Writing

  • What Languages are the Most Spoken – The Results Might Surprise You

    There are over 7,100 known languages actively spoken in the world today. Of those, just twenty-three of them act as a mother tongue for more than 50 million people.  Collectively, those 23 languages make up the native tongue of more than half the world (4.1 billion people).

    This infographic represent each language within black borders and then provide the numbers of native speakers (in millions) by country. The coloring shows how the languages have taken root in many different regions.

     

    150620 A World of Languages

     via Alberto Lucas López .

     

    As you can see, Chinese is by far the most dominant language on the planet right now, with almost 1.2 billion people speaking dialects. Comparatively, pretty much every other language on Earth is an also-ran: Spanish (399 million speakers), English (335 million), Hindi (260 million), and Arabic (242 million) take up the next four positions. Only when you add them up do they come close to the reach Chinese has.

    Although Chinese is the most popular language on Earth, it's worth noting that its influence wanes greatly outside of Asia.

    If you take the geographic diversity of where a language is spoken into account, English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese are the most influential languages on Earth, because of colonialism.

    For more, here is a link to the Washington Post's article: The world’s languages, in 7 maps and charts.

  • Wisdom in the Age of Information: The Future of Story-Telling

    “We live in a world awash of information, but we seem to face a growing scarcity of wisdom,” states Maria Popova, Founder of the website Brain Pickings.

    She believes that stories—in the broadest sense of the word—shape the meaning and momentum of everyday life.

     

     

     via YouTube.

    Stories will never die, but the ways we tell them are changing.

    Interesting.

  • Wisdom in the Age of Information: The Future of Story-Telling

    “We live in a world awash of information, but we seem to face a growing scarcity of wisdom,” states Maria Popova, Founder of the website Brain Pickings.

    She believes that stories—in the broadest sense of the word—shape the meaning and momentum of everyday life.

     

     

     via YouTube.

    Stories will never die, but the ways we tell them are changing.

    Interesting.

  • What It Is Like to Prepare to Speak at a TEDx Conference (Part 2)

    To use an athletic analogy, a normal speech and a TED Talk are totally different events (like a sprint vs the decathlon).  It takes a surprisingly different set of skills and type of preparation to perform well.

    I've given hundreds of presentations, and don't normally stress about them.  I did for this one.

     

    140531 HMG Speaking at TEDx Plano 2

      
    In most of my talks, there is very little "set in stone" to memorize.  I tend to have a main topic (or theme), and each slide serves like a module … and I think, talk, interact, and improvise throughout the framework.

    This works well for me because I tend to think in anecdotes that branch out from the main theme. That may be a great skill to have, but it's not one that helps you write a good TED Talk.

    Why?  Because, in contrast, a TED Talk is really about "one idea worth sharing".  

    In many respects, it's much harder to write and deliver a good 10 minutes about one idea, than it is to prepare to talk about a much broader topic for one hour.

     

    140531-HMG-JBR-and-ZAG-at-TEDx-Plano

    My wife, son, and me at the TEDx Plano event

     

    The TEDx committee created a sense of formality with stringent standards and deadlines.  My guess is that, during the planning and rehearsal  process, they wanted uncomfortable speakers to provoke better speeches.

    As a result, I prepared (and threw away) four separate talks before coming up with something that felt right and flowed properly.

    Here are some bullet points that highlight lessons learned.

    • One of my early listeners coached me that the trick to a good TED Talk is that it is not about what you say, but rather about what they feel. In other words, for a TED Talk, evaluate the story and the particular wording choices based on the emotions they elicit in listeners.
    • One of the best ways to get a point across emotionally is to tell a story.  And, if I couldn't remember it easily, it probably wasn't a story.
    • The speech committee and several early listeners strongly encouraged me to go with as few slides as possible. I started with 15 … I got it down to six  … and I ended up with two (relying, instead, on the performance and connection rather than images and words).
    • They encouraged me to take almost everything about business (in general) or my business (specifically) out of the talk.
    • In fact, they kept encouraging me to make it simpler and more basic on almost every level. "Why did you say that?" I would answer; and they would say "Then say that."

    I didn't realize how hard it was to make something simple.

    The video should be ready next week.

     

    EDIT: Here it is:

    Related articles
    How to Create and Deliver a TED talk
    How to prepare and deliver a TEDx talk
    What It Is Like to Prepare to Speak at a TEDx Conference (Part 1)
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  • E-Mail Merge: Sending Holiday Wishes, Without Losing Your Holiday Spirit.

    If you hate writing personalized holiday cards, you'll love this tool.  It does what it is supposed to, it's easy to use, and it's going to save you a ton of time and effort.

     

    The Task I Put-Off Every Year.

     

    Even though composing a message and signing cards is a relatively simple task, some part of me resents and resists it.

    Call me Ebenezer Scrooge, but I don’t enjoy writing thank you notes and holiday cards.

    On one hand that embarrasses me a little, because I recognize that both are expressions of appreciation and being grateful for relationships and nice things. On the other hand, it's the thought that counts. I can be grateful and appreciative without suffering. How much time and effort I spend is irrelevant to how much goodwill I feel or express.

     

    EMail Merge Pro.

     

    101219 emm_v3_box_150 That's why I recommend you try this e-mail merge software. It allows you to send personalized holiday cards, invitations or other messages, in a fraction of the time it used to take.

    This easy-to-learn, easy-to-use Outlook mail merge solution has a helpful Wizard interface that gets you up and running in minutes. It takes you through a step-by-step process that makes it very easy to select who you want to send to, and how you want to personalize the message (for example, adding a first name or some other information from the contact record).

    Now that I have a "Holiday Card" category in Microsoft Outlook, the hardest part of the process is tagging the new people who I want to get a holiday card.

     

    It is the Right Tool for the Job.

     

    If you need to tap a nail into the wall, a chain-saw is not the right tool. Likewise, most people don't need commercial e-mail services. Still, it is a great convenience having a tool that you can use, from time to time, when you want to send personalized messages to a bunch of people.

    EmailMerge is a one-time purchase that allows you to send unlimited emails to unlimited contacts no additional fees or costs.

    I tend to use this program two or three times a year; and every time I use it I'm happy it's there and thrilled with how it performed.  Here is a link to a video demonstration.

     

    101219 Email Merge Pro Video
     

    I've used this software for many years. It is stable, mature, and continuing to improve. I highly recommend that you download a trial from their website.

    They also make a number of other add-ins for Outlook worth checking-out and have a blog worth reading.

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  • The Clues to a Great Story – TED Video and Infographic

    Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving.

    I visited family.

     

    131201 Getson Fingerman Family on Thanksgiving

     

    One of the things that caught my attention was how attached to stories we are … our own, and the stories of others. 

    They help us decide who is naughty or nice.  They help us decide who to spend more time with … and where we fit in.

    Stories are emotion catalysts and amplifiers.  Choose the 'right' ones, and you feel good.  Focus on the 'wrong' one and you feel bad. 

    Well-told stories make us care.  Humans use 'story' to make sense of things.  If you create the narrative, the process is intentional.  However, for most, the quality of our stories is not a conscious process. 

     

    How Do You Craft a Great Story?

     

    A good story can make the gathering feel that much closer. A good story can flip a conversation at a party from completely awkward to wonderful.

    A good story can glue your nose to a book. And, on screen, a good story can rivet generation after generation.

    Story-telling is an important skill.  So, how do you tell a good story?

    Andrew Stanton, the Pixar writer and director behind both Toy Story and WALL-E, has many ideas, and he shared his expertise in his TED Talk, The clues to a great story .

     

     

     

    Storytelling is like joke telling. It's knowing your punchline, your ending, knowing that everything you're saying, from the first sentence to the last, is leading to a singular goal, and ideally confirming some truth that deepens our understandings of who we are as human beings.

    We all love stories. We're born for them. Stories affirm who we are. We all want affirmations that our lives have meaning. And nothing does a greater affirmation than when we connect through stories. It can cross the barriers of time, past, present and future, and allow us to experience the similarities between ourselves and through others, real and imagined.

     

    Here is an infographic that sets out the basic steps to a great story.

     

    131201 Clues to a Great Story andrewstanton-ted_poster

    Stories are not just for kids.

    Make me care.  Take me with you.  Be intentional.  Let me like you.  Delight me.

    Words to live by!

     Sign-up to get this delivered once a week.

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  • Faulty Logic: Identifying Logical Fallacies

    Sometimes business feels like a debate.  Other times, dinner conversation or a family discussion takes a contentious turn.  In any case, here is a quick primer on logical fallacies.

    A logical fallacy is a flaw in reasoning. In other words, logical fallacies are like tricks or illusions of thought.  Consequently, they are
    often used by politicians and the media.

     

    130823 Logical Fallacies

     

    It is fun to identify which of these certain people (including yourself) use when arguing.

     

    TWENTY LOGICAL FALLACIES:


    They fall into three main types: Distraction (10); Ambiguity (5); and Form (5).

     

    A. Fallacies of Distraction

    1. Ad baculum (Veiled threat): "to the stick":
    DEF.- threatening an opponent if they don’t agree with you; EX.- "If you don’t agree with me you’ll get hurt!"

    2. Ad hominem (Name-calling; Poisoning the well): "to the man":
    DEF.- attacking a person’s habits, personality, morality or character; EX.- "His argument must be false because he swears and has bad breath."

    3. Ad ignorantium (Appeal to ignorance):
    DEF.- arguing that if something hasn’t been proved false, then it must be true; EX.- "U.F.Os must exist, because no one can prove that they don’t."

    4. Ad populum: "To the people; To the masses":
    DEF.- appealing to emotions and/or prejudices; EX.- "Everyone else thinks so, so it must be true."

    5. Bulverism: (C.S. Lewis’ imaginary character, Ezekiel Bulver)
    DEF.- attacking a person’s identity/race/gender/religion; EX.- "You think that because you’re a (man/woman/Black/White/Catholic/Baptist, etc.)"

    6. Chronological Snobbery
    DEF.- appealing to the age of something as proof of its truth or validity; EX.-"Voodoo magic must work because it’s such an old practice;" "Super-Glue must be a good product because it’s so new."

    7. Ipse dixit: "He said it himself":
    DEF.- appealing to an illegitimate authority; EX.- "It must be true, because (so and so) said so."

    8. Red herring (Changing the subject):
    DEF.- diverting attention; changing the subject to avoid the point of the argument; EX.- "I can’t be guilty of cheating. Look how many people like me!"

    9. Straw Man:
    DEF.- setting up a false image of the opponent's argument; exaggerating or simplifying the argument and refuting that weakened form of the argument; EX.- "Einstein's theory must be false!  It makes everything relative–even truth!" 

    10. Tu quoque: "You also"
    DEF.- defending yourself by attacking the opponent; EX.- "Who are you to condemn me! You do it too!"

    B. Fallacies of Ambiguity

    1. Accent:
    DEF.- confusing the argument by changing the emphasis in the sentence; EX.- "YOU shouldn’t steal" (but it’s okay if SOMEONE ELSE does); "You shouldn’t STEAL" (but it’s okay to LIE once in a while); "You SHOULDN’T steal (but sometimes you HAVE TO) ."

    2. Amphiboly: [Greek: "to throw both ways"]
    DEF.- confusing an argument by the grammar of the sentence; EX.- "Croesus, you will destroy a great kingdom!" (your own!)

    3. Composition:
    DEF.- assuming that what is true of the parts must be true of the whole; EX.- "Chlorine is a poison; sodium is a poison; so NaCl must be a poison too;" "Micro-evolution is true [change within species]; so macro-evolution must be true too [change between species]."

    4. Division:
    DEF.- assuming that what is true of whole must be true of the parts; EX.- "The Lakers are a great team, so every player must be great too."

    5. Equivocation:
    DEF.- confusing the argument by using words with more than one definition; EX.- "You are really hot on the computer, so you’d better go cool off."

    C. Fallacies of Form

    1. Apriorism (Hasty generalization):
    DEF.- leaping from one experience to a general conclusion; EX.- "Willy was rude to me. Boys are so mean!"

    2. Complex question (Loaded question):
    DEF.- framing the question so as to force a single answer; EX.- "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?"

    3. Either/or (False dilemma):
    DEF.- limiting the possible answers to only two; oversimplification; EX.- "If you think that, you must be either stupid or half-asleep."

    4. Petitio principii (Begging the question; Circular reasoning):
    DEF.- assuming what must be proven; EX.- "Rock music is better than classical music because classical music is not as good."

    5. Post hoc ergo propter hoc (False cause): "after this, therefore because of this;"
    DEF.- assuming that a temporal sequence proves a causal relationship; EX.- "I saw a great movie before my test; that must be why I did so well."

    via Oxford Tutorials

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    Other Links

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  • Using Mind-Mapping Tools – Part 1

    Mind maps are going mainstream. They're showing up throughout the office, with a wide variety of users and uses.

    Initially, mind maps were simply a brainstorming, outlining, or note-taking tool. Now, they are showing up in thought processing, visual thinking, project management, process planning and presentations.

    110530 Uses of Mind Maps

    Tony Buzan is the father of modern mind mapping. Here is a video where he describes mind mapping and why you might want to use its "radiant thinking" process.

     

     

     

    Tony Buzan's company recently released iMindMap 5. It is software that helps you create mind maps.  Here is a map made with iMindMap that explains the basic best practices of mind-mapping.

     

    110530 Mind Map Laws

    iMindMap 5 is a great tool that keeps getting better. You can certainly use it for a lot more than taking notes.

    The product comes in various versions (starting with a no-cost basic version) and moving up to a full-featured Ultimate version, which includes rich project management and 3-D presentation tools.

    Here is a video showing the software.

     

     
     
    The current generation of mind mapping tool is considerably more powerful, yet easier-to-use, than its predecessors. You can download a copy of iMindMap to try for yourself.

     Next week, in part 2, I will show examples of maps made for specific business uses.

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  • Using Mind-Mapping Tools – Part 1

    Mind maps are going mainstream. They're showing up throughout the office, with a wide variety of users and uses.

    Initially, mind maps were simply a brainstorming, outlining, or note-taking tool. Now, they are showing up in thought processing, visual thinking, project management, process planning and presentations.

    110530 Uses of Mind Maps

    Tony Buzan is the father of modern mind mapping. Here is a video where he describes mind mapping and why you might want to use its "radiant thinking" process.

     

     

     

    Tony Buzan's company recently released iMindMap 5. It is software that helps you create mind maps.  Here is a map made with iMindMap that explains the basic best practices of mind-mapping.

     

    110530 Mind Map Laws

    iMindMap 5 is a great tool that keeps getting better. You can certainly use it for a lot more than taking notes.

    The product comes in various versions (starting with a no-cost basic version) and moving up to a full-featured Ultimate version, which includes rich project management and 3-D presentation tools.

    Here is a video showing the software.

     

     
     
    The current generation of mind mapping tool is considerably more powerful, yet easier-to-use, than its predecessors. You can download a copy of iMindMap to try for yourself.

     Next week, in part 2, I will show examples of maps made for specific business uses.

    Related Articles
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  • Video Captures Obama’s Favorite Catch-Phrases

    ‘Make no mistake,’ Obama is a big fan of his own catchphrases.

    This video shows that there’s no mistaking it: “Make no mistake” is President Obama’s favorite catchphrase.
      

    Statistics gathered by the Global Language Monitor reveal that Obama has said it 2,924 times since he was sworn into office more than two years ago.

    Other signature Obama sayings include: "Win the future" (1,861 times),  “Here’s the deal” (1,450 times), and “Let me be clear,” (1,066 times). In a nod to the tough financial times he has faced, the president’s fifth most popular motto is “It will not be easy” (1,059 times).

     
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