Expose Yourself

Written by Dan Grant on . Posted in Presentation Skills

PersonalCommunication Techniques

We all need the freedom to be ourselves.

I want to thank Deborah Ivanoff for her great article on not feeling like a fraud. I had personal experience with this technique in my next meeting with a new associate. Thanks to the insights Deborah shared, I was able to relax and stop worrying about how I came across. Instead of being critical of my partner, I opened up and gave space for our conversation to flourish. Everyone should read this.
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Writer’s Block?

Written by Dan Grant on . Posted in Presentation Skills, Tips And Techniques

Ciustom Presentation Writer's Block

A simple cure for writer’s block –
Write when you are tired.

You have to create a custom presentation for one of your largest clients and you don’t know where to start. Creative blocks happen to the most gifted writers. Here’s a crazy tip to set your creative sparks free. Write at the end of the day. Write when you are tired. Don’t believe me? Writer Henriette Klauser’s theory, spelled out in her book Writing on Both Sides of the Brain, says that when you are tired your subconscious and conscious mind blend together to create a dream state where most creativity springs from. You can read more about it here in this article by Geoffrey James.
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Member Association Web Sites – WordPress or Joomla? That is The Question

Written by Dan Grant on . Posted in Design Tips, Online Marketing

Wordpress is a good platform, especially for blogging. And because it is so ubiquitous, members of associations may find it easier to add content if they are familiar with it already. However, the Joomla platform is better for member associations. There are plugins available for Joomla making it a good blogging tool as well. The advantage of Joomla is it allows each member to have an individual profile and gives them the ability to edit it, but restricts their access to other area of the site. The member profile structure in Joomla creates searchable directories allowing filtering and sorting like any good database system. Worpdress can add filtering and categories for blog posts, but restricting member access is not its strong point. That in a nutshell is the difference.
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You May Lose Your Site Ranking

Written by Dan Grant on . Posted in Online Marketing

If your customers use mobile devices to find your web site
you may be losing business.

Beginning April 21, 2015 Google is changing its algorithm. Web sites that are not mobile friendly will no longer be ranked as high if someone searches from a smart phone or tablet. This will not effect desktop searches.

To continue getting high rankings on all devices your web site must be mobile friendly. This requires your web site to be built using responsive design. Responsive design allows web site components to adjust the size and placement of text, graphics and buttons so they are easily readable on smaller screens. You can read more about this from Forbes.

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Why Steve Jobs Obsessed About Bathroom Locations

Written by Dan Grant on . Posted in Design Tips

SteveJobs Some great thinkers of old worked alone but the digital age came about because visionaries worked side by side, sharing ideas, collaborating in teams. Walter Isaacson discusses creativity as a collaborative process and yes Steve Jobs’ obsession with floor plans and bathroom locations in this well researched article. And no, Al Gore did not invent the internet, at least alone. Not shown is Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs‘ neighborhood pal and co-visionary-founder of Apple.
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