The Door and the Message

I reached Jaipur today. I am here for a family get together and my eye looking for design implications in the real life did not disappoint me.

The first thing to notice, was the entry door to the Rest room at the Departure section of the airport. This is a new airport, developed not long ago. The entry door had a handle, indicating a Pull behavior required from the user (here - passenger). The handle on a door also indicates the door being heavy and requires considerable force. Therefore the user needs to push the door at a certain area helped by the handle. 

Using these ideas in my mind, I first applied the pull principle, and it didn't open. I thought that the door is closed for repair or other personnel usage. I even enquired with the security of the airport for the same. 

Then I came back to try the push model. Suddenly a large man barged in from behind and opened the door by pushing the handle. Push worked.

But this made my mind wonder - Why the need to have a handle for a door which requires a push model. The door for this rest-room was not heavy at all. If there would have been no handle on the door, my mind would certainly agree for me to use the push mechanism. Having a handle created a confusion. A confusion that arises because of the inherent memory of the Push or Pull mechanism and the physical object that ascertains that behavior. Do we need that handle ?

Interesting, isn't it ?

The second event. I saw a sign board inside the wash-room that said - "Paying Bribe is Wrong" or something near to that. This again sparked a thought in my head. Why do we need people to be aware of message like this in the wash-room of all the places. And it brought me an interesting inference. At the time, when a user is in the wash-room, he / she feels relived and relaxed. At that state of mind, the user is gullible to accept any ideas. With mirrors inside a wash-room, the message is reinforced more prominently. The user sees himself  in the mirror, and becomes a judge instead of being judged. The message of "Not paying bribe" strikes more sharply than it being at any other place.

Two different events, and two different outcomes - speaks at length about human behavior and the way things around us influence action from human. 

Signing off for now, till I find something interesting to share. 

The Door and the Message

Summary of "Don't Just Present, Enchant"

Here is it. The summary of entire talk at BarCamp 11 held at Bangalore 2012.

Somebody asked me to share the presentation, and I replied - "You won't find it enjoyable unless its me who is delivering it".  So I compiled the slides into points that talk about the content covered in the presentation. Hope all of you will enjoy it. Go out and Enchant ! (BTW, Love the book - Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki)



Don't just present. Enchant! 
11th Feb 2012, BarCamp Bangalore

Summary of the session :-

0. The Real Problem of the world is NOT Global Warming, its Global Yawning. Millions of minutes are wasted each year in presentations that do not create any impact, thereby leading to Global Yawning problem. A solution to Global Yawning can solve all problems of the world.

1. Bad presentations are awful. They waste time, energy and create moments of despair. They kill people.. literally.
  a. Why do people suck at Presentations ? Some say
    - They don't have time to prepare
    - They do no have any idea about the topic to present
    - They need to cram as much of information in one slide
    - They feel they are color blind i.e. they do not know about     design and color.

2. Three BIG ideas to change your presentation - AWARE, STORY, PLAN: "Aware of the story and plan of your presentation."

3. The AWARE aspect of the becoming a presentation rockstar includes having a fair knowledge of the:

a) Audience
b) Content
c) Message
d) Body Language
e) Style
f) Story

4. Know Your Audience: Each presentation is different. Every audience is different. Knowledge of the type of audience is the most important key to creating great enchantments.

5. The power that any speaker has over any audience - The speaker should be in control of the NEXT. In other words, the speaker knows what comes next. (Inspired from the book Confessions of a Public Speaker - by Scott Berkun)

6. Audience wants to be entertained. They want to learn, and they want the speaker to do well.

7. The Density Theory - To increase the impact of the presentation, it is essential to increase the density of the seating arrangement of the audience. This creates a better setup to enhance the energy of the talk. For example, its essential to bring the audience closer to the speaker in a room where people are seated evenly and far apart.
Note: The speaker needs to always have the front row occupied - that's the moral booster.
In a room where people are seated far apart and are less in number, it makes sense to bring them together in a semi-circular arrangement.

8. There is absolutely no escape to having thorough knowledge of the content of a talk. Knowing the topic is in itself a confidence booster. In-depth knowledge allows the speaker to take risks and use creative ways to impart the idea.

9. What is the core of the message?
The core of the message is the very nucleus of the presenter. When weighed against the presenter's content, this weighs slightly more than the content in importance. Finding the core of the message is a difficult task. People may forget the content, but they will always remember the core message.

10. Key ways to find the core of the message :

a) Learn to let go - The core of the message is a singular concept. The way to reach to it requires filtering down the content. Content is noise as opposed to message which is peace- its tranquillity.

b) Focus on the important parts of the content: Interrogate yourself with this question- What is one thing and the only one thing you want the audience to remember if they don't get anything else?

c) Use the 'so what?' principle: Instead of asking what - focus on so what. The so what principle allows you to zero in on the point that the audience really would care about.

11. Read the book Made to stick - The book provides 6 simple ideas to find the core message. The core of the message should be simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional and cushioned with a story.

12. Body language complements the 'AWARE' aspect-
a) Hands are an important vehicle to transport messages. Use them to your advantage.
b) Do not be a robot. People want to see the human side of the speaker - they make mistakes, they laugh, they have emotions.
c) Do not show your back to your audience. Face them!
d) Always use verbal emphasis.
e) Just Relax: Presentation is not the end of the world. Be your natural self - not a copy-cat. Do not be someone else. The world needs you to be the real you.

13. Find your style: Every speaker has a style. Develop your own style through practice.

14. Always think about the good and bad presentations that you may have attended. Learn from them. Keep a Journal that you can use to collect these ideas.

15. Story: Stories need to be emotional. They better be true (not always  :)). Stories come out of experience. Stories impact remembrance. It enforces ideas into our memory.

16. How can you tell a story: The key to a successful story telling is to:
a. Find the Hero - element of the idea that needs to be sold
b. Find the obstacles for the Hero
c. What is at stake for the Hero ? Why is getting rid of obstacle so important ?
d. Create the big climax for thero

17. Don't enforce story telling techniques: The story must match the mood, message and the type of audience.

18. How can you be good at story telling: Here are some tips:
a. Think of how your grandma or anybody else who used to tell you stories did it
b. Listen to people
c. Read as much as possible
d. Travel to new places
e. Interact with local culture

19. Plan: Planning for a presentation includes:
a) Being analog
b) Planning the layout
c) How to involve/engage the audience
d) Use visual medium to impart ideas
e) Using the right tools
f) Designing your presentation

20. Always start analog: Avoid the need to use PowerPoint, OpenOffice or any machine in the first place. Use pen, paper, pencil, whiteboard, paper notebook. Collect ideas first.
Remember: Ideas come when we are analog. So, first be analog and then go digital.

21. How can you be analog?
a. Find some time alone : Take some time out of your schedule to reflect on the content and message that you want people to remember.
b. Scribble: Use analog tools first. Figure out the entire story and then start off with the computer. Remember: PowerPoint is not the presentation.

22. We are all fascinated by bullet points. Did you know? There are ways to avoid them. Bullet points if used incorrectly can make your presentation look like a document.

23. What are the alternatives to bullet points? Typography can be your answer: Use a mix of varied sizes of text and a proper lay out. Use icons, shapes and images. Look at good presentations on slideshare.net

24. How do you engage the audience? Involve the audience by asking questions, views and feedback.

25. Use visuals instead of text as much as possible. Visual imagery has a larger impact than text. They evoke emotions and guarantee a better learning experience.

26. You can use varied tools to accomplish a presentation:
a. For images: iStockPhoto, Flickr and sxc.hu etc.
b. Newer ways to create presentation: slideRocket and Prezi
c. Alternative to ppts: movies and animations
d. Look at Impress.JS - fascinating tools for developing presentations for geeks.

27. Design is universal: Everybody is a designer.

28. Things that you can best avoid (as much as possible, if not completely):
a) The tendency to fill every space on the screen
b) Usage of text animations: Try not to make the text fly, jump etc.
c) Usage of footers in your presentation: You do not need footers. Page numbers are a visual clutter. Avoid anything that is not required in the presentation. Read, re-read and edit your presentation.
d) Usage of brand Logos on each and every slide is a passe. Nobody uses it. Its a clutter and does not add any value to the presentation. Instead, it adds to the visual noise.

29. Everybody is a designer. Learn about design, i.e, fonts, colors and human psychology.

30. Lastly, CARE about the audience. Care about their time, patience, limited levels of concentration we all have. Care for them.

31. And again, PRACTISE. There is no shortcut to success. You got to practise like crazy. It really makes things for the presenter near to perfection (in not completely perfect)

30. Get more information at:
a) www.presentationzen.com
b) www.ted.com
c) http://headrush.typepad.com
d) www.scottberkun.com

31. Learn more from the following books :

a) Slide:ology
b) Presentation Zen
c) Made to Stick
d) Confessions of a public speaker
e) Zen of creativity
f) Resonance

32. Conclusion:-
Presentation is not about powerpoint. Its about you!
   Sometimes the best presentation is NO Presentation

Summary of "Don't Just Present, Enchant"

Geeks Day Out

It was a foggy Saturday morning on 11th Feb and geeks from all around Bangalore headed to SAP Labs for the 11th edition of BarCamp. With around 600+ people registered for the event, it was a day destined to be exciting and eventful. For me, it was the first time I was attending the event. Being in Bangalore for so many years, it was weird why I missed it all the time.

There were talks on almost every topic that concerns the geek in each one of us - Electronic Product design, User Interfaces, Programming languages, Cloud, Mobile, Web, and everything that matters. There were even sessions on Cooking, Interactive Fiction and guess what.. Hypnosis. Wow!

I was blown away with the variety of information flowing around in all directions. The venue of SAP Labs was an awesome stage to host the geek congregation.

The event also marked my first stint as a speaker at BarCamp. I was talking on the topic close to my heart - How to enchant the audience with your presentation. Being in software business for sometime, I was surprised how bad presentations really are. Each day people all around the world, people spent time listening to presenters that bore them to death with their slides and speaking skills.

It intrigued me for a long time till I took a shot at it. I have been a passionate speaker since my college days. Me and my gang going around the colleges in Bangalore evangelizing technology. It was a tough task but something that taught me a lot on how to enchant the audience.

Lately, I have been talking to groups helping them become good speakers and create enchanted presentations. And BarCamp was a perfect opportunity for sharing this to a wider audience. The session was titled : Don't just Present, Enchant

The crowd was brilliant. I was surprised to see so many people turn up for the session even when there were so many good sessions running in parallel. The session turned out to be a good venture for me. Loved every bit of interaction from the audience. I want to have a separate post just on the topic summarizing the presentation.

 I was happy to see so many enchanted faces and loved the feedback I received about the session. Some of them are mentioned below :-

Please Note: I have hidden the twitter handles to protect privacy of the audience. 

Thanks again to all who turned up for the session. It was a great learning experience for me. And Thank you BarCamp Bangalore.

Geeks Day Out

Audience is the King : DroidCon India 2011

I wanted to share the success of my stint at speaking at the popular DroidCon conference in Bangalore last year. It was a fantastic conference with high rated speakers and amazing content. More than anything, there was immense energy among enthusiastic Android geeks to network and partner for their projects.

My session was on User Experience and patterns adopted by popular apps on Android market. The talk was titled : Humanize the Android. I was glad to hear positive feedback from the crowd, and how it helped them think about building experiences for a Mobile device.

Below is the feedback I received via twitter for my talk :-

Please note, I have removed the twitter handles to protect the privacy of the audience.

Thanks again to all of them and others who provided me with wonderful feedback. 

Audience is the King : DroidCon India 2011

Don't just Present, Enchant !

Don't just present, Enchant! This is the title of my next outing as a presenter. I had recently undertaken a workshop at my organization on the same topic which got great reviews. The intention of the workshop was to give the audience a toolkit to create and deliver extraordinary presentations. The focus was not limited to creating powerpoint presentation, but covered the intricacies of delivering a great talk. This included Style, Body language, Clarity, Stories, Visual Emphasis etc. 

I soon realized the importance of this workshop extends beyond an organization. Every day we spent millions of hours around the world giving presentations. Each presentation has the ability to change the world we live in. If we can focus on few important areas of this art, I believe we can create wonders in our career. And like all aspects of art, nothing is impossible or magic. It can be learned, practised and, over the period of time , excelled in. 

 I am planning to speak at the upcoming BarCamp-XI Bangalore edition to be held at SAP Labs, Whitefield on 11th Feb 2012. The topic will be the same. However this time, it will be more interactive. I would attempt to involve the audience to understand this important need of modern workplace and look at simple ways to create enchantment for your audience.

If you are interested in this talk, or want to chat, join me at BarCamp XI - Bangalore on 11th Feb. Register and vote for my talk @ http://barcampbangalore.org/bcb/bcb11/dont-just-present-enchant

Don't just Present, Enchant !

PaaS is here and its Real

I was encouraged to write this post by the influx of articles relating to predictions about Cloud computing in 2012. A common theme surrounding most of them is the rise of PaaS (Platform as a Service). While 2010 and 2011 was spent in understanding the real impact of IaaS and the value it brings, 2012 is destined to be the year when PaaS comes out of the closet with mass acceptance. Following are my ideas on what PaaS would be like in 2012 :-

1. Domain specific PaaS 

A domain specific PaaS would allow organizations of all types to build software infrastructure over existing domain platforms. Lets talk about Telecom domain. There are various IT implementations that need to be built, maintained and supported on a daily basis for a telecom provider. These include provisioning, charging, customer on boarding, analytics, customer service and support, value added services etc. All such application environments need to have a common infrastructure of reusable components ready to be deployed and orchestrated to create solutions.  A Telecom PaaS would provide telcos an unprecedented access to scale, grow and utilize the best practices of the industry without reinventing the wheel. This would create level playing opportunities for telecom providers of all sizes. Imagine how it would affect other verticals - Manufacturing, Egovernance, Logistics, Retail etc. 

2. PaaS enabler buzzword

IaaS platforms would attempt morphing into PaaS enablers. This would allow organizations to create PaaS platforms for the specific business needs at will. Currently the approach the organizations take in this regard : Use existing / Implement an IaaS layer, create application provisioning infrastructure, support deployment of apps on demand etc. However there are challenges that stand before a perfect implementation of PaaS environments using the traditional means. No longer organizations need a bespoke implementation of application provisioning and deployment automation. IaaS players would allow customers to start building these platforms. A lot of traction is already visible in this space. More on this in the next point.

3. Platform-enable anything

The rise of API enabling eco-system to drive the functionalities over a service has been the biggest driver of innovation. Social networks are the living breeding example of such a revolution. PaaS enablers and newer platform services would create opportunities for organizations to platform enable their services at a fast pace. This would allow a faster time to market and easier setup process. Currently this process requires a strategic cap-ex based approach for its implementation. Its not for the weak hearted. A sustainable process to create platforms for service eco-system is the need of the hour. Take example of an Ecommerce enterprise :- With PaaS enablers, the enterprise would be able to create platform for hosting applications built by third-party developers using its services. 

What do you think of this trend ? Share your comments and ideas. 

In the next post, I would like to touch upon Domain specific clouds in more detail. More on this later. 

PaaS is here and its Real

Why community matters - even to IT services

An interesting question was haunting my mind since some time. Why does Community matter to a services firm ? In this case, it refers to thousands of IT Services firm all around India and elsewhere. A community makes sense to a Product firm. It allows engaging the end customers, developers and solution providers to drive the eco-system. Whats in here for a Services firm ? 

My 5+ year stint in IT Services firm has helped me discover interesting answers for this question. No organization works in silo, and an investment in community opens up great opportunity. The following are some of the points that come to my mind :-

1. Recruitment

Finding the best talent does not always require sneaking the job portals or social networks. The old paradigm of Job advertisements does not entirely work. An investment in community by the firm allows it to be able to scout talents that they cannot find with the usual ways. The community attracts people who are inquisitive in nature and seeking to learn from every opportunity that they can get. An IT service firm requires people who exhibit the same behavior. Driving community gives a chance for the recruitment team of the firm to be able to meet these individuals and initiate the conversations with them.

2. Brand

Like Product firms, IT services too require a brand recall that impacts customers, media and technology community. An IT firm with a strong brand image is a great marketing vehicle in itself. A community opens up the opportunity for the organization to build a great brand around itself. The community also allows external people to be the spokesperson for the organization. It enhances brand awareness and value. 

3. Interaction

Interaction allows exchange of ideas. Ideas to innovate, engage and create impact. An IT service firm can use the community to engage in dialog. It provides a way to assess and discover what people external to the company are thinking about. A perfect gold mine to discover trends  in technology adoption. The community also allows the employees of the organization to learn best practices and apply it to the business. 

4. Culture

A strong culture of an organization has its root in how its employees help each other. This attitude is the core foundation of a community. To make better employees and culture, it is mandatory for the company to have the spirit of helping each other in its core DNA. A community involvement will provide the employees of the organization the chance to polish this aspect of professional behavior. Thereby, creating better culture inside.

5. Pre-Sales and Partnerships

An important aspect for the IT services firm is to also look for opportunities for pre-sales and scout for partnership. Its evident everywhere - Great partnerships are not formed on golf courses or elaborate lunch meetings, its formed in small informal interactions. A community gives a chance to people of specific interests to come together. This provides a perfect ground for informal discussion, leading to a possible opportunity or a chance to work together. 

There are plenty of other points that can be added to the above list. The five mentioned comes immediately to me. Lastly, a community gives a chance to the firm involved to give back to the society and create a long lasting value that cannot be bought or sold. 

Why community matters - even to IT services