The Easiest Way To Improve Your Presentation Skills

​In my line of work, I end up doing a lot of presentations.  I've also studied a lot of information on how to become a better presenter.  A long time ago, I took a class from Distinction Communication, a company that helps people develop more effective presentations (and presentation skills).  Since then, I've taken "refresher" courses from the same folks.  You can find a lot of free, helpful presentation tips and videos on the Distinction site, by the way.

Seeing what you don't see

One of the most effective techniques I learned was to videotape yourself presenting so you can see how you appear in front of an audience.

​I must say, the feeling is both discomforting and extremely powerful.  Not only do you get to hear how clearly (or unclearly) you communicate, you also get to see the nervous habits you don't notice from inside your own body.

For example, you may notice you use a lot of filler words, like "Um" or "Uh."  You may find that you rock back & forth a lot, or don't make eye contact with your audience.  You may also find that you make strange gestures that distract from your content.​

All of these sorts of things are normal but very hard to notice when you're actively presenting.

DIY presentation skills improvement

For a long time, the only time I ever had my presentations recorded was during these training / coaching sessions.  Last year, I realized I could do this kind of "presentation audit" myself pretty easily using tools that were readily available to me.​

If you want to record your presentation, you can easily do it using your smartphone, tablet (iPad, Nexus 7, etc.), or the webcam on your computer.  Lately, I've been practicing my presentations the night before in my hotel room and using my recorded session to identify problems with my presentation.  I find it very helpful.​

​The key is to be in full "show mode" -- from a personal perspective, not just a PowerPoint perspective.  In other words, pretend you have a full audience and present as though it were the real deal, as this will provide the most useful data from which to improve your skills.

It's also kind of fun to keep some of these presentation audits so you can look back and see how your skills are evolving.​

The Perils of Cloud Apps

In the past month or so, a couple of cloud applications announced they were pulling the plug:  Google Reader and Astrid (a cloud-based task management application, which was purchased by Yahoo).  Luckily, both of these gave plenty of lead time to their users and provide ways to export their data for migration to other services.

​But what if your cloud app disappeared without any warning?

What are some things that can help you if a cloud application disappears out from under you?  Here are some things I thought of - if you have others, please leave them in the comments.​

1. Openness: Applications that use open standards or output formats make it easier to move from one service to another.  
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   ​For example, Google reader supports OPML (for input and output), making it easy to import and export feed lists from one program or service to another.  In many cases, data can be exported to CSV (Comma-Separated Value) format - not a fancy format, but very broadly supported.
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   ​The main thing?  Figure out how you would move out before you move in.
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2. Backups:  It's OK to rely on a cloud application, but don't be too trusting.  Periodically make copies of your data and store it in a safe place outside the cloud application.  The frequency, number of versions, etc. should be driven by the value of the data you're storing in the cloud app - the more valuable (or the harder to recreate), the more you need to increase the backup frequency, number of backup locations, and version depth.
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3. Look for offline / "permanent" options, or hybrid solutions:  Some cloud applications have local clients that cache / synch data locally.  Often, this feature is present to allow offline access to the data, but it also provides security if the cloud app is unavailable, or goes out of existence.
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4. Backups, backups, backups: I mentioned backups before, but I'm serious - having a backup is your best bet in case the unexpected happens.  You may even want to go as far as printing out some of the data (or printing it to a PDF) as an extra precaution.
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5. Pay for your service:  These days, I am more open to paying for a service that I like under the naïve assumption that if I pay the vendor for their service, they are more likely to keep providing the service.  Even if there is a free option, I often pay for services that I find to be "indispensable" - Evernote is one such example.
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   ​Of course, that isn't always a guarantee - I had a paid Premium subscription to Astrid, and they're still shutting down the service due to the Yahoo acquisition.  Of course, they'll be giving me a refund for the unused portion of the subscription, but I'd rather have the service.

Those are just a few tips that come to mind - any other lessons learned that you care to share?  If so, leave a comment.​ 

Seeing the World With a Backpack

I've traveled a lot on business, but have always been intrigued by the idea of traveling the world for fun.  A couple of sets of friends of mine have done just that:

• Tom Andrus took his whole family around the world on a very reasonable budget, which you can read about on his  "Six In The World" site;
• Warren and Betsy Talbot not only did the same thing, they have written books about how to go about it, which you can find out more about via their "Married With Luggage" site.

When you think about international travel - even on a smaller scale than that of Tom, Warren, and Betsy - one of the big questions is how to travel affordably. After all, anyone who has been on vacation recently knows it can be an extremely pricey experience.

In order to see the world in a more budget-friendly way, many people are intrigued by the idea of embarking on a backpacking adventure. Instead of staying at hotels, urban backpacking trips typically involve staying in hostels, which can save travelers thousands of dollars. But before you call the airlines and book your flight to Europe or wherever your case of wanderlust inspires you to go, it’s a good idea to take a little time beforehand and consider how backpacking and hostel vacations are different from a suitcase and hotel excursion.

Traveling Suggestions

The first thing to decide is if you want to travel alone or with a group. While having the freedom to go where you want and see what you want is appealing, there's also safety in numbers. Speaking of which, travelers should make it a point to protect their identity while they're away; for example, signing up with Life Lock before heading on vacation is a good idea, as is investing in a money belt and keeping your passport well-protected.

Most hostels will have lockers, but it doesn't hurt to pack some security accessories. Pacsafe Locks both cover and secure your pack to keep it from being stolen or tampered with.

Packing a Backpack

Packing a backpack for a vacation takes time and preplanning. As an article on the Wild Backpacker website noted, the first order of business is to purchase a backpack that'll fit all of the clothing, supplies and other gear you'll need. Even if, you already have an older backpack that will hold a lot of items, the article suggests investing in a newer, more lightweight model that will still hold a ton of stuff while also saving your back.

In order to pack everything properly, travelers should lay out everything they intend to bring in one spot. For instance, if you're going outside of the United States, you’ll probably want to bring a travel adapter, as well as a headlamp, at least one pair of extremely comfortable yet sturdy shoes, and the correct kind of clothing, for the climate you’ll be visiting. Once you have everything you need gathered together, the Wild Backpacker article suggests loading your pack with the lightweight items at the bottom, than medium-weight, and then finally the heaviest items. Fill all empty spaces with your smaller items like a GPS, snack foods, bug spray and toiletries.

For anyone who is unsure about what to expect, an article that appeared in the Huffington Post offers a first-hand account about the many benefits of staying in such affordable accommodations. In the author’s experience, hostels are clean, welcoming and hospitable places to stay, filled with friendly staff and guests. Many hostels tend to have staff on-site 24 hours a day, which helps with security. Hostels are also extremely easy on the wallet, costing as little as a few dollars a night.

With a little preplanning and a sense of adventure, it's certainly possible to get out and see the world for far less than a typical vacation.

Families are mightier than legislation

I generally try to avoid ranting here, but I'll do just a bit of that today.

In the past couple of years, there have been a lot of tragic acts of violence, such as the one this past week in Boston.  According to what we're told by the media, there is a thread between the perpetrators of violence:  they all had family problems or parental issues, and became bitter about something.

In dealing with some crises within my own family over the past few years, we've gotten some great advice from one of our doctors: spend more time together as a family; pay more attention to what your children are doing ("be nosy" is her description); and eat dinner together as a family.​  It isn't so much the dinner itself, as the excuse to get together and talk about things in a casual but interested way.

This was hard and frustrating at first, and we felt very inadequate (especially for the first year).  In fact, we resorted to "Table Topics" cards in the beginning to help us figure out how to get the conversation going.  Surprisingly, the family dinners every night have made a huge difference in our ability to communicate.

It was tough to have good conversations in the beginning, but we learned to ask better questions and to stay away from emotional lightning rods.  We also learned to be better listeners without jumping right to judgment or attacks.

Slow and steady wins the race

We've been doing this consistently for a couple of years now, and it has made a marked difference in the strength of our family, the moods and outlook of our children, ​and the relationships between us.

We are by no means perfect, but we're better off than we were when we spent all our time running different directions and being "too busy to eat together."  

Of course, I travel a fair amount in my job so we aren't always together at dinner, but there is always one of us parents eating with the kids, talking with them, and keeping tabs on how they are doing.  I also call and text with my kids a lot from the road - which I didn't do in the past.​

 The bottom line?  We thought we were paying attention as parents before - we've found out we were wrong.​

Laws are no substitute for family

I bring this up because I see a lot of laws designed to prevent "the next senseless act of violence," and I don't believe laws will help.  I think we need to find ways for people to spend time with their families and build stronger connections, stronger values, and to provide outlets (safety valves?) for those with serious emotional or psychological stress, who may feel that nobody cares.  No law can do that.​

Making a shift like this can be scary, since you may feel unprepared to have probing conversations with your children, or you may want to be their friend vs. their parent.  Or, you may not know how to deal with the anger and angst of a teenager.​

The only way I know is to "just do it" and get some help from a counselor that can help you develop the skills, confidence, and techniques to get through to the other side.​

It isn't easy, but it's worth it.  Start by doing it for your kids, but trust me - you'll get as much out of it as they will.

Maybe none of this would have prevented any of the recent acts of violence, but I don't think it would have made things worse.​

</rant>​

Make your own backpack file folders

I have a few travel bags I like to use, and one of them is a backpack (it's the one at right - I like it because it has a laptop sleeve and an iPad slot).  The problem is, when I first started using it, I'd put my folders into my backpack, where they only fit in sideways and all my stuff would fall out ​and get all mixed up in the bottom of the bag.

A long time ago, I saw some backpack-friendly backpack folders, but I haven't been able to find them in the recent past. So, I decided to make my own.​  I experimented with several approaches and thought I'd share what I learned with you.

Find the right folder

I tried several approaches:

1. Folder jackets:  These are essentially sleeves that you put your folders in or use as standalone pockets. They are slightly larger than normal folders, and only open on one side.  They worked OK, but I found I had to remove them from my backpack any time I wanted to put something in, or take something out.  I still use one of them for supplies (post-it notes, notecards, stamps, extra business cards, envelopes, pen refills, etc.) and it works fine for that purpose, as I don't have to get at those items very often.
2. Paper folders: These work OK, but don't last very long.  The seams give way much too soon for my tastes.​
3. Plastic folders:  These are excellent.  The best I've found are the GTD folders from David Allen Company - they are heavy duty plastic and I've been using the same set for about 4 years now.  I tried other, lighter weight plastic folders from office supply stores but they weren't tough enough.​  The David Allen folders are  color-coded, very sturdy, and come in both A4 and US Letter sizes.

Plug the leak

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Once you have your folders, you need to "plug up" one side of them so they contain your papers, cards, etc. when they are put in your backpack sideways.  To do this, you simply close up one side with tape.  My first attempt was on my Inbox folder (at right) and I used duct tape - at the time, all I had was teal-colored tape.  This worked fine, but I have found that the duct tape tends to peel sometimes or stick to other things.​

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For the rest of my folders I used heavy-duty, clear packing tape, which is now my favorite.  This is the thicker variety of tape that feels more vinyl-like than plastic.  It lays down flat, and is very strong.​   Cosmetically, the clear tape is more appealing - as you can see in the picture of my Receipts folder, below - the clear tape is on the right, and you can barely see it.

When you apply the tape, keep the edges of the folder together pretty tightly - if you leave a gap, you'll expose some adhesive and it will stick to your papers and attract dirt & paper dust.  ​

Label for easy filing

The final step is to add labels so you can tell which folder is which while they are safely tucked into your backpack.  I used my label maker to create small folder names (the names match the names on the "normal" folder tabs on the long edge.  I put them so I can read them while they are in my backpack and simply slip items into the proper folder without removing them - this is particularly handy for my Receipts folder and my Inbox folders.  See below for an example of how easy it is to read them from the end when you use this approach.​

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​So, there you have it - easy, do-it-yourself folders for your backpack.  By the way, when I use my "normal" briefcase, I use these exact same folders.  They work just fine with one side taped up.