Proactive Paul

User Experience #uxcamplondon

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Lifestyle Saturday

Uncharacteristically more mature than any other barcamp style event that I have ever been to (and I think that’s 8 or 9 of them now) today’s #uxcamplondon was thoroughly stimulating and satisfying. The laid back and low key approach of the organising team allowed the delegates to take the lead (as they should at a barcamp) and I noticed a lot of first timers engaging in purposeful dialogue right from the outset. And there were many newbies!

progressux

There were clearly a lot of intelligent people in Richmond today and they knew their stuff. I learnt something both new and profound at every single session. My own session didn’t materialise this time, because (a) I’m still learning about UX and (b) my side project seems to have become more of a side-lined project. It will be a while before it’s launched on an unsuspecting public. In all seriousness, if #uxcamplondon2010 takes place next summer I might just be ready.

One thing that I did miss was the open space and the introductions that usually happen at the start of these unconferences. Having 90 people in one room would have made it unwieldy, but perhaps splitting them into 3 groups of 30 would have helped. At Barcamp London 6 they divided 150 of us into 10 groups for the 3 Tags introductions. That way, you at least get a feel for who some of these people are, and as a newbie you might then find someone you can easily connect with (not that I’m a newbie). Apart from that, the organisation was slick and things ran very well.

There was no goodie bag at the start. There is no t-shirt. There was free cider. That means that there was no clutter for me to bring home and clutter up my flat with! So that’s a vote in favour of freebies in the form of food and drink. No baggage! All I took home was the memory of a great day and a few tips and tricks which I have learnt from the professionals.

progress

What did I learn? There will be a progress bar on my app when it’s launched. There will be as many buttons as I need, but as few as I can get away with. There will be a balance between content over form and form over content. There will be a structure and a sound underlying ERD, but there will also be some flair and I may need to buy-in that sort of creative expertise. With any luck it will come with a built-in tutorial! However, there will most assuredly, be a long interval before anything happens.

I think the snatched conversations in the corridors of any barcamp are often the most valuable bits of the whole event. I’m on the uncommittee for Barcamp London 7 and PresentationCamp London, and I think I will be advocating more open space and more time for ad hoc discussion; a morning coffee break and an afternoon break might serve the purpose.

Barcamp London 7 will be more of the same traditional Barcamp experience. PresentationCamp is all about polishing your presentation skills whether you’re a geek or not, and whether your style is Lo Tech or Hi Tech. If you’re free on Thursday evening 27 Aug 2009, I’m giving a short talk in Victoria on the use of Lo Tech visual aids. It’s not directly related to PresentationCamp, but my speaking club is a lot of fun. You’re welcome to come along as my guest. There will be other speakers - not just me - and entrance is free!

Anyway, staging an event of the complexity of #uxcamplondon is not easy. I greatly appreciate the time that the Team put in, and the generosity of Gumtree and all of the sponsors. Thank you all very much for a thoroughly refined and sophisticated user experience!

Posted on 22 August 2009 by Proactive Paul

Posted 1 year ago at 9:34 pm.
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Toastmasters International

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World Affairs on Sunday

London Corinthians is a part of Toastmasters International; an organisation with hundreds of clubs across the globe. This is an organisation which encourages and supports speakers at all levels (from shy beginner to experienced professional) and helps them to polish and improve their skills. I am a member of London Corinthians and the club normally meets on the 2nd, 4th and 5th Thursday every month (at 7.00pm for a 7.30 start) at the Westminster Thistle Hotel in Victoria.

There are a handful of highly capable speakers in our club, and I would say that around 75% of the members are still working through the basics. It’s an ideal place to learn and to develop, and it’s a perfect place to make mistakes. The audience is the most sympathetic you’ll find anywhere. And if you’re an experienced speaker like me, you can still benefit and can still learn from those with even greater experience!

toastmasters

At Corinthians we are beginning to make better use of the internet. We now have an online booking facility for members, so that we can keep abreast of the itinerary for each meeting.

Our tired old web site is being improved.
We have begun to video occasional meetings.
We have a London Corinthians Channel on YouTube
You can follow us @LDNcorinthians on Twitter

At the moment, our YouTube Channel says “no videos available”, but it actually contains a handful of videos which are labelled private and that’s why there appear to be none! If would like see them, you need to set up an account with YouTube, and become a friend of londoncorinthians. Then, I have to individually send you an invitation that allows you to see the footage.

The process will become unwieldy as more videos are uploaded, and more members want to see them. Let’s come up with a system which will allow a balanced approach to a public channel on YouTube.

Posted on 12 Jul 2009 by Proactive Paul

Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 8:41 pm.
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What is your “Wow Factor”?

Friday Feedback

What is it that makes something great? What makes you go back for more? What is your “Wow Factor”.

Uncharacteristically, today’s Friday Feedback slot just fell into place even before I ate breakfast. I went to Toastmasters last night and this morning I was chatting to my wife as we prepared breakfast. She asked me why I go all the way over to Victoria for the London Corinthians meeting. And then we discussed the difference between good and great.

Then it came to me in one of those “Aha Moments” and I started writing it down immediately, in this blog. I go out of my way to be a member of London Corinthians because it is great. I have visited several Toastmaster groups in central London. There are two within 5 minutes of home, and they are good. But, they are not great.

And the main reason I think London Corinthians is great is attributed to my first impressions. On day one, I saw a superb performance by Bill Russell. In fact the whole organising team was slick, and many of the speakers impressed me. Bill Russell was just the icing on the cake. I have been on the public speaking circuit for nearly 10 years now, and joined Toastmasters only 18 months ago. I am a good speaker, but I am not great. Bill has the “Wow Factor”. So do several other members.

Last nights meeting was a good meeting, but it was not great. Christina Murias hit the nail on the head with her general evaluation - we have to strive to be great, to grow the club, to outshine all others. To be the talk of the town! And that comes down to the people. More than anything else, in our business life or our social life, it’s the people that make the difference.

Proactive Paul The Proactive Accountant Dot Com

Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 7:13 am.
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Generating more business referrals

Tuesday Financial Focus

Have you ever noticed how some people in business seem to find it easy to pick up referrals and others do not? What is it that makes these people easier to refer?

A key part of that success is the elevator speech, the little 60 second introductions that you do at various business meetings. How many people do you know who have a consistent, well delivered and memorable elevator speech? Are they the same people who get more referrals? The key is to be remembered!

Over the years I have been to countless business meetings with chambers of commerce, the IoD, and many business clubs including BNI. And there have been hundreds, or even thousands of people whom I have heard and cannot remember. How can you give somebody a business referral if you cannot remember what they do? So start with your own elevator speech, brush it up and make it memorable. If you need some help with getting more business, or with speaking skills, get in touch with me. Come along as my guest to my BNI group in Kings Cross, or my Toastmasters group in Victoria!

Proactive Paul The Proactive Accountant Dot Com

Posted 1 year, 4 months ago at 8:09 am.
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Afraid of public speaking?

Wouldn’t it be good if you could find somewhere to practice your public speaking, where the audience is warm and tolerant; and knows that anuguish and turmoil are all part of the learning experience? I started the hard way and didn’t find the perfect forum for many years. A club of like minded people fits the bill!

London’s newest Toastmaster Club is staging it’s launch event tomorrow. We will be meeting on Wednesday 11th March at The Golden Fleece, 8-9 Queen St, London, EC4N 1SP meeting from 18:15 for a prompt 18:30 start. It’ll be the friendliest introduction to public speaking that you’ve ever encountered. To find out more click here.

Proactive Paul The Proactive Accountant Dot Com

Posted 1 year, 6 months ago at 5:02 pm.
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A Powerful Message

Would your business benefit from the delivery of a powerful message? Who do you know who has presence? If you walked into a busy room, how many people would notice? If Alan Sugar walked into a busy room, how many people would notice? OK, so some people just have it, and the rest of us have to learn it.

And when you speak, do people stop and listen? Nowadays, everyone stops and listens when I speak. It wasn’t always like that and I have had to learn from experience. Ten years after I started on the speaking circuit, I recognised that even I needed to take advice from people with more experience. I joined Toastmasters International. It’s a great place for beginners to develop their speaking skills. It’s also the ideal place to make mistakes. In the early days I made most of mine in front of business audiences. You can make your early mistakes in front of a sympathetic audience of like minded people.

That way, you’ll be better prepared when you have to face audiences in the real world. My Toastmasters Club meets in Victoria in London, twice a month, on Thursdays. Come along as my guest! No matter how little or how much experience we have, we can all improve. Was that message powerful enough?

Proactive Paul The Proactive Accountant Dot Com

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User Experience #uxcamplondon

Posted 1 year ago at 9:34 pm.
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Toastmasters International

Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 8:41 pm.
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What is your “Wow Factor”?

Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 7:13 am.
Add a comment

Generating more business referrals

Posted 1 year, 4 months ago at 8:09 am.
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Afraid of public speaking?

Posted 1 year, 6 months ago at 5:02 pm.
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A Powerful Message

Posted 1 year, 7 months ago at 3:13 pm.
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Proactive Paul

User Experience #uxcamplondon

Posted 1 year ago at 9:34 pm. Add a comment

Toastmasters International

Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 8:41 pm. Add a comment

What is your “Wow Factor”?

Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 7:13 am. Add a comment

Generating more business referrals

Posted 1 year, 4 months ago at 8:09 am. Add a comment

Afraid of public speaking?

Posted 1 year, 6 months ago at 5:02 pm. Add a comment

A Powerful Message

Posted 1 year, 7 months ago at 3:13 pm. Add a comment

Divisions

Links

Posted 1 year ago at 9:34 pm.
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Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 8:41 pm.
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Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 7:13 am.
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Posted 1 year, 4 months ago at 8:09 am.
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Posted 1 year, 6 months ago at 5:02 pm.
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Posted 1 year, 7 months ago at 3:13 pm.
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