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March 15, 2007
Why you should avoid these common mistakes
Two of the most important skills you can have (both in and outside of business) are speaking and writing. However, ever since the Internet rolled around (and possibly even before then), it's been the "big gripe" of readers and writers everywhere: nobody knows how to write anymore! Rather, nobody knows how to use the correct words. Or words at all. This has led to massive confrontations. The average user vs. the poorly-named grammar nazi. The average (or below average) Joe vs. the intellectuals. Abuse of language vs. evolution of language. The list goes on.
The thing is, proper writing isn't just something enforced by overzealous site administrators. While I admit there is often childish behaviour committed in the name of grammar, there is a reason that anyone who knows the rules would prefer others follow them: if you don't, it's much harder to understand you. Use of the wrong words and lack of punctuation means a reader has to spend much more time trying to figure out the meaning of what you wrote. And if you have a large body of text with these evident mistakes (or that looks like code because it's peppered with "ur" "2" and "ftw"), people are likely to skip over it. That's just too much effort.
Another problem is, it hurts your credibility. It doesn't matter if you have a PhD and an IQ of 250; if you right lik this, ur not gunna b taken srsly. It gives off the impression that you don't know the actual meaning of words you use, and that you just wrote without putting any thought into it. Why would anyone assume a writer actually put any effort into their ideas if they can't be bothered to use whole words, or use them correctly?
If you want to see some of the best examples of things that will trip you up, I highly recommend this site. As well, Brian Clark over at Copyblogger put together this great list. Though one thing I feel he missed was for #3, "They're" needs to be included as well. Even though this is the furthest removed from There and Their, and ought to be obvious, I still see many examples of people using the wrong homonym. I'm going to put down a couple of my favourites (the ones that I see the most, and are bothered by the most).
1. Lose/Loose.
Amazing how one letter can change the meaning of a sentence so much. It's a good thing nobody uses Loose as a verb very often anymore, or it would be even more confusing. But really, this is just amateurish, and happens far too often for it to be simply a typo.
2. Begs the Question/Poses (or Raises) the Question
Begging the Question is a logical term, and basically refers to a circular argument (this is an over-simplified definition...if you want a better definition, look at the Common Errors in English site). To pose or to raise a question is when a statement or situation leads to a question needing to be asked.
3. 2/u/ur
Are you really that pressed for time that you can't take less than a second to put a couple more letters down? Or are you trying to cover for the fact that you don't know which to/too/two or your/you're is correct? Incidentally, having "ur" mean both "your" and "you're" can be really confusing, particularly in long paragraphs.
4. For all intensive purposes
It's "for all intents and purposes". Please, think about meaning.
5. Continuing to misspell something when corrected
You have no excuse.
The list goes on, but those are the worst offenders. Anyway. Writing correctly is essential to being taken seriously. Otherwise, people just aren't going to pay attention to you.
Until next time,
JW
Posted by JW on March 15, 2007 9:25 PM Permalink
March 16, 2007
$1-billion of uploads
Viacom vs. YouTube. A $1B lawsuit is a tough thing to contend with. That's a staggeringly high number. You can't count to one billion. If you counted at a rate of 1 number per second, and you never slept, never ate, never stopped counting, it would take you almost 32 years. That's a lot of money to be potentially paid out because a bunch of people couldn't wait to watch that episode of the daily show when it re-ran at noon. I certainly applaud the companies who have taken a kinder approach (such as uploading their own videos, which gives them more control over how much of an episode you can see for free).
I'm amused that many people are so quick to criticize the companies for pulling clips, or suing, but then they further criticize companies for using YouTube to their own advantage. You can't have your cake and eat it too; businesses have just as much right and access to post content as anyone else. And let's face it, this really shouldn't be a surprise. It was only a matter of time before someone in some boardroom said, "hey, maybe instead of suing these people, let's sell to them!" If you introduce a new media, people are going to put ads on it.
Something crazy occurred to me, however. What do you suppose would happen if a company whose copyrighted programs were being showed on YouTube went ahead and started co-opting original content from public users? Well, besides the PR nightmare. I think this would be an interesting thought experiment for people who routinely denounce companies that insist on removing their content from the 'Tube.
Now, this isn't a political blog, and I'm not here to take sides. I do believe that instead of fighting the YouTube phenomenon, companies should learn to work with it to both create value for viewers and help themselves in the process. On the other hand, I don't entirely agree with the prevalence of downloaded material. I admit I was a downloader up until very recently, but I no longer agree with the practice.
Here's one more thing on downloading, just some food for thought. I usually hear an argument that bands don't make much money from cd sales, they make it from touring, so you're not hurting the band by downloading their album. But that's not entirely true. You see, record labels look at sales of albums to determine how they're doing. And if a band's album isn't selling, there's a good chance their contract will not be renewed, or maybe they will even be dropped from the label. It can be a blow to the band's ego, as well. If your album doesn't sell, you don't know if it's downloads or if it just sucks.
I eagerly await the day that business and public can find a mutually beneficial middle ground. If you want to know what that might look like, I strongly suggest you take a stroll over here.
Until next time,
JW
Posted by JW on March 16, 2007 9:29 PM Permalink
March 28, 2007
Can you talk the talk? Part 1
As I mentioned in an earlier post, two of the most important skills you can have are speaking and writing. That time I touched on writing (and will again in the future, I wager), so I figure it's speaking's turn. There are three general components of speaking that most people will have to face several times in their lives: Presenting, Listening and Conversing. Send, receive, feedback. I'm going to tackle each of these separately, because nobody wants to read a blog post that requires them to replace the scroll wheel on their mouse.
Apparently, it's the most pervasive fear, worse to some people than death. Public speaking. In front of a group of 100, 10, or even 2, many people just freeze up. And that's okay. Most people can't stand presentations, and even those that love them still get nervous. But the fact remains, you're probably going to have to get over it. And it's better to be ready, because try as you might to do it on your terms (or avoid it altogether), there may come a time when you're put on the spot because the shareholders want to know about your project, or you have to present your experiment at the science fair, or it's time to meet the parents. You're going to have to be ready. So, for your benefit, I present to you some of the skills you're going to need if you want to pull off a great presentation.
Remove the barriers
You see that podium? Step away from it. A podium says you want to be separated from your audience, which means you either see yourself as above them, or you're terrified of them. And you might bring back bad memories of boring college lectures. And if that weren't bad enough, you're likely to be standing stone still behind it for the entirety of your speech. And that's terribly boring. Get rid of the podium, and create a connection between you and your audience. If they see you, they feel closer to you. And you won't give off the impression that you're hiding. This is the first component of giving off an air of confidence, which is what you really need if you want to drive your point home in a convincing manner.Know your material
This sounds absolutely obvious, and ridiculous to mention. But it's so often overlooked on either side of the spectrum. If you're completely unprepared, you will trudge to the front of the room and do one of two things: wing it and look like an idiot, or read verbatim from your notes in a monotone voice without lifting your eyes for a second and bore your audience to death. This is another reason to forget the podium; it's far too much of a temptation to plop your notes down on it and begin "storytime". At the complete other end, it's entirely possible to be over-prepared. Don't rehearse your presentation like it's Hamlet. If you do, not only do you risk sounding robotic, but if you miss a part or get sidetracked by a question or interruption, you're going to fumble around looking for your place and get flustered. The middle-ground is so simple, and yet so rarely achieved: know the details. The pertinent ones, rather. Make sure you have a good grasp of what you're talking about; after all, if you're presenting it, you must be the expert. Let me put it this way: if you were asked about your hobby, or your life story or even how your day was, I have little doubt you'd have a problem telling your listener all kinds of interesting little tid-bits. Make your topic like your hobby. And if you're still worried that you might forget to cover certain points, that's what Powerpoint is for. Though we'll deal with that gadget later.Body Language
Here's an interesting one. Most people can't get this one right, and I admit I'm one of them. Too many presenters do their entire speech shifting rapidly from foot to foot, standing like a statue, fiddling with whatever's in their hands, holding their hands behind their back (at ease, soldier) or at their front, or with hands in their pockets, hands in their pockets, hands in their pockets. Put those grabbers to good use, and do like the politicians (I don't mean crossing your fingers behind your back). Use your hands to emphasize points, or to add some visual flow to the flow of your presentation. Reasonable gestures are terrific ways to draw attention to your speech, and bleed out some of that nervous energy. Just don't flail around like you're directing air traffic.As for full body, try walking back and forth in front of your audience. Slowly. A calm strolling pace will add some animation, but without having you frantically running back and forth like a madman. For further connection, do what one of my teachers does: take advantage of aisles. Walk towards the back of the room now and then. This brings you closer to your audience, gives the people at the back the sense that you're making an effort to reach out to them, and lets you catch whoever's fallen asleep or is engrossed in their Blackberry.
The last is where to look. Keep your eyes moving around the room. If you stare, you'll look like a weirdo. And if you don't look at anyone, you'll look unsure of yourself. Look around the room, and maybe make brief eye contact with different people, just for a moment. This is terrific, because you will have a moment of extra connection with those people. And if you lock eyes with someone whose attention has been wavering, they will be reminded that you can see them and will snap back to attention, at least for a moment. And if you're doing a group presentation, look at whoever is speaking. If one of your team members is doing a part of the presentation, look at them. Give them your full attention. Because if you're glancing around or shuffling papers, you look bored. And you shouldn't be bored by your own material.
Low risk exercise
I have a tip for improving your speaking skills. Find a topic you consider yourself knowledgeable about. A hobby, or an interest. Something you enjoy. Then, find a friend or family member (or even stranger, though that may be harder to arrange) and tell them all about it. Give them a short speech. This will let you practice speaking on a topic you're bound to be comfortable with. There will be less pressure, and they can even give you feedback on your stance, your delivery, speed, and more. As with anything, it's easiest to practice with something simple and safe to get comfortable with the act before trying it for real. And when you do have to do the real thing, do it often. The more you do it, the better you get, and the more prepared you will be.Until next time,
JW
Posted by JW on March 28, 2007 9:31 PM Permalink
March 29, 2007
Can you talk the talk? Part 2
Yesterday, I touched on presenting; how to deliver a presentation in a way that will be less likely to bore your audience and give you an anxiety attack. Today we're going to turn it around, and look at the proper way to attend a presentation.
Been there, done that
What I find to be a key factor in being an effective listener is to put yourself in the speaker's shoes. We've all done public speaking before, so we know what it's like. This helps us to forgive some of the little things, like wavering speech, a note-shuffling or two, or any of the other things I told you to be wary of yesterday. Humanizing the speaker is a good way to feed the connection they ought to be trying to create with you; this brings the two of you closer which helps their presentation, and hopefully makes it more interesting and helpful for you.
Ask 'em if you got 'em
We all know that many people dread the question and answer portion of presentations; this is part where they have the least control of what happens. But I encourage you to ask anyway. First of all, this will obviously help you understand the topic better since you'll be able to directly approach the part of the subject matter that you want to understand better. And second, it will show the speaker that you've been paying attention, and that you're interested in what they have to say. This is a bit of an ego boost.
Just a little bit
I can't stress enough, in order to be a good audience, you need to demonstrate a little known attitude called respect. Keep your eyes on the speaker, while noting their visuals. Turn OFF the Blackberrys and cellphones; not just vibrate, but off. And cut the chatter. It's hard enough to do public speaking without having to compete with other people's voices, ring tones, and an incessant buzz coming from all the cellphones. Remember that unlike television, the speaker can see and hear you. And if they know you're not paying attention, you can expect the quality of their presentation to go down, and their patience to become much shorter.
So you can see, sitting through a presentation doesn't take nearly as much as giving one. But I think a lot of people have a long way to go before they can master either of these skills. And let's face it, you're going to need at least a basic grasp if you're going to be able to master the next topic, where we put them both together: conversation.
Until next time,
JW
Posted by JW on March 29, 2007 9:34 PM Permalink
March 30, 2007
Can you talk the talk? Part 3
So far I've discussed speaking and listening. Now we're going to look at the third and final component: conversing.
It goes without saying that everything discussed in the first two parts applies here: create a connection, be knowledgeable, be patient, and react. Since these general areas need no further explanation, I'm going to shift gears and dive into some of the more specific, picky bits. Stuff that will make the conversation flow more smoothly.
Now look here!
Eye contact is even more vital in conversation than in presentation. Here you will have a much smaller audience in a more intimate setting, so it's important to know where to look at all times. When speaking with someone, general eye contact is good; holding their eyes in yours is a good way to create a connection, but too much is creepy. Don't bug your eyes out or scrutinize. And back up the frame of reference; instead of looking deep into their eyes, just look at their face in general. This still signals "I'm paying attention to you", but avoids that awkward feeling of "I can see my reflection in your retinas". Just don't look past them, away from them, or at certain other features that can draw your eyes. As with group presentations, if you're having a conversation with more than one person, always look at whoever is speaking. And when you're talking, look around at the faces of the people to whom you're speaking (though if it's of more interest to one particular person, focus more on them).
This isn't an interview
Stay away from boring questions and boring answers. You don't have to interrogate people about where they're from or what they do. And conversely, you don't have to work these details into every question. An amusing anecdote from your life experience is good from time to time, but they have their place. Keep it relevant to the topic, and keep it interesting. Answer the questions they ask, not the questions you wish they'd ask.
Would you like a mint?
Try to stand at least an arm's length away. People who stand far too close when speaking are really bad for people's comfort. You risk intruding on their personal space and having them be able to smell exactly what you ate for lunch. And if you didn't check your teeth, they can see it too.
These are just some basic courtesies to keep in mind. Using all the lessons from the three parts of this series is a good way to improve your personal interaction skills, if even just a little.
Until next time,
JW
Posted by JW on March 30, 2007 9:35 PM Permalink
How to give advice
You've just approached a colleague who you know is having difficulty with something, or you don't feel they quite understand what they're trying to do. So in the spirit of generosity, you've imparted some of your wisdom to help them along. But in return you've received a shrug-off or outright hostility.
Does this sound familiar? It should; this scenario is playing itself out all over the world every day. It seems like people don't know how to take advice anymore. But this is exactly the wrong viewpoint. It's time to face the possibility that people don't know how to give it. And that's especially bad because advice is up against some stiff resistance to begin with.
Let's face it: nobody likes to admit they're wrong, or don't understand, or made a mistake. So they feel even less happy about being told as much. Many people are so stubborn or proud that they will continue to do something their way, even if it's inefficient or less effective. So it's absolutely necessary to be gentle about your approach. Let's take a look at a couple ways to take the confrontation out of giving advice.
The Approach
In a perfect world, people would come to you for advice. And if they seek you out willingly, you can skip on to the next section. But if someone doesn't come to you and ask, they either don't know there's a problem to be solved, or they want to solve it themselves. So to saunter over and start telling them how to do it and that your way is better is not going to get the job done. It's akin to the impatient parent who takes a child's toy away because they're "not doing it right", despite the child's screams that they want to do it themselves. Instead, be more subtle in your approach. Ask them how their project is going. If they say it's not going well, you can start asking questions about why, and start to feed in your own stories. Try saying things like, "you know, I ran into a similar problem back with project X, but I tried doing this and it seemed to work." This makes the process more democratic; if the person wants to know more, they will ask you.
If they seem content with the way they are doing things, instead try asking about their method. Show interest in the way they are doing it, as though you are the one who wants to learn. Try to understand why they are doing things the way they are. There might be a reason. And if you still can't resist, present your own method, but as an equally good yet alternative way of doing it. Something like, "Oh, that's interesting. I came up against this issue once, but I tried doing X instead of Y. I didn't know you could approach the problem that way." I know many of you prefer the direct approach, just be prepared for a direct answer.
Delivery
Once you have begun a dialogue on the issue (note that key word "dialogue"), it is important to keep it positive and constructive. That means you need to treat their way of doing things as viable, and show them respect. As mentioned above, they may have a very good reason for doing things the way they are. They might be far more comfortable with their method, or perhaps even though their way of doing things doesn't work for you, it might work better for them than your method. Every situation is different.
Whatever you do, don't try to champion yourself in order to sell your idea. If you say that you never had a particular issue be a problem, you're just going to make the other person resentful because you've just made it personal. And it smacks of bragging rather than teaching. Don't start saying "when I did this my way, X and Y never happened to me." That's not going to help, because now you're attacking the other person. Keep it focused on the solution you're presenting, and stick to the benefits.
There is one more component of delivery which is of VITAL importance: don't be aggressive. And that includes passive aggressiveness. Don't turn it into an argument, and certainly don't start shifting blame onto the other party. If someone doesn't take your advice, shooting back accusations that they don't respect you or that you're feeling ignored isn't going to inspire them to follow it or any other information you pass on. This fosters resentment and can even lead to people deliberately disregarding things you say. This seems to be where it falls apart the most for people.
Pick Your Battles
Finally, you need to know when not to give advice. The major rule is that if it doesn't matter, let it go. If it's really not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, let them do it their way. And even though you will be itching to tell someone they're making mistakes, zip it. Let them make their own mistakes, because it's far easier to learn if you experience the consequences yourself rather than having somebody tell you what could happen. People (for the most part) like to figure things out for themselves, it keeps life fun and interesting. Telling someone the correct way to do something is like spoiling the end of a murder mystery or a movie.
It's absolutely vital to understand the other side before you criticize, and to know when to take a step back. And if I've got this article all wrong, it will be the height of irony.
Until next time,
JW
