Tag: Talks (Page 2 of 3)

Scott Hanselman on Information Overload and Managing the Flow

November 25, 2009 /

The videos from Øredev 2009 are starting to show up. Scott Hanselman had a keynote on Information Overload and Managing the Flow that I missed at the conference but now have seen on video.

The program text says:

As developers, we are asked to absorb even more information than ever before. More APIs, more documentation, more patterns, more layers of abstraction. Now Twitter and Facebook compete with Email and Texts for our attention, keeping us up-to-date on our friends dietary details and movie attendance second-by-second. Does all this information take a toll on your psyche or sharpen the saw? Is it a matter of finding the right tools to capture what you need, or do you just need to unplug.

Scott talks about effectiveness (doing the right things, moving the ball forward) and efficiency (doing things right). He covers many ideas and concepts like email rules, the importance of triage (decide if deal with or not, when), The Pomodoro Technique, Dave Allen’s GTD, Covey’s quadrants and the principles of flow.

Scott also says that the optimal number of threads in a system (including us humans) is one, in other words no multitasking. When it comes to tools Scott recommends Evernote for information storage and Remember The Milk for to-do-lists. Personally I am not keen on computerized to-do-lists, I prefer to write lists by hand.

Speaker at Øredev 2009

September 9, 2009 /

I am scheduled to speak at Øredev 2009, an IT Conference for Sharing Knowledge.

Øredev is the premier conference in Europe focused on the software development process. Nearly 1000 programmers, developers, engineers, educators, testers and managers gather to share their knowledge and experience.

My presentation is scheduled on November 5 in the track Aspects of Leadership and is titled Project success by helping project members realize their full potential. I intend to talk about how coaching can be used to improve collaboration in projects. A rough outline is in the program:
• Introduction.
• Laying the foundation and ensuring common definitions.
• Coaching the PM to develop him professionally and as an individual.
• Coaching a project team as a group, as well as the individuals within the group.
• How the PM can develop coaching skills and use them in his work.

This is my first major public speech which is somewhat horrifying. My own learning process will result in blog posts about presentation in this blog.

Update November 8, 2009.
The presentation went well and I realized that I really like the role of speaker, talking about a subject that matters to me. I had the benefit of working with a speaker’s coach and mentor which helped a lot.

Update April 3, 2010.
You can now watch Speaker at Øredev 2009, the video

JK Rowling Harvard Commencement Speech

July 3, 2009 /

On Twitter @ColinLewis mentioned the JK Rowling Harvard Commencement Speech from June 5 2008 on the benefits of failure and the importance of imagination. It’s a brilliant speech with wit and wisdom, I have listened to it several times already. Total time is around 20 minutes, time well spent.

There are several versions available, these ones have great sound:
• J.K.Rowling speaking at Harvard part 1
• J.K.Rowling speaking at Harvard part 2
• J.K.Rowling speaking at Harvard part 3

This is part 1:

This was originally posted at Forty Plus Two, another blog of mine.

TEDx Copenhagen

June 16, 2009 /

I am a big fan of TED and TEDTalks. TED has spun off a series of TEDx-events, learn more at TEDx.

In the spirit of “Ideas Worth Spreading,” TEDx is a program that enables schools, businesses, libraries or just groups of friends to enjoy a TED-like experience through events they themselves organize, design and host.

We’re supporting approved organizers by offering a free toolset that includes detailed advice, the right to use recorded TEDTalks, promotion on our site, connection to other organizers, and a little piece of our brand in the form of the TEDx label.

Wemind, @wemind on Twitter, is now officially planning TEDxCopenhagen, see also the TEDxCopenhagen Facebook page. You can also follow @TEDxCopenhagen on Twitter. Copenhagen is close to where I live and this can be a really interesting event.

This was originally posted at Forty Plus Two, another blog of mine.

Making presentations in the TED style – The TED Commandments

May 12, 2009 /

I got a link in my Twitter stream pointing to The TED presentation commandments which is a great list of ten commandments in order to make a great presentation.

The TED Commandments

  1. Thou Shalt Not Simply Trot Out thy Usual Shtick.
  2. Thou Shalt Dream a Great Dream, or Show Forth a Wondrous New Thing, Or Share Something Thou Hast Never Shared Before.
  3. Thou Shalt Reveal thy Curiosity and Thy Passion.
  4. Thou Shalt Tell a Story.
  5. Thou Shalt Freely Comment on the Utterances of Other Speakers for the Sake of Blessed Connection and Exquisite Controversy.
  6. Thou Shalt Not Flaunt thine Ego. Be Thou Vulnerable. Speak of thy Failure as well as thy Success.
  7. Thou Shalt Not Sell from the Stage: Neither thy Company, thy Goods, thy Writings, nor thy Desperate need for Funding; Lest Thou be Cast Aside into Outer Darkness.
  8. Thou Shalt Remember all the while: Laughter is Good.
  9. Thou Shalt Not Read thy Speech.
  10. Thou Shalt Not Steal the Time of Them that Follow Thee.

Presentation Zen

That post lead me to Making presentations in the TED style at Presentation Zen. The TED commandments are here too but the best part is the reviews of some TED speakers. It says:

There is not one best way to speak at a TED conference, there are many different ways. But what the good presentations have in common is that they were created carefully and thoughtfully with the audience in mind and were delivered with passion, clarity, brevity, and always with “the story” of it (whatever it is) in mind. So let the list of 10 above be your general guide. In addition, take a look at some of the TED presentations below. They all follow a different style but were effective and memorable in their own way.

Go to Presentation Zen, read reviews and learn more about what works (and not).

My comments

The TED commandments are great and useful for any speaker. The presentations listed at Presentation Zen are great examples to learn from. In addition, take a look at some of my favourites:
• Elizabeth Gilbert: A different way to think about creative genius.
• Benjamin Zander on music and passion
• Matthew Childs: Hang in there! 9 life lessons from rock climbing.

This was originally posted at Forty Plus Two, another blog of mine.

Hang in there! 9 life lessons from rock climbing

April 17, 2009 /

This is yet another great TED Talk, Matthew Childs: Hang in there! 9 life lessons from rock climbing.

In this talk from TED University 2009, veteran rock climber Matthew Childs shares nine pointers for rock climbing. These handy tips bear on an effective life at sea level, too.

This talk is less than five minutes, the nine pointers are brief and useful in life.

This was originally posted at Forty Plus Two, another blog of mine.

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑