters could be settled on the football field of battle, but alas.

Did you know that you can use hair to clean up oil? Hair! Well, actually, hair won’t resolve this particular spill, but something to keep in mind.

-Pete

When the Going Gets Tough

2010-06-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

I love this article. Maybe it’s because I’m not a quantitative person, but it makes the case for the humanities, the soft majors, which are slipping in interest during this economy. It also highlights that while being a deft accountant might get you far, the ability to effectively communicate your findings to the CEO will get you farther.

I think the general feeling is that when push comes to shove, the hard disciplines will and should win out. We often hear politicians talk about the need for our country to be producing more engineers and scientists to ensure our competitiveness. Rarely do we ever hear anyone argue for the critical role of sculptors, philosophers, or Victorian lit experts.

So, is what David Brooks argues here idealistic? Can we really make the case that we should be taking a class on Ulysses over Accountancy 101 or Calc? What evidence do we have that when the going gets tough, the tough need Kant?

Big Brain

2010-06-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

This article, published in the Harvard Business Review several years ago, suggests that brainstorming doesn’t work. At least not in the way that we often think about it. It reminded me of my first job at big PR agency. The entire account staff spent a day at a loft in an industrial area of Chicago brainstorming.

The loft looked like Pee Wee’s Playhouse, and we had to take off our shoes and walk around in our socks while coloring, throwing Koosh balls around, and brainstorming. At the end of the day, we did karaoke. No big idea came out of it, probably because the session failed to adhere to the rules that this article suggests a good brainstorming session should adhere to. (As a side-note, after that session, our office spent a great deal of money designing and building a room where we could go to have official brainstorm sessions. It also looked liked Pee Wee’s Playhouse.)

As I’ve already blogged, the vast majority of us soon got the can because of the tech bust, which made me wonder if anyone had a brainstorming session about whether it’d be a good idea to invest in brainstorming sessions and a dedicated brainstorming room.

The point of these brainstorming sessions is to pinpoint the moment of innovation. On a semi-related note (not really), here’s a story about another kind of innovation, called tinnovation. It’s cool, check it out.

On an even more unrelated note, this article in The New York Times suggests you become happier the older you get. Who knew?

-Pete

Liquid

2010-05-28T10:39:00.001-07:00

I caught this interview (sorry, the video is only available to HDNet subscribers) done by Dan Rather with a young CEO named Barry Silbert. Silbert, a former Goldman Sachs employee, is thirty-four but looks even younger. A lot younger. His company, Second Market, aims to create a marketplace for illiquid assets—a new kind of eBay-like domain where people can trade things like shares of Facebook or LinkedIn, or other non-traditional assets.

What struck me, in addition to the novelty of Silbert’s idea, was whether we prefer our leaders young or old, green or seasoned? Conventional wisdom suggests that a young leader brings innovation and energy, new ideas to replace outmoded ones. On the other hand, the veteran leader brings the kind of knowledge an organization needs, the kind only obtained through years of experience.

By now, you might have read Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point, which often points to the scholar K. Anders Ericsson’s notion that one needs ten years, or 10,000 hours, to be an expert at something.

Which do we want and why? We saw this debate crystallized during our most recent presidential election, but what about when it comes to business? Perhaps another question is whether these perceptions (young=innovative, old=wise) are even valid.

-Pete

A Tangled Web

2010-05-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

At first I thought this New York Times article on the perils of PowerPoint was pretty funny. But as I think more and more about it, and read the comments people have posted, I feel increasingly torn. As a writer and a teacher of writing, I argue for simplicity and clarity.

However, what this article makes clear (in this case, we’re talking about overly-complex PPT slides) is that simplicity can be dangerous, leaving out important nuances and complexities. Some issues, many argue, can’t (or shouldn't) be boiled down into three bullet points.

In our communication we battle against time, cognition, and complexity. Even as I enumerate this brief list, I realize it’s too brief, and fails to thoroughly address our task as communicators. A meta-problem, I guess.

Certainly I don’t have the answer, but always welcome feedback.

-Pete

Convocation

2010-05-04T10:02:00.000-07:00

The swarm of business ethics papers have subsided, and many of you are headed into finals and then off (or staying in DC) for the summer. I was impressed by the range of sticky dilemmas the first year b-school students tackled. It was a lot of fun listening to your recommendations about ways your chosen company could overcome what often seemed like impassable obstacles. This all came at a time when you are tackling your own dilemmas about career, school and, well, life!

So, perhaps this is a mini-convocation, and one written with ethics on the brain.

I’ve been thinking of these guys recently, and how quickly opinions and perceptions can shift.

Here’s to our own good character and judgment remaining strong, and a fruitful (and relaxing) summer.

-Pete

Expensive Genes

2010-04-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

Did you know that there are certain genes in your body that you don’t own? If you wanted to find out if you had a specific gene, you would have to pay a company a lot of money for the test, because they own it.

This kind of blew my mind; it’s one of the stories discussed on 60 Minutes.

In fact, there are a host of companies that hold patents on genes, and they have for decades. It’s an interesting case where a company doesn’t invent something, but simply discovers something—and then lays claim to it.

Only, it’s not that simple.

In order to discover a gene that causes, say, a mutation, someone needs to invest money. And those investors expect a return. But what happens when capitalism gets in the way of public health? Watch the episode and let us know what you think.

Bubble

2010-04-01T09:24:00.001-07:00

Some of you may listen to the show Marketplace on NPR. They recently did a story on the “baseball card bubble.” Apparently, having a mint condition card is not all we used to think it was when we were kids. There were stories of finding that rare but flawed Honus Wagner card, selling it, and living like you’d just won the lottery.

This notion seems to have been fueled by that show Antiques Roadshow, where people bring in their junk, and discover that Grandpa’s teakettle is worth $20K.

Find out what’s happening (or not) on the baseball card front here.

The Big Short

2010-03-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

In the past two days I’ve seen the writer Michael Lewis on 60 Minutes and The Charlie Rose Show. His new book, The Big Short, is just out. Through the stories of three men, it chronicles the subprime mortgage debacle. Lewis was a Wall Street banker himself. You may have heard of his first book, Liar’s Poker.

Charlie Rose’s introduction went something along the lines of how Lewis had, nearly 30 years ago, told the story of Wall Street greed in that book. Well, at least he thought he had. His latest book may not be the last chapter, but it is the most recent.

A question put to Lewis was whether or not the big Wall Street banks will continue to draw the best and the brightest students, despite the stain that culture now carries with it. You can see Lewis’ answer here.

The Light at the End?

2010-03-09T09:46:00.000-08:00

Some good news for business school students, according to this article in The New York Times. The recession may not be over, but things may be looking up for you all. Read the article here.

-Pete

Sign of the Times

2010-03-08T06:37:00.000-08:00

Working with students on their ITEC projects brought to mind a client I had a number of years ago. I was the lowest account staff member of a public relations team of about five, and there was a lot of excitement about this new client. They were two genius brothers, one the brains and one the salesman, and they had a novel technology ready to unleash. They specialized in digital signatures. I asked the second lowest person on the team what a digital signature was.

He explained that a digital signature, or at least how our client conceived of one, was an authoritative electronic stamp that could legally and authentically prove that a document was signed on such and such a date, or that a document was reviewed by whichever parties had claimed to have reviewed it. This was in 2001. It was around the same time a Forbes article was being passed around the office, which declared that the worst job one could have during the tech bust was that of a PR account executive for a tech company. This was my job.

Looking the company up now, I can’t find them. I don’t think they remained clients of my firm’s for very long—their funding, along with others, dried up. And I didn’t remain with the firm very long either after the bust—eventually, nearly all of the technology account staff got laid off, except for the people who happen to be working with a walkie-talkie company. Evidently, someone always needs walkie-talkies.

What went wrong with the digital signature company? Were they not unique enough? Were they not marketable? Could they not implement it effectively? After visiting with students and sitting in ITEC classes at AU, I’m asking questions now that I didn’t ask then.

Get To The Point

2010-03-06T17:26:00.000-08:00

When asked how long he spent preparing for a speech, Theodore Roosevelt once replied: “For a five minute speech, I need at least two weeks. For a ten minute speech, I need a week. For an hour-long speech, I’m ready now.” While this may seem counter-intuitive, Roosevelt was making the point that one of the most difficult parts of communication is condensing one’s message.

Most of us don’t have the Bull Moose’s talent in communication, but many of us struggle with the same challenge. We often become attached to our words, and find it difficult to identify the most important parts and eliminate the fluff. I find this is especially true in my written communications. For school assignments, my problem is usually writing too much rather than not enough. I promise myself that I will limit my blog entries to 300-400 words, but I usually exceed this self-imposed limit and have to cut my entries down. Twitter makes this even more challenging; I find it extremely frustrating to condense a complex thought to 140 characters.

For blog entries or emails, I’ve found that one good way to eliminate fluff is to write my main idea as though it were a Twitter update (i.e. no more than 140 characters), then go through my document and eliminate things that don’t fit with this main idea. While this may sound overly simplistic – and in some cases it is – it helps me stay focused on the topic. I wouldn’t recommend relying solely on this method to condense a school assignment, but I’ve found I can often cut 10-20% of my text using this method.

Another effective technique is to have someone else look over your paper. I find that it is usually easier for someone else to spot the unnecessary points in my writing, because they aren’t as emotionally invested in what I’ve written as I am. Similarly, I find it much easier to help others eliminate the fluff from their papers than to eliminate it from my own.

We’d be glad to help you with this at the Center for Business Communications. Come see us some time.

-Jon

Model United Nations & Negotiation Skills

2010-02-24T11:55:00.000-08:00

While my experience in Toastmasters at AU has been extremely helpful in improving my speaking skills, it is not my first foray into communications. When I was an undergraduate at Wright State University in Ohio, I participated in another great organization: Model United Nations. In many ways, it helped me learn to communicate long before I had ever heard of Toastmasters.

Model UN is an organization where each person represents a country to solve an international problem. Each delegate addresses the entire committee to make the case for his country’s policies, then negotiates with the other countries until a policy agreement can be reached.

I enjoyed this organization because it taught me one of the most valuable skills in business communications: The art of negotiation and diplomacy. This is especially difficult when the person with whom you are negotiating may not have the same goals in mind. My favorite topics to address were international security issues, precisely because they were the most contentious and most likely to spark intense negotiations among the delegates.

In many other situations, good negotiation skills can result in major successes that may not have been possible otherwise. I found that one of the most important elements of negotiation is the one that people seem to forget the most often: respect. People are much more likely to compromise if they feel that you understand their point of view and respect their goals. While respect may not always be enough to resolve complex differences, it goes a long way. The business world is governed by a different set of priorities than international politics, but this rule applies to both. While this may seem obvious, I have seen this rule of negotiation broken more than any other during my time in Model UN. The results are predictable. As soon as you view your negotiation partners as opponents to be defeated instead of potentially valuable allies, they are much more likely to dig in their heels and refuse to compromise. When instead you start from a view of mutual respect and cooperation, you are much more likely to get more of what you want.

-Jon

Mathematics of Spam

2010-02-16T04:53:00.000-08:00

My computer scientist and mathematician friend Brian Hayes has been tracking his spam for years and writing about it from a mathematical standpoint. His most recent blog on the topic (reporting on Chris Kranich et al's experiment) makes one question the cost-effectiveness of spam:

"The bottom line: 28 “sales” (no money actually changed hands, and no products were delivered) with an average purchase price of about $100. This is a conversion rate of less than 1 in 10 million, which leaves some doubt about the profitability of the operation."

--though, of course, as Brian points out, "the mere continued existence of spam argues that the actual costs must be much lower."

Brian also issues an interesting challenge to those who spam while using the "comment" feature--wonder if he'll get any takers?

Any Kogod marketing students out there who are studying spam?

But For Whom?

2010-02-08T11:06:00.000-08:00

The Winter 2010 issue of The American Scholar includes a talk that William Zinsser gave to an incoming class of international students in Columbia University’s graduate journalism school. In it, he outlines four principles that he thinks makes for good writing: clarity, simplicity, brevity, and humanity.

Some of you may have read Zinsser’s book, On Writing Well, in undergraduate or even high school classes. It’s one of the most popular writing guides, and for good reason.

His advice is great, and for most of us it applies. One arena that seems to be an exception, however, is academia. If you’ve ever read a scholarly article, you know what I’m talking about. Part of this has to do with trade language. I once got into a debate with a political scientist over the need for the use of the word “ontological.” I thought it was jargon. She felt it was the best and only word she had to talk about metaphysics.

This is the gap Zinsser doesn’t address in the article: audience. In other words, to what extent should our audience dictate how we speak and write? Alternatively, should we be telling our audience how to read and write through practice?

Zinsser might argue simplicity above all. A PhD candidate setting down to write her dissertation about the Politics of God might argue something quite different. I’d love to hear what you think.

-Pete

Digital Nation

2010-02-06T15:21:00.000-08:00

PBS ran a documentary on Frontline called “Digital Nation,” that explores how technology is changing the way we communicate...not always for the better. Although we’ve had the internet for nearly 20 years and cell phones for 10, it’s only been in the last year or two that our technology has become an all-encompassing platform for communication. This trend shows no sign of stopping, meaning we will probably spend evermore time immersed in technology instead of interacting directly with people in the next decade. Wouldn’t it be ironic if all of our new gadgets and programs, touted as a way to revolutionize the way we communicate with each other, ended up impeding our ability to communicate face-to-face?

The usual suspects – Facebook and Twitter – are notorious for facilitating procrastination among college students, but what is mentioned less often is that they may actually be reducing our “face-time” with the people we care about. For example, I broadcast the details of my life on these platforms far more often than I actually discuss them with people in real life. Some people even consider it a social faux pas to bring up a topic in real life that they read on a friend or colleague’s Facebook feed. I sometimes wonder if we would be better conversationalists if we didn’t have the ability to instantly broadcast any thought that enters our heads to hundreds of people.

On the other hand, our programs and smartphones enable us to keep in touch with people who would otherwise fall off our radar screens, and to share our ideas with strangers who would otherwise know nothing about us. They allow us to communicate more easily with colleagues from across the globe, reducing the need to live geographically near our workplace. And of course, they offer us incredibly diverse perspectives into world events that would not be possible by merely talking to our real-life acquaintances.

Clearly technology is a mixed bag when it comes to communication. Personally, I think the positive aspects are overwhelmingly more important than the negative. What do you think?

Watch Digital Nation if you have time. It’s very interesting.

-Jon

Case Competition Update

2010-02-05T14:40:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, the 2010 Kogod Case Competition had to be cancelled due to the imminent blizzard. However, I’d like to share my group’s thought processes and ideas. The most important things to focus on were plausibility and creativity. While it was important to address the obvious, we also tried to develop suggestions that would set us apart from other groups.

The case was about a family-owned corrugated box manufacturer in Morocco, called Box-It. The father, Mr. Abdul, started the business in the 1980s. His son, Hassen, has been working there for three years and is in charge of day-to-day events in the company. He has a harsh management style, but it seems clear that he is slated to inherit the company.

My group (Terra Firma) identified three critical issues in the case:

· Box-It’s financial situation is too confusing to its owners
· There is the potential for expansion that is not being utilized
· The chain of command is unclear

The short version of our recommendations include:

· Contact the customer Box-It recently lost. Inform them that box prices have been reduced from $1.10 to $0.88.
· Mark up prices for Moroccan customers, so Box-It can maintain its desired profit margin after haggling.
· Don’t build recycled paper plant; pay down debt instead.
· Sell the 6 least efficient transformation machines; use this money to buy multicolor, bleaching, and waxing machines.
· Form a strategic partnership with TelePizza, a potential high-volume customer, to make pizza boxes.
· Plan for Mr. Abdul’s retirement at least three years in advance, and agree on a succession plan.

My verbosity makes it impossible to condense our entire case analysis into a single blog entry. Fortunately, I have created a blog for just such purposes. If you are interested in Terra Firma's entire analysis of the case, presentation strategies, and explanations of our recommendations, please click the link below.
Terra Firma - Case Analysis and Recommendations

Any feedback on our ideas is most appreciated.

-Jon

Kogod Case Competition

2010-02-02T10:34:00.000-08:00

The Kogod Case Competition starts tomorrow, and I couldn’t be more excited. This will be a great opportunity to develop my public speaking and presentation skills, and I feel that my groupmates are very talented communicators.

The mini-case competition, which was held during MBA orientation week, was a great practice for this. My mini-case group was fortunate enough to be one of the winning teams during that exercise. The most important lesson I drew from that experience is to always be prepared for any question the judges (or clients) are likely to ask you. One of the most effective moments during our mini-case presentation came during the Q&A session. One of the judges asked us where the money was going to come from to pay for our recommendations, and our group quickly shifted to a backup slide in our PowerPoint with a full budget. I think this was more effective than simply including the budget in our presentation would have been, as it showed the judges that we were able to anticipate their questions.

As illuminating as the mini-case competition was, this week’s case competition will undoubtedly be much more difficult. I think this will be my most challenging business communication experience of the school year. We have three days to analyze a case, formulate our recommendations, write a PowerPoint, and present to the judges. While I am sure it will be a great experience and a lot of fun regardless of the outcome, I am in it to win it.

-Jon

The Simple Things

2010-02-01T11:47:00.000-08:00

Do any of you listen to This American Life? It’s a radio show piped in through NPR. I subscribe to the free podcast. Recently, I uncovered an episode they did on the mortgage crisis. They had two reporters, Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson, explain what happened in lay terms.

The response to that episode was so overwhelmingly positive that they did a number of other episodes focused on the current banking crisis. They manage to decode the entire debacle in less than an hour!

The connection I want to make here is no matter how complicated a topic, there is always a value in clarity. It would seem that one can’t talk about credit default swaps or TARP reform without using a lot of jargon. In fact, the host of This American Life, Ira Glass, opens one episode with tape of the head of the FDIC dropping phrases like “mark-to-market accounting.” Glass says the obvious: it’s too confusing. As a result, we don’t know what’s going on.

When you have an important case to make, make it clear. Crystallize. Distill. Come see us. We can help you do that.

And check out This American Life.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1285

-Pete

Toastmasters Speech #2

2010-01-31T13:51:00.000-08:00

I joined Toastmasters International when I started the MBA program here at AU last fall. Toastmasters is an organization dedicated to helping people from all walks of life improve their public speaking skills. I have wanted to become a member for quite some time, but was never able to find the time or a club before I came to AU. For an introvert like me, Toastmasters can help build confidence in one’s speaking abilities.

This week was the second time I have given the featured speech. Unlike most of my weekly speeches, which are impromptu, the featured speech gives me the opportunity to prepare my remarks and rehearse. The topic I chose is a subject that I already know a little about from reading magazine articles on the subject: The self-driving car. I talked about the history of the concept, where the technology stands, and what we can expect to see in the near future.

My main goals were to have a well-organized speech, to stay within the 5-7 minute time frame allotted for featured speeches, and to not make my nervousness too obvious to the audience. I think I accomplished the first two goals quite well, but I need to improve on the third before I give my next speech.

I received some useful feedback from the other members. My introduction was a little weak, and my speech was untitled. These two things confused my audience a little, because the topic of my speech was not obvious at first. Also, I should have paused more; I have a tendency to talk too fast when I am nervous. However, people felt that the subject was very interesting and the speech was well-written. These constructive criticisms will be helpful as I prepare for my third featured speech in a few weeks.

-Jon

State of the Union 2010

2010-01-30T14:50:00.000-08:00

President Obama gave his second State of the Union address last Wednesday. My comments are going to focus exclusively on the delivery of the speech itself. Overall, I was disappointed. Obama is normally an excellent orator and I was expecting more.

Obama took the unusual step of not including a sentence starting with “The state of the union is…” I think this was wise, under the present circumstances. The problem with that sentence is that when times are bad, there is no way to finish the sentence to soften the blow. Instead, he chose the phrase “I have never been more hopeful about America’s future than I am tonight.” It projected optimism without seeming out-of-touch, and was a strong opening to his speech.

The low point of his speech came early on. Some members of Congress were clearly not impressed that Obama's proposed spending freeze wouldn't begin until the following year, leading him to ad lib the remark “That’s how the budget works.” I thought it came across as patronizing, and I'm sure he regretted saying it. While extemporaneous comments can sometimes be useful, the SOTU is not the best format for this.

I thought the health care section was surprisingly weak. He waited until 35 minutes into the speech to mention it. I’m not sure it was wise to bury his signature issue deep within the speech. It sends the message (fairly or not) that the issue is no longer a top priority for him.

The conclusion of his speech was his best moment. One of the most annoying things about SOTU addresses is that the flow of the speech is constantly interrupted by frequent applause. Obama delivered his conclusion in a way that kept the applause to a minimum, allowing him to build up to a crescendo ending in thunderous applause. It was a strong ending to an otherwise mediocre speech.

-Jon

Different Varieties of Fear

2010-01-28T08:39:00.000-08:00

In a never-ending quest for family activities that do not involve sitting in front of a screen, my husband, two kids, and I have taken up indoor rock climbing.

Actually, they have taken up indoor rock climbing and I have taken up standing with my neck craned way back yelling encouraging words.

This is because I am scared of heights. I wasn't as a kid, but the older I get, the more scared I am, till the point where I can barely scale a ladder without trembling.

On my first attempt at the indoor climbing gym, I was able to climb up to about 12 feet. (Meanwhile, Jon and the kids went all the way up to the top, easily, and moved on to harder climbs.)

The next attempt I mastered the art of not thinking about all the climbing that lay ahead of me and focusing on the immediate task. This helped somewhat. I think I made it to the 17 foot mark before rappelling down (now that's fun).

The experience was a true visceral reminder of what it's like to be fearful of speaking in public. I try to be sympathetic--I feel sympathetic--but I'm sure I can be awfully glib when I talk to students about not being (too) afraid of public speaking. This is because by and large, I enjoy public speaking!

But next time someone comes to me and describes their fears with a tremble in their voice or a shake in their hand, I'll be able to be even more sincere than usual. "I hear ya," I'll say, and, thinking of my two short climbs up a wall that didn't scare my 6-year-old but had me cowering, I'll really, truly mean it.

And just as with me and heights, the keys are (1) keep trying and (2) don't think too much about what comes next.

2009-10-05T07:20:00.001-07:00

The New York Times's Sunday business section runs a regular column called The Corner Office. Yesterday's entry (interview with Susan Lyne, CEO of Gilt Groupe) posed this question: what courses do b-schools not offer that they should offer?

Lyne's answer is below. Essentially Lyne is talking about persuasion: how do you persuade other people to follow your agenda? This is a topic Nancy Sachs and I take up in our business communications courses. (So maybe Lyne needs to make sure her hires have their MBAs from here!)

**

A. There are a lot of great courses on managing or developing a strategic agenda, but there is very little about how to work with your peers where you need to get X done, and you need these other three departments to give you X amount of time in order to succeed at that.
The people who truly succeed in business are the ones who actually have figured out how to mobilize people who are not their direct reports. Everyone can get their direct reports to work for them, but getting people who do not have to give you their time to engage and to support you and to want you to succeed is something that is sorely missing from B-school courses.

Apologize?

2009-09-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

In the MBA business communications class on Wednesday, a student challenged me on one of my pet peeves, which is to never apologize to an audience. "Doesn't apologizing make you seem more human, and isn't that a good thing?" she asked.

I countered that it's fine to apologize before or after you're "on stage," but while you're up there you should never cede power by apologizing.

And I added that this is particularly important for women and men who have feminized speech patterns. When men with masculine speech patterns apologize, do they lose power? What do you think?