717 Presentation
This is a video I used during my 717 presentation. It is me, circa 1994, having a conversation with my present day self. It’s a tongue-in-cheeck depiction of leadership and growth. Enjoy.
Author archive
takeaways from presentation zen
1. I have done a bad job of presenting
2. I have had bad presentations modelled to me for years
3. I can do better
After reading Presentationzen, I was struck by how often I have sat through long, boring, powerpoint presentations with bullet point after bullet point. No visuals, very little to no audience interaction. The audience was often left wondering, what was the point or what did that mean to me? When presenting in the future I will now have a checklist… high-impact visuals, smile, eye-contact, no podium, know the material, connect to the audience, answer why this matters to them. I will spend more time putting together the presentation and will become a better presenter.
Collaborative writing
Recently, a group of five cohort students, me included, were asked to work collaboratively to write a two page paper. We were given a small amount of time and sent out to get it done. I worked with a group that clearly was all ready to contribute. The time constraint forced us to maybe skip steps that we would normally have taken (dividing duties, creating smaller groups within group, brainstorm session, etc.), instead, we jumped directly into writing. Two of us began typing the paper, one researched, one listened. I observed. Admittedly, I didn’t contribute much to the paper. I mostly helped with editing or shared thoughts. Instead, I took notes on the process. I began to think about how we were working as a team. Was the workload divided fairly? Was everyone playing a part while working to their strength? Was our team put together effectively? Were five too many people? This became the most important part of the exercise, in my opinion. As we look toward our capstone, creating a team that is well balanced will be imperative to a successful third year. I look forward to continuing to refine this process.
The end of year one
I really enjoyed the presentations last week. I thought it was a great culminating activity to end our first year in the EdD program. I appreciated the opportunity to write creatively and to act out our scenario with my wonderfully talented group. I am very proud of the work we did and the dialogue it created. Well done everyone.
Here is a link to a video of our performance.
My brand
I recently watched “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” by Morgan Spurlock. Mr. Spurlock explores product placement in the movie and in fact, uses product placement to fund his movie. At one point during the movie, Mr. Spurlock is interviewing an expert about product placement and branding. The gentleman says the phrase “credibility through visibility”. I know he is talking about how companies sell products, but I thought, what a great way to sum up my feeling’s about leadership. I absolutely believe a leader is able to gain and maintain credibility by being highly visible and accessible. I practice this throughout the shcool year. I coach, am in a school play, attend games, support fundraisers, whatever I can do to show students and their parents that our values are alligned.
This got me to thinking, what’s my brand? What am I known for? I would like to think accessible, visible, responsible. I really like the phrase “credibility through visibility” and intend to continue practicing it.
