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Posts Tagged With: "Heath Brothers"

Are your communication skills Giants playoff worthy?

Posted by Kelly Decker   |   October 19th, 2010   |   Leave a Comment   |  Tweet This

There is serious Giants fever in San Francisco. The sidewalks are streaming with fans clad in orange and black. Co-workers are screaming game updates over cubes (actually as I sit on BART, some guy just yelled, “the Giants are up!” (Game 3 vs. the Phillies began at 1:05pm today). There’s even a sign posted in the high rise window across from our office, “Go Giants!”.

In the spirit of the playoffs, communicators everywhere can take a tip from professional athletes. You gotta work on your game to get to the bigs. And keep working on it to clinch the pennant.

It’s about continuous improvement. There’s really only one group of professionals who are always in school, constantly acquiring and responding to feedback…

Athletes. They break down video, refine techniques, and in doing so they’re conscious of every position, stance and swing. And you should be too.

But, in our daily jobs, we blissfully go along communicating unconsciously. Maybe you stare at the Blackberry with someone standing right in front of you asking your opinion. Or talk in a monotone voice on a conference call at 4pm, while trying to rally the troops around meeting that project deadline. Or you talk in such complicated jargon that no one leaves the meeting with the same message. The problem is we don’t even know it – we are simply unconscious about our communications.

Start now: 3 easy ways to regain consciousness:

  1. Get yourself recorded. Ok, I get it – it might be tough to rig a video camera in the middle of your next meeting, but everyone has access to an audio recorder. You don’t even need to buyanaudiorecorder anymore. Get an app on your phone and record your next conference call – andthen listen to it. Would you want to listen to you?
  2. Get feedback. The only way to figure out what you’re doing is for someone to tell you. After yournext meeting, ask a colleague for feedback: 3 Keepers and 3 Improvements.The feedback must be balanced and specific so that you can do something with it.
  3. Get involved. Subscribe to this blog (and others like it) and have posts delivered to your Inbox.That little reminder in your email about communications just once per week is enough to keep you thinking. Other options:

Keep us posted. Let us know how you’ll turn your communications experience into a winning season.

BTW…update from the guy on BART: Giants take it 3-0, and now lead the series 2-1. Go Giants!

**Update: Comment on this post with why you need help with your messaging skills by midnight PST Oct 29 to enter to win a seat in an upcoming Decker Made to Stick Messaging!**


Categories: Communication Skills, Musings, Newsworthy
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3 tips for presentations that stick

Posted by Kelly Decker   |   May 27th, 2010   |   10 Comments   |  Tweet This

Dan Heath has done a fantastic job putting together a series of vignettes on stickiness. Watch this clip on presentations that stick.

Let me add on to Dan’s 3 tips with a few examples we’ve seen in our programs recently:

1. Be Simple: Force yourself to prioritize. Boil down your message into one (yes, one) phrase that signifies the single biggest change in how you want people to think or act about your idea, topic, initiative, product or service.

A veterinarian from our messaging program was trying to convince pet owners that they’re overusing protein in their pet’s diets. This could easily turn into a PowerPoint nightmare of chart-by-chart comparisons of the recommended dietary allowances for carbs, protein, vitamins, etc. Instead, she focused her message and took a page right out of James Carville’s playbook, and created the Point Of View: “It’s the calories, stupid.” And then she went on, “Protein alone is not the answer. It’s a balanced diet that your pet needs.”

2. Show something: One participant said that rather than decorate his slides with bullet points, and complex diagrams, that they would begin to “Deckerate” them instead. That means simplify – to the point that you might not even need a slide. Remember that slides are supposed to be a support for your presentation, not to be the presentation.

Of course, the best example of showing and not telling is all things Apple. Man, that iPad is beautiful, and yes, I want it. Apple is so good that they even get you to think that you need it.

3. Tease before you tell: Get them interested! In one of our programs last month, an exec from an insurance company announced that he was going to be doing his in-class presentation on work/life balance. Snooze. Like we haven’t heard that one before. But he began this way…first, he grabbed a flip chart and wrote “Key Clients” at the top. Then he asked everyone to write down their top 5 clients. “If those are your very best clients, you take their calls, right? You’ll let them interrupt a meeting, and always think about how you can add value.” Teaser accomplished. He continued, “Now, how many of you listed your spouse or kids on that list? It’s absolutely critical that you think of your own family as key clients.” Whoa. Mom guilt is in full effect. I’m in.

Your turn. Win a seat in our upcoming June 4 Decker Made to Stick Messaging program! Comment below with a good stickiness story and we’ll draw a winner!


Categories: PowerPoint Abuse - Avoid It, SHARPs and Stories
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Life: The stickiest biology lesson you’ll ever get

Posted by Kelly Decker   |   March 22nd, 2010   |   2 Comments   |  Tweet This

Just finished watching the first two installments of Life , the Discovery Channel’s unbelievable account bringing life to… life. See a preview here. For nearly two hours, my husband and I sat in awe, muttering, “No way!” “Oh my gosh!” and “Holy cow!” back and forth.

I’m heading ff to Lawrence, KS next week to lead two back-to-back Decker Made to Stick Programs for a new client, so I’m loving the stickiness of these episodes.

Here’s a quick breakdown of why Life is so darn good and sticky – using the Made to Stick SUCCESs template as a test:

Simple:

Each episode has a clear Point Of View that focuses on what’s unique and interesting about the topic (the big idea). For example: “Reptiles make it because of their remarkable adaptations.”

Also, the brilliant use of analogies helps those of us with just Bio 101 under our belt to understand the incredible ways these animals have adapted to their environment.  Case in point: the Namaqua Chameleon has adapted to walking sand dunes by spreading its toes – aka, “Chameleon snowshoes.”

Unexpected:

From defense mechanisms, to hunting strategies, and mating rituals, your eyebrows will shoot up in surprise. Who knew that a big ol’ daddy bullfrog would dig a channel so that his tadpoles can reach a larger water source? Or that a Basilisk (aka “The Jesus Lizard”) can run on water for 100 feet to avoid its predator? And, did you know that the acceleration of a chameleon’s tongue is five times faster than an F16 fighter jet? Just check out what this frog does for a little dose of unexpectedness.

Concrete:

Amazing, stunning, jaw-dropping visual examples. Never-before-filmed visual examples. And you sit there, watching, thinking, “How the heck did they get that shot?” This is an experience. Totally different to read it in a text book that to see it, hear it, and really feel it. It is stunning, and I can now admit that going HD was worth it.

Credible:

Uh…hello? You can’t script this stuff. We’re talking all-up-in-your-face real animal drama. It took more than four years to produce Life. At the end of each episode there are little vignettes of the journalists who traveled to the most remote places on earth to capture the priceless footage– they’re legit too. Add the authoritative voice of Oprah beautifully narrating, and you’ve nailed credibility.

Emotional:

You actually feel for these animals and the challenges they face. Don’t like snakes? Doesn’t matter. You’ll end up rooting for them as they try to protect their eggs. Grossed out by lizards? Not any more. You’ll get to know and appreciate the stamina and strategy of a Kimodo Dragon hunting its prey.

Story:

Short of giving the animals names, each vignette is a story of survival, protection, ingenuity, and love.

Life is the complete, sticky communications experience.

And all this while the season opener of Dancing with the Stars played on with zero attention from yours truly. Looks like we finally have something worth watching. Catch the many repeats airing all week, and get caught up before next Sunday!


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