David Lee King

social media | emerging trends | libraries

Going Remote in Bahrain

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I was recently in Bahrain at the SLA Arabian Gulf Chapter conference. What an amazing fun time!

While I was there, I gave two talks:

  • A panel discussion on emerging technology trends with Marshall Breeding and Jason Griffey. It was lead by Houeida Kammourié.
  • I was also a keynote speaker, and talked about improving the customer experience. You can find my slides here.

I made a couple of videos while I was in Bahrain (watch if you dare):

I also experimented with something for the first time. When I give presentations, I usually use presentation mode (in Apple’s Keynote app).

I usually have facts, figures, or phrases I want to say in a specific way, or a reminder to do a transition to the next topic, and those don’t always stick in my head. So I dump them into the presenter notes, and can glance at them during my presentation.

Guess what? Once in awhile, that doesn’t work. For example, at this particular conference the A/V guys ran all presentations in the back of the room at the sound booth. No HDMI or VGA cable running to the podium.

So my laptop had to be at the back of the room. With my notes. Bummer!

What to do? Jason reminded me that Keynote has a mobile app. One feature of that app allows you to remotely run a presentation from your iPhone or iPad. You just have to pair the mobile device to the laptop. Then the phone acts as a remote to advance slides.

And more importantly, it shows all presenter notes. Problem solved!

So the night before my presentation, I quickly set it up, practiced once, and decided to use it the next day.

It worked “mostly” well! I say “mostly.” Not because of the devices, but because of the hotel wifi. It required re-connecting every 24 hours. I didn’t think about that the morning of the presentation, and as luck would have it the wifi on my phone decided it was time to stop working. On the next to last slide of my talk.

So I had to say “next slide please” a time or two. Otherwise, everything worked great.

Anyway – problem solved for the next time that type of awkward set up is required (it’s happened to me once before). It was also really fun to try out something new (for me). And it solved a huge issue and helped me successfully deliver my presentation.

Have you ever tried out new tech for the first time in front of other people, or started using something new because you really, really needed to? Please share!

Pic of me talking by Jason Griffey

Telling Stories

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I tell stories. In my articles, in my blog posts, and definitely in my presentations – they are usually based on stories.

That’s how my parents talk, and how I grew up. Early on in my marriage, after eating dinner with my parents a few times, Dana (my wife) told me “you guys talk in stories – how weird!”

I’d never really thought about it, but yeah – that’s what we do. It’s never “here’s what I did at work today.” It’s always “the story of what I did at work today.” There’s a big difference!

Partly, it’s just how I think. Im more of a visual thinker, so I see images and movies in my head about what I want to talk about, and then I just describe what I’m seeing (more on visual thinking here).

I’ve discovered that using a story-based style of talking seems to work really well for presentations. How do I “tell stories” in a presentation? Here’s what I do:

  • Use a basic structure. Make sure your presentation has a beginning, a middle, and an end. That provides some basic structure – a roadmap – that most of your attendees will be used to, so they will be able to follow along.
  • Tell “the story of.” You’re probably not creating a fiction Elfquest type story. But you can still tell “the story of what we did well.” Or even “the story of how we decided to buy that new back-end system.” Facts are great – pepper those facts around your story, to drive your point home.
  • Transitions. Transitions keep everyone on track. My transitions are usually really obvious (i.e. we’re moving to this now!) and that’s ok. It’s a way to remind your listeners about the roadmap, and keep everyone (including yourself) on track. Sometimes I even use a “transition slide” theme that can visually move people to the next point.
  • Paint a picture. Use your slidedeck to enhance the point you are making. For example, if I’m talking about how many Americans use the internet, I might use a slide with a huge “88%” on it. And maybe show a crowd of people underneath the number. I’ll use the slide to reinforce my point. It’s a prop that helps people visualize what I’m talking about.
  • Weave in some drama. Ok – not like “then someone punched me” drama. Drama, or tension, in a presentation might include challenges along the way, fails and mis-starts, or even things that need to be improved. Even something as simple as showing a poorly designed website, then showing your new-and-improved website adds a bit of tension and build-up.
  • End with practical takeaways. I always try to add a slide or two about “what you can do back at the office” with the ideas in my presentations. I find a few practical “hey, I can do this next week” pointers can be really useful for people attending my talks.
  • Also – actually “end.” Wrap it up, maybe summarize a few key points, share some next steps, and say “thanks.” Then take questions if there’s time. But no awkward “well gee, I guess my slides are done now” moments please!

Want more? Here are some great articles on telling stories in presentations:

image by Damian Gadal

 

Say Hi in Berlin!

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Anyone going to OCLC’s EMEA Regional Council Meeting – Libraries at the Crossroads: Resolving Identities – in February, in Berlin?

I’ll be there – I’m giving the closing keynote presentation on Wednesday. Looks like it will be an interesting, “make-you-think” conference focused on technology changes and emerging trends (and probably a lot of other stuff, too).

Here’s what the website says about the meeting:

For the eighth edition of our EMEA Regional Council Meeting, we are inviting you to Germany, where we have the biggest number of OCLC members in the region. The meeting in Berlin is an opportunity and a chance for OCLC members and other delegates across the EMEA region to get to know each other and network. By joining us and participating in the various plenary and breakout sessions, member libraries from around the region are able to explore the trends that are shaping the future of libraries. The programme will not only be composed of inspiring keynote sessions, but also a large number of OCLC member library sessions. By sharing our own experiences, we will advance further together.

I’m really looking forward to it. So if you’re thinking about attending – go ahead and register, and come say hi!