Recently I listened to Moira Gunn interview Steve Rosenbaum about content curation in her podcast, Tech Nation. I heard Steve present on a similar topic at Confab. Interestingly, I found the podcast, which was a conversation between Moira and Steve, more interesting, fluid, and natural than Steve’s Confab presentation. Steve’s presentation at Confab was great. But all presentations, by nature, have a different rhythm and … more »

If you’re thinking about submitting a proposal to present at the next STC Summit in Dallas, Texas, the deadline is October 5. See the proposal site for details. Presenting is a good idea for a number of reasons. Presenting either gives you a discount or free registration to the conference. It gives you something to focus on during the long winter months. And if you’re … more »

Before I met my Jane 11 years ago, she spent about seven weeks traveling across Europe. It was a time she trying to answer some questions, and during some point in her walking and train-riding and city exploring, she found answers. She also fell in love with Europe—with the little narrow streets, the bustling plazas, the rich histories, the winding rivers, the chocolates and pastries. … more »

Speaker Confessions | A book of true tales from veteran public speakers.

I’m giving a webinar on blogging tomorrow evening for the Rocky Mountain STC chapter at 7 p.m. MST. As a webinar, it’s open to everyone, not just the Rocky Mountain chapter. The cost for the remote viewing of the webinar is $10. More webinar details here. To give you a little more preview about what I’ll cover, here are the ten main topics: The Blog … more »

WordPress theme that functions like a slideshow Check out the “Slidepress” theme — works like a PowerPoint but looks much cooler and runs on WordPress. For your next presentation, consider using this.

When you blog, you increase your visibility tenfold. And with increased visibility, you’re more frequently invited to speak at events. This year I have a handful of presentations I’m giving at various chapters and events. I decided to add an Upcoming Presentations button on my navigation bar to list them. If you’d like me to speak at your chapter, conference, or other event, let me … more »

Highlights from Doctrain East 2008 — Simplifying Complexity

[Audio clip: view full post to listen] Download MP3 (to download, right-click and select Save Target As) Duration: 55 min. Several weeks ago I wrote about my trip to Brigham Young University-Idaho and the presentation I gave there titled “Debunking the Boredom Myth of Technical Writing.” This podcast is a recording of my presentation. My presentation was part of the professional writing conference that BYU-Idaho … more »

I’m trying to gather as many examples as possible about how companies are engaging in web 2.0 activities. Do you know any companies that are using blogs, wikis, social networks, forums, podcasts/videocasts, or interactive online help? If so, let me know by either adding a comment below or by contacting me. (It doesn’t have to be restricted to tech comm examples.) In May I’m giving … more »

Conference season is approaching and presenters are busy preparing their notes and PowerPoint slides. Now is the perfect time to review some good ways to bomb a presentation (especially since I did a great job bombing a presentation I gave today). 1. Prepare your presentation without any awareness of your audience. About the worst thing you can do is grossly misunderstand your audience. Assume they’re … more »

Update: Listen to the presentation here. I’m no longer president of my STC chapter in Florida. But I’m excited to give a presentation to the local STC-Intermountain chapter on blogging and podcasting next week. Here are the details of my upcoming presentation. Have a Blog? a Podcast? Want one? Come learn everything you need to know Date: Feb 28, 2008 Time: 7:00 P.M. Location: SLCC … more »