Even a Nerd Can Be Heard

July is the month that my extended family has selected for our annual gathering in Myrtle Beach, SC. There are 30-40 of us from all over the country gathered for a week of eating, playing, and catching up on all the family news. July is also the month of the Tour de France which happens to include George Hincapie, a native of Greenville, SC, my home town. That means that each morning of vacation week begins with TV coverage of the Tour de France.

The Tour de France has more weird rules than a Greer family Heart Game, but there is one concept I understand.  If you are a member of the peloton, you get the same time as everyone else in the group. So if your goal is to be equal to everyone else, you just have to stay safely in a clump (technical term for peloton) with the other riders.  

If you want to win a stage, or earn one of those brightly colored jerseys, you have to break away from the pack. I’m still not sure about that polka dotted jersey – it reminds me of Dr. Seuss’s “Put me in the Zoo”.  But hey, if you want to wear polka dots to proclaim your prowess on the mountains and earn 25,000 euros (roughly $35.000 USD) then who am I to stop you? But I think they should go for a nice madras stripe rather than polka dots next year.

But what does this race have to do with anything?

Have you ever talked to a company employee who tells you that they want to “stay under the radar?” That to me is one of the most depressing statements that can ever be uttered by a corporate employee. First, it indicates a lack of motivation on the part of the employee. Secondly, it is indicative of the kind of corporate culture where risk-taking is neither encouraged nor rewarded. It is a symptom of a company or department headed for a crash.

 If everyone in the Tour de France had a goal of merely staying in the peloton, there would be no winners or losers, no fight for jerseys, and no point in watching. It would be boring. It would even be sad, and we would know no individual names. Rather we would know the outline of the blob that contains them.

If you find yourself stuck in a corporate peloton, now is the time to make a break for the lead. Start innovating, find a creative outlet, and find a new place to apply your talents. Build your personal brand, hone your skills and switch into high gear. The view is much better from the front of the line.

Temptation in a box

Actually, everything about the experience of receiving a package from Vosges Haut Chocolat sold me on this company and their product.  But it was the list of ingredients that finally made me throw my Atkins diet out the window and grab a handful of chocolate candy. 

 Here's the description plastered on top of the box of caramel marshmallows that I just received:

Fluffy Marshmallows made with 
Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans
Sweet Sugar Caramel
French Guerande Grey Sea Salt
Dark Chocolate
Pecan and Walnut Toffee Crumble Atop

 
I don't know about you, but while I might be able to resist your garden variety Sea Salt, when I'm offered French Guerande Grey Sea Salt, there is no more resisting temptation. That's when I fell face first into the box of candy.

Of course the experience made me start wondering how to apply a similar marketing approach to product sales, presentation titles, or even articles. For me, it just confirms the importance of details and descriptive text when you are telling a story. The restaurant folks know how to work the details when they are designing menus and educating their waitstaffs about the daily specials.

So instead of electronic working paper software for CPAs,
CaseWare is actually selling an electronic time saving productivity tool, containing :

Hours of code 
plus softly shaded templates
lovingly written by adventure-seeking Canadians listening to hours of Grateful Dead music
 while sipping mugs of steaming Earl Grey tea
 imported daily from the shores of Nova Scotia.

I wonder if the software contains any carbs?

Among the many things that I do to annoy my children, apparently I have this bad habit of "going all businessy" on them when I talk about something work- related. They claim I use a different voice and everything. (I think I inherited this trait from my mother. She could go right from screaming at the four of us to answering the phone with her all smiles “how are you darling?’” voice. We would all crack up. We also hoped the phone would ring whenever we got in trouble.)

My habit is probably the result of trying to appear more professional (and less redneck) when I am talking with other professionals. After all, I spent years learning how to write a professional business document, I studied the proper formatting for a business letter, and I agonized over the best way to give a professional presentation.  Haven’t we all been  taught to avoid first person and to talk about that mysterious “one” in our conversations. So rather than saying “ You need to be more conversational.” We would write “One needs to strive for a more conversational tone in his written communications.” Now, doesn’t that last sentence just make you feel all warm and fuzzy?   

Well, the times have changed. Now our mission is to try to form connections and that means we need to be more conversational in the way we communicate. With the advent of short and sweet communication tools like Twitter, the pressure is on to reflect more personality and less marketing / business speak in everything we write.

It’s not easy to erase years of programming. But if you are writing a blog, you have to be conversational. It’s hard for most first time bloggers. They want to write the same way they would write a professional letter or a brochure. But it has to be different. A blog is a place to show your humanness.

Here’s what I do differently when I’m having a conversation (unless I’m talking to my kids about my business):

1.       I refer to “you” and “me” (or “y’all” if I’m in the mood)

2.       I use contractions – I do not say “do not”, I say “don’t”

3.       I use little words – big ones are too hard to say

4.       I use shorter sentences, with a simple structure – big long sentences don’t allow room to breathe

5.       I use colorful details – not generalities

No one called and made me the all knowing. But nonetheless, I feel the need to remark about a presentation because there is something to learn. Or at least to ponder.  Here’s my dilemma.  I’m not sure if I am going to assume the role of Simon Cowl or Paula Abdul.

There’s a fine line between being entertaining and hokey.  How do you know which side of the line you fall on?

I don’t have the answer to that one myself.

I attended a luncheon presentation (which is a nightmare for any presenter- you have to talk over forks and the passing of salt shakers, etc.) The speaker employed a number of devices to get the group’s attention. She used images plus sound effects – which at one point included drum rolls for joke setups, later there were sounds of various pieces of office equipment, she had an animatronic slide featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger with recorded dialogue, she used props, and even sang songs (nice voice). All of this was done in an effort to make her point.

I’m torn as to whether these devices were effective or distracting. I got the sense that a couple of other attendees felt the same way.

What do you think? What separates entertaining, fun, and different from a Vaudeville act?

I applaud her enthusiasm, her timing, her planning and preparation, her technology, and her rehearsal. For the conversation with the recorded figure she had to have perfect timing  -she bantered back and forth with a number of questions and answers. That wasn’t ad-libbed. And then she danced and sang. There is real courage in putting yourself out there and she did that. Kudos and much applause for daring to be different.

I’m just not sure that I came away from the presentation convinced about the depth of her expertise in the subject matter.

Or maybe I’m just an old nerd who needs to get over herself. What do I know anyway, Dog?

I presented a session on customer loyalty at Sage Insights this week. One of my messages about generating positive word of mouth had to do with being remarkable. Ever since I read Seth Godins book, The Purple Cow, I have paid attention to how others make themselves or their company "remarkable".  I have also tried to make my presentations include something memorable, surprising, and hopefully remarkable.

But what struck me in the session, during the portion of it that was based on The Dating Game, was that different people can be remarkable in different ways. We had a Customer Loyalty Dating Game in which three Sage Business partners had to answer the questions posed by a prospective customer, played by Dennis Frahmann.  

Each of the partners who kindly volunteered to be potential matches for the customer were remarkable in their own way. Wayne Schultz is a master tweeter, a technology guru who is well known for the advice, answers and information that he freely shares. He is remarkably prolific and uses technology to full advantage.

Jeannie Huckstep is a quiet leader devoted to the success of her Not For Profit clients. She has a team of equally talented business professionals who have helped her become a national expert. She is remarkable for her focus, for her depth of knowledge, and for the sense of calm that she instills in anyone who talks to her. 

And then there is Bettye Baker. If the addition of that extra "e" at the end of her name wasn't enough to make Bettye remarkable, there are the stories. Bettye launches into one of her stories with that Texas accent and you can't help but hang on for the ride. She compares a software implementation to a funeral - and it actually makes sense. She's a one woman show and you get the sense that one woman is plenty. She is remarkable for those stories. 

What is remarkable about you?

I don’t know if this is just a U.S. thing or not. But what is it about foreign accents? When I listen to a speaker from another country, I want them to be successful. I give them far more benefit of the doubt and I listen more closely and carefully than I do locals.

And there is something about respecting people who are outside of your local area.  The further the distance they travel to give their presentation, the more credibility they seem to have. This is true for people from other areas of the U.S and especially for Canadians.  All those Canadians have to do is say “PrOcess” once, and I automatically assume they have something meaningful to share. 

I think I unconsciously apply this knowledge to my own presentations. When I am in Georgia, I talk about all of the strange and weird things that go on in California. I guess I’m trying to show that I am the exotic survivor of life in a foreign, nut- and berry- filled land.  And when I speak in California, my southern accent seems to get heavier and I use my “not from around here- ness” to make an impact. I’m not sure if it helps me gain credibility, but I know it helps me form a connection with the audience.  I think people yearn to make “foreigners” feel welcome. 

Today I listened to a Danish presenter talking about software. The presentation not only brought back fond memories of my experiences as an employee of a Danish company, but it was both entertaining and informative.  I had forgotten about the Danish sense of humor and their very unique style.  It must have something to do with the cold weather and that strange fish they eat over there.

So the lesson for presenters is this, travel outside of your local area to give presentations or learn to speak Danish, Canadian, or a language of your choice.

As someone who spends a lot of time presenting and writing, I have just realized that I need to spend a  lot more time listening. 

I am sitting on a hilltop right now far away from the highway noises and the only thing I can hear are birds and the occasional breeze.  I am relishing the quiet. My brain needs this time. I don’t think I realized how much noise there is in my daily life.

My son has moved back home to take on a new college challenge and he has music on all day long. It's the kind that involves lots of thumping with words that are unintelligible.  My office is next door to his room so the sounds and the vibration are inescapable.

Our brains are only capable of processing a limited amount of information at once, so it is no wonder that in an environment of constant noise, our brain is working overtime.

I wondered what happens when I sit and listen in silence. Here’s what I learned:

1.  I can’t sit still for very long. I just can’t sit in one place. I have to be up and around and keep coming up with things that I need to do. (I am considering medication for what is clearly a medical condition – probably restless leg syndrome if those commercials are right.)

2.   Ideas sort of float into my head when there is no other distraction. Beautiful scenery, fresh air and an occasional bird call helps too.

3.   No amount of sitting at my desk and trying to make myself focus on a particular topic can produce the desired outcome.  I must allow ample time away from my desk. I have to absorb the concept and understand the details first and then walk away and let my subconscious mind play with the details.  It’s as if my mind goes off and roams through the filing cabinet that is my brain until it locates a possible connection.  It pulls any pertinent information onto an accessible shelf and waits for me to re-engage. When I do, the ideas appear at a rapid pace.

4.       Humor is a spoiled child. Humor doesn’t make itself visible on command. It hangs out with its first cousin, creativity, and only appears when it’s good and ready. And you never know what makes the little bugger want to come out and play.

Am I the only one who has that recurring nightmare about being late for class and having to take a test and not being able to find my classroom?

Well, that nightmare is nothing compared to the fear I felt last week about going to teach for a few hours at a high school in Napa. To make matters worse, it was a really wonderful school called New Tech which has changed the concept of school for the 100 students who are priviledged enough to go there. Attendees are lottery winners who get to attend classes full of computer workstations, who have extraordinary teachers, and lessons based on projects. So these are lucky students attending an extraordinary school.  I needed to be up to the task.

My task was to teach from materials created by Junior Achievement in concert with a program callled "NEFE High School Financial Planning Program."  The idea is to help high school students understand financial concepts. I had three classes of one hour each.

The fear and trembling that accompanied my teaching was greater than anything I have experienced in preparing to present to adults. I am not sure why I was so terrified - maybe it was thinking about my own children's reactions to my nerdy life. The eye-rolling, sighing, and general lack of interest that accompanies my statements about being featured in an article on www.webcpa.com . Or maybe it was the flashbacks to my own high school days when I earned that Algebra II letter for my sweater.

I really don't know why- but for whatever reason I was absolutely terrified. I really wanted to reach these young adults, because the materials are so valuable.

Once I got there, all the fear vanished.

The same concepts that work for adults work for students. Be yourself, be interested in them, and keep your message short and sweet. These students were engaged, they were interested, they were brilliant. They had great ideas and were able to quickly connect the materials to their own experience. The materials were well designed to get them moving and talking and the students got it.

They were funny, polite, and helpful with each other. Their teacher was amazing as well, and I am sure is adored by all of his students.

I left that day having felt much more like a student than a teacher. I can't wait to see the changes this generation makes when they start changing the world.