Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Are you paying attention?

Does anyone else feel a little guilty after reading this?

Quote from article:
What used to be surreptitious glances at the iPhone have become full-on sessions of “I’m checking my email while you are talking … but don’t worry, I’ll look up and nod occasionally to give you the impression that you have my attention.”

Article continued here ... Paging “Miss Manners”




In Kaplan's article on the challenges and opportunities of social media there are ten pieces of advice given for companies deciding to use social media.  Of these, five are specifically about being social.

  1. Be active
  2. Be interesting
  3. Be humble
  4. Be unprofessional
  5. Be honest


Kaplan's points on "being social" on social media are also excellent advice for commanding attention in a room during a presentation.  When used together these tips can enliven a presentation and grab the audience's attention.

Be active:  Grab the audience's attention by being ready before they are.  Use spare time before you begin to chat with a few members of the audience.

Be interesting:  Don't start a presentation by being boring, ask people about their weekend to find out what they they to talk about.  Use that information to tailor your prestation to the interests of the audience (or key members of it).

Be humble:  Before assuming you're the coolest person in the room get to understand the people there.  Don't think that your word is the absolute final on the subject, be open to questions and additional points.

Be unprofessional:  Be approachable, be human rather than robotic.  Remember, bureaucrats don't give winning presentations.

Be honest:  If you don't know, just say so and get the individual's contact information to follow up directly with an answer.

Being social on line and in real life, possible? Possible simultaneously? 

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