Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy

The power of words

Excellent (very long) article with author Alan Moore. Here are a couple of quotes about words that stood out to me:

Magic and language are practically the same thing, they would at least have been regarded as such in our distant past. I think it is wisest and safest to treat them as if they are the same thing. This stuff that you are dealing with – words, language, writing – this is dangerous, it is magical, treat it as if it was radioactive.

If you want to expand people’s consciousness, give them better language, wider language, new words. Learn to love words, learn to delight over a new word that you’ve found.

Anatomy of a Homurous speech

This is a video of a John Zimmer, a toastmaster in Europe, on his site he’s broken down the contents of his speech and his thought process behind why he did certain things. His commentary is just fascinating as his speech.

The day I learned to follow directions

During my years at college, I learned many techniques for making the perfect pitcher of Kool-aid. I like to focused on making sure all the sugar grains were properly dissolved by adding a small amount of water to the kool-aid mix and stirring, making a think syrup, once that was done, I’d add water to taste.

My roomate George made his Kool-aid with hot water and stuck it in the freezer.

My other roommate made the Kool-aid with a practiced eye, and almost zen like quality from years of study and practice.

Over those years I became an addict not only to the Kool-aid but a slave to the process that it took to create the product.

The one thing I learned, and a lesson that I have never forgotten, was because of a discussion with my brother over our shared addition with Kool-aid.

He claimed he knew how to make the perfect pitcher of Kool-aid. I didn’t believe him, every one was of the opinion that “they” made the perfect pitcher of Kool-aid.

“Okay, what’s the perfect way”, I challenged.

He pointed to the back of the package. “The instructions”, he said simply. His thought process went like this: Kool-aid probably spend millions on R&D to figure out the right amount sugar, water and mix, why on earth should he spend time re-inventing the wheel.

I was speechless.

Since that revelation, even though my addictions is years behind me, I rarely rarely don’t take the time to read and follow directions.

The science of listener attention

From the West Wing:

”Food is cheaper. Clothes are cheaper. Steel is cheaper. Cars are cheaper. Phone service is cheaper. You feel me building a rhythm here? That’s because I’m a speech writer, I know how to make a point. It lowers prices and raises income. Do you see what I did with ‘lowers’ and ‘raises’ there? It’s called the science of listener attention. We did repetition, we did floating opposites, and here comes the one that’s not like the others. Ready? Free trade stops wars … and we figure out how to fix the rest.”

Don Hewitt’s secret to success

Even the people who wrote the Bible were smart enough to know, ‘tell them a story.’ The issue was evil in the world, the story was Noah…Now the Bible knew that and for some reason or another I latched on to that.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Read more about Don Hewitt

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale

Three things done every so well:
1. Has audience participation
3. Creation (and fulfillment) of an expectation
4. Is awesome

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.