We have moved the blog from here to a wordpress blog integrated into our website at Pollockspark.com
Please visit us there where you will find all the posts from this blog as well as new posts with more ideas and tips for your creative career and business.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
"...exciting, creative resume..."
A happy client forwarded me this note she received from a former colleague.
She told me it's “a testament to our work together.”
She told me it's “a testament to our work together.”
I clicked on (a LinkedIn update) and saw your name with an intriguing quote so I clicked again, and WOW!! Girl, you are so creative and vibrant, it just screams off the electronic page… I scanned the resume. It is the first exciting, creative resume I’ve EVER read. Anyone scanning your page would immediately offer you work, even if they didn’t have any.This is what we aim for.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
A Holiday Massage - for your dreams of independence
First published in December 2010 in Sparkings
All of us in creative gigs think about starting our own thing. For your holiday gift here is some logical inspiration from a very smart lady who started hers.
I really wanted a massage. I Googled what I wanted and where I wanted it: massage, williamsburg. Guess what came up? Yes – a business called Massage Williamsburg owns most of the top organic results including several review sites. I searched no further. It must be one of the only massage businesses not called Tranquil Touch or the like.
The mastermind behind this is Rachel Beider LMT. “I put all my effort into being found by people who are looking for what we do rather than trying to find people who aren’t looking,” she told me.
Rachel had studied at SVA and run a photographer’s studio. But she didn’t like the ups and downs of project work. Escaping to the Far East – she discovered massage in Thailand and turned out to have a real knack for it. She applied online to train at the Swedish Institute in New York and hurried back.
Rachel’s research told her that 40% of Americans have had a massage and people who get it regularly have 8 a year. She realized that the 80,000 inhabitants of Williamsburg, Brooklyn were under-served.
She landed a job at a spa. “There was all day Enya – and I had to use oils that I knew contained carcinogens. I wanted my own practice, with my own oils and my own music and my own clients. One day I walked past a physical therapy practice. They had empty rooms and no massage therapist. I said: ‘2 days a week I’ll work on your clients and you let me use the space. I have always liked trading – it is very helpful.”
She traded massages for haircuts and personal training. Hairdressers talk to their customers, and gym clients are all sore! “I handed them a card I’d made from a VistaPrint template: the most expensive marketing I have ever done!” This effort produced more referrals than she could handle – she added therapists.
SEO fascinates Rachel. Focusing on massage places that came up top in searches, she added her business to the same directories and review sites they were in, boosting her own page rank.
And so on. It’s all very logical. She got the skills. She did the research. She traded work for space and for referrals. And she made full and intelligent use of the free online search and marketing tools to make sure that when people are looking for her, they will find her.
Happy Holidays and all the best for making your dreams come true in 2011.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Fear of change - Dostoevsky weighs in
"All is in a man's hands and he lets it slip from cowardice, that's an axiom. It would be interesting to know what it is men are most afraid of. Taking a new step, uttering a new word is what they fear most..."
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
How to choose a career or job
You know how in brainstorming or ideation sessions a facilitator will tell you that there are no bad ideas. All ideas that surface should be kept on the table and considered – at least for the time being.
Well that kind of positivity is needed when you are searching for a job or considering a career change. You should play that game with yourself – there are no bad ideas. Not if I have them, not if my partner or friend has them. Note them all down.
When the new idea or suggestion comes to you, give it some thought – respect it. Don’t deny it out of hand or knee-jerk the response “Oh that will never work.” Instead say to yourself, “Ah yes, I see, and this is how maybe this could work.”
Keep the lists of the ideas that come to you. Review the lists and put three pros and three cons against each of the ideas. When I was a kid we were taught to debate: traditional formal debating. This was a big deal, part of the curriculum, not just an after-school club for people who liked the sound of their own voice. We had to be able to argue persuasively on either side of any argument – regardless of our prejudices and preconceptions. This is the attitude I ask you to bring to this exercise. Consider all the options on your list. Work hard at finding reasons why each one is a good idea and how it could work for you – and only then work at finding reasons why they won’t work.
Keep this kind of thinking going – it will open your mind to possibilities you hadn’t considered. If you were thinking about a career change, ask your friends what their friends do and put these occupations on your list. If you are looking for a job, look at different sections of the listings, or different job categories and put them on your list. Then debate them with yourself. See what happens. This is designed to bring ideas to the surface that may have been submerged below some of your personal default positions that are out of date, or have run their course.
If someone suggests you relocate – put that on your list and see how it could work. If someone suggests that you start your own business, take some time to visualize that and see how it might work.
Remember your initial response should be that there are no bad ideas – and try to see how each of them would work.
Open your mind. Stretch the possibilities. Most people do jobs you have never heard of. Pull yourself out of any rut you might have inadvertently gotten yourself into and imagine the sky is the limit. There are no bad ideas.
Well that kind of positivity is needed when you are searching for a job or considering a career change. You should play that game with yourself – there are no bad ideas. Not if I have them, not if my partner or friend has them. Note them all down.
When the new idea or suggestion comes to you, give it some thought – respect it. Don’t deny it out of hand or knee-jerk the response “Oh that will never work.” Instead say to yourself, “Ah yes, I see, and this is how maybe this could work.”
Keep the lists of the ideas that come to you. Review the lists and put three pros and three cons against each of the ideas. When I was a kid we were taught to debate: traditional formal debating. This was a big deal, part of the curriculum, not just an after-school club for people who liked the sound of their own voice. We had to be able to argue persuasively on either side of any argument – regardless of our prejudices and preconceptions. This is the attitude I ask you to bring to this exercise. Consider all the options on your list. Work hard at finding reasons why each one is a good idea and how it could work for you – and only then work at finding reasons why they won’t work.
Keep this kind of thinking going – it will open your mind to possibilities you hadn’t considered. If you were thinking about a career change, ask your friends what their friends do and put these occupations on your list. If you are looking for a job, look at different sections of the listings, or different job categories and put them on your list. Then debate them with yourself. See what happens. This is designed to bring ideas to the surface that may have been submerged below some of your personal default positions that are out of date, or have run their course.
If someone suggests you relocate – put that on your list and see how it could work. If someone suggests that you start your own business, take some time to visualize that and see how it might work.
Remember your initial response should be that there are no bad ideas – and try to see how each of them would work.
Open your mind. Stretch the possibilities. Most people do jobs you have never heard of. Pull yourself out of any rut you might have inadvertently gotten yourself into and imagine the sky is the limit. There are no bad ideas.
Revealing interview questions
Getting the real scoop on a candidate you’re interviewing is not that hard: here are some tips from a pro. Listen up, job seekers.
The hiring manager from a Minnesota ad agency told me she starts with a couple of innocent questions: “Did you have trouble finding the office? And how was your commute? You can learn so much right off the bat from these.” Some people launch into a story of how they overslept and missed the train or couldn’t find a parking space. Or that they went past the building three times before they figured out which one it was. Really. They don’t realize that this is neither interesting nor confidence inspiring. Even if you did arrive on time, the details of this triumph are not the story you ought to be telling.
Candidates, I suggest that you scout the commute in advance, or at least build in fifteen minutes of slippage time so that you are not flustered when you do make it. The Japanese believe that arriving early is just as rude as arriving late. So they often give themselves a time bumper, and bring a book to read in a coffee shop or on a park bench - then they walk in right on the dot.
So what does she ask after the how-did-you-get-here test? “I ask if you’ve done your homework on our company, and before I start my questions, do you have any questions about us? And then I ask if the job description makes sense to them.” Their answers give a good indication of how they will approach the job.
Then one more revealing question: she asks people if they are comfortable being out in front, or if they prefer to work behind the scenes; in a team or a silo. “And when they tell me – I ask them why.”
The right questions from the interviewer – beyond the substance of work history and accomplishments, can elicit so much about the candidate’s attitude and confidence. These answers provide the first impression: the frame for everything that follows. They are extremely important indicators of how the candidate will perform and fit in.
This recruiter keeps the job description in front of her during the interview so she can be sure she remains focused on the needs of the position and the tone of the company. Just as the candidate should have clearly in mind how they want to be perceived, so too does the interviewer.
“So did you have trouble finding us today?”
The hiring manager from a Minnesota ad agency told me she starts with a couple of innocent questions: “Did you have trouble finding the office? And how was your commute? You can learn so much right off the bat from these.” Some people launch into a story of how they overslept and missed the train or couldn’t find a parking space. Or that they went past the building three times before they figured out which one it was. Really. They don’t realize that this is neither interesting nor confidence inspiring. Even if you did arrive on time, the details of this triumph are not the story you ought to be telling.
Candidates, I suggest that you scout the commute in advance, or at least build in fifteen minutes of slippage time so that you are not flustered when you do make it. The Japanese believe that arriving early is just as rude as arriving late. So they often give themselves a time bumper, and bring a book to read in a coffee shop or on a park bench - then they walk in right on the dot.
So what does she ask after the how-did-you-get-here test? “I ask if you’ve done your homework on our company, and before I start my questions, do you have any questions about us? And then I ask if the job description makes sense to them.” Their answers give a good indication of how they will approach the job.
Then one more revealing question: she asks people if they are comfortable being out in front, or if they prefer to work behind the scenes; in a team or a silo. “And when they tell me – I ask them why.”
The right questions from the interviewer – beyond the substance of work history and accomplishments, can elicit so much about the candidate’s attitude and confidence. These answers provide the first impression: the frame for everything that follows. They are extremely important indicators of how the candidate will perform and fit in.
This recruiter keeps the job description in front of her during the interview so she can be sure she remains focused on the needs of the position and the tone of the company. Just as the candidate should have clearly in mind how they want to be perceived, so too does the interviewer.
“So did you have trouble finding us today?”
Resume Feedback
First published in Cynopsis Classified Advantage
I recently received a resume from an apparently extremely capable leader in the digital marketing field. He is an innovator who has launched and built digital departments in several major ad agencies.
But I had to work my way through his chronology to figure this out. His brief summary was utterly generic. It could have been written by any one of a thousand people and it didn't in any way indicate the innovations that he had been responsible for. Nor could I tell what campaigns he had worked on or what strategies he had crafted and executed. So a quick glance would not have separated him from the pack.
I sent this resume to a recruiter friend. Here is some of her feedback: "He looks good but there's a but... I don't really get the actual hands-on work or accomplishments/impacts on business from each of his roles. It's TOO topline and needs to go deeper."
Wonderful and succinct feedback. This is advice that we can all take to heart as we review our resumes. (You do do that regularly don't you?) Make sure it tells clearly and simply what you have done and what you can do. You have to show that you can do it yourself, that you have done it and with what success. The days of the manager who just sits in the office and manages other people are over.
Writing our own resume can be a trip down memory lane, with all those snapshots illustrating the twists and turns of our lives. But a stranger reviewing your resume is not interested in your life story they want to know are you the best person to fill their position. To them this is not about the story of your life, it is about the next chapter of theirs.
So select and present the details under each position so that they support your positioning as clearly stated at the top. Make them vivid put in detail that no one else could. Saying that you "built a world class division" doesn't mean much in this age of superlatives instead provide specifics that actually carry weight and bring your value to life.
Be tough on yourself. Check each element of your resume to see if it supports the clear story you want to tell. Then check each element to see if it is unique to you. If it is generic, then rewrite it reframe it. Squint at your resume (metaphorically of course!) - look at it sideways - and see if the main idea is so strong that it still shines off the page.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Pollock Spark Works...in the words of our clients
Pollock*Spark works for Ad Agencies
Pollock*Spark works for Film Companies
Pollock*Spark works for Design Firms
Pollock*Spark works for Filmmakers
Pollock*Spark works for Individual Creative Professionals
- “Michael was absolutely instrumental in helping us to design and build a new strategic broadcast capability for RedWorks. Through partnering with Michael I learned that he possesses a truly unique blend of strategic savvy and operational experience - thinking at 30,000 feet while simultaneously piecing together the jigsaw on the ground. And he does it all with a much-valued sense of humor. Without Michael's help, we would never have ended in as good a place as we ultimately did.”
Quinn O'Brien
RedWorks, an Ogilvy Company
Director of Global Operations and North American Managing Director
Pollock*Spark works for Film Companies
- “I hired Pollock/Spark to help me sharpen my business efforts by focusing on the Clients likely to use my services. He challenges my thinking, helps me become the master of my own destiny and always looks at my situation from a fresh and smart perspective. He hates bullshit and is incisive but always tactful. His contribution is like having your very own management consultancy, except it's like dealing with the partner and not the pimply -faced recent graduate. His experience is earned and wisely applied. You can take away anything you want from me but don't take away my Michael!” As seen on Yelp.com
- “I said good things about you to your face and I'll say them behind your back as well. I thought you navigated a potentially difficult internal political situation at our company very well (difficult because of the self-perception differences between the partners), advertised your services accurately and delivered an analysis that is relevant, clear and integral to creating forward movement.”
- “You asked many questions that we had let lurk in the shadows and pointed us in the right direction.”
Pollock*Spark works for Design Firms
- “You took us to a whole new level that we would not have reached on our own.”
- “Michael (Pollock, pollock|spark) has a very strong ability to focus deeply on a company and draw out important, often overlooked, issues. His suggestions for next steps and action plans are excellent. Michael has been instrumental in helping us clearly define goals and working towards achieving them.”
- “ ...instrumental in helping us to clearly define goals and working towards achieving them.”
- “Your support and wisdom have already improved our business, and we're looking forward to continuing the collaboration.”
- “I am excited about moving forward”
Pollock*Spark works for Filmmakers
- “Since we [worked together] I have not stopped working. I have been booked solid. I shot nine new spots in the last eight weeks. Being able to shoot with the confidence of knowing my strengths has been a great pleasure. I have never had a run this strong.”
- “One of the most priceless bits of information that I learned from the sessions was the importance of being able to “tell my story”.... Once I became more comfortable with my story and goals, getting out and networking became a LOT more relaxed and enjoyable. The impact will be huge. What I learned in the coaching sessions will not only help me land jobs in the short-term, I’m certain that they will help lay a foundation for my own production company down the road. “
- “this was a terrific experience at just the right time for me. Thank you, Michael, for your creativity, honesty, and insightfulness. You’re easy to open up to. I never felt judged. You were always prepared and able to quote things I had said 2 sessions before. It’s invaluable as a human being to be listened to on that level, and incredibly empowering as a businessman. I wish us both limitless success. Cheers to you!”
- “Although you laid out the structure and the “mini-goals”, it gelled in our final meeting beyond what I expected. As if it were a well told story and we came to the third act. I hope we do another round 12 months from now. It’s really as important to me as seeing your doctor regularly to check your blood pressure etc.”
- “The Pollock*Spark report has served as a trusted guide for the board of directors and the professional staff. It has helped navigate the substantial structural and behavioral changes the association has gone through, helped change the way AICE conducts its business and the way it informs and engages its membership. The difference has been extraordinary. From the attitude of the board to the renewed sense of purpose of the membership, AICE is a reinvigorated association thanks in no small part to the careful and insightful work of pollock*spark.”
Pollock*Spark works for Individual Creative Professionals
- “I was able to see that I have way more interesting skills/experience than what is outlined on my resume.”
- “I have, and will continue to recommend the coaching. The coaching sessions truly are a "spark". ...the sessions got me excited about what I've done, what I can do and what I hope to do. It's one of the best investments you can make if you're in the creative field.”
- “this (coaching) was a terrific experience .... Thank you for your creativity, honesty, and insightfulness. You're easy to open up to. I never felt judged. You were always prepared and able to quote things I had said 2 sessions before. It's invaluable as a human being to be listened to on that level, and incredibly empowering as a businessman”
- “I went from lackluster "brand' materials (cover letter, resume etc.) in serious need of improvement to getting job offers and finding new opportunities in the span of weeks."
How to plan your next career move
I assume you have thought about a what-do-I-want-to-be-doing-in-five-years career goal. Though for lots of us it has never quite formed into anything beyond "I want to be happy and in charge of my destiny."Maybe it feels a bit vague and you can't figure out how you think you are going to get there. So write something down; make it moderately specific. And don't panic. It can change. But find something to write down that you feel good about at least for now - don't feel you are going to be trapped by it. If you have a few ideas write them all down and then follow these steps for each one.
Now write down three (or four or five) steps that you might have to make to get there. They could be to move to a particular company or to get particular new clients. They could be taking on new responsibilities where you are. Or picking projects that will strengthen your portfolio. They could be investment you have to make or courses you have to take. Write them down. And figure out the order they need to come in.
Okay: now you have a track to head out on. So the next piece of the pie is staying on that track. Here I want to introduce you to the idea of a cognitive dissonance. I want you to stay on that track and I want you also to be open to other tracks. Got that? Since you now have the track marked out - you can on a daily and weekly basis pick the three sub-steps you will need to make to get to the next step. And each of those steps can have its steps. It is like producing a movie. When you first read a complex script involving alien creatures and locations in Rio and Shanghai and Mars and a cast of thousands it can look daunting. But a producer will break it down into tiny manageable steps: as small as booking the airline tickets or making a first sketch of the Mars base. These small steps will be easy to take - and put together they will add up to a major Memorial Day worldwide release.
So set out on your track. It is very satisfying to know why you are doing what you are doing and where it can take you. And pay attention when you pick your jobs or your clients or the color palette for your website or the typeface, or the charity you volunteer for - and ask yourself if each little choice is taking you in the direction you want to be going.
The wonderful thing about this is it will get you into a flow. Your neurons will be happy and you will be happy. You will not be floundering or guessing. You will know where you are going. You will feel justified in what you are doing because you will have justified it.
Are your business silos working for you - or bringing your company down?
Have you ever wondered about the effectiveness of business silos? Most of us have seen them or worked in them.
The metrics, the P&L and certainly the culture, do not encourage co-operation between divisions, capabilities or regions. The results can look good from silo to silo - maybe - but the global result for the business may not be so strong.Resources are often duplicated, efforts may be directed silo against silo, and there is frequently internal competition between executives.
From inside it is often impossible to discern what would be the greater good, and the pressure to protect the near-in is too great to resist.
The Economist tells the story of how this culture changed at Ford, and how this change is credited with its recent massive financial turnaround. Here is an excerpt from that story:
Soon after Alan Mulally arrived as Ford's chief executive in September 2006 he organized a weekly meeting of his senior managers and asked them how things were going. Fine, fine, fine, came the answers from around the table.
"We are forecasting a $17 billion loss and no one has any problems!" an incredulous Mr Mulally exclaimed.
When he asked the same question the next week, Mark Fields, head of Ford's operations in the Americas, raised his hand, and - in what once would have been a moment of career suicide - admitted that a defective part threatened to delay the launch of an important new car. The room fell silent, until Mr Mulally began to clap his hands. "Great visibility," the new boss added.
Four years on, Ford is making record profits. Its revival began with this new willingness to recognize its faults. In the old days management at Ford was preoccupied with executive rivalry, recalls Mr Fields. "Now it is about who's helping whom," he says. When Mr Fields stuck his hand up at that meeting and won Mr Mulally's approval, colleagues soon began chipping in with helpful suggestions to overcome the problem with the new car. It was more than a symbolic moment for a business which used to be run like a collection of principalities rather than a global enterprise. As far as Mr Mulally is concerned, demolishing those management divisions has been the most important factor in turning Ford around.
Buffalo, Funerals and Assumptions
I spent the past three weeks in Indonesia and got an amazing reminder that what is important to someone else might just not be obvious to me. We stopped in on a two-week funeral ceremony in Tana Toraja on the island of Sulawesi.
The event had taken two years to plan since the death. The hundreds of extended family and friends had come from far and wide, taking big chunks of time off work. That itself had taken a while to get together, but most of all they had needed time to find the appropriate buffaloes to slaughter (about 30 in all were required for this ceremony - also countless pigs): one with extra long horns, a white one, a spotted one, one with one horn up and one horn down and so on. The deceased had remained in the house for the duration of this planning, with food and cigarettes being provided daily.
This all made perfect sense to our guide, a wonderful man with whom outwardly we had seemed to have so much in common.
Note to self (and to you dear reader) it always behoves us to open our minds to what could be important to those with whom we have dealings. We should not make assumptions, it might not be what we expect. Even if we know they need a buffalo - did we really understand that they were holding out for one with blue eyes?
A bit of a stretch, do I hear you say? Well maybe. But the idea is valid and how many other blogs do you read with buffalo pix in them? Here is your correspondent at the weekly Rantepau buffalo market - where the deals get done.
The event had taken two years to plan since the death. The hundreds of extended family and friends had come from far and wide, taking big chunks of time off work. That itself had taken a while to get together, but most of all they had needed time to find the appropriate buffaloes to slaughter (about 30 in all were required for this ceremony - also countless pigs): one with extra long horns, a white one, a spotted one, one with one horn up and one horn down and so on. The deceased had remained in the house for the duration of this planning, with food and cigarettes being provided daily.
This all made perfect sense to our guide, a wonderful man with whom outwardly we had seemed to have so much in common.
Note to self (and to you dear reader) it always behoves us to open our minds to what could be important to those with whom we have dealings. We should not make assumptions, it might not be what we expect. Even if we know they need a buffalo - did we really understand that they were holding out for one with blue eyes?
A bit of a stretch, do I hear you say? Well maybe. But the idea is valid and how many other blogs do you read with buffalo pix in them? Here is your correspondent at the weekly Rantepau buffalo market - where the deals get done.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Q+A: How to approach an interview
Cynopsis: Classified Advantage
11.30.10
~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock
Q: I enjoy your contributions to Cynopsis and I have a question for you or your experts on the interview itself, three times I've had what I thought were great interviews with the potential employer saying to me "You're perfect, sounds great and we'll contact you" and then I hear crickets. The only feedback I've gotten is that they know I have the job skills, experience, etc but they didn't get to "know me." I am not certain what I'm doing wrong since I doubt they really want to hear about how I have two kids, two mortgages, blah blah blah and I also am not certain why they don't just thank me for coming in instead of going out of their way to say I'm "perfect" and "love your energy" and then nothing. Perhaps some advice on the best way to wrap up an interview or to leave a good impression?
A: You are right; they don't want to hear about your mortgages. My suspicion is that you are presenting the right information about yourself but not in a sufficiently personal and engaging manner. They want to know how you'll fit in, how you'll go about what you have to do.
Try telling little stories about the projects you have done and use them to illustrate your obsessiveness, or passion or how well you led a particular team or how you overcame some specific set of obstacles. Think about these stories as something that only you could tell. They should demonstrate something about how you approach your work and your co-workers. These are the things that help them to get to know you. Having the qualifications and experience is only half the battle: do you have a sense of humor, are you curious, do you pay attention to detail and so on? These are qualities that fall into the "knowing you" category.
As you leave, you could say "I really enjoyed this interview, and I learned a lot from it ... in fact I am going to follow up on such and such a thing and will get back to you with what I discover." This is not a script, but an attitude that says so much about you. But of course make it your own, otherwise it won't work.
11.30.10
~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock
Q: I enjoy your contributions to Cynopsis and I have a question for you or your experts on the interview itself, three times I've had what I thought were great interviews with the potential employer saying to me "You're perfect, sounds great and we'll contact you" and then I hear crickets. The only feedback I've gotten is that they know I have the job skills, experience, etc but they didn't get to "know me." I am not certain what I'm doing wrong since I doubt they really want to hear about how I have two kids, two mortgages, blah blah blah and I also am not certain why they don't just thank me for coming in instead of going out of their way to say I'm "perfect" and "love your energy" and then nothing. Perhaps some advice on the best way to wrap up an interview or to leave a good impression?
A: You are right; they don't want to hear about your mortgages. My suspicion is that you are presenting the right information about yourself but not in a sufficiently personal and engaging manner. They want to know how you'll fit in, how you'll go about what you have to do.
Try telling little stories about the projects you have done and use them to illustrate your obsessiveness, or passion or how well you led a particular team or how you overcame some specific set of obstacles. Think about these stories as something that only you could tell. They should demonstrate something about how you approach your work and your co-workers. These are the things that help them to get to know you. Having the qualifications and experience is only half the battle: do you have a sense of humor, are you curious, do you pay attention to detail and so on? These are qualities that fall into the "knowing you" category.
As you leave, you could say "I really enjoyed this interview, and I learned a lot from it ... in fact I am going to follow up on such and such a thing and will get back to you with what I discover." This is not a script, but an attitude that says so much about you. But of course make it your own, otherwise it won't work.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Defining Career Goals and Making Choices
Having a goal is critical to your career. Not just the short termism of getting through today’s to-do list or the default goal of not getting fired. But the longer term vision of where you would like to find yourself in five years or so. Would you like to be working for yourself? Would you like to be traveling the world? Would you like to own the company you work for? Would you like to have your boss’s job?
If you have a long list of dreams and are confused, I recommend using the prioritizer: http://tinyurl.com/rx2o7 to help you see which ones rise to the top.
Once you have settled on something, then every day think about what you can do in the next 24 hours to advance towards your chosen goal. If travel is your dream, be investigating which overseas offices or clients. If promotion is your goal then figure out who is in charge of that decision and what you think they might be looking for in their next upgrade. If a career change is on your mind, then do the research, learn about the new business, build your network, polish your chops, get the qualification to get you moving in the right direction.
Clarity about your goal will make many things easier for you. When you are faced with more than one option, you have a basis for deciding: by considering which one moves you further in the direction you want to go. Having a goal will help you from the moment you get up in the morning to decide what is important and which choice to make.
If you have a job that isn’t challenging you, challenge yourself. Even if your client or boss is not demanding, you can surely come up with some spin on your work that will make it more relevant to where your interests lie and move you closer to your goal. Pick challenges that will make you smarter, more marketable, more relevantly experienced. All with an eye on where you want to get to.
So here is the actionable part of this column where I ask you to write down your goal. Your “What-do-I-want-to-be-doing-in-five-years” goal. Yes, write it down. Interesting how it changes and focuses itself when you aren’t just holding it somewhere in the back of your mind, where it never quite formed into anything beyond “I want to be happy and in charge of my destiny”. And don’t panic, it can change – don’t feel you are going to be trapped by it.
If you are always working towards your goal, then you will find satisfaction and maintain your drive. If you are just trying to stay afloat each day, then that is the best you can hope for. Get yourself a goal and work yourself towards it. It is fun, productive and so very much more satisfying than drifting.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The importance of listening
~ ACTIONABLE EXPERT ADVICE ~
First Published in Cynopsis Classified Advantage
One of the most important skills you should use in your job search is listening carefully, both literally and metaphorically. You have to listen to your friends when they tell you about opportunities. You have to listen to your bosses and clients to learn about your strengths and weaknesses. You have to listen to your heart to know what you really want to pursue.
You especially have to listen to the wording of the job ad. What does it actually say they are looking for? You have to listen closely to the recruiter and to your interviewer.
You will already have invested large chunks of time developing your own unique positioning to separate you from the pack. You have probably crafted yourself a script for your elevator meetings, a template for your cover letter, a set of anecdotes for your interview. And all this as it should be. If you have thought it all through and internalized it and what it means, it will do its magic for you. But if you are determined to stick to your script willy-nilly this investment might all be for nought.
Listen carefully to what is said and also between the lines to what is unsaid. And that means listening not only in the moment of the interview, but it means listening to the research you will have done in advance. Listen to what the company says on the website. Listen to the story the recruiter tells you about the job. Listen to the LinkedIn profile of your interviewer. Take it all in and frame your responses and approaches accordingly.
If you are safely in a job but aspire to a promotion or a new assignment, listen to your boss, to your co-workers, to the press so that you can create the opportunity and be there as the obvious person to fill it. This comes not just from wanting it and telling your boss "I want the bigger title," but from asking the right questions of the right people and listening to what is needed, so you can tell them you will provide just that.
People like to be listened to. They like to be heard. They do not like to be ignored. So tell them you heard them by responding directly and positively to something they said. Don' t stick to a script be ready to improvise. If they feel you have not listened to them, or worse yet responded with a " No, " they will shut down and they will not listen to you. Listening keeps you relevant and smart. Their awareness of your listening to them keeps them engaged with you. I can' t stress this enough.
First Published in Cynopsis Classified Advantage
One of the most important skills you should use in your job search is listening carefully, both literally and metaphorically. You have to listen to your friends when they tell you about opportunities. You have to listen to your bosses and clients to learn about your strengths and weaknesses. You have to listen to your heart to know what you really want to pursue.
You especially have to listen to the wording of the job ad. What does it actually say they are looking for? You have to listen closely to the recruiter and to your interviewer.
You will already have invested large chunks of time developing your own unique positioning to separate you from the pack. You have probably crafted yourself a script for your elevator meetings, a template for your cover letter, a set of anecdotes for your interview. And all this as it should be. If you have thought it all through and internalized it and what it means, it will do its magic for you. But if you are determined to stick to your script willy-nilly this investment might all be for nought.
Listen carefully to what is said and also between the lines to what is unsaid. And that means listening not only in the moment of the interview, but it means listening to the research you will have done in advance. Listen to what the company says on the website. Listen to the story the recruiter tells you about the job. Listen to the LinkedIn profile of your interviewer. Take it all in and frame your responses and approaches accordingly.
If you are safely in a job but aspire to a promotion or a new assignment, listen to your boss, to your co-workers, to the press so that you can create the opportunity and be there as the obvious person to fill it. This comes not just from wanting it and telling your boss "I want the bigger title," but from asking the right questions of the right people and listening to what is needed, so you can tell them you will provide just that.
People like to be listened to. They like to be heard. They do not like to be ignored. So tell them you heard them by responding directly and positively to something they said. Don' t stick to a script be ready to improvise. If they feel you have not listened to them, or worse yet responded with a " No, " they will shut down and they will not listen to you. Listening keeps you relevant and smart. Their awareness of your listening to them keeps them engaged with you. I can' t stress this enough.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Successful job hunt
I received this today from a recent Coaching client and thought I would share it.
Dear Michael,
I did it -- got a job!!!! I can hardly believe it. Never would have happened without your coaching, seriously.
In a tough market this experienced professional had almost given up hope of working again, so this news is especially welcome.
Dear Michael,
I did it -- got a job!!!! I can hardly believe it. Never would have happened without your coaching, seriously.
In a tough market this experienced professional had almost given up hope of working again, so this news is especially welcome.
Q+A: LinkedIn profiles and personality
As published in Cynopsis Classified Advantage
~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock
Q: Recently, I lost my job due to my company's financial state. Downsizing was a must, and I, unfortunately, got the cut. The thing is, it was almost a blessing in disguise. After leaving, I was happier, not something you'd expect after losing one's job. After re- evaluating my industry and the role I played, in the pursuit of happiness, I have decided to career change. It's not been easy, as the unstructured freedom during the work-week has lost a little bit of it's glitter, but I still think I'm heading in the right direction. I have chosen a new career path, but my question is this: how can I make my Linkedin profile reflect my career change? I of course want to put down all of my prior work experience, however, I also want to prove that I can do another job and that my skills translate. If I post my past experience, won't a potential employer think, why would I hire this person from X industry, when we're looking for someone who has experience in Y industry? Does that make sense? Please let me know what you would recommend.
A: I suggest you think very carefully about the skills and experience that will be desirable in your new career. Consider the needs of your potential new employer and find the angle on your past that could be relevant and persuasive. Make the fact of the change and your prior experience an added value. Use the summary section to express this emphasizing the relevant and unique strengths that come from your rich background in other fields that makes you a stronger candidate than the pack of straight-liners you'll be competing with. Reframe the skills section as well as the details on all your prior positions to support your new positioning. Certain things that were awesome in your old field may have to be dropped because they are no longer relevant, or worse, contradict your new story. With a strong but unusual background, you are most likely to appeal to a smart employer who thinks outside the envelope, and that is likely to be someone you would want to work for.
Q: I find that LinkedIn is so business oriented, that it doesn't have much opportunity for one's personality to come through. Is this a good thing? Or is there something I can do with my account to make it seem less like a cover letter and resume, and reflect other aspects of my life?
A: LinkedIn is primarily a source for business connections. If you really want to express your entire personality in a social media setting, Facebook may be a better vehicle for you.
That said, on LinkedIn, the writing style you use for your summary section is an important way to let your personality shine through. Casual, jargony, straightforward, insightful all these attributes will tell your reader something important. Different employers and industries have different codes and standards. The formal, passive writing style that appeals to academe is anathema to media people.
Another way to express your personality is through the updates you can post near the top of your profile, though do bear your target audience in mind when you update and remember what qualities they are looking for. By all means if it supports your business case you can mention your hobbies or other interests. If you are an ex-Marine, or a nonprofit board member for example these could certainly be important to include.
But do be sure not to make it look as if your eye will always be on the clock and your mind not on the job.
~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock
Q: Recently, I lost my job due to my company's financial state. Downsizing was a must, and I, unfortunately, got the cut. The thing is, it was almost a blessing in disguise. After leaving, I was happier, not something you'd expect after losing one's job. After re- evaluating my industry and the role I played, in the pursuit of happiness, I have decided to career change. It's not been easy, as the unstructured freedom during the work-week has lost a little bit of it's glitter, but I still think I'm heading in the right direction. I have chosen a new career path, but my question is this: how can I make my Linkedin profile reflect my career change? I of course want to put down all of my prior work experience, however, I also want to prove that I can do another job and that my skills translate. If I post my past experience, won't a potential employer think, why would I hire this person from X industry, when we're looking for someone who has experience in Y industry? Does that make sense? Please let me know what you would recommend.
A: I suggest you think very carefully about the skills and experience that will be desirable in your new career. Consider the needs of your potential new employer and find the angle on your past that could be relevant and persuasive. Make the fact of the change and your prior experience an added value. Use the summary section to express this emphasizing the relevant and unique strengths that come from your rich background in other fields that makes you a stronger candidate than the pack of straight-liners you'll be competing with. Reframe the skills section as well as the details on all your prior positions to support your new positioning. Certain things that were awesome in your old field may have to be dropped because they are no longer relevant, or worse, contradict your new story. With a strong but unusual background, you are most likely to appeal to a smart employer who thinks outside the envelope, and that is likely to be someone you would want to work for.
Q: I find that LinkedIn is so business oriented, that it doesn't have much opportunity for one's personality to come through. Is this a good thing? Or is there something I can do with my account to make it seem less like a cover letter and resume, and reflect other aspects of my life?
A: LinkedIn is primarily a source for business connections. If you really want to express your entire personality in a social media setting, Facebook may be a better vehicle for you.
That said, on LinkedIn, the writing style you use for your summary section is an important way to let your personality shine through. Casual, jargony, straightforward, insightful all these attributes will tell your reader something important. Different employers and industries have different codes and standards. The formal, passive writing style that appeals to academe is anathema to media people.
Another way to express your personality is through the updates you can post near the top of your profile, though do bear your target audience in mind when you update and remember what qualities they are looking for. By all means if it supports your business case you can mention your hobbies or other interests. If you are an ex-Marine, or a nonprofit board member for example these could certainly be important to include.
But do be sure not to make it look as if your eye will always be on the clock and your mind not on the job.
Don't forget LinkedIn for your job search
This article first appeared in Cynopsis Classified Advantage
~ ACTIONABLE EXPERT ADVICE ~
By Michael Pollock
I am sure you are well established on LinkedIn, but are you using it effectively in your job search? It is just too easy for us to let it sit there passively in the background, but there are some simple and effective ways to extract value.
Start by connecting to as many people as you can think of. Duh! But I am sure there are some you have missed. Don' t just think of people who might hire you...connect to people you once worked with. Connect to people who worked for you. Connect to people who might know someone who could help you in the future. Look closely at who is connected to your connections; I know you will have several, " Oh, yes. I had forgotten about her!" moments.
I was working today with a filmmaker who has been specializing in medical topics. He is going to see his dentist in a couple of weeks. This dentist goes to medical conferences and knows lots of people who might need film. What if he was on LinkedIn? What if some of his professional connections wanted film made for their professional associations? What if they worked for pharmaceutical companies? Sounds like a valuable connection for this filmmaker. Who are the equivalents in your field?
Another excellent use: as you look at job ads on Cynopsis Classified Advantage or other boards, note the companies who seem to have good opportunities for you. Then search those companies on LinkedIn there is a drop down menu on the search field that lets you search for people or for companies. See if anyone from those firms knows anyone that you know. Then email your friend and ask to be introduced. I recommend not using the automated LinkedIn introduction tool make the request something more personal. So now you can network your way into the hiring company and do your research and make the connections you need to get you in there.
Does your LinkedIn headline clearly indicate your value to a hirer? As with all communications each piece needs to make the reader want more. Does your summary give a clear expression of what you offer and engagingly differentiate you from all the others? Does your chronology include experience and specifics that support and flesh out your summary? Does your specialty list include all the keywords that recruiters might use in a job search?
As with so many of these online systems there are depths that I never plumb, and I' m not taking you there. But start with the easy-to-use pieces; get them working together guided by your constant attention and research and insight. It really is an adventure, a voyage of exploration. Keep poking around and you will find valuable connections you never knew you had and see more and more ways to get your carefully constructed message into the right hands.
~ ACTIONABLE EXPERT ADVICE ~
By Michael Pollock
I am sure you are well established on LinkedIn, but are you using it effectively in your job search? It is just too easy for us to let it sit there passively in the background, but there are some simple and effective ways to extract value.
Start by connecting to as many people as you can think of. Duh! But I am sure there are some you have missed. Don' t just think of people who might hire you...connect to people you once worked with. Connect to people who worked for you. Connect to people who might know someone who could help you in the future. Look closely at who is connected to your connections; I know you will have several, " Oh, yes. I had forgotten about her!" moments.
I was working today with a filmmaker who has been specializing in medical topics. He is going to see his dentist in a couple of weeks. This dentist goes to medical conferences and knows lots of people who might need film. What if he was on LinkedIn? What if some of his professional connections wanted film made for their professional associations? What if they worked for pharmaceutical companies? Sounds like a valuable connection for this filmmaker. Who are the equivalents in your field?
Another excellent use: as you look at job ads on Cynopsis Classified Advantage or other boards, note the companies who seem to have good opportunities for you. Then search those companies on LinkedIn there is a drop down menu on the search field that lets you search for people or for companies. See if anyone from those firms knows anyone that you know. Then email your friend and ask to be introduced. I recommend not using the automated LinkedIn introduction tool make the request something more personal. So now you can network your way into the hiring company and do your research and make the connections you need to get you in there.
Does your LinkedIn headline clearly indicate your value to a hirer? As with all communications each piece needs to make the reader want more. Does your summary give a clear expression of what you offer and engagingly differentiate you from all the others? Does your chronology include experience and specifics that support and flesh out your summary? Does your specialty list include all the keywords that recruiters might use in a job search?
As with so many of these online systems there are depths that I never plumb, and I' m not taking you there. But start with the easy-to-use pieces; get them working together guided by your constant attention and research and insight. It really is an adventure, a voyage of exploration. Keep poking around and you will find valuable connections you never knew you had and see more and more ways to get your carefully constructed message into the right hands.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Read This!
I was asked by another media business newsletter to put together a reading list for the end of summer. I share it with you here - as the summer draws on and all those things we have put off until after Labor Day are starting to loom!
Summer reading is a wonderful thing. I have read in tents high up in Yosemite, on a cruise from Venice, on the beach at Bridgehampton, and on a bench in Central Park. Out of your routine, your mind is attuned to pay extra attention and reap fresh insights. Here are some ideas for the last precious days of this summer.
1. How We Decide, by Jonah Lehrer. Perhaps this is the first book you should pick up as it delves fascinatingly into the processes our minds go through when we are - for example – deciding which book to pick up next. It tells you that in an MIT test, a group of stock investors with less information have ended up earning more than twice as much as a well-informed group.
2. A must-read for all creative thinkers is James Webb Youngʼs classic: A Technique For Producing Ideas. First published in 1965 this small but important work has helped countless ad guys and painters, poets and engineers to break the deadly jam of the blank page and let their creativity do what itʼs supposed to do. To me this is not an optional book.
3. Innovate Like Edison by Michael Gelb and Sarah Miller Caldicott. This account of Thomas Edisonʼs life and methods tells us that apparently he invented everything: integrated marketing, smart hiring practices, networking, oh yes the light bulb, methods for innovation, even for thinking. This book will leave you bursting with ideas and annoying your family with his famous quotes.
4. John Steinbeck's delightful book Sea of Cortez. This is a great travel and science book all in one. Wonderfully written, it is exceptionally joyful reading. He tells of an expedition made around the coast of Baja California. It's witty, humane and most charming. Itʼs about survival and biology and exploration and discovery and politics and "civilization". And drinking. One of its most vivid characters is the Sea-Cow: his willful outboard motor!
5. For lovers of history and politics, David Kynastonʼs account of the rise of the welfare state in Austerity Britain gives us much to think about as we review our own political system. This is a story full of anecdotes about activist government - and how the British felt about it.
6. The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years, by Sonia Shah, is a page turner. We learn how the Plasmodium parasite carried by mosquitoes, constantly adapting to outflank our attacks, has controlled so much of our history. This might be a fight we canʼt win. The book is spellbinding investigative reporting.
7. This is a controversial pick, but we are grown-ups here and can understand and interpret. The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell is a novel about a man who worked for an organization. He had to deal with tedious bureaucracy and arrogant bosses. (Sound familiar?) He was measured by his success at the task with no thought as to whether the task was right. His job? He worked for the SS and his assignment was to ensure that killing was done as efficiently as possible. The book is violent and nasty. It was hugely successful in France, Germany and England, winning two major French literary awards. It is not for the squeamish. But this book will surely jolt us into reflection on the value of our own work.
8. The Pregnant Widow by Martin Amis brings him back to his early “bad boy” style. His 21 year old hero is inching toward a stunning 20-year-old blonde called Sheherazade, with whom heʼs sharing a summer in an Italian castle, along with several friends including his semi-platonic and semi-liberated girlfriend, Lily. Itʼs the summer of 1970, with all that that entails!
9. Stefan Sagmeisterʼs Things I Learned In My Life So Far is really 15 small booklets. Shuffle them and youʼll drastically change the look of your book. Itʼs a series of design projects spelling out personal truths that he identified in his diary: “Worrying solves nothing," "Trying to look good limits my life," “Complaining is silly: either act or forget” and so on. It is visually stimulating, provocative and fun.
8. I just finished the third of Stieg Larssonʼs Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked Over The Hornets Nest. I couldnʼt put it down. There is plotting and hackers and politics and murder and bikers and shady dealings on all fronts. See the Swedish film versions and tell me what you think. A friend, seeing that David Fincher is slated to direct a US version, wondered why another one was needed. For myself, I canʼt wait to see what he does with it.
Michael Pollock is President of Pollock Spark (www.pollockspark.com). He is an Executive Coach and Consultant to Creative and Media professionals. He works with people in film, TV, journalism, advertising, design, marketing, music and the Internet, bringing them the experience, techniques and inspiration to take their businesses and careers to new levels of success.
© 2010 Pollock Spark
Summer reading is a wonderful thing. I have read in tents high up in Yosemite, on a cruise from Venice, on the beach at Bridgehampton, and on a bench in Central Park. Out of your routine, your mind is attuned to pay extra attention and reap fresh insights. Here are some ideas for the last precious days of this summer.
1. How We Decide, by Jonah Lehrer. Perhaps this is the first book you should pick up as it delves fascinatingly into the processes our minds go through when we are - for example – deciding which book to pick up next. It tells you that in an MIT test, a group of stock investors with less information have ended up earning more than twice as much as a well-informed group.
2. A must-read for all creative thinkers is James Webb Youngʼs classic: A Technique For Producing Ideas. First published in 1965 this small but important work has helped countless ad guys and painters, poets and engineers to break the deadly jam of the blank page and let their creativity do what itʼs supposed to do. To me this is not an optional book.
3. Innovate Like Edison by Michael Gelb and Sarah Miller Caldicott. This account of Thomas Edisonʼs life and methods tells us that apparently he invented everything: integrated marketing, smart hiring practices, networking, oh yes the light bulb, methods for innovation, even for thinking. This book will leave you bursting with ideas and annoying your family with his famous quotes.
4. John Steinbeck's delightful book Sea of Cortez. This is a great travel and science book all in one. Wonderfully written, it is exceptionally joyful reading. He tells of an expedition made around the coast of Baja California. It's witty, humane and most charming. Itʼs about survival and biology and exploration and discovery and politics and "civilization". And drinking. One of its most vivid characters is the Sea-Cow: his willful outboard motor!
5. For lovers of history and politics, David Kynastonʼs account of the rise of the welfare state in Austerity Britain gives us much to think about as we review our own political system. This is a story full of anecdotes about activist government - and how the British felt about it.
6. The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years, by Sonia Shah, is a page turner. We learn how the Plasmodium parasite carried by mosquitoes, constantly adapting to outflank our attacks, has controlled so much of our history. This might be a fight we canʼt win. The book is spellbinding investigative reporting.
7. This is a controversial pick, but we are grown-ups here and can understand and interpret. The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell is a novel about a man who worked for an organization. He had to deal with tedious bureaucracy and arrogant bosses. (Sound familiar?) He was measured by his success at the task with no thought as to whether the task was right. His job? He worked for the SS and his assignment was to ensure that killing was done as efficiently as possible. The book is violent and nasty. It was hugely successful in France, Germany and England, winning two major French literary awards. It is not for the squeamish. But this book will surely jolt us into reflection on the value of our own work.
8. The Pregnant Widow by Martin Amis brings him back to his early “bad boy” style. His 21 year old hero is inching toward a stunning 20-year-old blonde called Sheherazade, with whom heʼs sharing a summer in an Italian castle, along with several friends including his semi-platonic and semi-liberated girlfriend, Lily. Itʼs the summer of 1970, with all that that entails!
9. Stefan Sagmeisterʼs Things I Learned In My Life So Far is really 15 small booklets. Shuffle them and youʼll drastically change the look of your book. Itʼs a series of design projects spelling out personal truths that he identified in his diary: “Worrying solves nothing," "Trying to look good limits my life," “Complaining is silly: either act or forget” and so on. It is visually stimulating, provocative and fun.
8. I just finished the third of Stieg Larssonʼs Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked Over The Hornets Nest. I couldnʼt put it down. There is plotting and hackers and politics and murder and bikers and shady dealings on all fronts. See the Swedish film versions and tell me what you think. A friend, seeing that David Fincher is slated to direct a US version, wondered why another one was needed. For myself, I canʼt wait to see what he does with it.
Michael Pollock is President of Pollock Spark (www.pollockspark.com). He is an Executive Coach and Consultant to Creative and Media professionals. He works with people in film, TV, journalism, advertising, design, marketing, music and the Internet, bringing them the experience, techniques and inspiration to take their businesses and careers to new levels of success.
© 2010 Pollock Spark
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Changing technology, storytelling and evolving skills.
I was in a conversation today about the importance of evolving our skillsets as media technology changes, and was reminded of this story from early Hollywood. What follows is excerpted from a book which has been lost to me; it was given to me by a wonderful production assistant many years ago.
 |
| Ernst Lubitsch - Film Director |
Lubitsch had a habit of crooking his forefinger over that enormous nose of his, and he said, “Junge, I want you never to forget this - what I am about to tell you. When the decision was made to change from silent films to talking films, the producers called together the greatest stars they had - this was in each studio. And the producers said, ‘You ladies and gentlemen who are the stars of the great silent screen, you must now learn to talk. You can no longer make faces and look camera left, camera right, up, down, what the director tells you to do, and then hope that he can put it together into a performance. You’ve got to learn to talk dialogue and play it. Those of you who can - you'll be greater than ever. Those of you who can't - overnight, no matter how great you are, you’ll be finished .’
“Then,” said Lubitsch, “they called together all the great directors. And they said, ‘All you directors of the silent screen, no more running out in the morning with that box, a camera and an assistant, you shoot something here and you shoot something there, and then you bring it back . . . No, no. You gentlemen have got to learn to read scripts, to digest characterization, pace and how to tell a story that is written - and those of you who don’t - overnight, you’ll be forgotten .’
“And then,” said Lubitsch, “they called together all the great title writers, those who’d been the biggest of the silent screen, and they said, ‘You writers, no longer is it going to be something that you can bring in on the back of an envelope, - you have to become dramatists - you have to learn how to write dialogue, conflict, and so forth. And those of you who can’t - you’re finished .’
“And,” said Lubitsch, “that really happened, as you know. You could name the great stars of the silent screen who were finished - the great directors, gone - the great title writers who were washed up - but, boy, remember this as long as you live: The producers didn’t lose a man. They all made the switch! That’s where the great talent is. Remember this.”
Friday, August 20, 2010
Basic Presentation Tips
It never hurts to restate the things that we all know but don't always remember to do. I recently turned up these old notes from an Edward Tufte presentation.
Tufte's Presentation Tips
1. Show up early.
2. Early on in the presentation, tell your audience what to expect from you.
3. Give everyone in the room a piece of paper, such as detailed evidence of a point you are going to make.
4. AVOID OVERHEADS. (Today = Powerpoint?) Use them only if you are showing very complex information.
5. Never apologize.
6. Practice and rehearse. (do both I guess!)
7. If you use humor, it should be directly relevant to the target at hand.
8. Don't use the singular male as universal; use the plural "they/them" instead.
9. Finish early.
10. Be very careful when answering questions. You're often judged solely on Q & A. If a question requires a long answer, you may be better off answering it privately, after the presentation.
11. Don't be afraid to show pride in what you've done (often accomplished thought your gestures)
12. Drink a lot of water. (Public speaking and flying are the 2 most dehydrating things you can do.)
Here is more Tufte
Tufte's Presentation Tips
1. Show up early.
2. Early on in the presentation, tell your audience what to expect from you.
3. Give everyone in the room a piece of paper, such as detailed evidence of a point you are going to make.
4. AVOID OVERHEADS. (Today = Powerpoint?) Use them only if you are showing very complex information.
5. Never apologize.
6. Practice and rehearse. (do both I guess!)
7. If you use humor, it should be directly relevant to the target at hand.
8. Don't use the singular male as universal; use the plural "they/them" instead.
9. Finish early.
10. Be very careful when answering questions. You're often judged solely on Q & A. If a question requires a long answer, you may be better off answering it privately, after the presentation.
11. Don't be afraid to show pride in what you've done (often accomplished thought your gestures)
12. Drink a lot of water. (Public speaking and flying are the 2 most dehydrating things you can do.)
Here is more Tufte
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