compared to what?

A good friend once told me I undervalued my skills. I'm not sure why, but many of us do it.

If you're charging by the hour here's a good comeback to the 'Gee, that's expensive' response from potential clients.

Or: you get what you pay for.

learning through variety

The latest cognitive studies, as reported in the NY Times, suggest that by altering your physical environment, changing what you're studying rather than slogging away on one subject, and regularly testing, all actually help people learn better.
Trying to recall and forgetting means you need to relearn before you continue.

So the old adage – repetition repetition! – holds its own with the latest from neurological lab data.

Teachers always said, go back over new content within a day and then again within a week to really let it sink in.

The changed environment resulting in better learning and remembering findings are fascinating. Maybe this is why you remember a book you read on holidays, more than the one you read in your bed. And why the classes you had outside, or in a different room are the one's that stick in your head.

So we do need to take breaks, and mix it up.

Variety is the spice of life and the spice of learning too.

creative writing courses

There has been almost as much editorial comment on the proliferation of creative writing courses as there has been the production of these 'dream factories'.

The latest in Overland by Rjurik Davidson.

There's been a converse reduction in the number of literary novels published in Australia in comparison with the number of creative writing PhD's being published.



What does this mean for reading and writing? What does this mean for a shared culture?

I am not anxious about the number of people writing books, nor reduction in books being published. These acts of literacy and literature perhaps balance each other out in a way.

It's the commodification of education that is troubling. It seems the consumer mindset has beset everyone even students of 'creative' writing.

better presentation: don't TELL

The key to a good presentation is pitching it right so before you begin ask questions; really 'show don't tell' and not with clip art; and give the main ideas centre stage – cut the supporting cast of characters, says Dan & Chip Heath in Fast Company.

Spoiler alert (possibly akin to telling you Romeo and Juliet both die) but nonetheless spoiler:
Curiosity must come before content. Imagine if the TV show Lost had begun with an announcement: "They're all dead people, and the island is Purgatory. Over the next four seasons, we'll unpack how they got there. At the end, we'll take questions." We've all had the experience of being in the audience as a presenter clicks to a slide with eight bullet points. As he starts discussing the first one, we read all eight. Now we're bored. He's lost us. But what if there had been eight questions instead? We'd want to stay tuned for the answers.

Johari window

You'll be surprised by what you don't know about yourself. And what people think of you compared to what you think of you.

There's ways to find out the latter, 360-degree feedback is one.

To find out the former, the unknown unknowns, you need to try new things. Latent talent? Only you will be able to discover it.

There's a lovely little graph to chart these called the Johari window. See more info here and here.

behaviour-based interview questions

We've all had them -- and who hasn't hit a wall at some stage...

'tell us a time you...'.

Blank!

I've been in plenty of interviews where fabulous capable people have tanked answering these questions for a lack of preparation.

The behaviour-based question is assuming that your past behaviour is the best predictor of future behaviour.

These questions also give an indication of your personality, and what you'd be like to work with:
whether you share the glory with others; are able to reflect on your mistakes and see how a situation could have been handled differently; how coherent your thinking is (can you stick to the STAR formula when responding); and how well you deal with follow up questions.

HOW?
1. The respondent doesn't take a deep breath, and think for a moment to come up with the best scenario, before they launch into it. It's OK to say, 'Hmm, good question, let me think about that for a moment.'

2. The scenario is rehearsed and does not really answer the question at all.

3. The respondent starts answering the question and then realises they're not on the right track -- or they THINK they're not on the right track and starts to digress.

4. The answer is very detailed, making it long and tedious to listen to, demonstrating that the respondent does not get to the point or edit out irrelevant information when they're talking.

5. There's a certain amount of fiction in answer and it's glaringly obvious to the interviewers -- the language you use, probably subconsciously, tells a lot about how solid your response is. Using words like 'we' instead of 'I' can mean it wasn't really your project or decision you're talking about. Non committal words like 'maybe' 'kind of' 'perhaps' 'to some degree' also suggest the truth is buried somewhere in your answer. Be confident and precise.

6. If the interviewer asks a follow up question it's not because they're testing you -- you may have omitted some information that would help make the scenario make sense (remember, you know the situation best). Don't get defensive, often this is a space to close any gaps in the information you've just given, or an opportunity to put a positive spin on your response if you haven't already. The interviewer in most cases is trying to help, by leading you to the information they're after.



PREPARE!
You can prepare for these interview questions by looking at the selection criteria for the role you're going for, and then brainstorming some examples working through the STAR objectives.

Here's some useful information on answering behavioural interview questions from the University of Sydney's careers website.

And, good luck!

getting your facts right

A decade ago I spent several years diligently employed as an editor.

Fact-checking is the bread and butter of the editor's day, something our lovely friend at Microsoft's spell-check function can't do for you I'm afraid: verify what is true and what is not. Some people think editing is correcting spelling.

There are so many things it can't fix, but hey that's another story...But these days facts are usually verified by editors on the electronic interweb.

...Enter Wikipedia.

As we know -- some people write malicious gossip on Wikipedia (this writer included, sorry Uncle Doogs) for a bit of a laugh, more often for ideological reasons.

The problem with Wikipedia is there is no official 'author' to filter the subjectivity of what you're reading.

Facts are facts, but how you use them, how you present them -- what's included, what's left out -- is all part of the (sometimes subconscious) self-editing process of telling the story.

But this we all know, what is worrying is when no one is really fact-checking properly anymore.

Something is published in a reputable publication and suddenly it's everywhere -- at speed -- on the misinformation superhighway.

Efficiencies? Yes. Inaccuracies? Maybe.

Does it matter? Time will tell. Hello Dark Ages.

writing for no one

There are several hurdles to overcome when you first start having a bash at writing.

First, the terrifyingly blank page. To this I say: scribble! Anything. Just random thoughts. It's like stretching before a run, partly to get your body in form, partly to psyche yourself up.

Second, the editor inside who can't help but glance back at what is written and start editing -- censoring what is not yet complete. To this I say: stop! Imagine Rodin part-way through sculpting the Kiss, chucking it in: 'This! This is just not good enough!'

And third, the nagging dread that you're writing this play, children's story, textbook, novel, short story, instruction manual, autobiography, family history for NO ONE. Not a soul but you will ever read it. It'll remain buried, a love letter to the world, unread and unappreciated. To this (anxiety) there's not much one can say...

But two blokes in the UK have launched a website where new writers can find an audience for their unfinished works. Will there be enough readers and writers out there willing to jump in and provide quality constructive feedback on works in progress?

Maybe they need to create some kind of contractual arrangement first, the online writers' equivalent of 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours'...?

un-Googling your mind

I am obsessed with Alzheimers. I dont know if this is because I am, or the media is.

In any case I'm constantly reading articles about how the brain is plastic, changeable; that there is hope that mine will work properly again with the right exercises.

Then I came across this article in the Atlantic on 'Googlethink''and it reminds me of the hundreds of shortcuts I take in a day and each of these is doing more harm than good.

Lock a cat inside a flat for a year and it wont be able to walk along a fence top properly. It loses important skills.

That's kinda what it's like to use a calculator or spellcheck. Brain work is as important as fence prowling for cats. So I've started doing arithmetic again, at the supermarket – and to my surprise, I get a kick out of it!

There's a theory that the solution to too much noise is not to run away from the city but to just get some more moments of silence in your life. Like counterbalancing a junk food blow out with a healthy meal of steamed vegetables.

Meditation is like cleansing the mind of the busyness of thinking too much.

Busting out a paper and pen and doing some maths is the perfect antidote to the deskilling powers of Excel's 'autosum' button.

One just needs to exercise some self control. Google must not become the source of all your information.

And, wacky search terms often yield interesting results.... but i love a bit of serendipitous dipping into random books at the library or bookshop too. Try it one day. Today.

Presenting complex information

Powerpoint's 'convert text into SmartArt' functionality, Excel's charts, graphs and pivot tables all encourage you to oversimplify the world, work, ideas, concepts, processes and experiences in a way that patronises and bores your audience.

Doogie Horner shows how infographics can be complex and intelligent – as well as funny – in his book Everything Explained Through Flowcharts which is published in October 2010.

After reading a few of his charts you can see that if you allow people to connect the dots themselves, they'll be much happier with your presentation.

Cult of Done

I love this manifesto. It's called the Cult of Done.

Yep, it's about just getting things done so they're done, even if they're not perfect and you dont really know what you're doing... just like the rest of us really.

And it took just 20mins to write.

Thank you Bre Pettis, I am inspired.

Pomodoro technique

Here's an interesting methodology for time management.. it involves identifying a task and then doing it for 25 mins, then taking a break. I think I might have been doing this my whole life without realising it.

Learn more from the book downloadable from the website here
http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/

UPDATE:
Charlie Brooker gives the Pomodoro Technique the thumbs up while slamming Google Instant for its assault on his mind and time.

Presentation tips on using Powerpoint

If you find yourself so rarely giving presentations that when the time comes to do one, you forget everything you know and return to your default position:

• stand in front of the screen,
• flip through colourful slides with or without clever animations,
• accidentally forget to delete a couple of irrelevant slides,
• and
• continually look back at the screen while you talk to remind yourself what it is you're saying while you see eyes glaze and feet shuffle in the audience in front of you...

then these little tips should help sharpen the saw and remind yourself to put you, the presenter front and centre, not the slide pack. Be happy to be there, be confident, talk to the audience like they're having lunch with you, not that they're locked in a room with you against their will and you should be able to keep them interested in the content of what you are saying, not your very chilled not-too-fancy not-too-clever visual aids behind you.

what's ahead

When you hire a film or start watching a clip on You Tube, do you always check how long it will run for before deciding to go ahead? Yep me too.

To get all your training participants to 'be' in your session and not just sit there hoping they can leave soon, you need to engage them yes, but you also need their agreement -- telling them how long it runs for and what's ahead is one of the implicit ways you're asking them in.
So dont forget to let people know how long your session will go for and if there will be any breaks.
It's also worthwhile giving them the space to leave if they want to, though the consequences of that need to be apparent to them before they decide, ie if they dont take up this opportunity to learn what will happen? what won't happen?

Fashion's Free Culture

Open source, free ideas - that's what the fashion industry is all about. Hear what that means here from Johanna Blakley.

Creative Business People

According to Fast Company these are the most creative business leaders of 2010

Raison D'Etre

This blog is a curated space for all the learning and development ideas out there that resonate. Inspiring websites, speeches, articles, approaches, books, journals, blogs can be found here.