Productivity: Effectively Scaling Yourself

August 19, 2013 11:58 PM

Scott Hanselman talks about productivity. On information overload; prioritising and how we can be more effective. (Video)
posted by zoo (4 comments total)

Very good title, but I'm too busy to watch this right now. ;)
posted by jeffburdges at 2:20 AM on August 20, 2013 [3 favorites]

I've made an appointment later in the week to comment on this post.

[nothing groundbreaking here but it's a great review of some good productivity techniques. Plus Scott seems like a pretty fantastic guy.]
posted by sexymofo at 6:30 AM on August 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

Productivity is overrated. We busy our minds so we're not bored enough to be really creative.

Optimization works for manufacturing and other procedural activity. Otherwise, I'm bringing whimsy back. Very few things in life "must" be done.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 10:36 AM on August 20, 2013 [3 favorites]

I had this link in the background and just got around to watching it now. He doesn't even begin his talk until well over 6 minutes into his 42 minute presentation, he wasted time calling out his friends. Then he jokes about crappy Powerpoint methods, and does them all haw haw gutlaff. Since he is a Microsoft stooge, he even managed to spend about 30 seconds bashing the Mac. Now about 10 minutes in, he's 1/4 done and he's only just now starting to talk about his core concepts like efficiency and effectiveness.

Okay.. I was watching this in a second screen, but now he has riveted my attention. Not because of his message, but because I started bristling the moment he started talking. Now I am rankled. Soon I will be positively livid. This is exact type of horrible presentation I have been forced to sit through so many times. This is a guy who loves his message, but hates his audience. He oozes contempt for the people who are too stupid to have already come up with his brilliant ideas on their own. So he treats them like children, giving them goofy gifs and 3-word powerpoint slides like he thinks he's Steve Jobs, but instead of distilling a message down to the core concept, he's dumbing it down. And it's dragging on and on. A good presenter respects his audience by respecting their time, and makes the most of their choice to listen to him. This guy is abusing that respect.

So I think I'll liveblog the rest of this presentation, so nobody will ever have to sit through 40 minutes of this tedium again.

Hey let's toss some dictionary definitions on the screen. Then let's do slides with 3 bullet points, and repeat each bullet point. Researchers say that putting up a Powerpoint slide and then repeating it word for word, completely disrupts the viewer's memory functions and neither a visual or auditory memory is stored. There is no better way to get someone to completely ignore your message.

Okay now let's toss up a series of cliches, oblique references, cite lots of other people's work. Deliver it in a monotone. Now let's show a gif of Ace Rimmer riding an alligator.

ARGHH I just cannot do it. I am 15 minutes in, I cannot watch any longer. If I was there in person, I'd walk out, probably noisily. This is one of the worst presentations I've ever seen. This guy should be banned from making public presentations for the rest of his life. It's like an extemporaneous, rambling series of bullshit anecdotes, but locked down in a Powerpoint and enhanced with dopey gifs, inside jokes and other crap, and he never actually gets around to delivering his message. Or ANY message. The only message he has is, "Hey you are all here listening to me, I am awesome."

So let me give you a professionally created version of what I think he might say, if I could tolerate listening to his crap for another 30 minutes:

There are a thousand "no's" for every "yes."

I watched as much as I could tolerate of this guy's dreadful presentation, and I say NO.
posted by charlie don't surf at 11:40 AM on August 24, 2013 [3 favorites]