A Simple Story

This "Fish Story" comes from Garr Reynolds' Presentation Zen, a book you must read if you make presentations. There is a link to his web site on the left.

Here is the story:

When Vijay opened his store, he put up a sign that said, "We Sell Fresh Fish Here." His father stopped by and said that the word "We" suggests a emphasis on the seller rather than the customer, and is really not needed. So the sign was changed to "Fresh Fish Sold Here."

His brother came by and suggested that the word "here" could be done away with -- it was superfluous. Vijay agreed and changed the sign to "Fresh Fish Sold."

Next, his sister came along and said the sign should just say "Fresh Fish." Clearly, it is being sold; what else could you be doing?

Later, his neighbor stopped by to congratulate him. Then he mentioned that all passers-by could easily tell that the fish was really fresh. Mentioning the word fresh actually made it sound defensive as though there was room for doubt about the freshness. Now the sign just read "FISH."

As Vijay was walking back to his shop after a break, he noticed that one could identify the fish from its smell from very far, at a distance from which one could barely read the sign. He knew there was no need for the word "FISH."

Keep it simple.

Personal Brand Work

OK, folks, personal branding, as mentioned in the previous post, has been around for a long time now. Tom Peters introduced the concept in a Fast Company article in 1997. Here's the link: http://www.fastcompany.com/online/10/brandyou.html. It's excellent. Peters helps you get past the egotistical aspect of personal branding to find the professional survival and potential blossoming that thinking of yourself in brand terms can elicit.

Garr Reynolds, the Presentation Zen man, writes that a brand is a promise. A good brand is obviously one that keeps its promise. What do you promise? What makes you different? That is the message of a personal brand. Tom Peters recommends keeping it to about 15 words.

Once you establish your brand, you've got to promote it, but that's another activity for another post.

Here's my work in process with the Mixonian brand: Eklectic (i.e. multidisciplinary) teacher focused on meaningful communication with creativity, integrity, and elegance, who inspires and encourages creative and intelligent responses.

I'm not crazy about the "meaningful communication", but it is better than the "effective communication" I had in an earlier draft. There are other qualities I'd like to include, but for now, I'm sticking with what I wrote.

What's your brand like? What are you good at? What things catch your eye or your attention? What do you like to talk about? How to you like to help people? What do people seek your help for? What do you like to have done? Get out your pen and paper and start writing!

Tip for Better Power Point

I read from presentation expert Seth Godin that a single slide should have not more than six words. He says that the image should evoke emotion and curiosity, and the details can be provided on a handout given after the presentation. People simply cannot listen and read at the same time. Food for thought.

I got this from Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery by Garr Reynolds. It's a meaty read with practical teaching on layouts and presentations.