Wednesday March 28, 2012
The reason the school wants you to use your assigned TAMUSA e mail address is so that we can send you a message. But most students do not use it. If I do not respond to you it may be that I simply have misplaced or inadvertently deleted your e mail.
To wit, Nancy Crist sent me her report but now I cannot find it, Nancy will you send it again.
Now what to expect at your presentation.
I have asked my undergrad classes to attend and write their impressions on BB. I suspect your audience will consist of fellow classmates and undergrads and TAMUSA teachers. You will note that half the presentations for Saturday are from this class! So thanks for being a part of the proceedings. I would guess there will be 10-15 in your audience but that is a sheer guess.
You will only improve your presentation skills by presenting. So practice practice practice. Limit the number of bullet points on each slide to three or four.
DO NOT READ YOUR SLIDES OR YOUR NOTES. Those of you who have been in my classes before know that I never use the lazy method of showing a power point someone else prepared in my class. Practice speaking to your audience. Keep eye contact. Are you engaging your listeners? Be prepared to change or go with the flow, if the audience is not following you, do something else.
Keep this simple. The issue is not a micro explanation of the facts. Rather the issue in all these cases are to emphasize the ETHICAL issues involved.
Should taxpayers tolerate purchase abuse at DISD?Does Jon Corzine's story survive the smell test?Why do people fall for ponzi schemes over and over?Why do certain movies resonate with us on various issues?
Don't get lost in Purchasing Audit Trail 101 on DISD, or the intricacies of Greek debt for Corzine, or the latest variation of ponzi, or what is a leveraged buyout with a white knight avoiding a poison pill but providing greenmail against the barbarians at the gate.
Keep it simple. Tell a story you would like to hear.
Watch Bill Cosby on You Tube. Bill Cosby is a comedian but he never tells jokes, He tells stories. His stories resonate with us as they remind us of shared experiences in our lives. His stories cause us to identify with him. And so he becomes the Universal Truth. And he's good at it.
Watch Jeff Foxworthy, he found success by being himself, not in a tv show that someone else created. He is relaxed doing what he knows best, telling real world stories, just like Cosby.
I am here if you need me.
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