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June 28, 2006
Art for the Soul
As someone who lived through the rise of arts participation that began in the early 70s and the concomitant decline of religious participation, I have occasionally wondered whether people turned to the arts for spiritual inspiration when they felt their...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 10:03 AM | Permalink
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June 27, 2006
Extending Brands & Barriers to Product Adoption
Coca~Cola BlaK I'm almost always skeptical about brand extensions. Coca~Cola's new cola-coffee concoction BlaK is no exception. Why, I wonder, would anyone want the implied caffeine infusion that this beverage seems like it would deliver? Anybody, except Red Bull-drinkers, that...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 09:00 AM | Permalink
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June 25, 2006
Filling in the Blanks
Playwrights, screenwriters, novelists, and librettists deliberately leave "holes" in their narratives and descriptions. The greater the skills of the artist, the more artful the incompletion. The imaginations of readers and listeners are tasked to complete the work. Thus, art is...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 07:44 AM | Permalink
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June 23, 2006
Are we telling the truth, Mr. Florida?
A good friend of mine who happens to be a sociologist-economist-wonk at Georgetown sent me an article earlier this week that calls Richard Florida's creative class work into question. The 2004 article, which was written by Steven Malanga, was publised...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 08:45 AM | Permalink
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June 22, 2006
Want to Feel Rich? Listen to Classical Music.
A behavioral study completed by the University of Leicester in England reports that diners who listen to classical music are more likely to spend more on their evening out than those who listen to pop or rock. The reason? Classical...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 07:55 PM | Permalink
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June 18, 2006
Maximizing Your Presentation Timing
A great presentation is like great scotch whisky. The information within is distilled to its essence. Anybody who has ever tasted great scotch knows that time adds value – in both quality of taste and costliness. When you craft your presentation, you are like that master distiller. You are combining many ingredients (information), then distilling them over time to produce a concentrated essence (and powerful effect).Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 06:53 PM | Permalink
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June 16, 2006
Discovering Cathie Bleck
This week, I received word that Cathie Bleck's new book , Open Spaces, is finally being released. Cathie is one of my favorite visual artists. She is known for her work in illustration, having done work for people like Jimmy...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 08:09 AM | Permalink
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June 15, 2006
Apologia & a Quick Annotation re Presentation Planning
I'm heaving a big sigh here, feeling only slightly more impatient than you folks who are following this series. I can hear your thinking from here - and I'm in Newark! "When is he going to get to the point?...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 08:41 AM | Permalink
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Planning an Effective Presentation, Part 5
Envision the Desired Outcome Strategic-planning gurus, religious mystics, warrior kings, military strategists, and tennis coachs – among many others – all seek to tap the power of outcome-envisioning. Whether it’s the Inner Game of Tennis, The Art of War, the...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 06:30 AM | Permalink
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June 14, 2006
What the Font?
If you've ever had to figure out what obscure and strange font is staring up at you from the page, you know what a daunting task that determination can be. It's taken me hours on occasion. I don't know how...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 08:17 AM | Permalink
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Planning an Effective Presentation, Part 4
Understanding the purpose of a presentation is the single most important thing I need to know when I’m designing a presentation. Understanding purpose is akin to mission. Purpose – more than anything – guides content, style, timing, tone, and structure. It makes simplicity possible. As I’ve written previously, simplicity succeeds.Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 06:30 AM | Permalink
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June 13, 2006
Planning an Effective Presentation, Part 3
Calibrate Your Presentation’s Importance It’s obvious that this presentation (see above post) is important for a variety of reasons. While not every presentation is a key strategic intervention, every presentation should be treated as if it were. Organizations have a...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 06:30 AM | Permalink
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June 12, 2006
Planning an Effective Presentation, Part 2
Why Me? “Why me?’ is about the last question that pops to mind when one hears a request to do a presentation. That is, unless you count yourselves among the legions of people who would rather be tarred and feathered...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 06:30 AM | Permalink
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June 09, 2006
Planning an Effective Presentation, Part 1
You can overcome your fear. When people are asked about their greatest fears – those things or situations that most terrify them – you would think that black widows, rattlesnakes, scorpions, rats, being struck by lightning, hit by a bus,...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 09:46 AM | Permalink
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June 08, 2006
Presentations: What's at stake?
Most people today work on the margins of overwhelm. We all have too much to do and too much to think about. We’re not only concerned about getting our must-do tasks done, but most of us would occasionally like to...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 07:30 AM | Permalink
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June 07, 2006
Branding Yourself With Smart, Effective Presentations
Having just attended a couple of conferences in the last month, I have seen an onslaught of PowerPoint presentations. While some of the content was good, a number of the presentations were just abysmal. People I know to be smart...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 09:09 AM | Permalink
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June 06, 2006
Hessenius Group: Coping With Change
The last session of the day at the Americans for the Arts Conference featured a panel about cultural change that was convened by and moderated by Barry Hessenius. Barry has a blog that can be located here. Hessenius Group Panel...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 11:46 AM | Permalink
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June 05, 2006
Awaken
NPR journalist and author Juan Williams delivered the opening keynote address at Americans for the Arts’ conference in Milwaukee on Saturday. The theme of the conference – Living Cultural Democracy: Arts in Changing Communities – was given an interesting and...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 10:27 AM | Permalink
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June 02, 2006
Americans for the Arts: Milwaukee
I am attending the annual Americans for the Arts conference here in Milwaukee this week, so entries will be briefer and breezier for awhile. The diversity of people and interests at this conference never fails to impress me. This organization...Posted by Neill Archer Roan at 09:56 AM | Permalink
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