Bill Cosby Carnegie Mellon Keynote Speech

When Dr. Cosby starts to tell his story about getting started in stand-up comedy you will find that you are along for a ride that is well worth the trip!

Worlds Collide: Storytelling in Art and Business

On June 8, 2011 I gave a talk via teleconference through the Worldwide Story Work group. This blog post contains links to all of the topics discussed, images from the artists mentioned, and a podcast of the actual call.

Worlds Collide: Storytelling in Art and Business Are you an artist or a businessperson? Chances are you’re a bit of both. In this call, I will highlight storytelling patterns, projects, and players from both art and business. We’ll examine why storytelling has gone from bad word to buzzword, discuss interdisciplinary storytelling trends, and envision what’s next for creative and professional story practitioners who dare to let worlds collide.

Download the audio recording: Worlds-Collide.mp3 (1 hour in length, 52.7 MB)

Topics referenced in the talk are listed below:

John Baldessari

John Baldessari website

Yoko Ono

Yoko Ono website

Laurie Anderson

Laurie Anderson website

Miranda July

Miranda July website

Her book website:
No One Belongs Here More Than You

Harrell Fletcher

Harrell Fletcher website

Story Collections

Learning to Love You More

Gold Strong Stories

Social Practice

Social Practice Art on Wikipedia

Broken City Lab

Broken City Lab website

The Yes Men

The Yes Men website
Yes Men Bhopal Story

Open Engagement

Open Engagement Conference

Higher Education

MBA in Design Strategy at California College of the Arts

Oregon College of Art and Craft and Pacific Northwest College of Art | MFA in Applied Craft and Design

Ball State University: Telecommunications (Digital Storytelling)

RISD arms Class of 2011 with Artrepreneur Kits

Kickstarter

ETSY

Jeffery Gitomer

Jeffery Gitomer website

Tom Peters

Tom Peters website

Pomplamoose

Pomplamoose website
Pomplamoose on YouTube

Amanda Hocking

Amanda Hocking on Wikipedia
Amanda Hocking's Blog

Additional Links Mentioned in the Call

Kartoon Kings
A series of ten commercial billboard portraits of people who work on the Berlin U-Bahn at night. U-10 Projekt/NGBK, Berlin, Germany.

The Story Cafe
The Story Café provides an Oasis for busy professionals to relax, reflect and stimulate their thinking away from the common daily round. And for anyone interested in exploring the creative use of storytelling for therapeutic purposes.

Once Upon a Venture
We transform the sagas of entrepreneurs into stories that are real, yet fun; serious yet funny. These are the real words of the not-so-famous man or woman who offers you good solid tips from the gut.

10 Tips for Kickstarter Success

Imagine a website where artists and entrepreneurs can post a page, ask for money, and accept donations. In return, those seeking money offer up prizes and goodies to entice people to contribute. That’s Kickstarter.

It’s fund-raising with a twist: You must reach your goal in order to be paid. If you ask for $100 but only $99 gets pledged, you don’t get anything. If you asked for $100 and got $500 in pledges, good for you! Payments flow through Kickstarter via Paypal or Amazon and each takes a cut. 

I haven’t run my own Kickstarter campaign but I have contributed. In the past week alone, five painters doing a variety of art shows, a radio program, a book author, a theater troupe, and an independent publisher have all asked me to donate money. Here is what I’ve observed:

1. Ask for Less Than You Need.

You did the math. $10,000 would completely fund your dream including the flowers, security, clowns, and a lighting designer. It would even pay for your food, phone, and rent for the next six months so you could devote yourself full-time to the project. Ask for 1/3 or 1/2 of that. If you truly have a fan base, they’ll surprise you.

2. Make a Video.

Part of the fun of Kickstarter is watching the videos and seeing how people sell themselves. If you’re going to run a campaign, watch a bunch of videos before you make your own, and do make your own!

3. Keep the Video Short

Friends might give you three minutes. Half of that time is for your audience to pull out their wallet, register for the site, choose which donation level they want to pay into, and press the submit button. A lengthy video means that your audience will burn out their (short) attention span watching your long-winded video leaving no time for the payment process.

4. Make the Video Fun

You don’t need to have animated graphics and flying robots to show some character in your short video. If you can entertain and educate potential patrons for 1.5 minutes then maybe you deserve their money. Fail to be succinct and the audience will have more time to find holes in your story.

5. Give Good Prizes

Unless you’re Lady Gaga, nobody wants a signed photograph of you as incentive for donating $50 or more (I’ve actually seen that). Be realistic. Ask your brutally honest friends if they would donate to your cause in exchange for a half hour phone call with you as a prize. Take your donation rewards and imagine them on another campaign. Would you pay for those same things if they came from someone else? Do something unique for the people who support you. Make them feel special.

6. Don’t Apologize

“So today I’m here on Kickstarter to ask for money for my project because the amazing thing I’m going to do costs a lot of money, but it’s going to be great…” We know why you’re on Kickstarter! There’s no need to be sorry about trying to make the world a better place. Tell the (short) story and demonstrate how donations to your project will make a positive difference in the world.

7. Have a History of Success

You might have some trouble if nobody has ever heard you sing a song before and suddenly you’re on Kickstarter trying to raise $10,000 for your first album. Build a history of successes before you run a fund raising campaign. Once you have a history of success, your fans and friends will be more likely to offer money in advance.

8. Read the Kickstarter Blog

Take advice from the people who live it everyday. The Kickstarter blog often has suggestions and tips for creating a successful campaign.

9. Thank Everyone Who Pledges

I’ve donated to a few campaigns and was immediately thanked afterwards. That made me feel like they noticed and appreciated my small gesture.

10. Support Others.

Every dollar makes a difference. If someone you know ran or runs a Kickstarter, chances are they know exactly who supported them and who did not.

More Reading:

10 Tips for Funding a Successful Kickstarter Project

10 Crowd-Funding Tips from Kickstarter Filmmakers

My Kickstarter Experience: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

Nancy Duarte’s TEDx Talk: You Can Change the World

Nancy Duarte founded Duarte Design, a presentation design and training company. In this inspiring 18-minute TEDx East talk, Nancy explains how communicating ideas can change the world.

10 Tips for Giving a Good Presentation

...for People Who Are Terrified of Giving Speeches

1. Know Your Purpose

Have a clear and definable (usually in one sentence) purpose for getting in front of people and taking up their time. Why are you giving this talk? What do you hope to accomplish? Are you educating or entertaining? (The secret is that you’re doing both - always.)

2. Have Something to Say

You don’t have to be the absolute know-it-all when presenting on a given topic. However, you should have something to say about that topic. Come at it from a new point-of-view. Give simple and practical advice. Pose a question even if you don’t have the answer. What is it you’re saying about your subject?

3. Know Your Opening Sentence

The moment you get in front of a group of people is often the moment your mind goes blank. Having a simple sentence in mind when you stand up is a good way to start strong. What’s the first thing you’ll say when you get up there? Is it interesting?

4. Protect the Subject

Everything you present should support your purpose. If you are selling something then show the reasons why someone should buy. If you are educating people, discuss the facts. Edit out anything that doesn’t somehow support the subject of your talk. Ask yourself, “Does this bit of information support my purpose?”

5. Prepare

There is no better way to feel confident about an upcoming talk than to prepare for it. Preparing means that you learn as much as you can about your subject. Know your purpose and keep it in mind. Outline the things you want to talk about. Don’t worry about giving a perfect presentation, worry about getting your message across. Ask yourself, “Am I prepared enough?”

6. Be Yourself

Deliver the presentation naturally. That is, just do it. If you try to emulate someone else’s presentation style you’ll most often come across as if you are faking it. Just be yourself. Acting naturally is what creates your own unique presentation style. Ask yourself, “Would I normally present something this way?”

7. Eye Contact

Look at people. Talk to them as if you were sitting across the table from them. Forget that you are at the podium, on a stage, or in front of a room. This will help enable you to connect with your audience. Why are you afraid to look at people?

8. Take Your Time, Breathe

Slow down. Everyone gets a rush when they’re being watched by a room full of people. Rather than let that energy turn into speed, turn it into passion. Remember to breathe.  Breathing brings oxygen into your system and reminds you that you’re still alive and that everything is okay. What will happen if you rush?

9. Have Fun!

Nobody likes watching a presenter suffer. Even if something bad happens you can own it (by addressing it and laughing at yourself) and move on. Ask yourself, “What’s the worst that can happen?” Then see #10.

10. It’s Not the End of the World

In lieu of imaging the audience in their underwear, keep this girl in mind. If she can survive that during an American Idol audition, we can all survive giving a talk. How did she get through? She owned it, laughed and let the judges laugh as well.