Three Rules of Public Speaking March 12, 2008
Posted by Tim in Blogging.Tags: George Costanza, Mark Zuckerberg, Performing, Presentations, Robert Scoble, Sarah Lacy, SXSW
7 comments
According to Robert Scoble, the audience at SXSW that panned Sarah Lacy’s “Keynote Interview” with Mark Zuckerberg (founder/creator of Facebook) is “a bunch of Twittering Assholes.” Much has been made about what went wrong with this event, and some (like Robert) have even tried to be helpful by highlighting what should have been done differently.
Several people have suggested that the response has been overblown. Much has been made about the behavior of the audience at the event. Rather than rehash the various issues with that particular interview or taking the audience to the woodshed for their “childish” behavior, I’d rather approach this from the opposite side. What makes a good live presentation?
I have done a little public speaking myself (presenting at technical conferences and church/community groups with audiences of a few hundred to upwards of 5,000), along with other types of public performances/presentations (community theater, lip-sync/pantomime for live audiences and syndicated TV, singing telegrams, and so on). I state that here, not to try to impress someone, but simply to present some basic credentials. I’m familiar with both ends of the spectrum in terms of results: I have been successful in presenting to large audiences, and I have bombed.
I have noted that successful performances have some interesting similarities. I have identified three rules for a successful live presentation. (more…)
Beautiful, Dangerous, Frustrating, and Mystical February 22, 2008
Posted by Tim in Blogging.Tags: beautiful scenery, ice, pictures, snow, weather
4 comments
I suspect that, aside from Windows Vista, the words in the title of this post are not usually used to describe the same thing. This morning, those are the words that came to mind when I saw this:
and this:
and this:
Such is the scene along my commute and outside my office on the morning after a Kentucky ice storm.
Back to School: Year 2 August 20, 2007
Posted by Tim in Blogging, Celebrities, Coaching, Discipline, Exercise, Family, Fitness, Flatulence, Food, Football, Love, Nutrition, Parenting/Children, Sports.3 comments
Once again, we’ve taken our oldest son back to college, moved him in, and said our “goodbyes.” Though I would have presumed that sending him off to school would be easier this year, it wasn’t.
What made it harder? The myriad of ways we spent time together this Summer. (more…)
Can Houston911Truth Handle the Truth? August 7, 2007
Posted by Tim in Blogging, Flatulence, Politics, Voting.6 comments
Although my knee-jerk reaction is to dismiss conspiracy theorists pretty quickly, I try to give them the benefit of the doubt by doing a little research into what they’re saying. Accordingly, when people started suggesting various plots behind the 9/11 destruction of the WTC, I did my homework, and came to the conclusion that they were looking for conspiracy where it simply didn’t exist.
Such is the case with the various “9/11 Truth” sites. They invariably point to flawed research, connect dots from hearsay, and use faulty logic to make a case for “the official report isn’t really what happened.” One characteristic that is particularly noteworthy of such sites: They will not tolerate critical thinking to be applied to their “facts.” (more…)
Incommunicado March 1, 2007
Posted by Tim in Blogging, Travel, Workplace.4 comments
I’m about to be “away” for an extended period. I’m heading to East Africa with a childhood best friend to help with some hunger-relief projects, help him move to a new house, and help him tie up some odds and ends related to the move. I’ll be offline, for the most part, until late on the 14th.
Don’t trash the place up too bad while I’m out. 
– Tim
Thank You Rush Limbaugh & Al Franken January 14, 2007
Posted by Tim in Blogging, Communication, Politics, Race and Prejudice, Stupidity, anger, hate, hate speech.2 comments
This past week, in a public middle school in a the Midwestern United States, two young men sat next to each other. They were African-American and an Asian, but other than the nature of their remarks, they could have been of any race or gender. They had a conversation that went like this:
“Why don’t you go make me some shoes, or maybe an X-Box?”
“Why don’t you go pick some cotton?”
These young men are in the 7th grade, in a school system that has been racially integrated (via system-wide busing) since 1975. Sadly, this kind of exchange is not that unusual. (more…)
Christmas – 2006 December 25, 2006
Posted by Tim in Blogging, Christmas, Family, Love, Parenting/Children, Travel, Vacation.add a comment
Fatigue has almost passed, and within another day or so I should be back to the same time zone. Why am I stuck in another time zone? One word: Maui.
I’ll post more pictures soon, along with some of the stories of the trip. Both of my sons were in rare form, so much so that there were several times that my face hurt from laughing so much.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all… GOOD NIGHT!
Music to Blog By September 28, 2006
Posted by Tim in Blogging, Fun, Humor, Music.2 comments
I know some types of music really spur my creativity. Other types just… spur. (more…)
YoMoBlog August 30, 2006
Posted by Tim in Blogging, Technology.1 comment so far
The previous post went through YoMoBlog.com, one of Dave Winer’s apps on scripting.com. It seems to work as advertised.
Of Sheepdogs and Wolves, White-hats and Black-hats April 26, 2006
Posted by Tim in Blogging, Computers, IT Security, Politics, Security, Technology.add a comment
Recently, I followed a couple of links and found myself reading a reprinted essay: On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs. Notwithstanding the sweeping generalizations that suggest that all liberals are bad or all conservatives are good, it was a thought-provoking article. Am I a sheep, or a sheepdog?
(more…)
