Archive for the 'Non-web' Category

The way we watch television is changing. Even now we are watching television on demand. In the (near) future, the vast majority will not watch scheduled television programming at all. We’ll put together our own schedules of the things we want to watch. In fact, I’ll wager that the likes of the BBC and ITV will give viewers a list of things to what to watch and let them choose.

It’s already happening. Online providers such as Joost give you select programmes when you like. BBC iplayer let you save programmes for later viewing in the week. On-demand is available anytime on terrestrial and satellite.

The infrastructure is in place. All that needs to change is the mentality of the viewer. And as ever, that’ll take longer to change. People are creatures of habit. They like their Eastenders on a Monday at 7.30pm and their news at 10pm. Give them a choice and many of them won’t know what to do with it.

Once again it’s a case of technology leading the user rather than the other way around. But, as with the digital switchover, programmable schedules will be forced on people. For those who can’t, or won’t, put together their own schedule, I think there will be a ‘recommended’ schedule that all can watch during peak periods of the day.

The cross over from passive to interactive media and the way we digest it is changing yet further. Before it was the internet into our homes. Now it’s television into our front rooms. All that’s holding us back is society’s ability to stomach it.

So I got a hard time for my earlier post about public speaking - rightly so, no doubt. Never know when to be quiet, me.

Anyway, whereas I make a clumsy stab at explaining myself, here’s Dan Pink of FastCompany writing about presenting;

“Why does communication about business remain so tedious? Most businesspeople describe their dreams and strategies - their stories - just as they’ve been doing for decades: stiffly, from behind a podium, and maybe with a few slides. Call it ‘Corporate Sominex’. Digital storytelling is more than a technique. In fact, it’s become something of a movement among about artists and businesspeople.”

(Courtesy of the FANTASTIC ‘Presentation Zen’ by Garr Reynolds)

So, enotions walked away with the runners’ up prize for the Outstanding Business of the Year award at the annual Salisbury Chamber of Commerce awards Friday night.

Last year we came fifth so we’re moving up the ranks. Hey next year we’ll win it!

But what astounded me, and what I wanted to blog about, was the overall quality of the speakers. Hey, this might not be London’s media heartland but Salisbury has a bustling business centre with some pretty impressive companies functioning within it. So what’s with the awkward and uninspiring speeches?

At award ceremonies, like the one the other day, businesses use such events to both check out the competition and the overall health of the local business environment - and by health I mean attitude, energy and thinking. There was a lot of talk about inspiring business and how Salisbury is bucking the business-trend, but judging by the quality of the speakers, the words and the energies of the speakers were diametrically opposed.

I know that Salisbury is a great place to do business. It’s got a lot of forward thinking people who are also incredibly down to earth - in my view a winning combination. So why is it I always come away from these business events disappointed with the speeches?

I think the answer is two-fold.

Firstly, do dynamic businesses bother getting actively involved with organisations like the Chamber of Commerce? Yes, but they know it doesn’t make financial sense to sponsor these events and therefore they don’t get asked to make speeches. The dinosaurs of the business world, long established and set in their ways, are always the sponsors because they’ve always been the sponsors and always will be the sponsors. And therefore the dinosaurs who work within these dinosaur institutions make the speeches.

Secondly, people generally don’t know how to give good speeches, especially from companies who still apply processes from 1843.

Giving good speeches is the easiest, but also the hardest, thing in the world. Apply basic good presentation techniques and know what it is you want to say and you’ll give a perfectly good speech.

But top-drawer speakers command high rates because they know how hard it is to give a truly killer speech.

So, Friday’s the big night as the Salisbury Business awards descends on City Hall.

enotions will be there and hoping to walk away with the BIG award of the night - the Outstanding Business of Year.

We came 5th last year in the Best Small Business category so it’s a fairly big jump for us but we’ve achieved much and grown much since the last award ceremony, so we’re in with a shout.

And, hey, I think we deserve to win (but I would think that, wouldn’t I ?!)