Category Archives: Work

Want To Do More? Just Say No

Posted on by
Reply

Last week I shared some thoughts on productivity with college students, how to get stuff done. One suggestion: learn to say “no.” “No” acknowledges that you have limited time and resources, that you can’t do everything. If you want to do something great with your life, you have to make choices. Choices require you to say “no” to some things.

In a helpful post at the HBR blogs, Tony Schwarz offers executives the same advice:

Saying no, thoughtfully, may be the most undervalued capacity of our times. In a world of relentless demands and infinite options, it behooves us to prioritize the tasks that add the most value. That also means deciding what to do less of, or to stop doing altogether.

Learn to say “no” to get more done.

The Secret to Success

Posted on by
Reply

Surprise: there is no secret to success.

My friend Mark builds beautiful, hand-crafted furniture in his workshop. He didn’t learn to do that overnight. Kerry makes delightful art in her studio. Each piece takes her weeks (months?) to create and she spent years developing her skill and vision.

Anything you want to do well requires you to show up and work. A strong marriage, raising a child, creating change at your office, building a business. No magic bullets.

If you want to know how successful people got that way, check here.

A Few More Thoughts on Student Presentations

Posted on by
Reply

The other day, I offered an incomplete list of presentation suggestions for college students. Since that list was incomplete, here are a few more ideas, specifically on your presentation slideshow:

  • Don’t use a PowerPoint template; instead, look for design inspiration on Slideshare. It’s a little like the Internet in general: there’s a lot of bad stuff but some good stuff too. Pay attention to the colors and typefaces. Here are a few of my favorite designs on Slideshare and here are two slidedecks I’ve posted there: Time Management for College Students and Boring to Bold: Presentation Design Ideas for Non-Designers.
  • For small rooms, consider light background colors; for large rooms, dark backgrounds.
  • Don’t steal images from Google Images (or other places). Either buy them from iStockphoto or get free Creative Commons images from flickr. Compfight is the best way to search the flickr Creative Commons pool. Make sure the images have enough resolution so they don’t have jaggies.
  • One idea per slide.
  • To see some outstanding presentations–both with and without slides–spend some time watching the videos on TED. It’s an excellent investment of your time. You could also watch a Steve Jobs presentation or two.
More to come…

Students: How to Present to Grown-Ups

Posted on by
Reply

As the semester is ending, I’m sitting in on a number of student presentations. These are typically done by teams of college juniors and seniors in various classes: marketing, project management, and others. The teams present research and case studies before panels of faculty members as well as local community and business leaders who offer feedback on the students’ work.

I often see students make the same kinds of mistakes every semester so here’s an incomplete list of some ways to improve.

  1. Don’t address the panel as you guys, as in “I’m sure you guys know how this…” The panel members are not your peers; address them respectfully with appropriate titles (Dr., Mr., Miss, Sir, Ma’am). Doing so will separate you from the vast majority of your peers who don’t understand these professional boundaries and it will help them (the panel members) regard you more favorably. Larger point: this will also prepare you for life after college.
  2. Don’t bluff or BS. The panel members typically have years of experience and education beyond yours and they’ll know if you’re bluffing. If you don’t know, say you don’t know.
  3. Distribute your handouts at the end of the presentation. If the panel has your handout during the presentation, they’ll read it and ignore you.
  4. Offer explanations and reasons backed by evidence. Be sure to tell how but also explain why.
  5. Use stories. Data is good and necessary but you need an emotional hook to really sell your presentation.
  6. Remember that you have about ten seconds to make your initial impression. Be prepared, rehearse, and start strong.
  7. Have the strongest presenter in your group deliver the presentation. Other team members should be specialists in a particular knowledge area and can speak up during the Q&A period following the presentation.
  8. If the panel offers ideas and suggestions during the Q&A or debriefing, take notes. It shows that you listen and respect their ideas.
  9. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.
  10. Test your technology in the conference room before the presentation. You don’t want to fumble around with computer and projector settings and lose valuable time–and even more valuable attention–on your big day.
David Rose’s presentation on How to Pitch to Venture Capitalists is a great place to start, even if you’re not presenting to VCs.

Can the Traditional Resume?

Posted on by
Reply

In some of the classes I teach at Lincoln Christian University, I discuss effective job correspondence: resumes, cover letters, and follow-up thank you notes.

The purpose of your resume, of course, is to get you an interview. To do that, it has to stand out from the stack of 50 other resumes the employer receives. So I usually emphasize things like–

  • Avoid Times New Roman and Arial (use Helvetica)
  • Don’t use a Word template
  • Design matters
  • Ensure that you have NO typos or grammatical errors
  • Highlight intangible qualities: show how you are trustworthy, personable–a problem-solving initiator

I’m intrigued, though, by suggestions that the traditional resume may be on the way out. Designer Jesse Desjardins has a visual resume on Slideshare. And the presentation software site Sliderocket recently offered similar advice.

These are great ideas and, for those looking for creative work, may be the perfect approach. Stand out, be different, offer value.