Unaccustomed as I am to Public Speaking . . . .

I'll be at IBEX 2012 in Louisville, Kentucky. Will you? Let's plan out my annual ProBoat E-Training workshop together. (My workshop will most likely be Wednesday, October 3, from 11:00 a.m. to noon, but the schedule is not yet finalized.)

During the past several years, I've offered several free exhibitor workshops at IBEX, and one year I also put together a longer session for MITEC (Marine Industry Training & Education Council).

Come have lunch with
me at IBEX!

This year, MITEC will be offering a very interesting pre-conference on October 1, from noon until 4:00 p.m.

The presenter will be David Veech (Institute for Lean Systems), and the topic will be problem solving. The program will start with box lunches and schmoozing about marine industry training and workforce development, before getting to the meat of the matter.

MITEC is in process of converting from a representative council into a membership organization, and this pre-con is being designed to bring in new members.

What a bargain! If you join MITEC, you get the pre-con (and lunch) for free. If you decide not to join, you pay $75 which includes David Veech's new book The C4 Process: Four Vital Steps to Better Work and did I mention that you also get lunch?

The MITEC Board will be sending out more info about membership fees and so on, but for those of you who do math, all I can say is, "Do the math."  This is a bargain, plus an opportunity to connect with other people who are involved with training, education, human resources, workforce development, and other vital concerns.

My exhibitor workshop is another fabulous opportunity for you to meet up with your colleagues. Plus it is free, and I welcome you to bring your own lunch. Which reminds me, my grandfather used to love this song:

Okay, enough procrastination. Let's get back to work.

During the past few months, I've written quite a bit about PowerPoint, social networking; dogs, especially my Deer Isle Free Dog Willow, Occupy, and Twitter. So far, Willow has gotten the most positive attention, with my post on The Black Screen coming in strong as well.  (You can probably guess which post brought in the most negative attention.) I thought more people might be interested in Twitter, but I guess I was wrong on that one. IBEX is in little danger of becoming a Twitter Trend, and in some ways that's too bad.

I am open to suggestions from you about what you'd like to hear from me during our face-to-face event at IBEX. I'd love to do some PowerPoint make-overs, as well as some demos on voice-overs. Maybe some of my blog posts need to be do-overs?

I could just insert a Survey Monkey poll here, but I do try to show you one new thing each week, so this time I'll point you to TitanPad. This is an interesting group-writing site, where anyone can start a topic, and people with the link can chime in. Just for fun, let's see what happens.

I've posted a list of possible topics for my workshop, and I invite you to edit my list: add topics, vote yes or no, elaborate, advise, revise, and offer stern warnings.

You may need to go back from time to time to see how the list has changed.

Here's my starting point:

     1) PowerPoint basics. How to do it right the first time through.

     2) Graphics in PowerPoint. How to import them and refine them.

     3) Intro to Blogging

     4) Starting an Internet Radio Show

     5) Let's just talk about dogs

     7) Let's talk about the role of critical thinking in education today

     8) The Black Screen and other tips for making better presentations

     9) Social networking: Do I really have to learn to Tweet? Ain't I Tweet Enough?

     10) Plain English: Editing for Everyone

     11) MOODLE and other online training platforms: Which one is best?

     12) Blended learning: How to combine online programs with real world situations?

     13) Making connections with other marine-industry trainers and educators

     14) Your Idea Here. Please.

Ready to jump in?  Okay. Here's the link to my TitanPad. (The password is IBEX2012. You may use your real name, or make up a nom de IBEX. In either case, you will be able to see editor names when you look at saved revisions. )

Have fun with it! While you're there, try playing around a little with Titan Pad for your own projects. 

It's really a very nice tool to have in your belt.

The Black Screen

Before I launch into this week's topic, i.e. The Black Screen, I'd like you to take a minute (and 22 seconds) to watch this video--and follow the instructions!--if you haven't seen it before:

The behavior described in this video explains one of the reasons that we should not talk on our cell phones when we are driving. It really has little to do with hands-on or hands-off the wheel.

It's all about "selective attention," meaning our minds become so focused by the phone conversation, that our vision is diverted, and we don't see the invisible gorilla by the side of the road, and we don't see our exit sign, either.

According to Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons, authors of The Invisible Gorilla, you can train people to do one thing well--such as reading PowerPoint bullet points while you talk--but they won't get better at hearing what you have to say.  

So, stop and think. What are the best talks you ever heard? I can think of several, including hearing William H. Macy read Ethan Coem's poem "The Drunken Driver Has the Right of Way" on NPR. I suspect I remember the words so well because I was fully engaged in listening. (In fact, I was so taken by this poem that I wrote an essay about it.)

I tell you all that just to emphasize the impact of the well-spoken word. And, seriously, how often, when you really want to near and understand something, do you find yourself closing your eyes?

Concentrate!

Let's face it: It's difficult to concentrate on one thing that demands visual concentration while listening to something else that demands aural concentration at the same time--unless the two are perfectly synced, as they are in most videos or in real life.

Image that you have seven or more bullet points on the screen, and you are talking about point number six, or even point number 7.A.1, which exists only in your notes.

What do you think your audience is doing? If their eyes are closed, maybe they are concentrating. Or maybe they are sleeping.

Creating a presentation that syncs your words to the screen is a challenge. One way to do it is to have a lot of slides that change rapidly.

Another way to grab your audience's attention is simply to show them The Black Screen.

That's it. A black screen quickly and effectively shifts attention right back to you, just like in the good old days. (A white slide, however, just makes everyone go temporarily blind, and then they'll be worried about their eyesight, still not listening to you.)

So, how do you incorporate this lucky charm? If you have really planned out your presentation, and you know where you're going to ramble off script, just stick the black slides in as needed.

"B" for "Black Screen"

If you want to be more spontaneous, it's even easier. When you are in slideshow mode, full screen, just press the letter "b" on your keyboard.

Yep. That's it. The show stops, the screen goes black, and all eyes are on you.

Ready to proceed? Just press "b" again.

This works whether slides are advancing manually or automatically.

(Yes, you can also press "w" for white screen.)

If you are in "Presenter" view, so you see your notes and your audience does not, you'll see "Black Screen" as an option. That lets you continue with your notes, but the audience's attention is back on you until you click "Resume Show."

Have some fun with this idea, and please let us know how it works for you.

Keeping Score: Twitter as a Feedback Tool

Here's one of my favorite contemporary art works, a piece done by David Fullerton as one of his contributions to the 2009 Sisyphus Office Exhibition, subtitled "What I do at work when I'm supposed to be working." The name of this particular effort is Unbeknownst to You, I Have Been Keeping Score All Along.

How does this tie into making better presentations? Easy. I just want you to keep in mind that everyone watching your presentation is, in fact, keeping score.

Seriously, according to presentation maven Nancy Duarte, your audience members have already seen Steve Jobs unveil the iPhone, they've heard the voice of Martin Luther King, and they've watched at least one TED talk on YouTube.

The days are gone when they will be happy with a lot of words on your slides and a handout to take home. Now they expect a lot more--and they also expect to be asked for their feedback, and they'd like to see feedback on their feedback, too.

A few years ago at IBEX (International BoatBuilders Exhibition & Conference), one of our editors, who shall remain nameless, suggested that each dais have a trap door, and each attendee have an electronic device with three buttons on it: Green (good), Yellow (neutral), and Red (bad).

When enough Red signals were transmitted, the trap door would open, the failed speaker would be gone, and the session would continue. Any speakers still present at the end of the program would be invited back.

Granted, this idea might have a few quirks in it yet, but I'll admit I would love to have instant evaluations, and I would also love for attendees to get some immediate response in exchange for the time they take to fill out our seminar evaluations.

Tweeters in the night,
exchanging wisecracks.

What you may not know is that instant evaluations are already taking place in the Twitter stream. If you are the one at the front of the room showing off your top-notch PowerPoint presentation, you may be a little irked to look out at a sea of down-turned heads, faces glowing in the light of their smartphones, tablets, and laptop computers.

What are all those people doing?

There's a good chance that they are tweeting--about you! They might as well all be passing notes in class to each other. It's pretty much the same thing, but it's harder to catch them at it. Plus, they are also passing notes to people outside the room. In short, they are in that other dimension known as The Back Channel.

What are they saying? Oh, it could be anything, and too often these "live tweets" can even be kind of mean, especially if the tweeters think you are not tuned in to the presentation or to each other. On the other hand, positive tweets may well help to build your audience when people realize that YOUR session is the place to be.

Are you ready to respond
to tweets about your presentation
during your presentation? 

So, how do you make the most of this? Well, it's a case of joining the flock. What if you were to start your seminar or workshop by announcing that the Twitter hashtag for your session is #mydeerislefreedog or #2012Ses401 or #wavepiercer6?  And then what if you were to announce that you will be happy to answer questions sent in by Twitter at the end of your talk, or even during it?

You will be creating a record of the discussion, including your responses (Since you will be fairly busy thinking on your feet, it might be wise to ask someone to live-tweet your responses.) The additional advantage is that this discussion can continue after the session is over. Twitter, with this type of hash tag, does provide that instant response that attendees want.

You can also show the Twitter stream for this hashtag on the projection screen so people can see in advance if their questions are being recorded and answered.

Passing notes:
An ancient form of communication
currently known as "Direct Messaging"

If you have participated in a webinar or in an online web conference, you are already familiar with the possibilities for chat room conversations. This isn't much different.

What about the attendees who do not have Twitter? You can still give them the option of raising a hand and standing up.

Or you can let them know, as far as you are concerned, passing you a note is just fine, too.

To Tweet or Not to Tweet

View from Camp UniStar

More than three decades ago, I attended a family camp on Star Island, in Cass Lake, somewhere south of Bemidji, Minnesota.
Oddly enough, I remember a lot of details about that particularly sodden week.

My then husband and I were young and foolish enough to think our slightly bigger-than-a-pup tent was all we needed for shelter.

We were wrong, but because the weather was so relentlessly wet, nearly everyone showed up in the main lodge for the week’s programs on The Future. Our primary presenters were a couple who brought along a terminal and a dot-matrix printer.

It was magical.

They placed the telephone receiver into what looked like a couple of giant suction cups and tapped intothe Electronic Information Exchange System (EIES), which seemed to be an astounding cocktail party of conversation as each comment or remark clickety-clacked its way onto the paper spewing out of the printer.

Human/computer communications:
What could possibly go wrong?

I was already familiar with library computerized databases such as Chem Abstracts, Psych Abstracts, and the like, but that was person-to-computer communication. Person: “I need info on [pick-a-topic].”  Computer: “Here you go.”

This was different. The words we saw were generated by actual people, not machines. (It was, in fact, an early iteration of an Internet chat room.) 

Our presenters also brought along their predictions for The Future. Some came true. Yes, we do all have home computers—smaller and faster ones that we imagined in 1978. But, no, dolphins have not formed a country and joined the U.N. If anything, dolphins are a lot more scrappy than we thought they were. But, yes, people do have jobs in which they read, refine, and re-transmit information.

As it turns out, I am one of those people. As you’ve probably noticed, in my blog postings, I regularly send you to other websites where I have found something of value. (Okay. Sometimes there’s not a whole lot of value there, but maybe there is at least a laugh, or a picture of one of my kids.)

I’m forever glad that I went to that camp, despite being waterlogged for a week (and the sun did come out the last day) because that experience set me up to appreciate the social networking explosion of the past five years.

And that, dear reader, brings me to Twitter,  the social network that everyone loves to, well, misunderstand, ignore, slam, blaspheme, and otherwise badmouth.

I don’t think Twitter helps any by posting videos like this:

See what I mean? That was sweet, and I mean “sweet” in the old way, i.e. kind of lovely and inoffensive, rather than in the new meaning, i.e. “Fantastic!” If that was your first taste of Twitter, you may be gagging just a little. Seriously, as much as you and I like each other, we still probably won’t be out star watching separately together.

So why do marine industry educators and trainers need Twitter at all? You might well ask.

Here’s my answer: Twitter gives us all a very simple and effective way to scan cyberspace, pause when we find an article or website that is just the thing we need to know, and then pass it along to the rest of our universe.

When I got my first Twitter account (“First?” “Yep.”), I started following a number of social media and elearning trainers. What did I find? Links to wonderful, informative articles about trends that were important to me.

                                 Image by Scott Hampson

Where were the Tweets about what they had for dinner? Or watching on TV? Where were the Tweets that were just plain silly? I don’t know. What they gave me instead was a running start on finding information that I wanted, and they did it in a very simple and clear manner.

So, if you have glanced at Twitter and felt that it wasn’t right for you, take a look again, but this time, go to the search box. What are you interested in?  Type it in.

Find someone who is sharing the info you want or need? Click on the “follow” button.

Another approach is to try your search by using hashtags, such as #boating or #boatyard.

As you plug in different terms, you’ll get the hang of it. In short, you are responsible for how interesting—or not—your find the Tweets you read.  If you don’t take the time to create the foundation, you are unlikely to see much more than what your brother-in-law watched on TV last night.  

You can probably find 100 to 500 accounts to follow pretty fast. I did this with my work account (@bestboatyards), and that has given me a nice sense of what’s going on with new boat models, launchings, consumer events, and products.

After a while, you’ll be surprised by how much information savvy folks can convey in only 140 characters, especially since Twitter automatically shortens long web addresses.

I recommend setting up separate accounts for work and play. After a while, you may decide that you have something to say. Or you may find a Tweet that you want to “Retweet”—that’s pretty easy. You just pass it along. It’s a good way to jump in, especially if you add your own comment.

All right. The Twitter birdcage door is open. I recommend that you spend a little time looking at what you can find of interest on Twitter. Next week, we'll talk about what you might want to transmit, and how to do it. Then, I’ll give you some more information about how to use Twitter as a tool in your training program. (And they said it couldn’t be done.)

Meanwhile, here's what I might have Tweeted in 1978 from my smartphone, if only that had been possible:

Rain rain rain here on Star Island. Lovely place, but the tent and sleepingbags are already soggy. http://bit.ly/KTCYzU #Ihatecamping

Super presentation today on EIES. I am psyched to get one of these modem things installed in our library. http://bit.ly/Jh8cGR

Note to self: Order a copy of Network Nation. http://amzn.to/KdnKdV #futureshock

Tell me again. What's a zwicky box? http://bit.ly/IIQBW5 And why do I want one? #brainstormingworks

Great group exercise today on Einstein's Theory of Relativity. http://bit.ly/KqrR4s #curveduniverse

Can you believe it? We have our blueprint done for restoration of the cities! #brainstormingworks #creativethinking #Ilikethefuture

So sad to be leaving camp. On to Itasca and the source of the Mississippi. http://bit.ly/J16zgE #goinghome

See? Not so bad. And I didn't tell you even one time what I had to eat.

Innovation: What's New?

KSS 40 Suncat SnowLeopard

I recently received an interesting letter from catamaran designer Derek Kelsall (www.Kelsall.com) about innovation. "Almost everything I read about the state of the industry and the way forward includes reference to innovation," he says, but "the individual innovator does not have an easy ride."

He goes on to discuss his work in developing his unique building method, KSS, and he closes by saying, "The truth is that if you want financial success, forget innovation. I do it because it is there to be done and I enjoy solving problems but would make a lot more money following the crowd." 

His letter has me thinking about innovation in general, and innovative training methods in specific. What's new? And what happens if you try to offer something new? Why hasn't the marine industry taken better advantage of all the fabulous ("Fabulous!" I tell you) new products available?

Even as I am writing this minor diatribe, out of the corner of my eye I see that Rich Lazzara has just posted a link to a Wired magazine article on Twitter. What's the topic? Innovation. Specifically, When Will this Low-Innovation Internet Era End? 

The article takes some provocative comments from author Neal Stephenson as its jumping off and wrapping-up points, but it also includes the assessment that "Compared with the staggering changes in everyday life in the first half of the 20th century wrought by electricity, cars, and electronic communication, the digital age has brought relatively minor alterations to how we live."

I'm not at all sure that I agree with that statement.

This woman is screaming
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
because she just found
out about the Internet.

Right now, I truly want to spend the rest of my day researching this topic and this line of thought--ah, yes, once a librarian always a librarian--but I do need to finish a pile of work done for the paying customers. Still, if you have a chance to look at the article, do read the comments because that's where the real fun begins.

And when I suggest that you read the comments, I'm pretty sure that you know what I mean. 


Now I want you to remember reading an article in a magazine just a few years ago, and thinking, "Boy, that's just not right! I should write a letter to the editor." But did you?  Probably not. Do you make comments on websites? Maybe. Maybe not very often, but you know the opportunity is there.

So, score one for innovation in the digital age. You can now instantly respond and engage in a conversation on just about any topic you can imagine. Not innovative?  

Maybe that's not the issue. Maybe the issue is more along the lines of what Derek Kelsall was telling me, i.e. that innovation is not appreciated.

I can snatch that idea right off a hot stove. I've seen ProBoat E-Training grow from a simple idea to what was best described as "correspondence courses delivered online" to courses offered with the possibility for true instructor-student interaction.

I would like to see it change again, and I've been looking at different software options to make it even more fluid and responsive, but I hesitate. Why? Because I still need a better handle on how the marine-industry wants to deal with training. 


Yes, I can show you how to make better presentations, and I call tell you a lot about online radio, web conferencing, building wikis and online work spaces, and more. I can see huge innovation in how we can deliver training materials and how we can share the wealth with each other, but until we all have a better network, the work I am doing too often seems to be more of a curiosity than worthwhile innovation.

For online training now, I use MOODLE, an open-source platform that will pretty much do whatever I want it to do. What I lack is instructors who are willing to try it out. It's a risk of time and energy. Online course development is very labor and brain intensive. So, I am always thinking, "How can we package short bursts of information?" And, "How can we adapt existing materials to make them more readily accessible?" 

I'm absolutely mesmerized by some current "courseware" options, and to tell you the truth, I can hardly keep up with the new stuff coming out. I'm not a full-time educator, and I have many other responsibilities in my job, but I am dazzled by what I see out there on the near-event horizon for training-delivery options. So, do I think innovation is dead? Not hardly.

And I don't want just any hover car: I'm holding out
for this Malibu, just like the one I used to drive
(when my Daddy would give me the keys), only this time
I won't have to worry about flat tires.

Granted, I don't have my personal hover car yet, and I'm unlikely to travel through the center of the Earth anytime soon, or even try out any of Danny Dunn's Anti-Gravity Paint.


But every day I am happy for the innovations that allow me to work for ProBoat from home (since 1993), to write and publish online far more easily than typing up a press release and licking 5,000 stamps, to broadcast a weekly radio show using my phone and Skype, and to help in creating a network of marine-industry people who absolutely do want to move forward.

All I need is the support and encouragement of my colleagues, a few more people who are willing to enter into the discussion, and maybe just a little opportunity to find out what it's really like eat a slice of pie in space.

In Alvin Toffler's landmark book Future Shock, he commented, "Among highly adaptive individuals, men and women who are truly alive in, and responsive to, their times, there is a virtual nostalgia for the future. Not an uncritical acceptance of all the potential horrors of tomorrow, not a blind belief in change for its own sake, but an overpowering curiosity, a drive to know what will happen next."

As for me, I can't wait. What about you? Discuss.