One year ago today Joe hit the “publish” button for his first Refuse to be Boring blog post. He did this with a bit of trepidation since his schedule was already demanding. He travels almost weekly to cover “Canada” as needed in his sales/marketing job (that is a BIG territory!!), his hours are long, he is heavily involved in volunteer work, he is learning French, he has family responsibilities, and he likes some leisure time with friends. Successful blogs require regular posting … would he have the time needed to devote to this? Would people find his tips helpful? Would anyone follow his blog? I can report that the answer to these questions is YES.
One year later Joe has posted 39 blogs – that gives us 39 (or more) things to do to improve our slides and presentation skills. I have been Joe’s proof reader for each of the blogs (every writer knows that this is a vital step) and have even been able to suggest a topic or two. I review the blog for readability however as an educator in a health sciences program I also reflect on the content, and could I implement this in my own work? Initially I would lament that I don’t have time to make the changes he suggests, it would mean re-designing all my presentations! His response was to change a few things at a time, and to evolve slowly. So, yes, I have made changes; slowly as he suggested so that it is manageable. And I now look at other people’s presentations differently now, and sometimes think things like “They could have used a full screen image there”, or “Oh – that is a slideument”.
Joe is passionate about the art of presenting. He sincerely wants to share his ideas, and help people develop their skills. His efforts seem to be paying off. Based on data from Google Analytics and TypePad, Joe’s Refuse to be Boring blog has developed a regular following across North America, and even in Europe. Joe has also been invited to do “live” presentations and workshops for groups in education, sales, and the non-profit sector.
So – Happy Anniversary, and cheers to you Joe! Thanks for inspiring us to be a little less boring.
Guest blogger – Cindy Murphy
Congratulations on the big one year anniversary. Oh yeah, and on the birthday too! Have a good one. Can’t wait to see what else turns up for you this year.
Thanks and thanks to Cindy for all the support and the guest blog…the more I study the “art of the pitch” the more I realize how much better people with great ideas can communicate them.
Kudos to both of you for all your hard work! Always great ideas, always something to think about and always a gentle reminder that we need to keep changing (which does take time). I look forward to Mondays…
Happy Anniversary to an excellent blog and a great couple. Joe you are my gold standard in presentations and some day I may get there. Every presentation needs an editor who is able to bring out the best in us and you have that with Cindy.