Thank you for the link to the Rachael Wallach video, JD. What a bright mind, captivating speaker and lovely personality. Her presentation approach was a smart example of what you wrote about.
I liked this: "At NYU Stern, one of the IT experts with whom I worked, Matt, was notorious for bringing only a clipboard of white copier paper to every meeting. At some point, when outlining a solution to a thorny problem, he’d start sketching what he meant. His simple sketches cut through complexity like a hot knife through butter. (See what I did there?)"
Sometimes, words alone connect help us understand. A visual can help tremendously. I'm going to have to remember this guidance. Excellent piece, as usual.
Hi JD! I saw a recent Rupaul's Drag Race episode that reminded me of your advice about using metaphors or the structure of a concrete story to convey a message. In the episode (Season 17, Episode 12), the artists are challenged to write and present a monolague while a partner expresses their story through interperative dance. The partnerships that did really well used stories from their lives that had a specific beginning, middle, and end (ie, one contestant discussed failing at an elementary school spelling bee in the broader context of seeking her father's approval), while the partnerships that struggled lacked specific examples to structure their monologues.
The focus of the episode was primarily comedy and the judges didn't really touch on this pattern. But I found it so interesting to see that even in something designed to be goofy (ie, how well can someone interperatively dance to this?) your observations about public speaking and storytelling proved so on-point.
Expert level tips, as usual. Love seeing you and Ken working together!
« raising up the audience’s understanding, » I like that.
Thank you for the link to the Rachael Wallach video, JD. What a bright mind, captivating speaker and lovely personality. Her presentation approach was a smart example of what you wrote about.
I liked this: "At NYU Stern, one of the IT experts with whom I worked, Matt, was notorious for bringing only a clipboard of white copier paper to every meeting. At some point, when outlining a solution to a thorny problem, he’d start sketching what he meant. His simple sketches cut through complexity like a hot knife through butter. (See what I did there?)"
Sometimes, words alone connect help us understand. A visual can help tremendously. I'm going to have to remember this guidance. Excellent piece, as usual.
What a great picture of you two! Great step by step tool to make it simple, not simpler. (5 steps)
Hi JD! I saw a recent Rupaul's Drag Race episode that reminded me of your advice about using metaphors or the structure of a concrete story to convey a message. In the episode (Season 17, Episode 12), the artists are challenged to write and present a monolague while a partner expresses their story through interperative dance. The partnerships that did really well used stories from their lives that had a specific beginning, middle, and end (ie, one contestant discussed failing at an elementary school spelling bee in the broader context of seeking her father's approval), while the partnerships that struggled lacked specific examples to structure their monologues.
The focus of the episode was primarily comedy and the judges didn't really touch on this pattern. But I found it so interesting to see that even in something designed to be goofy (ie, how well can someone interperatively dance to this?) your observations about public speaking and storytelling proved so on-point.
I so have to check that out! Thanks Cori
OH MY GOD THAT WKRP CLIP!! I remember seeing that as a kid and being RIVETED. Thank you for this glorious reminder. Bravo.
I know right?!