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from http://www.howtobearetronaut.com

From my quick analysis, they were correct on >50% of predictions.
Sadly, there are still cars in our cities, air-ships are not common place in our skies and mosquitos are still around, and still annoying.

I love Jan von Holleben’s ‘Dreams of Flying’ photographs and I am the proud owner of edition #280 of his lovely book. However, skulking around the web this morning I stumbled across a Finnish photographer who seems to have ‘adapted’ the concept and publishing a book early next year. Personally, I think Jan von Holleben’s work is streets ahead – see this and other work here. It’s worth a look.

A friend recently showed me his late Grandfather’s collection of John Player Cigarette cards.
There’s something strangely compelling about them. Ship’s Figureheads, Regimental Uniforms, Wild Animals, British Birds, Army Badges, Curious Beaks, Regimental Standards and Cap Badges and Hidden Beauties (one of which highlights the beauty of the Airing Apparatus of Pondweed!) How could this idea be applied to collecting digital things?

Presentation / Pitch Notes/  Aide Memoir
(Blended from Dr Max Atkinson, Secrets of Steve Jobs, How to Pitch, Aristotle)

Prep- start on paper scripting, think of the story, how you’re going to paint the picture.
9 components delivered in 3 sections

ACT: ONE – CREATE THE STORY

1.  Headline / Title
   think < 140 characters, think how people are going to remember it, how press may regurgitate it
   concise, specific, and personal/relevant to the audience e.g. Introducing the iPod. 1,000 songs in your pocket. < Paint a Road Map – communicate the agenda. “Tell them what you’re going to tell ‘em” >
2. Passion statement – Why you care
   ‘I am excited about this product’ ’I built this because ….’ What’s your personal story behind this (stories are memorable!) Think what will connect with the audience
3. Answer the one Question that matters most to your Audience. Why should your audience care?
4. Key msgs with supporting points. For key points remember the rule of 3, the brain more adept at remembering points in 3s (goldilocks didn’t encounter four bears for a reason!) Include metaphors & analogies. Keep the points concise and simple like the title
5. Introduce the Antagonist : Villain. Establishing a antagonist early gives our minds a bucket-/category to place a new idea – your brain craves meaning not data. Start with the big idea not the detail.  In primitive times when man saw a sabre toothed tiger you’d think ‘will it eat me’ not ‘how many teeth does it have’! Use rhetorical questions to pain the picture of the villain-competitor, old ways of doing things.
6. Reveal the Conquering Hero :
   ACT TWO : Deliver the Experienc
7. Simplification, No Bullets
8. Dress up your numbers e.g. Eg 4m iPhones sold, that’s 20k every day on average
9. Partners/ customer evidence/ testimonials, People act like herds – not as individual as we think we are! Why did these customers buy? Save money, Save time, more efficiency?
   Give them reasons to make the decision as well, incentivise
   Add Zippy Words to your language (use analogies)
   Share the stage/ Theatre
   Brains crave variety, surprises
   We hate long speeches (> 20minutes is impossible for most to comprehend)
   Know what you don’t know (and get someone else to talk about that bit!)
   Stage your presentation with props/ Demo
   Build/ scope demo during planning phase
   You must commit to the demo
   You should have a back-up (live/ video/ alternative – just in case)
   Reveal a holy shit moment (Jobs technique)
   What’s the one single theme/ event or point you ant people to remember?
10. ACT 3 : REFINE & REHEARSE
    Look at the audience not the screen
    Use gestures, open posture
    Act like the leader you want to be
    Practice Practice Practice – apparently Jobs rehearsed extensively – There are “no naturals”
    Watch out for “filler words” ‘um’ ‘er’

Design/ Presentation Notes  Notes :

• No Bullet points. Unless you’re expecting people to read your document not listen to you
• Studies show bullet points are least effective ways to deliver messages
• Images more effective than words
• What else can you remove from the presentation:  simplify, remove clutter
• Plain English – no jargon, tech speak, complex sentences
• Keep words/ per sentence short
• Keep words simple (3+ syllable words are difficult to say and comprehend!)
• Use descriptive adjectives to create emotion ‘the coolest thing about the iPod is your entire music library fits in your pocket, insanely great
• Forget trying to impress people with your big words, complex technology, technical know how (as Jack Welch from GE said ‘insecure managers create complexity’

Components of a Good Demo (Guy Kawasaki)

• Short
• Simple – communicate no more than 1 or 2 key messages)
• Sweet  -  show the hottest features and differentiates your prod from competitors
• Swift – needs to be fast paced
• Substantial – how your product offers a solution to real world problems

Techniques to get rid of a script

• Write script in full
• Highlight key words from each sentence
• Delete extraneous words from sentences
• memorise the one key idea per slide

Useful Resources:

• http://www.usingenglish.com/  – stats on text density
• (UPDATED - http://howmanyreally.com/  – BBC/ Berg – Contextualises numbers and geography)

Aristotle’s outline for persuasive argument

1. deliver a story or statement that arouses audience’d interest
2. pose a problem or Q that has to be solved
3. offer solution
4. describe benefits/ specifics
5. call to action / try it now
6. introduce antagonist
7. Ask why should my listeners care?

Ultimate elevator pitch: 3 parts

• What u do
• What problem do u solve (nobody cares about ur product they care about what it means to them)
• How are u different ?

Connect with 3 types of Learner if you can:

• Visual Learners  – connect thru seeing 40%
• Auditory Learners – connect thru listening, stories/ personal experience 20-30%
• Kinesthetic Learners – hands on learners