Tuesday, October 27, 2009

HTC Flash mob

Is this clever marketing or what? Apparently a publicity stunt by HTC caught on the viral fever on the internet. dancing during peak hour at raffles place in office attire in the hot sun. i don't even feel like wearing office attire on a hot day.

The whole thing is over in less than 3 min. the crowd disperse and whip out their handphones. over 72,000 views is this considered a good hit?

Where's the police? Isn't this unlawful assembly?



Sunday, April 12, 2009

Pecha Kucha

Saturday, March 14, 2009

The Fundamental Templates of Quality Ads


The Fundamental Templates of Quality Ads - Get more Business Plans

1. The Pictorial Analogy Template: The Replacement Version
2. The Extreme Situation Template: The Absurd Alternative Version
3. The Consequences Template: The Extreme Consequences Version
e.g.




4. The Competition Template: The Uncommon-Use Version
5. The Interactive Experiment Template: The Activation Version
6. The Dimensionality Alteration Template: The Time Leap Version

Made to stick

Made to stick official site
McKinsey Quarterly interview with Chip Health
The secret behind why ideas stick.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Monday, February 23, 2009

Ted conference: Benjamin Zander



Highlights
1. It is a characteristic of a leader that he does not doubt for one moment the capacities of the people that he is leading to realise whatever he is dreaming.
2. He plays a prelude from chopin and dissects the notes to the audience. BCCC ACCC G F G A BCCC ACCC G F# Deceptive cadence E
3. Vision
4. A conductor does not make a sound. He depends on his power of his ability to make other people powerful. His job is to awaken possibility in other people. He know he has done it if he can lit up a person's eyes.
5. Ask this question: "Who am I being if my players' eyes are not shining?"
6. Definition of success is about how many shining eyes you have around you.
7. I will never say anything that couldn't stand as the last thing I ever say. It is a possibility to live into.

Ted conference: Sir Ken Robinson



Read transcript here.

Highlights:
1. If they don't know, they'll have a go.
2. If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.

Lessons from "An Inconvenient Truth"

By Dave Paradi

Lesson 1: Visuals Rule
Lesson 2: The Number of Slides Doesn’t Matter
Lesson 3: Focus on the Audience, Not Yourself
Lesson 4: Direct the Audience to Your Point
Lesson 5: Use a Remote
Lesson 6: Reading Someone Else’s Deck Doesn’t Cut It



Read transcript here.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Public speaking tips

Six Trade Secrets For Great Speaking
1. Make the speech about the audience not about you, the content. or data-filled power point slides.
2. Be different from every other speaker in your company.
3. Don't use PowerPoint on the computer as the first step in the creative process to write your speech.
4. Start your speech with something different- dont start with good morning, My name is… or glad to be here.
5. Create breaks and add spice.
6. End strongly and powerfully with content you have planed ahead and practiced.

Tips for creative writing










Rhetoric Examples
Rule of three

The rule of three is a principle in English writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things
antithesis

Juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas (often, although not always, in parallel structure).
"It can't be wrong if it feels so right" —Debbie Boone
antitheton

A proof or composition constructed of contraries.
Flattery hath pleasant beginnings, but the same hath very bitter endings. — R. Sherry
anadiplosis

The repetition of the last word (or phrase) from the previous line, clause, or sentence at the beginning of the next.
The love of wicked men converts to fear,
That fear to hate, and hate turns one or both
To worthy danger and deserved death.
—Shakespeare, Richard II 5.1.66-68
assonance

Repetition of similar vowel sounds, preceded and followed by different consonants, in the stressed syllables of adjacent words.
The seargant asked him to bomb the lawn with hotpots.
anaphora

Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines

Lessons from TED: 5 Simple Tweaks

Lessons from TED: 5 Simple Tweaks

1. Use a custom background
2. Choose your fonts wisely
3. Use animations and transitions appropriately
4. One idea per slide
5. Take care of your images

The MOST beautiful PowerPoint animation ideas, please download these ASAP!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

PowerPoint Presentations: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly


PowerPoint Presentations: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

powerpoint tips

Seth Godin's 5 rules for powerpoint

1. No more than six words on a slide.
2. Use professional stock photo images.
3. No dissolves, spins or other transitions.
4. Sound effects can be used a few times per presentation, but never use the sound effects that are built in to the program.
5. Don’t hand out print-outs of your slides.




The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint

a PowerPoint presentation should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points.




Top Ten Slide Tips

1. Keep it simple
2. Limit bullet point and text
3. Limit transitions and builds
4. High quality graphics
5. Have a visual theme but avoid powerpoint templates
6. Use appropriate charts
7. Use colours well
8. Use fonts well
9. Use video or audio
10. Spend time in slide sorter




Lessons from TED: 5 Simple Tweaks

1. Use a custom background
2. Choose your fonts wisely
3. Use animations and transitions appropriately
4. One idea per slide
5. Take care of your images




Seven Steps to Better Presentations

1. tell stories
2. show pictures
3. don't apologise
4. start strong
5. end strong
6. stand
7. pause




Seven secrets of power presentations

Step 1: Trim text
Step 2: Improve visibility
Step 3: Simplify backgrounds
Step 4: Use high-quality graphics
Step 5: Limit gratuitous effects
Step 6: Be wary of charts
Step 7: Remember last-minute details




Powerpoint Tips from Financial Express
• Begin with a good presentation.
• Make sure the audience can read what you’ve written. The suggested font size is 36.
• Avoid colours such as red and brown in your presentation.
• Avoid long sentences
• Spell check the final copy and also review for any possible grammatical errors
• Begin with a title slide and show a brief outline of topics to be covered
• Carry a printout copy of the presentation in case the technology fails.




Tom Peter's Presentation Excellence


(1) Total commitment to the Problem/Project/Outcome

(2) A compelling “Story line”/“Plot”

(3) Enough data to sink a tanker (98% in reserve). (Know the data from memory; ability to manipulate the data in your head)

(4) Data are imperative, but also play to Emotion.

(5) CONNECT! CONNECT! CONNECT!

(6) No more than ONE point per slide! NO CLUTTER!!!!!!!!! (no wee print/charts/graphs). Good quotes from the field. (Remember you’re “telling a story”).

(7) There must be "surprise"... some key facts that are not commonly known/are counter-intuitive (no reason to do the presentation in the first place if there are no Surprises)

(8) SMILE! RELAX (to a point) (fake it if necessary) ("up tight" is disastrous) (remember you are doing them a favor by sharing this Compelling Opportunity!)


(9) EYE CONTACT!!!!!!!

(10) Energy! Enthusiasm! .... Enjoy it! This is a Hoot! Remember your Goal: Change the world! ... A Presentation is an Act (FDR: “The President must be the nation’s number one actor”)

(11) Becoming an Excellent Presenter is as tough as becoming a great baseball pitcher. THIS IS IMPORTANT … and Presentation Excellence is never accidental! (Work your buns off!)



How many slides is too many?

If it is a primarily text slide, use two to three minutes per slide.

A sequence of photos may be run through quite quickly, with maybe five slides in one minute.

Some graphics, such as a process flow diagram, require a two or three minute explanation.



The Top Ten Things You Can Do To Improve Your Next PowerPoint Presentation

1. Decide on the Goal of the Presentation

2. Use a Presentation Structure

3. Select Colors that Have High Contrast

4. Pick Fonts that are Large Enough
Font should be 28 to 32 point size. For titles or headings, use 36 to 44 point size fonts.

5. Use Bullet Points
Each bullet should have no more than 6 words and each slide should have no more than 6 bullet points.

6. Build Bullet Text Points

7. Avoid Movement of Slide Elements
The preferred build effect is the Appear effect where the text just appears in the correct spot on the slide.

8. Select Graphics Carefully

9. Use the Proper Chart

10. Practice, Practice, Practice

PowerPoint Is Evil

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html

Conference Presentation Judo

Conference Presentation Judo

Microsoft powerpoint tips

12 Tips for Creating Better Presentations

Writing guides

harvard college writing program
BBC World Service - interactive guide

Plagiarism detection in PowerPoint presentations

Software to detect plagiarism: WCopyfind
ImageMagick

Friday, February 20, 2009

Ballroom vs. Conference Room Style Presentations





































































Ballroom styleconference room style
stylemost typical PowerPoint presentations are trying to be: colorful, vibrant, attention-grabbing, and (sometimes) noisy.much more understated: less use of color, more details on each page, printed rather than projected
venuetake place in a large, dark room such as a hotel ballroommore suited to your average corporate meeting or conference room
objectiveto inform, impress and/or entertain the audienceto engage and persuade your audience and change their behavior
information flowone-way, from presenter to audiencetwo-way
audience sizea few dozen people to several thousandmore suited to meetings with smaller numbers of people, say two to 25 or as many as 80 people in an amphitheatre-style classroom, or 200 people on a teleconference
metaphorlike that of the evening news: visually rich and thoroughly professionalshould look more like an architectural drawing than something you’d see on television
medium of deliveryproject your presentation rather than hand it out,best delivered on paper. Paper has the advantage of allowing much greater resolution and therefore more information on each page.
fontminimum 24-pointas small as 9 point
referencenot easy to follow. turn back 2 slides – no, 3, what was that point there?”-type of confusionMore information on each page also facilitates more productive conversations since all the information for the discussion of the moment is right in front of everyone on a single page. Paper delivery also allows people to write on the presentation, so that they can engage with your content better and communicate back to you any suggested changes. Also it sends a message that you are confident in your content, because you are allowing your audience to walk away with it.
number of pagesrelatively morecontain so much more detail on each page, they tend to have significantly less pages – from about 12 to as few as 1 page per hour of meeting time.


source: Extreme presentation

presenting to small audiences

Changethis: presenting to small audiences

delivering technical information through powerpoint presentations

PowerPoint Does Rocket Science--and Better Techniques for Technical Reports
extreme presentation - choosing a good chart
Perpetual Edge
Juice Analytics chart chooser
Juice Analystics - download Tufte-compliant excel and powerpoint charts
Data Analysis and Visualization with Excel, R and Google Tools
visual literacy

Powerpointpro

Powerpro Power design's presentation samples
Presentation tips

funny phillips ad

shave everywhere

Beyond bullet points

Beyond Bullets
Beyond bullet points
Social media

The Lessig method

Lawrence Lessig's last "Free Culture" presentation
The "Lessig Method" of presentation

Examples of presentations that adopts the Lessig Method
Dick Hardt OSCON 2005 Keynote
A quick introduction to rails

Slide Tips: Dodging Bullet Points in Powerpoint Presentations - Dave Yewman

5 Tips to becoming a ppt zen master
1. Words first

2. tell stories

3. hide the junk

4. use presenter mode

5. be controlling

Authors@Google: Garr Reynolds



Authors@Google presentation

Empty space and slide design





Make Presentations that people will remember

How to deliver a steve-note

How to Create Steve Jobs' Keynote

6 Presentation tips from a Steve Jobs keynote

(1) Develop rapport with the audience.
(2) Give them an idea of where you're going.
(3) Show your enthusiasm.
(4) It's not about numbers, it's about what the numbers mean.
(5) Make it visual.
(6) Save the best for last.




How to make a presentation like Steve Jobs

1. Minimalism
2. Eye candy
3. Wordsmithing and spin.
4. General to specific drill-down.
5. Cameos.
6. Fans in the front row.



Steve Jobs' Greatest Presentation
1. Build Tension
2. Stick to One Theme Per Slide
3. Add Pizzazz to Your Delivery
4. Practice
5. Be Honest and Show Enthusiasm



Deliver a Presentation like Steve Jobs

1. Set the theme. Every presentation needs a theme, but you don’t have to deliver it at the start. Once you identify your theme, make sure you deliver it several times throughout your presentation.
o Make your theme clear and consistent
o Create a headline that sets the direction for your meeting

2. Demonstrate enthusiasm. use words like “extraordinary,” “amazing,” "awesome" and “cool.”

3. Provide an outline. Followed your outline by verbally opening and closing each of the four sections and making clear transitions in between. Make lists and provide your audience with guideposts along the way.

4. Make numbers meaningful.

5. Try for an unforgettable moment.

6. Create visual slides. When text was introduced, it was often revealed as short sentences (three or four words) to the right of the image.

7. Give ‘em a show. Include video clips, demonstrations, and guests.
o Identify your memorable moment and build up to it
o Give your audience an added bonus to walk away with

8. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Few will remember a glitch unless you call attention to it.

9. Sell the benefit.
o Make numbers and statistics meaningful
o Analogies help connect the dots for your audience

10. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.





* Set the Theme
o Make your theme clear and consistent
o Create a headline that sets the direction for your meeting
* Provide the Outline
o Open and close each section with a clear transition
o Make is easy for your listeners to follow your story
* Demonstrate Enthusiasm
o Wow your audience
* Sell an Experience
o Make numbers and statistics meaningful
o Analogies help connect the dots for your audience
* Make it Visual
o Paint a simple picture that doesn’t overwhelm
* Give ‘em a Show
o Identify your memorable moment and build up to it
o Give your audience an added bonus to walk away with
* Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse
o Spend the time to rehearse





How to Present Like Steve Jobs

1. ignite your enthusiasm
2. sell the benefit
3. navigate the way
4. paint a picture




Lessons from Steve's Keynote

As opposed to the 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint, Steve uses the 125 (or so) slides/90 minutes/60 point font rule.

1. Minimal text.
2. Extremely large font.
3. A handful of bullet items, and he “built” the bullets.
4. Many, many beautiful screen shots.
5. Many, many beautiful images.
6. Demos of software by the man himself.
7. Powerful use of guests.
8. “Eye candy” use of video. These videos were about a minute or two but captivating.
9. Near the end, he threw in two “but wait, there's more” moments.
10. Ending on a very human touch of asking the Apple employees who worked in the new products to stand and be recognized.




How to Give a Steve Jobs Caliber Keynote Presentation

Step 1: Create a Basic Presentation
Step 2: Master Those Master Slides
Step 3: Express Yourself in Words
Step 4: Get Graphic
Step 5: Make Some Noise
Step 6: Chart Your Course




Video Critique: Steve Jobs (Stanford, 2005)

Strong opening: Praise the audience and show some humility
Conversational Style
Simple structure and sentences
Pauses and Timing
Rule of Three
* anaphora (repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences)
Figures of Speech Abound
* An antithesis (or antitheton) is a figure of speech using the juxtaposition of contrasting words, often in a parallel structure.
* Parallelism
* Anadiplosis (repeating a phrase from the end of one sentence at the beginning of the next)
* Assonance (repetition of vowel sounds)
* Repetition.
Recurring Commencement Themes

Sunday, February 15, 2009

picking out the right colours

colour theory
Creativepro's learning to use colour on your web
Designing for people who are colour blind

exposure of three

A FREQUENCY OF THREE
Effective frequency
how many times is effective?
ACP Magazines - terminology on readership, circulations

Thomas Smith's Successful Advertising

The first time people look at any given ad, they don't even see it.
The second time, they don't notice it.
The third time, they are aware that it is there.
The fourth time, they have a fleeting sense that they've seen it somewhere before.
The fifth time, they actually read the ad.
The sixth time they thumb their nose at it.
The seventh time, they start to get a little irritated with it.
The eighth time, they start to think, "Here's that confounded ad again."
The ninth time, they start to wonder if they're missing out on something.
The tenth time, they ask their friends and neighbors if they've tried it.
The eleventh time, they wonder how the company is paying for all these ads.
The twelfth time, they start to think that it must be a good product.
The thirteenth time, they start to feel the product has value.
The fourteenth time, they start to remember wanting a product exactly like this for a long time.
The fifteenth time, they start to yearn for it because they can't afford to buy it.
The sixteenth time, they accept the fact that they will buy it sometime in the future.
The seventeenth time, they make a note to buy the product.
The eighteenth time, they curse their poverty for not allowing them to buy this terrific product.
The nineteenth time, they count their money very carefully.
The twentieth time prospects see the ad, they buy what is offering.