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#WhatsInspiringMe

Play Ball! (And Other Effective Methods of Presenting.)

Discovering Effective Ways to Present Information

He took the stage at the Portland Business Journal event, waited for silence and then said something like, “My mother was a drug addict, I grew up poor and a red ball saved my life and now I’m here to change yours.”

In that one sentence, Kevin Carroll had my undivided attention and the attention of the other 200+ people in the room for the next hour. And when he’d finished his story, the entire room was different. A red ball really can change lives!

It’s amazing what can happen when you bring together the right audience with the right content. If what you say makes people think, act or begin to dialogue, then you can say you’ve found your red ball.

One key component to getting your message out to the audience depends on the type of presentation you choose to deliver the subject matter. There are multiple ways to deliver content. When you begin planning for your presentation, clarify your presentation objectives by considering these questions;

What type of information is being presented?  Is it a process or project? Does it involve multiple stakeholders?
Who is the audience? Are they familiar with the subject matter? What information might they be looking for based on their role in a similar process?
What information or knowledge would you like the audience to walk away with? Do you want them to feel informed? Heard?
How do you want to communicate with the audience? Are you looking for feedback? Do you want to discuss the project or process with them?

Once your objectives are clear, determine what presentation type will most effectively deliver your information and satisfy the objectives.

Discussion Panels

If you’re subject matter involves multiple stakeholders who’ve each played […]

People Who Inspire Me: Sarah Hulbert Creates Holidays

Personal narrative written by Sarah, the fun-loving, caring best little woman you’ve ever heard write about the red bridge. I’m pretty sure you’ll agree, she’s pretty inspiring. From now on, September 3 will be called San Francisco Day. I love this!

San Francisco Day
By: Sarah Hulbert

It was a sunny summer morning in San Francisco California; it was a hot 90 degree day in the big city of San Francisco. As I got up out of the hotel room bed, changed from my blue pajamas to my blue t-shirt, and my short shorts with the rhinestones. It was our third and last day in San Francisco. We had gone to the bike rental shop to get bikes, it was a clean shop. The shop was teal blue and had white tiles for the floor. There were light green walls with all different types of bikes, all different shapes, colors, and sizes. There was an old fashion bike with purple and pink accents on the wheels. It was a very special day for my dad.

My dad was wearing his blue jeans, black t-shirt, and his funny looking sunglasses. My dad’s girlfriend, Shannon, was wearing her black wolf hat, the short black dress, and her fuzzy black boots. Tyrah and Alex, my little siblings were riding on bikes attached to the adult’s bikes. Tyrah was wearing her pink striped t-shirt with her brown skirt and her rainbow belt. She had her small bike attached to her mom’s, pedaling away on the little orange pedals. Nick, my little bro, was wearing his cool black Tap Out shirt, skinny jeans, and his Nike shoes. He had a little black and gray bike. Antone my big brother was on his own […]

People Who Inspire Me: Gabe Berman, Lives Like A Fruit Fly

Sorry, yes, those are my feet. And yes, I did just post them on my blog for the world to see…but, I did blur them a ton.

Anyway, I blame Gabe Berman (@GabeBerman). Because of him, and his book Live Like A Fruit Fly, you have to see my feet gliding through the air because I spent Sunday afternoon in a swing at the beach.

Here’s my Sunday:

Sleep in.
Indulge in Starbys.
Frequent an AT&T store…looking for the phone…no luck.
Take a random spontaneous road trip to the beach.
Buy/Wear a cowboy hat. I’m pretty sure it’s a prerequisite for #6.
Swing…ON the beach. (Smiling!)
Capture a ginormous pikachu on film while he’s giving the peace sign. (Rare.)
Research which mustache should be worn on a Sundays. ANSWER: The Bollywood
Dominate at air hockey. (hmm…lost all three games, despite the fact that I was wearing my lucky engagement ring and a cowboy hat)
Pose for a random picture with the happiest tin man EVER! (We’re waving. I have a cowboy hat on. He’s wearing an oil can thing-y.)
Go for a long walk.
Hold hands. (That’s my favorite part.)
Buy a book. (I’m a reader).
Eat cheesecake.
Spend the day without television.
Laugh often.
Wear sunglasses. (The future’s so bright…I gotta wear shades.)
Do something to encourage someone else’s dream.
Do something about your dream. (i.e., www.redbridgeonline…yay!)

The photo journal was religiously captured on film via instagram…redbridgeonline. It makes me smile just thinking about it!

Oh, back to why…I was living like a fruit fly! Gabe’s book is about the meaning of life, as seen through the eyes of a fruit fly. I won’t spoil the ending for you. You should read the book it’s on Amazon. But, I will tell you this. A fruit fly’s life is short, so they make the most of each […]

4 Seriously Inspiring Tweeters From Today

4 Seriously Inspiring Tweeters From Today
I wake up at 5am, just so I can do absolutely nothing but be inspired by Twitter for a minimum of 2 hours every morning. And, so far so good. There are some seriously inspiring things being said between the hours of 5 to 7am. Here are my favs from this morning’s lounge-about-and-stretch-like-a-cat session.

1. @ruhanirabin

Today’s tweet: “Because your heart is so beautiful, everything looks beautiful to you.” ~ Japanese proverb

You can’t read this and NOT just look around and love life! So many people spend so much time focusing on the negative, when, for every negative there is a positive. You really can choose what you focus on. Choose the beautiful stuff. It makes your heart smile and you can truly look around and say, What a Wonderful World. Thanks @ruhanirabin – for the reminder to focus on important things.

2. @MichaelReagan. His Twitter bio says he gets stuff done before 8am.

Today’s tweet: “Finished Boot Camp. Worked out on the TRX system again today. Amazing way to exercise!”

So, this morning, while lounging and reading this, I sent him a quick, “Good job!” It’s pretty unlikely that I’ll be doing any TRX (what is that anyway?), but tomorrow morning…I’ll be take a quick jog around the neighborhood. So thank you @MichaelReagan, for the inspiration. Cheers to good health – and leading by example. :)

3. @celestialbeard

Today’s tweet: “when I approach the 140 character limit I start typing more quietly (but not slower) in the hopes that twitter won’t notice”

Inspiring for two reasons…1.) Hello! Celestial Beard? You KNOW you can’t have a name like that without having something along the lines of Led Zepplin. I hope hope hope he posts a pic of that…soon. Oh, […]

Using the 5th “P” to Put a Ding in the Universe.

Put a Ding in the Universe. Use the 5th P’s.
On Wednesday I received a random text from a 17 year old that inspired this post.

17 year old text – “What are the 4 P’s?”
My text reply – “Easy…Price. Product. Placement. People.”

Yup, got it wrong. The 4th P is actually promotion. And I DO marketing for a living!! So, crash course in the 4 P’s it is. Here we go. There are four critical elements needed to market products and services. They’re called the 4 P’s.

1. Product – Do you have a product that is wanted or needed by an audience?

2. Price – Is your product priced at an amount that your audience will consider affordable and worth their money?

3. Place – Is your product available at a place where it can be purchased by your audience?

4. Promotion – What are you doing to let your audience know that your product is available for them?

I’m keeping the 5th P. It’s pretty genius. I mean, without people, the other 4 p’s can’t exist.

5. People – Sellers of the product. Buyers of the product. Marketers of the message. Audience of the message.

No matter which of the 4 P’s are being focused on, it’s people who make products successful. Know your audience. Who buys your product and why do they buy it? Is it something they need or does it satisfy a want? How badly do they need or want it? What is it about using your product or service that satisfies that need? Interacting with your audience provides valuable insights. Form a relationship with them so they’re comfortable giving you feedback. Listen to their suggestions. Thank them. Act on their requests. They’ll love you and your product a […]