The other day I watched two brilliant stories. They contrast the amazing diversity of stories being told these days, and got me really excited for the opportunities we all have to tell stories of our own.
The first is a short TED talk by Joe Sabia. With faster iPad fingers than you’ll ever see on stage, he explores the ever-evolving art of storytelling, while at the same time demonstrating one of the latest storytelling technologies to “pop up”. Check it out below (or here).
The second, the inspiring story of Carly Fleischmann. Carly is a teenager with autism who discovered her voice when she was first set in front of a computer. Today she is a prolific blogger and tweeter who shares her inside view of living life with autism. Watch her story.
It used to be that only the person holding the microphone could be heard. Today, everyone has a voice, and there are about as many methods for sharing your story with everyone on the planet as there are people on it.
What are you going to say?
“Don’t give up. Your inner voice will find its way out. Mine did.” – Carly Fleishmann
I still remember the first time I went snowboarding in my (then) new snowboard pants. My first real boarding pants, they felt good, looked great, and changed my world. As I became one with the mountain that day, I honestly felt like I became a better snowboarder.
But can new pants really make you a better snowboarder?
I’m currently reading Emotional Design. Norman, a cognitive scientist, suggests that the design of a product, even on an aesthetic level, makes using those product easier to use. Why? Aesthetically-pleasing things make us feel good, and these positive emotions actually affect certain parts of your brain that “modify perception, decision making and behaviour.”
What do you think? Does good-feeling camera gear help you take better pictures? Do new shoes help you run faster? Does this all sound like a retailer’s clever pre-Christmas sales pitch?
And how does this affect how you design websites, make stuff and even decorate your work and living space?
“The surprise is that we now have evidence that aesthetically pleasing objects enable you to work better… Products and systems that make you feel good are easier to deal with and produce more harmonious results. When you wash and polish your car, doesn’t it seem to drive better? When you bathe and dress up in clean, fancy clothes, don’t you feel better? And when you use a wonderful, well-balanced, aesthetically pleasing garden or woodworking tool, tennis racket or pair of skis, don’t you perform better?” – Donald Norman
I’m terrible at asking questions. Even when it comes to talking with people that I admire or want to understand more, I find it difficult to ask questions that unlock people. But I was inspired to ask great questions by Marc Prachter’s 2008 TED talk. Prachter shares about a series of interviews, or “living portraits” that he collected for the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Prachter is passionate about asking great questions as an interviewer, and talks about the importance of empathy in unlocking who people really are. Check out his talk below.
“Everybody, in their lives, is really waiting for people to ask them questions so that can be truthful about who they are and how they became who they are.” – Marc Prachter
Or, as a friend put it strongly a couple months ago, “Everyone’s a shit show”.
We were talking about building friendships after moving to a new place, and how difficult it is to get to know people. My friend suggested that it was hard to develop deep relationships because most of us have such a hard time admitting that we don’t have it all together. I know I do.
Before Christmas my office had an open house. To get ready, we all did what most of us do when we’re expecting company, we cleaned off our desks, shoved all our scattered papers into our drawers, put on our best face for our clients.
I’ve been chewing on this for the past few weeks. I know I usually try to put my best foot forward, but am I so concerned with saving face that I fail to admit that there’s more that meets the eye, that my junk draw exists, and is oven bursting at the seams? And in doing so, do I miss out on some great, human, connections?
I just finished reading Dan Pink’s Drive, in which Pink explains why traditional carrot-and-stick motivators are out-dated and need to be replaced by the intrinsic motivators of Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. (For the abbreviated version of the book, watch Pink’s TED talk, which I’ve mentioned before).
One thing I learned was the importance of experiencing “flow” in your work. If you’ve ever heard of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s theory of flow, it’s probably because you had no idea how to pronounce his name, and because his theory probably described the best parts of your day or week. One of the keys to a person’s overall enjoyment of life, flow describes what you feel when you are fully immersed in an activity that you enjoy, are skilled in, challenged by, and is helping someone else. It’s that moment when you’re “in the zone”, time slips by and you lose yourself in the task at hand.
When do you experience moments of flow? In The Identity Project, Patrick Dodson points to these moments of flow at key indicators to look for as you discover and develop what you were born to do.
Interestingly, Csikszentmihalyi found that people are more likely to reach a state of flow at work than in leisure. In his book, Pink goes on to talk about the importance of creating work environments that encourage moments of flow, helping increase intrinsic motivation to do great work.
What can you do have more moments of flow this year?
Once we realize that the boundaries between work and play are artificial, we can take matters in hand and begin the difficult task of making life more livable. – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Despite a less-than-captivating delivery, watch this super-insightful talk as Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi himself speak on the topic of flow below (or here).
For the past month or two our house has been slightly resembling Santa’s workshop (minus the elves, reindeer, and some other things) as Anna and I tried our hand at making some of the gifts we gave to friends and family. Here’s a look at a few of the things we made. Did you give any handmade gifts? Do share!
Candy Cane Cocoa
Though this hot chocolate mix was made from scratch, it tasted pretty much just like regular mix, until we discovered the magic of adding candy canes to your hot chocolate! Made for fun layers in the jar as well! Marshmallow, or course, are a given. Tags from DIY Craft List.
Hardcover Photo Frame
We found this cool print at a craft sale, and decided to do something different with framing it. The frame, “mat”, and stand were all cut out of the cover and pages of a single hardcover book.
Canon Lens Can
It that a Canon SLR lens? Nope. We made a paper lens wrap for this can, which housed a QR code that led to a page to download some (photography) eBooks from an iPad.
Microwaveable Heating Pad
Filled with rice and scented with lavender, Anna sewed this heating pad together. And given what Anna received for Christmas, you might be seeing more things like this made by her in the weeks to come!
Christmas is nearly here! Above’s a little Christmas postcard, from our family to yours .
In the midst of all the busyness of buying and making gifts, decorating (yes, we got a real tree, and no, Olivia hasn’t even threatened to pull it down yet!), and working through what is the busiest season for my company, this has also been a season of reflection and gratitude. It’s in this season of giving that we also realize how much we really do have to give.
I was looking at some kinetic typography videos yesterday when I came across this one, which is hugely encouraging if you’ve embarked on learning a craft, but haven’t mastered it yet. Ira Glass is talking about storytelling, but it probably applies to what you’re doing too.
Nine years ago I stood up in front of 50 Chilean and realized that I had something to say. For the first time I felt like myself in front of a group, without shaky knees, and realized that I could make a connection with people, make them laugh (at my own expense, maybe), feel and learn.
“Everyone can communicate in some way and everyone has stories that the rest of us can learn from.” – Sarah Kay
Since then I’ve had more opportunities to face my fears and speak in front of people, but I’ve also had been able to see others take that first step of standing up with something to say. There’s something I love about seeing someone speak for the first time, (or even start a blog) which is maybe why I connected Sarah Kay’s TED talk so much.
“Spoken word is the art of performance poetry. It involves creating poetry that doesn’t just want to sit on paper; that something about it demands to be heard out loud or witnessed in person.”
Sarah Kay is a spoken word poet. If you watch just the first few minutes of the video below, you’ll hear her spoken word poem “B” (which was also released in hardcover today). She goes on tell tell about the magic of spoken word poetry as a medium for telling stories and providing immediate connection with other people. Kay is an engaging communicator whose entire 18-minute talk itself comes across as a warm, funny, engaging poem, and reminds us of the magic of human connection through storytelling and the spoken word.
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