Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Project Imaginat10n

Project Imagination
Canon, manufacturer of photography and video equipment, has launched creative venture named "Project Imagination." The concept, in association with actor and director Ron Howard, is to create a short film based on submitted photos. For Project Imagin8ion, the film was based on photographs submitted in eight general categories. For the second film, photos were submitted in ten categories. With Project Imaginat10n, the contest for the second film, photos were selected by celebrity directors and a scriptwriting contest was also part of the project.
Project Imaginat10n
Themes for Project Imaginat10n
Project Imaginat10n has ten themes.
  1. Setting - Any location or environment.
  2. Time - Time of day or within history.
  3. Character - Anyone or anything.
  4. Mood - Conveys atmosphere tone or emotion.
  5. Backstory - A history that promotes fuller understanding of the narrative.
  6. Relationship - A relationship between anyone or anything.
  7. Goal - Whatever the character is pursuing.
  8. Obstacle - Anyone or anything in the character's way.
  9. The Unknown - Anything unexpected.
  10. Discovery - A key or pivotal item, place, or truth that is uncovered.
Adaptable for Presentations
I believe that these same themes can help you create a presentation with more impact. Give some consideration to each of these elements when creating the content and narrative for any talk or presentation you are preparing for.
A presentation is a story. Within the business world, many have still not learned to appreciate that facts and data alone do not generally move people to action. It is the meaning related to the data that can motivate decision makers. Thus, telling a compelling story is vital.
Create a Planning Sheet
When planning a talk or presentation, take a sheet of paper and write down each of the themes. Write a sentence or paragraph that describes each theme as it relates to the presentation. For example, if I am doing a project presentation for continued funding, in the "Time" theme, I would provide a history of the project. Any events (funding, competing projects, etc.) that have impacted the project would be listed under Obstacles.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Repost from Elliott Masie: 99-Second Talks

Elliott Masie is the founder of The Masie Center which focuses on how organizations can support knowledge and learning within the workforce.  Elliott's Learning conference, held annually, features seminars, keynotes, and presentations on the newest paradigms, processes, and gadgets to help improve workplace-based learning.



On July 13, Elliott posted about something new for this year's Learning conference:  99-second presentations.  The full text of his post is below.  As you read, think about what information you could deliver in a 99-second presentation.

Adjusting presentation content
A brief presentation must be designed differently than a longer one.  You can't simply squeeze 30 minutes worth of content and narrative into 1 minute and 39 seconds.  Dale Carnegie, most famous for his book How to Win Friends & Influence People, also wrote extensively about presenting.  You can download a copy of his "Effective Presentations" booklet from DaleCarnegie.com.  The booklet contains many simple presentation tips.

99 Second Talks ??
Yes, we are inviting our Learning 2013 participants to present several 99 Second Talks!!

In the age of "compression", we decided to experiment with a radical format - focused and high energy 99 second presentations - with a single graphic.

We will have a countdown clock - to keep the story to just 99 seconds - with a single graphic.
Imagine 99 Second Talks on topics like:
  • 3 Tips for Managing a Boss Who Doesn't Listen
  • How We Went "Greener" in our Learning Department
  • Summarizing That Great Book - in Under 100 Seconds
We will present 99 Second Talks interspersed during a few of our General Sessions, as openers for some workshops and a few will be viewable right on your mobile devices during Learning 2013.

Read the original post:  http://www.learning2013.com/blog/item/a-99-second-session.html