Dear de Blog,
I feel like I didn't give you a conclusive ending, so here is one last post. You should feel special because this is the first post I'm not doing for school; you're already graded. Don't worry, you got good marks.
Don't really have too much to say, but I'm gonna' give your link to all of my Facebook peeps, so here's a shout out to them.
But yeah...hm...good times. Well, I'll catch ya later, or not. We'll see.
Anyway, it's been real. At first I was fighting you, but now, I find myself reflecting back on it all as I say goodbye. Ya know, CARBS, The Office, tons of annoying grammar rules that I'm surely breaking in this post. MCOM...yeah. Hm, maybe Bilbo and Smaug will end up being friends. Wouldn't that be an Oliver (T/t)wist.
Alex Nielson, de Blogging out.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Friday, April 4, 2014
De Bloggit: Desolation of de Blog
My presentation is gone. It is done and never to be seen again. It is now in ruins...desolation. After all of that practice, I will no longer make reference to Pam & Jim while talking about 30 second elevator pitches. Good times.
Before I look onward, I'd like dwell on the past a bit more. It was really a different experience, using flip charts to present. Never done it before. I was happy to see some others present and have a few warm-up rounds before I was actually graded. There were some good hooks. One about the Pony Express and another with a guitar particularly stuck out to me. The use of tablets in presentations was also neato. Aside from cool ways to present, there was some quality content shared. Like I really ought to be able to manage my e-mail better now and I really am considering making a website for myself, using a technique or two I learned there. (I know we're pretty tight, de Blog, but I may have to move on). I'm gonna' make a difference in my life with these new insights.
Still, just like when teaching Sunday school, I feel like I do the most learning when I'm presenting. I'm very grateful for some of the tips I got to improve upon my methods. At first I was droppin' way too many "um" bombs, not smilin', and wrote things out during the presentation before I said them. I changed my ways. Still a few "um"s here and there, but I improved. I'll continue watching myself on that.
My goal for future presentations is to have a very clear purpose in mind, give answers to the questions on people's minds, and make it meaningful to them. Ya, know make it matter and be memorable. Of course, I'll have to get rid of the junk, really identify the situation, and practice, practice, practice until I master it.
Before I look onward, I'd like dwell on the past a bit more. It was really a different experience, using flip charts to present. Never done it before. I was happy to see some others present and have a few warm-up rounds before I was actually graded. There were some good hooks. One about the Pony Express and another with a guitar particularly stuck out to me. The use of tablets in presentations was also neato. Aside from cool ways to present, there was some quality content shared. Like I really ought to be able to manage my e-mail better now and I really am considering making a website for myself, using a technique or two I learned there. (I know we're pretty tight, de Blog, but I may have to move on). I'm gonna' make a difference in my life with these new insights.
Still, just like when teaching Sunday school, I feel like I do the most learning when I'm presenting. I'm very grateful for some of the tips I got to improve upon my methods. At first I was droppin' way too many "um" bombs, not smilin', and wrote things out during the presentation before I said them. I changed my ways. Still a few "um"s here and there, but I improved. I'll continue watching myself on that.
My goal for future presentations is to have a very clear purpose in mind, give answers to the questions on people's minds, and make it meaningful to them. Ya, know make it matter and be memorable. Of course, I'll have to get rid of the junk, really identify the situation, and practice, practice, practice until I master it.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
De Bloggit: An Unexpected Journal Entry
Well, I know it is unusual for me to post in de Blog/my journal before class, but today I had an unusual experience. I attended a professional networking event. The event was being held by the Now I Can Foundation which is designed to help children with disabilities become more able. They told us about some of the activities they have for the children, how they get their funds, and some of the promotional events they organize. They also gave us a quick tour of the place. Not to mention fruit and donuts. All in all, it was alright.
I also found it to be an interesting learning experience. Being around professionals like the president of so-and-so and manager of this-and-that made me a bit more aware of some things. Mostly I did felt like I was doing pretty well: I arrived on time, came dressed properly, madeeye contact, and asked thoughtful questions. But I was far from flawless. For example, I noted that I introduced myself as "just an ungraduate." I was told to get rid of the just. I gotta' make myself look good. There's no need to belittle myself. Also, even though I was conversational, I really don't remember too many names nor did I get contact info. If I had a more clear purpose, I would get more clear results.
To conclude, I'm glad I went. I saw what to expect from a professional networking event, what I did well, and what I ought to improve. And improve I shall. In the future, this experience may come in handy. Perhaps my increased awareness and skills will land me a job. As Smash Mouth put it, "You'll never know if you don't go."
I also found it to be an interesting learning experience. Being around professionals like the president of so-and-so and manager of this-and-that made me a bit more aware of some things. Mostly I did felt like I was doing pretty well: I arrived on time, came dressed properly, madeeye contact, and asked thoughtful questions. But I was far from flawless. For example, I noted that I introduced myself as "just an ungraduate." I was told to get rid of the just. I gotta' make myself look good. There's no need to belittle myself. Also, even though I was conversational, I really don't remember too many names nor did I get contact info. If I had a more clear purpose, I would get more clear results.
To conclude, I'm glad I went. I saw what to expect from a professional networking event, what I did well, and what I ought to improve. And improve I shall. In the future, this experience may come in handy. Perhaps my increased awareness and skills will land me a job. As Smash Mouth put it, "You'll never know if you don't go."
Friday, March 28, 2014
De Blog wears prada
Every group in the MCOM presented just the other day. We dressed up all nice and fancy. Snazzy, if you will. I wanna' give a shout-out to Kelly and Ian for all of their hard work. Even when I had to make like Christian and bail, they continued working hard on the PowerPoint on that fateful Wednesday night. Also, some diligent practicers. A solid team. I feel good about it. We put in our effort.
Anyway, it was fun to watch some other presentations too. Hearing complaints about streaming on Netflix really hit home for me. Freezes up way to often when I'm trying to watch The Office. We saw some good examples of powerful speakers, waking up the audience, and showing stunning facts. Good presentations really. The GoReact thing was kinda cool, but kinda distracting. Hey, that reminds me, I'm gonna' see what people said about our presentation. Gimme a sec and I'll be right back.
A sec later....
After taking a gander at that, it seems that we had too much filler. I hadn't realized... And we still gotta get a bit better at talking to the whole audience. Me especially. Gotta' look around. People wanna' see my beautiful eyes. But all in all, pretty good. Smooth transitions, good volume, we supported one another, etc.
I'm gonna' have to be one well rehearsed chap for my presentation on the "30 second elevator pitch." Gonna' be intense. There's gonna' be so much eye contact that if it was a sport, they'd call a foul for too much contact on the play. Eye will practice. It's gonna' be you and eye.
Yep, adios amig(o/a).
Alextreme
Anyway, it was fun to watch some other presentations too. Hearing complaints about streaming on Netflix really hit home for me. Freezes up way to often when I'm trying to watch The Office. We saw some good examples of powerful speakers, waking up the audience, and showing stunning facts. Good presentations really. The GoReact thing was kinda cool, but kinda distracting. Hey, that reminds me, I'm gonna' see what people said about our presentation. Gimme a sec and I'll be right back.
A sec later....
After taking a gander at that, it seems that we had too much filler. I hadn't realized... And we still gotta get a bit better at talking to the whole audience. Me especially. Gotta' look around. People wanna' see my beautiful eyes. But all in all, pretty good. Smooth transitions, good volume, we supported one another, etc.
I'm gonna' have to be one well rehearsed chap for my presentation on the "30 second elevator pitch." Gonna' be intense. There's gonna' be so much eye contact that if it was a sport, they'd call a foul for too much contact on the play. Eye will practice. It's gonna' be you and eye.
Yep, adios amig(o/a).
Alextreme
Friday, March 21, 2014
Lord of de Blog: Return of the K
We're expecting the return of Kathryn, our international affairs specialist! AKI will get its other K back! Rad.
Briefing Article turned out pretty chill, I reckon. Did you know there's an MCOM specialist in the the library's writing center? Well, now you do. Pretty helpful.
This next project is a whopper. We're doing ours on Apple. There are some pretty funny complaints. Calling Apple the worst company in business, someone getting shocked by the charger, saying how they lost the vision Steve Jobs had, etc. I sure am glad we had time to work on it all in class.
We also learned a bit about the "5 Minute Masterpiece." For 5 minutes, I'm gonna' have to seem like I really know 30-second elevator pitches. New acronym to keep in mind, RIKSMAR. I thought it shoulda' been like SIR MARK or RISK RAM, but there was an order to it, so it's fine.
My main takeaway was to not procrastinate. We've got lots to do in not so much time. I guess...kinda like an elevator pitch. Limited time. Use it wisely. That's what I'm gonna' do. The KAKI gang is planning to get the most of our case project done by Monday.
Secondary takeaways are technology doesn't replace everything and take criticisms well so you can improve. That's what this is all about, right? Getting better. Getting better all the time. Can't get much worse. Ha, just a Beatles song I wanted to reference. So, I'll do that and assuredly be a better me than the me of today.
Will KAKI deliver on the Apple presentation? Or will they choke? Tune in for the next episode of MCOM to find out!
Briefing Article turned out pretty chill, I reckon. Did you know there's an MCOM specialist in the the library's writing center? Well, now you do. Pretty helpful.
This next project is a whopper. We're doing ours on Apple. There are some pretty funny complaints. Calling Apple the worst company in business, someone getting shocked by the charger, saying how they lost the vision Steve Jobs had, etc. I sure am glad we had time to work on it all in class.
We also learned a bit about the "5 Minute Masterpiece." For 5 minutes, I'm gonna' have to seem like I really know 30-second elevator pitches. New acronym to keep in mind, RIKSMAR. I thought it shoulda' been like SIR MARK or RISK RAM, but there was an order to it, so it's fine.
My main takeaway was to not procrastinate. We've got lots to do in not so much time. I guess...kinda like an elevator pitch. Limited time. Use it wisely. That's what I'm gonna' do. The KAKI gang is planning to get the most of our case project done by Monday.
Secondary takeaways are technology doesn't replace everything and take criticisms well so you can improve. That's what this is all about, right? Getting better. Getting better all the time. Can't get much worse. Ha, just a Beatles song I wanted to reference. So, I'll do that and assuredly be a better me than the me of today.
Will KAKI deliver on the Apple presentation? Or will they choke? Tune in for the next episode of MCOM to find out!
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Lord of de Blog: The Two Hours
You know, those two hour meetings can really pay off. I think they made our presentation presentable. Otherwise, woulda' been a nervous bunch and the presentation would have felt like two hours. Anyway, I will address four main points in this post: (a) things I did right, (b) something I did wrong, (c) things KAKI did right, and (d) something KAKI choked on.
Keepers. Ron Weasley. Get it? He played keeper, ha...sorry. What I mean to say is my gestures (except for holding my hands together). I be usin' my hands a lot, without even noticing. Like, when explaining parallelism, I used lefty for the manual side and righty for the automated. Twas' lookin' smooth. Another thing, the preparation. Like when I bust out that quote, I seem pretty legit. Just as a whole, I seemed to know what I was talking about. Like I say, those two hours meeting make a difference.
Stopper. Sometimes I was lookin' pretty out of place. Like, I'm not quite sure where I should be standing. I scoot around uncomfortably a little. I should probably take a step back when I'm done talking. Get outta the way.
Team Keepers. Lookin' smooth. Us and the Power Point. Perfect? Nay. But snazzy. Glad we talked about what to wear. We looked like a team. Power Point, despite its flaws, seemed pretty official and usually legible. Also, the hook was solid. Good for our audience, I reckon. Ring Pops at the end also just made at least the proposal aspect of our presentation memorable.
Choked. Actually using our Power Point. I mean, it was there, and looking pretty good, but I don't know how much we really used it to help present. Some charts, some visuals to make understanding a bit easier. Now, it wasn't terrible. Organized things a bit, and usually showed the things we were saying. But using it, maybe with the pointer, I think could have made it better. Room to improve.
That's what I got. KAKI doesn't slack (slack, like slacks, khaki, slacks, get it?), so we'll keep getting better. Practice makes better.
KAlexKI, out.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Lord of de Blog: Fellowship of the Ring Pop
Team AKI gave a presentation today. We're missing Kathryn, due to much more important matters. I wish her well. Anyway, we gave out Ring Pops. It sucked...Ha, get it. sucked...Ring Pops. Ha. Anyway, I will not focus on the presentation in this post, because I will make a separate blog post dedicated to it.
Today, we had a bit of a discussion. Was kinda refreshing. People shared their thoughts on what they thought had been going well in the class throughout the semester and what could be better. Some good insights. Really seemed like our opinions were valued. That's good every once awhile. As WSB 8 says, "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." It seems to me that an effective leader gets the opinions of those (s)he leads.
We also looked at some future assignments. Team (K)AKI will study some complaints regarding the company Apple. Should be interesting. A good chance to do some team research. I hope we can combine our strengths to be like a super hero. In the best-case scenario, it'll be a great learning experience.
Oh, and we also heard some words of wisdom from a former student of Professor Middleton named Joe. He credits getting his job with Toyota to this class. Inspirational. This class does kinda seem more important than my others. Seems real-er.
Wut, I got a lotta work to do. Gotta take DOCS into account with my business letter. Ought to remember that this class is about more than a grade.
"So what, I'm still a rock star!" Sorry, that's a line from a song by Pink. So what, I think I'm learning important skills that will make me a better communicator and may give me a competitive edge in the job hunt.
Now what, I'm gonna focus in. I've been getting good advice from the professor, the TAs, and my peers. I'm gonna implement it all like a cold turkey, so I'll do well in this class and beyond! And not suck.
Good night, America!
Your host, Al.
Today, we had a bit of a discussion. Was kinda refreshing. People shared their thoughts on what they thought had been going well in the class throughout the semester and what could be better. Some good insights. Really seemed like our opinions were valued. That's good every once awhile. As WSB 8 says, "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." It seems to me that an effective leader gets the opinions of those (s)he leads.
We also looked at some future assignments. Team (K)AKI will study some complaints regarding the company Apple. Should be interesting. A good chance to do some team research. I hope we can combine our strengths to be like a super hero. In the best-case scenario, it'll be a great learning experience.
Oh, and we also heard some words of wisdom from a former student of Professor Middleton named Joe. He credits getting his job with Toyota to this class. Inspirational. This class does kinda seem more important than my others. Seems real-er.
Wut, I got a lotta work to do. Gotta take DOCS into account with my business letter. Ought to remember that this class is about more than a grade.
"So what, I'm still a rock star!" Sorry, that's a line from a song by Pink. So what, I think I'm learning important skills that will make me a better communicator and may give me a competitive edge in the job hunt.
Now what, I'm gonna focus in. I've been getting good advice from the professor, the TAs, and my peers. I'm gonna implement it all like a cold turkey, so I'll do well in this class and beyond! And not suck.
Good night, America!
Your host, Al.
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