Lots of stuff

I have had lots of conversations recently with people and promised lots of stuff. I have put together some useful tools, sites and people I have found / met recently, and thought you all might like to know about them.

Cool tool

Want to do more than a survey? Create a users voice page (thanks Geri Overberg).

http://www.uservoice.com/

This site allows you to register and conduct a survey or feedback from users or whoever on different ideas. More flexible than a survey – they can add their own ideas and comments, more structured and useful than email or chat.

Presentation skills

I believe that presentation skills are an essential skill in the business tool kit. Who’s going to trust you with a squillion dollar project if you can’t string together a presentation, or if you submit your audience to death in a hail of power point bullets. I highly recommend the presentation skills course facilitated by Justin O’Brien through My Development. Even if you have done lots of presentations and you can mostly wing it (like I used to do), you will still pick up some really valuable tools and techniques from the course. If you are nervous, this will build your confidence. Justin is very experienced and has provides very supportive and constructive feedback on what you do well, as well as areas for improvement on presentation skills.

It’s a day out of your life, but hey, think about how many bland or awful presentations do you sit through in a month, and there are so few opportunities to get constructive feedback in this area. Just do it!

For those outside Medibank, see Justin’s web page at

http://www.hppg.com.au/html/s01_home/home.asp

Want to see how a great presentation is done, with little evidence but lots of presence and personality and humour check out Sir Ken Robinson at TED.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

(Thanks Justin for the link and the course was excellent!)


Visual Periodic Table

Need to find new and different ways to present data, strategies, metaphors, concepts, and ideas? This website has heaps of stuff I have not had time to explore, but I used their visual periodic table is a nice tool, and it takes a little while to load, but well worth it if you are looking for different ways to present visual info.

http://www.visual-literacy.org/pages/documents.htm

Common Craft

We all struggle at times to get complex ideas across to others. Check out common craft. They explain now the US President is elected in plain English in about 3 minutes quite brilliant– short but compelling. Unfortunately, I can't provide a link to you tube (for some odd reason)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok_VQ8I7g6I

I really like their video explaining zombies - check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVnfyradCPY

Workplace politics and tactics, managing people, negotiation tactics
Need some hints and tips on business politics and tactics and more. Ever walk out of a meeting and wonder – what just happened? This site will give you some insight. I enjoy Rick Brenners insights and tips, and he sends out fortnightly short and sharp emails on topics no one else really writes about. Have a look at his archives.

www.chacocanyon.com/pointlookout/archive.shtml