- Alan James' book, “A View from the Lodge” published and printed.
- Contrast to the financial meeting in London – photography and filming of the public sector demonstrations in Cambridge see http://miltoncontact.blogspot.com/2011/12/nine-points-learnt-photographing.html.
- Three trips to Hereford and back – family related. I used the opportunity to take a better set of all the available stained glass at Worcester Cathedral and spent time editing the images.
- Also climbed up the Malvern's British Camp and Worcester Beacon with the SLR and tripod to try some panoramic views – images still to be edited.
- Completed the total recreation of the company brochure for Jos-Reinigung Nord - http://issuu.com/miltoncontact/docs/jos-procedure-by-juengst.
- Personal accounts and most of Company accounts done.
- Timing totally out for my most recent speech at Toastmasters – need to tackle for 2012.
- Had fun with Chinese Brush Painting, creating Robins and Holly for a video Christmas Card http://miltoncontact.blogspot.com/2011/12/why-do-robin-holly-feature-at-christmas.html. Originally initiated by a request by Ms Mix in Germany for an e-mail Christmas Card.
- Saddened to hear of death of Gregor Scholz who visited the UK earlier this year and whom I acccompanied in London – article at http://miltoncontact.blogspot.com/2011/12/cheers-to-gregor-scholz-farewell.html.
- Saw a program about living fossils – Triops. Was so captivated, bought a kit to hatch at home and am currently nurturing a small specimen of Triops longicaudatus in a tank.
- Had a lovely Christmas with the family.
Showing posts with label public speaking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label public speaking. Show all posts
Friday, 30 December 2011
December in brief
Friday, 7 October 2011
Wed, 14th Sep.: Small businesses pull together to help a friend
Packed laptop and projector, then set off for Huntingdon to take part in Mr Wishart's social media event, arranged at a new venue at short notice.
The invitation had been sent out via different social media on Monday, by this morning we were expecting 27 attendees. Ms Ashton and Ms Ekblom were already there in support and Ms Hawkins arrived soon afterwards forming the team that Mr Wishart had asked to help in his hour of need.
By the time all the attendees had arrived, we had 32, with one coming from as afar as Colchester, attesting to the power of Linkedin.
I had to adapt my presentation quickly before the event began as we could not achieve an internet connection via the WiFi which we usually used, as is typical for any technology required when things are critical. However, this was not such a critical issue as the content and principles could be conveyed equally well with a flipchart and pen.
The event went well overall and there was positive feedback both at the meeting and later in the Twittersphere. On my return back home, close to five pm, I wrote a quick blog article - Making social media relevant to your business -summarising the key elements of the event and providing useful links and keywords relevant to the content.
The invitation had been sent out via different social media on Monday, by this morning we were expecting 27 attendees. Ms Ashton and Ms Ekblom were already there in support and Ms Hawkins arrived soon afterwards forming the team that Mr Wishart had asked to help in his hour of need.
By the time all the attendees had arrived, we had 32, with one coming from as afar as Colchester, attesting to the power of Linkedin.
I had to adapt my presentation quickly before the event began as we could not achieve an internet connection via the WiFi which we usually used, as is typical for any technology required when things are critical. However, this was not such a critical issue as the content and principles could be conveyed equally well with a flipchart and pen.
The event went well overall and there was positive feedback both at the meeting and later in the Twittersphere. On my return back home, close to five pm, I wrote a quick blog article - Making social media relevant to your business -summarising the key elements of the event and providing useful links and keywords relevant to the content.
Monday, 15 August 2011
Guided bus article and interview
Sunday had been a leisurely day but towards the end, I looked at the collated information on the timings of my trips with the guided bus to Huntingdon and set about writing an article for the Huntingdonshire Business Network blog. The article was finally completed around 3am, with the title “A businessman's experience and view of using the guided bus to travel to Huntingdon”, posted and provisionally distributed via twitter, and therefore facebook and linkedin.
I also placed a short note with a link to the article on the facebook page of the Andie Harper radio show, as the article was a more coherent analysis of the journeys and impressions. Arising shortly after 9am today, Monday, the consequence was a call from the radio station asking if I were willing to comment in an interview with Mr Harper of my experience. Fortunately, this was not till 10:20, permitting breakfast and feeding the neighbours chicken.
I think this was probably my most animated and passionate interview, primarily because I really did feel that an opportunity had been lost and that Huntingdon itself was not experiencing the real benefit of the guided bus. I later made a recording of the interview clip for my records.
The remainder of the working day was devoted to writing the press release for the visit of the NRW delegation. As usual, the process started slowly as the structure was first put in place. By the end of the day, I had completed the draft of the report on the meeting with the National Trust. The remainder will be completed tomorrow hopefully.
News is still dominated by the aftermath of the riots, with politicians trying to find populist solutions, the new mantras being mending a “broken society” and the “moral collapse”. As one lone expert raised on radio 4, there is a persistent tail of circa 5% of the population who are socially excluded and disconnected from mainstream society – and governments have been battling for years to make positive inroads into bringing help to these. However, the harsh crackdowns in Syria and the trial of Hosni Mubarak and sons in Egypt are emerging as news items again.
I also placed a short note with a link to the article on the facebook page of the Andie Harper radio show, as the article was a more coherent analysis of the journeys and impressions. Arising shortly after 9am today, Monday, the consequence was a call from the radio station asking if I were willing to comment in an interview with Mr Harper of my experience. Fortunately, this was not till 10:20, permitting breakfast and feeding the neighbours chicken.
I think this was probably my most animated and passionate interview, primarily because I really did feel that an opportunity had been lost and that Huntingdon itself was not experiencing the real benefit of the guided bus. I later made a recording of the interview clip for my records.
The remainder of the working day was devoted to writing the press release for the visit of the NRW delegation. As usual, the process started slowly as the structure was first put in place. By the end of the day, I had completed the draft of the report on the meeting with the National Trust. The remainder will be completed tomorrow hopefully.
News is still dominated by the aftermath of the riots, with politicians trying to find populist solutions, the new mantras being mending a “broken society” and the “moral collapse”. As one lone expert raised on radio 4, there is a persistent tail of circa 5% of the population who are socially excluded and disconnected from mainstream society – and governments have been battling for years to make positive inroads into bringing help to these. However, the harsh crackdowns in Syria and the trial of Hosni Mubarak and sons in Egypt are emerging as news items again.
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Presentation on Presentations
Friday, 5th August: Travelled to Huntingdon for the first Friday of the month seminar of the Huntingdonshire Business Network.
Mr Frost, a familiar face and friend from the Huntingdonshire Speakers, gave a presentation on - Effective presentation. It was a light hearted affair, with humour, audience participation and yet conveyed important points that others could use for their own presentations.
Afterwards, had to travel to Over via St Ives due to a major accident on the A14 which was blocking eastbound traffic.
Arriving late at Mr Beal's offices, found Mrs Farndale and Ms Heenemann already in attendance for our Tutorcloud meeting. We made good progress in finalising articles to be made public on the Tutorcloud website in the near future.
Mr Frost, a familiar face and friend from the Huntingdonshire Speakers, gave a presentation on - Effective presentation. It was a light hearted affair, with humour, audience participation and yet conveyed important points that others could use for their own presentations.
Afterwards, had to travel to Over via St Ives due to a major accident on the A14 which was blocking eastbound traffic.
Arriving late at Mr Beal's offices, found Mrs Farndale and Ms Heenemann already in attendance for our Tutorcloud meeting. We made good progress in finalising articles to be made public on the Tutorcloud website in the near future.
Presenting the speech “Write it down”
Wednesday, 3rd August: Continued with the two themes of writing the final report for a project (in German) and preparation for the Huntingdonshire Speakers speech tonight.
By lunchtime the speech “Write it down” had taken on more detail with a structure:
I've planned five visual aids; a 1000 year old quote from Sei Shonagon's “Pillow Book”, Dr McArthur's book “Ka Sefofane”, One of Mr Heker's technical articles, Mr Juengst's white paper and finally the Kindle with my “Your business startup: Twelve pillars of advice in brief” which has appeared published on Amazon today!
Since this talk will be given without notes, I prepared a series of visual mental cues as a skeleton to hang the talk on. The most difficult and nerve racking was learning the Sei Shonagon quote off by heart.
Not sure whether to pass around the visual aids or hold them up.
The evening was then spent at Huntingdonshire Speakers and fortunately my speech was the first. I had practiced to give it in seven minutes. In the event, I was just under a minute over. The decision to pass round the visual aids when they arose during the talk worked but might have proved distracting – next time hold them up! However, received a lot of positive feedback from all the attendees in the short written comments that are part of the Toastmasters experience. Mr Wellman evaluated my speech positively with constructive advice for the future.
Other entertaining speeches came from the two minute “Tabletopics”, based around an geographic theme, using the colours of the olympic rings to define regions to be talked about. There was a hilarious foray into the consequences of cross dressing and a passionate lament on the current economic crisis in the Eurozone by Mr Slezak.
A satisfying but exhausting end to the day.
Bought a copy of Mr Frost's autobiography, “Growing Forward” and made the mistake of beginning to read it. I continued till the end, around 3am. A fascinating youth of involvement in a strict religious group, rebellion and even breaking the law before reforming, and of love gained – and lost. All before the age of 25.
By lunchtime the speech “Write it down” had taken on more detail with a structure:
- Introduction
- Why write it down (door to the past, present and Future)
- Where to write it down (mentioning additional media)
- When (and when not) to write it down
- Call to action - “Write it down”
I've planned five visual aids; a 1000 year old quote from Sei Shonagon's “Pillow Book”, Dr McArthur's book “Ka Sefofane”, One of Mr Heker's technical articles, Mr Juengst's white paper and finally the Kindle with my “Your business startup: Twelve pillars of advice in brief” which has appeared published on Amazon today!
Since this talk will be given without notes, I prepared a series of visual mental cues as a skeleton to hang the talk on. The most difficult and nerve racking was learning the Sei Shonagon quote off by heart.
Not sure whether to pass around the visual aids or hold them up.
The evening was then spent at Huntingdonshire Speakers and fortunately my speech was the first. I had practiced to give it in seven minutes. In the event, I was just under a minute over. The decision to pass round the visual aids when they arose during the talk worked but might have proved distracting – next time hold them up! However, received a lot of positive feedback from all the attendees in the short written comments that are part of the Toastmasters experience. Mr Wellman evaluated my speech positively with constructive advice for the future.
Other entertaining speeches came from the two minute “Tabletopics”, based around an geographic theme, using the colours of the olympic rings to define regions to be talked about. There was a hilarious foray into the consequences of cross dressing and a passionate lament on the current economic crisis in the Eurozone by Mr Slezak.
A satisfying but exhausting end to the day.
Bought a copy of Mr Frost's autobiography, “Growing Forward” and made the mistake of beginning to read it. I continued till the end, around 3am. A fascinating youth of involvement in a strict religious group, rebellion and even breaking the law before reforming, and of love gained – and lost. All before the age of 25.
Planning a Speech
Tuesday, 2nd August: There were two main items to consider today. The first was continuation of writing a final report for a project. I had a long Skype conversation with Ms Schmidt in Berlin regarding advice on a translation she had undertaken; in return, she provided some useful information at short notice on her efforts as part of the project fo which the report is being written.
Second, I have decided to do talk 3 out of the Public Relations manual, the Persuasive Speech. The objective is to give a presentation with at least one visual aid, that will persuade the audience to take an action.
I've decided on the title “Write it down”, with the objective of persuading the audience that there is a real benefit to them in recording their experiences and expertise with a view to sharing it with others.
Writing down bullet points, the rough structure is likely to be:
Still mulling over the details in my mind.
Second, I have decided to do talk 3 out of the Public Relations manual, the Persuasive Speech. The objective is to give a presentation with at least one visual aid, that will persuade the audience to take an action.
I've decided on the title “Write it down”, with the objective of persuading the audience that there is a real benefit to them in recording their experiences and expertise with a view to sharing it with others.
Writing down bullet points, the rough structure is likely to be:
- Why you should write it down
- What you can write down
- When to write it down
Still mulling over the details in my mind.
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