It’s been 3 years since I was last in the company of family and friends there—feels more like a decade.
I’ll be back in Wales from next month and the plan is to linger (with a few side adventures into Europe), reconnect with humans, the land, plus explore creative collaborations / opportunities.
“Dod yn ôl at fy nghoed / To return to my trees, to relax and unwind, to calm your mind.”
I already have a few bookings in place for my ‘Purposeful Storytelling’ public speaking masterclasses which is a bonus and open to more (these are half-day sessions for leaders and I have a ‘beginners’ plus ‘advanced’ offer, let me know if you need further info, I also do 1-2-1 speaker coaching also plus happy to speak / consult with groups on other aspects of ‘crafting delicious learning experiences’ and storytelling).
Like many of you I would imagine, the past couple of years has been about challenges and consolidation. Judging by the response I got from this LinkedIn post, the experience is not unique and it filled my spirit how many kindly reached out to share their experiences and / or left a lovely comment (even though it was a quick post and nothing I thought too deeply about as the intention was to celebrate the ‘lightness’ I was feeling). So this feels like a signifying expedition.
If you’re in what’s left of the ‘United Kingdom’, please check your diaries then let me know what your plans are from mid August onwards as would love to reconnect / spend time together (albeit socially distanced and probably outdoors). See you then / there!
A few chosen narrative examples, to uncover forms, inspire the soul and stir the creative spirits.
For some reason the YouTube video won’t embed so please click the above image to view.
Deconstructing other peoples work is a way of extending the relevance of the piece. Revealing complexity through performative understanding in this case, reveals all the nuances of written text which is intended to be acted, by the actor themself (in this case Sir Ian McKellen). Even though the above is specific to a well known soliloquy / scene / text from Shakespeare it can stand as an example and be applied to any element of any sector / industry. A master, holding class (BONUS: watch till end to see the lesson put into action).
This in-browser investigative news story integrates graphics and motion in a wonderfully creative way, the outcome of which enables takes the viewer / reader on a visual feast of a journey through the narrative. Again, you can imagine this as an example which could be ported to other uses like an annual report of a company, an investors pitch online, an organisations future strategic commitments etc.
What a wonderfully produced, simple and effective 14 minute exploration of such a broad topic: How Poetry Works. In their delivery, Paul Tran ignites the watchers interest with simple technology use, mastery of language and superb emotional projection. Using just one poem, we’re introduced to the elements, structure and strategies (some obvious, some hidden) a poet can draw upon to convey meaning (ANOTHER BONUS: watch till end to see the lesson put into action).
All offered up to inspire, teach and make you smile / think.
Interview with senior staff researcher and lecturer in computer science at UC-Berkeley, who’s been studying cryptocurrency for years, Says All Cryptocurrency Should “Die in a Fire” (video of lecture below from same chap is well worth your time).
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A few chosen narrative examples, to uncover forms, inspire the soul and stir the creative spirits.
An augmentation of a scene from the film, Amadeus, wonderfully revealing the musical literacies of two artists working on what will become Confutatis. By adding these new visual aspects to an already existing work it reveals the hidden brilliance of the story and the characters impact. Bravo!
A further example of when new layers add more impact to an existing story narrative (the above is extended from the previous version). Another demonstration of how you can amplify an existing storyline with references of previous lore which serves the fandom deeply. Goosebumps.
As slightly different but with the same approach to augmenting a scene with additional content is the above. Speaking over a peculiar short piece of shaky footage from a musical festival, Derek Sivers adds a compendium of leadership insights in such a short space of time. So simple yet so effective.
All offered up to inspire, teach and make you smile / think.
Usually, there’s only one thing I’m doing at 5am in the morning, but on April 18th 2007 I was sending my first ever tweet.
MediaSnackers was the second company I founded and ran for a bunch of time. It existed to skill people up on new media (it was called that before it become social) and emerging technologies (like mobile phones and the internet). It got me speaking and delivering our training courses on five continents plus building out a team and an array of service offerings. During this time I introduced and trained thousands of people to use Twitter and on April 3rd, 2011 I tweeted for the first time via @justadandak.
Over the last 15 years I have tweeted approximately 45,000 times (total from both accounts). That’s 3,000 times a year. 250 times a month. 8 times a day.
I’ve always championed Twitter as a communal space to connect to a wider conversation. And beyond that tweets place a big-fat-juicy-virtual-pin into moments and places. They amplify experiences and tap into our humanness to story-share. Whether you’re live-tweeting a conference and connecting to others on the hashtag or increase your following by adding value into the world on weird / wonderful topics.
Nowadays though it’s a little more subdued as a connecting platform and even though I continue to tweet, the engagement has gone through the floor, probably due to the proliferation of other channels and also the divisive nature these channels are being used for.
That being said, I still think it’s pick of the bunch and my three biggest insights for folks who continue to use it are:
use lists: I have a couple although always jump into the main one which cuts through all the clutter and gets me to the good stuff. There’s another massive reason I use lists but it’s top secret and I never share it publicly, although hit me up via the contact page and I will tell you why;
advanced search: I often search Twitter when looking for a solution to a problem or a product / service question I have. Think of Google as a way of searching the ‘lived’ web which is indexed by algorithms, Twitter is a way of searching the ‘live’ web, shared by humans, right now;
unfollow people: stop following accounts who have a negative effect on your well-being. As a user, you have total control over the stream of content which reaches you (unlike BookFace & *InLinked).
*the latter being unusable as an engagement medium in the past year or so due to the algorithmic biases only allowing the stuff it wants to show you, with no option to just see from those who you are connected to—see this recent example of me scrolling in real time and note how some posts appear more than once plus there are no posts from those in my network, only likes or supports or loves etc of content from those outside my network (oh and I did ask and here’s their non-response proving there’s no way to see posts JUST from those in your network):
Back to the Twittersphere, things have definitely changed: from the early days of ‘follow Friday’ where you would celebrate a bunch of people in your network you wanted to champion to others right through to connecting via event hashtags and having fantastic ‘back-channel’ discussions on what’s going on.
And now Mr Musk could usurp all of this in the coming months and years although I doubt it. And even if he does, there will be another platform I’m sure which will come along and offer the same service.
In that very short time I far surpassed the recouping of the costs for the learning management service I’m using (which was my first goal) and have received positive comments on its impact from those who have completed the course. As I continue to promote its existence to the world am aiming to build on this great start and turn it into momentum that will sustain.
As a solopreneur there are no partners or other agencies supporting this endeavour, am doing all the course corrections and publicising myself. That being said, the promotional plan has been simple: let the humans in my network whom I think would be interested know about it (mainly via email). To aid interest, for the first month percentage-off-offers were created each week and these were shared in the emails plus through LinkedIn and Twitter every other day.
A big amount of time was spent researching the platform I’m using and it was chosen not least due to its integrated automation (from payment gateways to sequencing of communications to registrants). That being said, tweaks are always needed albeit small ones.
What’s been a surprise is that I’ve been contacted by a few of my friends and colleagues with good arguments about upping the price (some stating I should add an extra “0” to the price tag). I was already considering adding bonus chapters in the coming months as well as yet-to-be-revealed extra opportunities for the membership community to connect further. Was thinking these two developments would create further opportunities to promote the course whilst also increasing the value to both those who have already bought plus those who are considering. Although if I were to take the advice of those who are advocating for a price increase a new path is to be taken (which I’ve already formulated).
So, if you haven’t purchased access to the course yet, please get in now before any changes occur:
In the coming months I will continue to develop two other complimentary courses which will sit alongside and on the Presenting Wisdom platform, rounding out the offer and increasing the learning portfolio available to undertake.
Any questions, hit me up in the comments.
UPDATE 18.5.22 Planning and creating in concert with the next course – shooting soon:
Another two articles about how countrywide adoption of cryptocurrencies in El Salvador & Kazakhstan has failed (not to mention the incredible amount of ewaste & carbon emissions created by the ventures).
A few chosen narrative examples, to uncover forms, inspire the soul and stir the creative spirits.
Touching. Funny. Poignant. Eulogies are an odd but if you think about it, obvious platforms for stories. I mean if there’s ever a second best time to express emotion and insights for loved ones it’s when others are gathered to pay that respect. David Grohl’s weaves a lovely journey of one mans little impact of his friend Lemmy Kilmister.
*first best time is now.
A classic. High energy and sigh-inducing. A teacher in flow. Illustrating everything he says with the aligned energy and practical demonstrations whilst also literally connecting to the audience with no consideration for usual etiquette. Sublime and an example I come back to often to show exuberant oratory.
It’s really hard to write text to sound flowing and spontaneous. It’s harder still to read a script with the energy and intonation of natural speech. This is a perfect example of both. A highly charged topic delivered with grace and sincerity, humanised through individual experience and gravitas. A peace-making call to arms in a troubled time.
All offered up to inspire, teach and make you smile / think.
