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NEW SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT | Purposeful Storytelling Impact Course

A tailored leadership learning experience aimed at greatly improving storytelling techniques and oratory skills, as well as enhancing the capability to deliver exceptional showcase presentations across diverse fields.

This brand new professional development program was recently delivered for a wonderful international client over 5x 2.5/3hour online sessions with twelve leaders from three continents across four countries—highly participatory in nature and focused on increasing the literacy levels of those involved aligned to specific strategic needs.

Interviews were undertaken with chosen participants to first gain an understanding of levels of literacy as well as current approaches. Desk research regarding language use, industry trends and internal policies was also completed to ensure the course had relevance and direct corporate impact.

Here’s the result:

“We recently had the opportunity to learn from DK as we launched the Better Futures Catalyst program, a facilitated public speaking initiative at Steelcase. This program brought together a cohort of employees from around the world to enhance our presentation skills by focusing on our people and planet efforts. DK created a bespoke hybrid program, guiding us in developing compelling stories and boosting our confidence in public speaking—both in-person and virtually. Our final presentations showcased remarkable growth, with each of us effectively weaving our unique experiences into an engaging narrative. We are so grateful to DK for his authentic approach, for creating a safe space for us to learn together and from each other, and for the number of resources he shared throughout the journey. Highly recommend!”
Kim Koeman, Global Director, Social Innovation at Steelcase

Was lucky enough to deliver a second cohort for Steelcase and currently exploring an ‘advanced’ offering for those who have been through the first ones.

Here’s some of the anonymous participants feedback gathered post-course:

“I appreciated the three pronged approach that DK showed us, backed by the wealth of experience he brings to the training. Public speaking is such an art and with practice and the right training, can be a powerful tool for delivering story and message.”
“This course provided me with the mindset, toolsets and experience/feedback to confidently approach speaking in a modern context. The quotes inspired me, the challenges felt relevant and the peer support (in addition to expert feedback) helped me develop quickly.”
“Overall, the entire course was wonderful. Really appreciate the guidance provided by DK. It was also a great opportunity to network and build connections with colleagues across the globe, with such diverse backgrounds and areas of work expertise.”
“Thank you for an amazing few weeks. I learned so much, i was pushed out of my comfort zone, and I’m looking forward to applying these techniques to my work.”
“DK and the overall training have been extremely professional, appropriately safe and fun. I enjoyed it plenty and learned a lot! Judging this as a highly impactful and worthwhile investment into the success of our people and with it our company at scale. I was and am grateful for the chance to participate in this first cohort.”
“I appreciated the three pronged approach that DK showed us, backed by the wealth of experience he brings to the training. Public speaking is such an art and with practice and the right training, can be a powerful tool for delivering story and message.”
“I really enjoyed this program and am so glad we piloted it with the group we had. There was community within the cohort and I look forward to working alongside a powerful group of speakers. Thank you DK for sharing your brilliance. Your coaching and guidance was supportive and affirming, and you created a space that encouraged respect for the craft. Appreciate you!”
“The course was very well structured, I loved the design of the experience, with the cadence and the home works, as well as seeing all of us grow. The length was perfect, the content relevant and DK was really a good coach! Energizing, inspiring and very actionable. Loved it! Thank you very much for this great opportunity.”
DK’s content is very good and the delivery is remarkable – he managed to create a great environment for us to learn and receive feedback, I truly hope more colleagues will have the opportunity to join this experience.

This service is now available to other organisations and companies looking to invest in the professional development of the storytelling abilities of their leaders.

Get in touch to explore further the process, alignment, costs and availability—only running a handful of these a year due to the time it takes to craft and deliver plus other commitments.

I did something similar (albeit in-person) for Sir Peter Jackson’s personal post production studio a few years back and fantastic to now have a couple of case studies of this instructional activity plus impact:

“We contracted DK to run several sessions with members of our leadership team and other staff who are required to present ideas, solutions, explanations and work flow information to clients and audiences. The sessions were so insightful and the feedback was extremely positive, even the most cynical were surprised at what they could achieve and change the way one approaches preparation and off the cuff speaking. A highly productive and useful experience and one we will repeat.”
Vicki Jackways, Head of Marketing, Park Road Post Production

Image credit / IconDuck – tweaked.
Published

750,000 Views | Celebrating As We Go

Marking another milestone.

In a little over eighteen months, my TEDxNelson talk on ‘The Public Speaking Lesson You Never Had’ has reached three quarters of a million views—crazy-mad-bonkers!

And the emails I continue to get from people fills my heart (this is the latest one):

If you’re reading this and watched it, shared it on, and / or liked it / left a comment on the YouTube video, sincerely, thank you!

Now I have the delightful challenge to figure out what to do when it hits one million views…

Related post: 500,000 TEDxNelson Talk Views | Celebrating With A Giveaway.
Published

2024 North America Tour & Return To Aotearoa / New Zealand | Fancy A Dance?

Planning the rest of my year and looking for opportunities to (re)connect, play, add value, develop things, have adventures, do things which have never been done, have bold conversations, explore, plus get into creative trouble…

Current draft schedule with emerging dates:

OCTOBER

  • Halifax, Nova Scotia / Moncton, New Brunswick | 8-12th
  • Montreal | 13-15th
  • Toronto | 16-18th
  • Grand Rapids, Michigan | 18-19th
  • HATCH | 20-25th
  • Portland, Oregon | 26-31st

NOVEMBER

  • Dallas / Fort Worth | 1st-4th
  • Aotearoa / New Zealand | 6th onwards…

Happy to deliver talks, masterclasses, creative consults / roundtables etc. plus explore detours if need be (see my pedigree / read the testimonials / check out past clients) although please do contact me quick as diary is firming up in the next few weeks.

Will be looking for gigs when I touch down in NZ as well so from November let me know if you’re keen…

So who’s around to do non-mundane things…?

Lets boogie!

Published

PEO Course Review | Figuring Out Next Moves

After two years I’m pressing pause on my Presenting Engagingly Online course.

UPDATE 30.8.24 : check out NEW SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT | Purposeful Storytelling Impact Course.

Launched in 2022 it was 75minutes / 10 video chapters crammed with applicable insights, resources and knowledge, users could take at their own pace. The course made me five figures worth of profit and was accessed by over 200 souls across four continents.

There are several reasons for the pause:

  1. Needs updating: the course was a response to the god awful talks / presentations I was seeing as everyone was switching to online events during Covid. Since then I’ve delivered multiple internal masterclasses on the same subject for a range of clients with 1000s of folks attending and honed my digital skills further. Ergo, got more content, more things to share, more insights to give, more ways to convince people to stop sharing their screen etc.;
  2. Sales have dropped off a cliff: probably because I have no interest in marketing / promotions, just creating, connecting, delivering, learning and adding value (and could have the same issue if I do the below update option);
  3. It costs: it’s $1,228.20USD annually to host through a learning platform plus it’s a little time-heavy to set-up.

UPDATE 25.8.24: I had a poll here with 3 options and asked people to vote. Same thing was also on my LinkedIn and both polls gave the same result of only offering bespoke / webinar versions of the learning experience (instead of redoing the course or leaving it there). Will be updating my about page accordingly:

Results of LI poll.

If there’s an interest for option 2 above please holler in the comments or fire us a message direct to collaborate!

Thanks for playing.

Published

#66 July 2024 | Monthly Digital Breadcrumbs

A bunch of things (which I added to my Tumblr) for your eyes and ears plus brain to spend time on (as no longer on Twitter).

READ

“The proposed treaty, pushed by Russia and shepherded by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, is a proposed agreement between nations purportedly aimed at strengthening cross border investigations and prosecutions of cybercriminals who spread malware, steal data for ransom, and cause data breaches, among other offenses. The problem is, as currently written, the treaty gives governments massive surveillance and data collection powers to go after not just cybercrime, but any offense they define as a serious that involves the use of a computer or communications system. In some countries, that includes criticizing the government in a social media post, expressing support online for LGBTQ+ rights, or publishing news about protests or massacres.”
Why You Should Hate the Proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty | Electronic Frontier Foundation

“As it’s described, Media Manager puts the burden on creators to protect their work and fails to address the company’s past legal and ethical transgressions. This overture is like having your valuables stolen from your home and then hearing the thief say, “Don’t worry, I’ll give you a chance to opt out of future burglaries … next year.””
Opinion: As AI is embraced, what happens to the artists whose work was stolen to build it? – Los Angeles Times

“Results showed again that those employees who continued to work with AI (compared to those who did not) had greater desire for connection, and were more lonely, with the corresponding consequences: more helping for those who had greater needs for affiliation, and more alcohol consumption (in one of the studies) and insomnia for those who felt lonelier.”
Research: Using AI at Work Makes Us Lonelier and Less Healthy

“In doing so, scientists have created a genetic goldmine by pinpointing previously unknown genes that are now being used to create hardy varieties with improved yields that could help feed Earth’s swelling population. Strains are now being developed that include wheat which is able to grow in salty soil, while researchers at Punjab Agricultural University are working to improve disease resistance from seeds that they received from the John Innes Centre. Other strains include those that would reduce the need for nitrogen fertilisers, the manufacture of which is a major source of carbon emissions.”
‘Goldmine’ collection of wheat from 100 years ago may help feed the world, scientists say | Agriculture | The Guardian

“In the total darkness of the depths of the Pacific Ocean, scientists have discovered oxygen being produced not by living organisms but by strange potato-shaped metallic lumps that give off almost as much electricity as AA batteries. The surprise finding has many potential implications and could even require rethinking how life first began on Earth, the researchers behind a study said on Monday.”
‘Dark oxygen’ in depths of Pacific Ocean could force rethink about origins of life | Oceans | The Guardian

WATCH

Man defrauds Amazon to fix potholes their dodged taxes should pay for. Uses same tax loophole as them to avoid legal repercussions for the fraud.
byu/Night_Fev3r inDamnthatsinteresting

EXPLORE

An online dice simulator.

A bunch of webcams for the Faroe Islands.

Check out this free Nokia 3310 Cellphone Font Reproduction.

A free online tool to design and then download your own pixel font.

Turn photos into oscillating wave animations via Shape Shimmer – wave animato.

Open source, privacy-first and cross-platform LocalSend: Share files to nearby devices.

Good for your ears and brain, listen to Fighting Enshittification | Electronic Frontier Foundation regarding interoperability etc.

This free Cross-Platform Pie Menu called Kando which launches applications, simulate keyboard shortcuts, open files, and much more.

Check out the Documentation for Pipes as a way to mashup and utilise RSS feeds like back in the day with Yahoo Pipes (semi-free and then paid).

All monthly digital breadcrumbs posts.
Published

MUNDANE | Made Up of Nothing, Devoid of Anything New or Exciting

A collection of mundane things via Pexels

When was the last time someone asked for “mundane” from you?

Mundane is tedious. Drab. Banal. Boring. Vacuous. Beige. Bland. Tired. Sedate. Paltry. Inane. Obtuse. Maudlin. Homogeneous. Achromatic. Same-old-same-old. Something lame. Pedestrian. Uninspiring. Trite. Stale. Lukewarm. Innocuous. A trudge. Nondescript. Vapid. Yawn-inducing.

I can appreciate that “mundanity” in the right context could be comforting, safe, like routine. Or if you’re going in for a heart operation then you want nothing but a mundane experience. However, in the context of designing and then delivering delicious learning experiences, it’s not in my professional lexicon.

*I don’t do mundane!

It’s a value which in the past has destroyed a potential career path, meant the loss of a healthy dose of money / about a year in time / loads of positive energy, and deeply affected my mental health, because:

“A principle isn’t a principle until it costs you something.”

Bill Bernbach

More recently, I’ve returned to this experience as a catalyst for designing a range of positive ‘products’—for creative maximilists looking to encourage dangerously original things!

Sign up here to get informed of when it goes live / NOW LIVE:

Mundane series - justadandak.com - Sep 2024 - shop screengrab - link to announcement

Oh and had this in an old slide deck which fits here:

boring is the riskiest strategy - Seth Godin quote - from the 'Purple Cow' book
*some proof of my non-mundane pedigree.
Published

#65 June 2024 | Monthly Digital Breadcrumbs

Taken at a recent trip to Salzburg MOMA.

A bunch of things (which I added to my Tumblr) for your eyes and ears plus brain to spend time on (as no longer on Twitter).

READ

“It’s only when Salim Ismail, SU’s “global ambassador” and the week’s moderator, fails to project his slides that we are reminded that the technological singularity may not be quite as near as predicted. “AI is really easy,” Ismail sighs as he fiddles with the projector connection. “AV is really hard.””
On the exponential curve: inside Singularity University | WIRED

“Research has shown that we don’t consider plants to be important mostly because they grow close together and don’t appear to move. As Wandersee and Schlusser wrote, “Static proximity is a visual cue humans use to group objects, so individual plants and different plant species tend to be de-emphasized.” A vine takes hours to turn toward sunlight, a bristlecone hundreds of years to mature. Each organism’s clock — its sense of time — is so different from ours that we can’t even sense it. In other words, what we call plant blindness is really time blindness: an obliviousness to temporal frames of reference that deviate from our own. And, despite Wandersee and Schlusser’s schoolroom agitprop, the situation is probably worse today than in 1999, exacerbated by our ever-diminishing attention spans, e-commerce, social media and more. The pace of civilization continues to quicken.”
A Clock In The Forest – NOEMA

“While Apple maintains its in-house AI is made with security in mind, its partnership with OpenAI has sparked plenty of criticism. OpenAI tool ChatGPT has long been the subject of privacy concerns. Launched in November 2022, it collected user data without explicit consent to train its models, and only began to allow users to opt out of such data collection in April 2023.”
AI is coming to your Apple devices. Will it be secure? | Apple | The Guardian

“Let’s assume, fast-forward five or six years, that AI is ready,” Yuan said. “AI probably can help for maybe 90% of the work, but in terms of real-time interaction, today, you and I are talking online. So, I can send my digital version, you can send your digital version.” Using AI avatars in this way could free up time for less career-focused choices, Yuan, who also founded Zoom, added. “You and I can have more time to have more in-person interactions, but maybe not for work. Maybe for something else. Why do we need to work five days a week? Down the road, four days or three days. Why not spend more time with your family?””
The future is … sending AI avatars to meetings for us, says Zoom boss | Artificial intelligence (AI) | The Guardian

“A group of current and former employees at prominent artificial intelligence companies issued an open letter on Tuesday that warned of a lack of safety oversight within the industry and called for increased protections for whistleblowers. The letter, which calls for a “right to warn about artificial intelligence”, is one of the most public statements about the dangers of AI from employees within what is generally a secretive industry. Eleven current and former OpenAI workers signed the letter, along with two current or former Google DeepMind employees – one of whom previously worked at Anthropic.”
OpenAI and Google DeepMind workers warn of AI industry risks in open letter | Artificial intelligence (AI) | The Guardian

“Large language models such as ChatGPT are some of the most energy-guzzling technologies of all. Research suggests, for instance, that about 700,000 litres of water could have been used to cool the machines that trained ChatGPT-3 at Microsoft’s data facilities. It is hardly news that the tech bubble’s self-glorification has obscured the uglier sides of this industry, from its proclivity for tax avoidance to its invasion of privacy and exploitation of our attention span. The industry’s environmental impact is a key issue, yet the companies that produce such models have stayed remarkably quiet about the amount of energy they consume – probably because they don’t want to spark our concern.”
The ugly truth behind ChatGPT: AI is guzzling resources at planet-eating rates | Mariana Mazzucato | The Guardian

WATCH

If no video appears please click here: MARSHALL MCLUHAN on ADVERTISING | 24 Hours | Writers and Wordsmiths | BBC Archive

EXPLORE

Get AI to write a whole song via Suno.

This site does one thing: copyshrugemoji.com

Listen via ESA to the scary sound of Earth’s magnetic field.

Cara is a social media and portfolio platform for non-AI artists. 

These images of the Eastern Ukraine’s Massive Soledar Mines.

Play old school retro games in browser like the terrific Bomberman.

Jan is a privacy-first, open source, on-device app that runs AI locally on any hardware.

If you want to lace shoes, tie shoes or learn about shoelaces, Ian’s Shoelace Site is the place!

Explore over 30,000 BBC Sound Effects and download to use freely (if for non-commercial use).

Krita is a professional FREE and open source painting program. It is made by artists that want to see affordable art tools for everyone.

A comprehensive resource for anyone interested in the craft of brand manifestos from a writer inside the creative studios at Apple and Meta.

All monthly digital breadcrumbs posts.
Published

For Those Who Want To Tell Better Stories #13 | Thumping & Plucking The Bass, Informational For Buying A Car, and Drumming Blind

A few chosen narrative examples, to uncover forms, inspire the soul and stir the creative spirits.

Bass player, Larry Graham, taking us through a musical story of how he established the slap bass technique we’ve all come to know (and love). It’s a case of showing / illustrating whilst telling which simply adds a literal underscore to the narrative being shared. And check out the integrated microphone on the guitar itself. Phat!

The pure amount of information crammed into this video about buying a used car is intensely cool. Think about any ‘how to’ videos you’ve watched recently or ones you develop to share knowledge and now see it through the lens of this approach. More is definitely more in this case.

As an ex-skin-basher I found this a wonderfully intriguing plus awe-inducing. From the ‘blind listen’ to the reveal / education of using a lead sheet right through to the exploration of improvisation. Removing an instrument track or an element from an existing creation and asking someone with mastery to complete it is a fascinating example of creative exploration, recording it and sharing it with the world is bold as. What would this look like in your industry / sector?

Check out all the ‘For Those Who Want To Tell Better Stories’ posts.

Image credit.
Published

#64 May 2024 | Monthly Digital Breadcrumbs

Image credit

A bunch of things (which I added to my Tumblr) for your eyes and ears plus brain to spend time on (as no longer on Twitter).

READ

“A little-discussed detail in the Lavender AI article is that Israel is killing people based on being in the same Whatsapp group [1] as a suspected militant [2]. Where are they getting this data? Is WhatsApp sharing it?“
Meta and Lavender

“Maybe AI art is the future. Maybe I can create so much more, express myself, and do everything I never had the energy to do,” you say. Your AI therapist wholeheartedly agrees with you. You are inspired. You are powerful. You are spending twenty dollars per month on ChatGPT Plus.”
The Seven Stages of AI Grief (for Artists) – McSweeney’s Internet Tendency

“As I’ve argued previously, we — with good reason — continually complain about the state of Twitter under Elon Musk, but I’d argue Raghavan (and, by extension, Google CEO Sundar Pichai) deserve as much criticism, if not more, for the damage they’ve done to society. Because Google is the ultimate essential piece of online infrastructure, just like power lines and water mains are in the physical realm.”
The Man Who Killed Google Search

“Social networks have become “the web” for many people who rarely venture outside of their tall and increasingly reinforced walls. As Tom Eastman once put it, the web has rotted into “five giant websites, each filled with screenshots of the other four”.1 Within those enclosures, the character limits, neutered subset of web functionality, and constant push to satisfy the enigmatic desires of an algorithm tuned to keeping eyeballs on the platform encourage sameness, vapid engagement farming, and rage bait while stifling creativity.”
We can have a different web

“The real moment of change, he believes, came some months before the crash south of Stockholm, when a conversation took place in his office. It was during a visit from Ines Uusmann, the minister for infrastructure, and Tingvall’s political boss. At one point she turned to him and asked, simply: “How many deaths should we have as our long-term target in Sweden?” Tingvall replied: “Zero.” To his surprise, Uusmann said she was interested and would like to hear more. This was the beginning of an approach to road safety known as “Vision Zero”.”
More than a million people die on roads every year. Meet the man determined to prevent them – BBC Future

“The results reveal that internet access, mobile internet access and use generally predicted higher measures of the different aspects of wellbeing, with 84.9% of associations between internet connectivity and wellbeing positive, 0.4% negative and 14.7% not statistically significant.”
Internet use is associated with greater wellbeing, global study finds | Internet | The Guardian

“Aside from the fact that everyone has hated this corporation for years, what is the actual case against Live Nation? The argument is that the corporation violated Federal and state laws against monopolization, unlawful tying, and/or exclusive dealing in multiple markets, from primary ticketing services to concert and artist promotion to venue management. And they are seeking a divestment of Ticketmaster, an end to its unfair contracts and anti-competitive practices. According to the Department of Justice’s complaint, Live Nation has built a ‘Flywheel,’ dominating a bunch of different parts of the live entertainment industry through a bunch of different coercive techniques, such as threats, exclusive contracts, and acquisitions. It then uses its power to harm certain artists, and to impose a ‘Ticketmaster Tax’ via fees on consumers.”
Antitrust Enforcers to Break Up Ticketmaster and End the “Ticketmaster Tax” (finally)

“This is a comprehensive excavation of The Gateway Process report. The first section provides a timeline of the key historical developments that led to the CIA’s investigation and subsequent experimentations. The second section is a review of The Gateway Process report. It opens with a wall of theoretical context, on the other side of which lies enough understanding to begin to grasp the principles underlying the Gateway Experience training. The last section outlines the Gateway technique itself and the steps that go into achieving spacetime transcendence. Let’s go.”
How to Escape the Confines of Time and Space According to the CIA

WATCH

EXPLORE

cobalt is your go-to place for downloads from social and media platforms. zero ads, trackers, or other creepy bullshit. simply paste a share link and you’re ready to rock!

Explore Movies Frame By Frame – In Random Order from critically acclaimed films to gain a new perspective on the art of cinematography.

100+ Abstract shapes with cool grainy gradient. Ready to use with any design dev project.

Funky little platform to animate some text and output via gif / mp4 / webm.

For nearly 15 years this site has existed: Chicken On A Raft.

Some good insights here…Launching Your Book.

Create Before After video , Gif from images.

White screen (+ others) | Online Tool.

All monthly digital breadcrumbs posts.
Published