Chapter 4 - Ringing Chimes

Please, let's give a hand clap of admiration for Father Guido's representation of the 5 Minute University. It made me think about education and its relevance in transitioning to the real world or workforce, particularly retention of information. What is the value of Social Studies and History if you don't vote? Is it true that you should know your history or you may be doomed to repeat it? Does American Constitutional Law prepare you for dealing with a traffic stop? Yes. If you are unduly searched and not afforded your Miranda rights. Years ago after school, my sister and I would come home and at the dinner table our parents would ask us what did we learn today. We usually answered in simple sentences that it was okay or give an occasional fact. I would pose the question a little differently now and ask my kids what did you learn meaningful today. What are the kids learning that is meaningful? Are the Standards of Learning even necessary? We need revolution and the debate continues. Getting the attention of the audience is important if you want the possibility of retention. The lecturing style of the past reminds me of the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off and the teacher calling the names of the students in the severe monotone voice. Now, he wasn't presenting at the time, but you could infer that his style would not differ very much from roll call. In the text, a presenter came out with a wig and pink feather boa. Just enough creativity to make you ask your neighbor if you are seeing the right thing. Capturing the attention and imagination of the audience is a delicate art. The presenter has to know the boundaries of their limits, how to hook the crowd. I had heard about the phenomenon of Susan Boyle and her rise to celebrity through reality television. This chapter afforded me the opportunity to see her first performance. Although, I was aware of her story she was a walking and singing advertisement about you can't judge the book by the cover. She had to be the plainest woman I have seen in quite some time, but she was confident and had a little gumption in her pre-performance chat with the judges. Her choice of song was apropos in her journey to reach her dreams. She absolutely moved the audience and captured their hearts. She is lucky that she was on a reality television show in England and not competing to sing the Chinese National Anthem for the Olympics, because they had a child sing the song only to be lip synced by a beautiful little girl to make the best outward impression. Much ado about flowers and grids. The last point of emphasis was the utilization of the Flower Exercise, which is a grid based on presentation techniques, such as humor, images, music, emotion, stories, and senses. What techniques do you think are best for you? As for me, I would rather tell a story and tie it to an important event that would resonate in the future. These techniques are a guide to help you hook the audience so that they may remember the messaging that you were promoting at that point in time. References Burmark, L. (2011), They Snooze You Lose: The Educator's Guide To Successful Presentations Hughes, J. (1986), Ferris Bueller's Day Off Michaels, L. (1975), Saturday Night Live: Father Guido Sarducci's, 5 Minute University