We are sort of crazy about sticky notes at MB/I; there is something magical about those little squares of colored paper with their adhesive strip. Perhaps it’s that they give ideas a tangible quality, or that sticky notes are exceedingly mobile. Regardless, here are three ways we MB/I fish use sticky notes around the office.

Sticky Notes as Creative Tools

At times in our internal meetings, we clear a section of wall and throw a bunch of sticky note pads on the table along with a few sharpies. When a brainstorming opportunity arises - we write down as many ideas as possible, each on a separate sticky note. We take all the stickies and put them on the wall in no particular order. Then we start eliminating and grouping.

It’s crucial to long-term business success to create and connect ideas, yet many of us don’t foster the best conditions for ideation to flourish. So try taking out some sticky notes!

Sticky Notes and To-Do-Folders

Most of us at MB/I have adopted a sticky-note system for managing our to-do-lists. I personally start with a set of file folders, each a different color. I use one color as my personal to-do-folder, one as my general work to-do-list, and still others for larger projects. When I need to add a task, I record it on a small sticky note and put it on the inside of the appropriate folder. As priorities change, I move the sticky notes around, placing urgent items in the top row and lower priority items below.

I leave my to-do-folders out on my desk throughout the day and when I move from here to there, I just close the folders, throw them into my laptop bag and take them with me. Here’s the best part – when I complete a task, I get to crumple-up a sticky note and throw it away. That always feels good.

Site Maps and Story Boards

Whether we are working out the navigation of our next website, the narrative for our next presentation, or the vision for our next video, sticky notes are often our tool of choice for organizing ideas. They simply make it easy to explore different conceptual recipes using the same ingredients.

Those Magical Notes

We spend so much time these days doing our thinking while looking at computer screens and while dealing with volumes of information. In contrast, sticky notes are refreshingly non-digital, and because of their small size, sticky notes force us to be efficient with our words. Is it any wonder why sticky notes have special significance at MB/I?

This is the million dollar question — well, maybe not a million dollars, but quality video isn’t cheap. So making a good decision about whether to pursue a video production project or not is important because the stakes are high. In my experience, creating video content for a client’s website often costs more than 25% of the total cost of producing the website in the first place. Logically speaking, the video content should account for a great deal of the overall impact and effectiveness of the site.

Let’s take, for instance, a website that is built around marketing a single product. And let’s say this product is a gadget with moving parts that does cool stuff but stuff that is hard to convey in words. If you have to see the product in action to really understand it, then it’s a pretty easy decision to spend money on a product demonstration video.

Now let’s take a company in a service oriented industry. This company not only has satisfied customers, but raving fans. They already post testimonials and case studies on their website. But they want their website to stand apart from their competition’s and convert more clicks to customers. A catchy video on the homepage with links to a few more customer success videos might do the trick.

In this second scenario, the decision is not so clear. Will the investment in video pay off? Well, here are two questions to consider in order to help one reach a decision:

When thinking of the customers and employees involved with a specific customer success story, do any standout as having an outgoing personality that would shine on screen?

Let’s face it, a great story can flop on video if the “main characters” are shy or nervous on camera. On the other hand, a mediocre story can turn into an Oscar winner if there are vibrant people on screen expressing their passion.

Is there something visually compelling to share?

Smiling faces are great, but headshot after headshot on screen for the duration of a video just isn’t that visually compelling. On the other hand, if there is something interesting or dynamic about the location or the nature of the service provided, smiling faces can be complemented with a rich variety of intriguing footage.

Keep in mind, even when it seems obvious that there is nothing interesting to show, a little creativity can go a long way. Showing a commercial banking customer success story about a florist who was able to expand because of a business loan…that could work. Or showing a happy insurance customer who was finally able to get the employee coverage he needed for his pool installation business, well that might work too.

In any case, there is nothing like real life experience in making videos for websites to guide a decision. If you are considering custom video for your site and the decision to commit isn’t so easy, call an experienced video production professional early to discuss your ideas. With his or her help, you should be able to find some clarity.

What do Good Presentations and Good Websites have in common?

It’s simply satisfying to attend a really good presentation. Although you may be one of many audience members, the speaker seems to connect directly with you. You leave, not just persuaded, but inspired to take action.

Now think about what business owners want to achieve with their websites. They want to connect with their web-surfing audiences and inspire them to action. Since the goals are similar, it only makes sense that the underlying principals are very much the same.

Attention to Audience

Too often, presenters fail to venture outside their own head as they toil to generate their outline and/or slides. They may want to help the audience, but they are often more driven by their fondness for the subject matter or their desire to look like an expert. What comes out in the presentation is generally a lot of facts and technical mumbo jumbo which, at least from the audience’s perspective, numbs the mind.

Websites can also be developed from the wrong perspective. These websites feel impressive to their owners because they seem to ooze credibility. But users often get lost in all their jargon and/or fancy design. And because website users are not members of a “captive” audience as in a presentation, they click away.

Good presentations and good websites are designed with the audience perspective as a central focus. What is the audience like? Why did they come here? What are they expecting to see? What are their worries? How might they resist the message? Developers of both presentations and websites should answer questions like these before starting design, and then keep the answers front and center throughout the design process.

Nurturing Brand

Too many times, presenters think they are branding their presentations by sticking a logo in the corner of each slide. While this isn’t always the wrong thing to do, it doesn’t mean that one’s brand is being conveyed effectively. If the audience walks away having been bored to death by the presentation, any attempt to brand the experience has failed.

Websites can also suffer from an improper approach to branding. Most web designers start creating design concepts by referencing a company’s logo, but that is often where it ends. The site has the right colors and design motifs, but confuses visitors and turns them off, thereby negating the value of branding.

A designer needs to understand that every detail of a presentation or a website affects the branding experience. Colors, fonts and layouts are important. But so is a smooth and seamless delivery. When preparing for a presentation you’ll want to rehearse and to plan for peculiarities in lighting and sound at your venue.  When building a website you’ll want to ensure quick loading times and intuitive navigation.

Simplicity

Have you ever left a presentation unsure what the main point was supposed to be?

When a presenter includes tons of bulleted text and data, you, the audience member, have to struggle to gain a sense of clarity. And, ultimately, you have to decide whether the few new nuggets you gleaned were worth sitting through all the extra stuff that seemed just that — extra.

The same thing can happen with a business website.  Have you ever been to a homepage and not known where to click next? Have you simply been overwhelmed by all the messaging? Instead of taking the time to explore every menu and read all the copy, isn’t it easier to just click away?

For both presentation and website makers, giving the audience oodles of information and then leaving it up to them to decide what is the important stuff is a common mistake. Sure, it is a difficult task to decide what stays and what goes because it all seems important. But if everything is important then, really, nothing is. It is up to presentation and website makers to make tough decisions, reducing the data and honing the message to achieve clarity for the audience so they don’t have to struggle to achieve for themselves.

Much of what I advocate in the way of presentation development involves simplification. Simple messages and simple slides make it easy for the audience to enjoy your talk and understand your point.

One could argue that the mere presence of slides adds undue complexity to a talk because the audience is faced with making a choice between focusing on the presenter or the slide. There is truth enough in this argument to make you pause and think - should I even include slides with my next talk?

Between a talk with no slides and one with a heavy slide emphasis, there is a wonderful middle ground. Try designing a slide deck with blank black slides thoughtfully inserted at key points in your presentation. For the audience, this will reduce the strain of two competing visual focal points, at least at times. For you, the presenter, this becomes a powerful tool for creating emphasis in your narrative.

Let’s suppose, for example, that you have spent the last ten minutes presenting data to your audience, your slides functioning as the primary focal point.  Now you advance to a blank screen, take a step forward and deliver the core idea of your argument. You can imagine how the shift in narrative from supporting argument to main point, from analytical content to emotional appeal, all coupled with a change in focal point from slide to presenter results in a powerful moment.

Another option to inserting a blank slide in your deck is tapping the B-key on your laptop during your presentation. This, too, will make your screen black and offers you the ability to gauge your audience before using the technique.

The bottom line is that slides are not an all or nothing thing. You can design your slide deck to play a more or less prominent role in your talk by choosing when to display something and when to display nothing. You may find, ironically, that it’s the slides with nothing that make your slide deck and your talk truly powerful.

I’m sure you’ve heard it - a business acquaintance refers to a talk or presentation he or she is soon to give as “a PowerPoint”. Perhaps you’ve done the same. Although I am not so rude as to express it outwardly, when I hear someone refer to his or her talk as “a PowerPoint”, I experience a fight-or-flight response as my blood pressure spikes and I get the urge to run for the door.

PowerPoint:  Microsoft Office product that provides users with an interface to design multimedia slides to be displayed on a projection system or personal computer.

I like to refer to PowerPoint as slideware. The “-ware” suffix properly implies that we are talking about a software application. So, when someone says “I’m giving a PowerPoint,” I should rightfully expect to show-up to a raffle drawing where Microsoft PowerPoint is on the list of prizes.

Although it is admittedly the proper terminology, there is also something I don’t like about the phrase, “I’m giving a presentation.” Perhaps it is because “presentation” seems so formal. Consider one alternate definition for “presentation”:

The proffering of something to someone, especially as part of a formal ceremony.

Some speaking events are more formal occasions, but most great presentations don’t feel “formal” at all. On the contrary, most great presentations feel intimate because the speaker artfully creates an emotional connection with the audience.

to present: To level or aim a weapon.

Even when a businesswoman says “I’m giving a presentation”, there is still a strong possibility that she means to spend hours preparing presentation slides that are cluttered with information only to turn and read them to her audience. In this case, her slideware might as well be a weapon. Not only does she make it impossible to achieve an emotional connection with the audience, attendees begin to experience a feeling of frustration and dread.

I’m most optimistic when I hear someone say, “I’m giving a talk.”

to talk: speak in order to give information or express ideas or feelings

In a good talk, information is given and, although feelings may not be expressed per se, emotions are conveyed. Through emotional conveyance, good speakers inspire audiences and convince them to adopt a particular point of view. And it’s the speaker that says “I’m giving a talk” that most often intends to use a slide presentation properly — as a compliment to their talk.

We all have the potential to be good speakers, but to do so, we must resist the current presentation culture that says presentation slides should look like documents or be used as cue cards. It’s time to stop “PowerPointing” and start preparing and delivering good talks. And if one is able to exercise the necessary restraint to use slideware simply as a talk enhancement tool, then he or she should consider doing so.

This is the third part of a 3-part blog series focusing on producing dynamite video footage for your website while getting the most bang for your buck.

In the second installment, I offered a number of tips for the production phase. In this installment, I address the post-production phase, i.e. editing. Remember, the tips I provide below are based on a conventional corporate-video formula intended to yield about 5 minutes of final, edited video footage. Remember, they are just guidelines and may not apply to every project.

Post Production

Keep Graphics Simple

Flying, flipping motion graphics, even from templates, take lots of time to edit together. Putting static white text over a black background is fast, cost-effective and can be done elegantly so that it doesn’t degrade the impact of your video. For lower thirds (the title graphics you see with the name and title of the person being interviewed) simple white text over a semi-opaque color bar across the lower third of the screen may just do the job.

Use Digital Stills
So that the final edited video isn’t just a sequence of talking-heads, you will want some visual content to insert over the interview clips. If acquiring video footage during your shoot of easily accessible subject matter is possible, then do so. If one has to go to extraordinary lengths to get the shots you envision, consider still photos as an alternative source of visuals. These can be photos you already have, or ones you can easily take yourself. Your video producer can insert these photos into the video and even animate them slightly to grow or slide adding a little dynamic energy to an otherwise static shot.

Review Edits Thoughtfully
When you review an edit, record specific notes regarding any changes you might want and provide the time-code/counter numbers that correspond with those changes. Get the input of one or two trusted colleagues as they might see things that you don’t. Deliver all your feedback on one document and be ready to go over the list verbally with your producer/editor, trying to avoid multiple rounds of revisions.

Repurpose Your Video
Lastly, to get the most bang for your buck, make sure to get your video in a variety of usable formats suitable for web, PowerPoint presentations and DVD and look for opportunities to leverage your video investment.

This is the second part of a 3-part blog series focusing on producing dynamite video footage for your website while getting the most bang for your buck.

In the first installment, I offered a number of tips for the preproduction phase. In this installment, I address the production phase, i.e. the shoot. Remember, the tips I provide below are based on a conventional corporate-video formula intended to yield about 5 minutes of final, edited video footage. They are just guidelines so you should feel free to tweak them to fit your situation.

Production

Make a Schedule

For a 4 hour shoot, make a schedule with twelve 20 minute slots and work with your videographer to plan the order in which you are going to attack the shoot. Slots should be assigned for specific interviews or the shooting of B-roll. But, be prepared to adjust and improvise should the unexpected occur.

Keep Moving Locations to a Minimum
Valuable time is eaten up when your videographer and crew have to strike their equipment to move to and setup in a new location. When feasible, shoot interviews in one location, moving the equipment as necessary to get a variety of backgrounds among the interviews.

Be an “Assistant Director” and recruit a “2^nd Assistant Director” too
Assistant Directors work with a Director to get people and resources into place on schedule. Work with your videographer as the primary coordinator of people and places, and bring an assistant for yourself. This will insure that, even if unexpected challenges crop up, there are plenty of hands on deck to keep the shoot running smoothly and on schedule.

Help your Interviewees Feel Comfortable
Most everybody experiences “camera anxiety”. Some will become so self-conscious about what they are saying and how they are saying it that they may find it difficult to get a complete sentence out. Everyone is different, but most interviewees will feel more secure if they know what you want from them. Having a copy of their “talking points” to hand to them and discuss a few minutes before they get in front of the camera usually helps.

Part 3 of this series focuses on what the editing phase.

This is the first part of a 3-part blog series focusing on producing dynamite video footage for your website while getting the most bang for your buck.

The tips I provide below are based on a conventional corporate-video formula intended to yield about 5 minutes of final, edited video footage. They are just guidelines and as such, you can tweak them to fit your situation.

Pre-Production

Secure 5 Interviewees
3 happy customers and 2 expert employees. Getting customers is often challenging because people are busy, but testimonial footage from raving fans is gold. Choose people that are outgoing and vivacious.

Secure 1 Location for a Morning, Afternoon or Evening
Of course, this will often be one’s place of business. Budget is burned moving between multiple locations, so schedule everyone to come to one place. It may be a scheduling challenge to get everyone there, but saves a lot of money. When you first meet with your video producer for the project, do so at this prospective location and ask him or her to scout it with you to see if it is indeed suitable for shooting.

Choose 3 Enduring Themes on which to Focus
For example: quality, honesty and customer-service. What you choose should flow from your business’s particular strengths and objectives. This will give your video shoot focus and the final video footage clarity.

List Talking Points for Each Interviewee
These talking points should synthesize the 3 enduring themes with the unique stories and perspectives each interviewee has to offer. Discuss these with your interviewees when they arrive for the shoot. The point is not to put words in their mouths, but to keep the shoot focused so you get the footage you need quickly.

Make a Shot List
On shooting day, when you are not shooting interviews, you will be shooting B-roll, i.e. the visual footage to be inserted on top of the interview sound bites in the final edited piece. First list as many shots as you can that match what you expect interviewees to talk about. Then make a wish list of other shots that might be archived for future video projects.

Part 2 of this series focuses on what to do on shooting day. Until then, start dreaming about what YOUR video would look like, who would be in it and what wonderful things they would say about your company.

You’ve been there… eyelids growing heavy, mind wandering, sitting through another boring business presentation. And what happens when it’s your turn to speak? Chances are you are committing some of the same presentations sins as everyone else. One of the greatest of these sins is the misuse of presentation software like PowerPoint.

Slides laden with bulleted text are not ingredients for a powerful presentation. But many of us don’t know any better. The templates provided by the software seem to beg for bullets and text and slide titles and logos and clipart. What were meant as tools to make presentation design more accessible and convenient for would-be-presenters have helped to shape a culture of poor public speaking. Perhaps even you have treated your PowerPoint slides as presentation notes, turning to read the bulleted text to your audience as if they couldn’t read it for themselves.

What does all this have to do with web development? Well, some of the same skills that make for great web design also make for great presentation design. And we’re not just talking graphic design skills; we’re talking strategy, planning, vision and the ability to distill the ideas you wish to impart to your audience into their simplest and clearest forms.

So don’t hesitate to turn to MB/I for presentation design services and workshops in taking your presentations to the next level. We want all your digital communications to be clear and compelling. Contact us today.

Flash, well known for its elegant moving images and animations, is the application of choice for creating beautiful websites. But many web developers have scrapped the idea of using Flash for business websites because text that is created in Flash is not always easy to recognize by search engines like Google. Search engine optimization has been, and continues to be, a priority for many businesses. So many web developers have gotten into the habit of settling for two alternatives: the less elegant look of a completely HTML site or a hybrid in which only some of the site elements, such as the navigation menus, are created in Flash.

Flash poses another challenge — those businesses that want to take advantage of the flexibility of a content management system for their site have been generally restricted to a site based in HTML. This is because content management systems are not typically designed to be compatible with a full Flash site.

Enter Troll Bridge Cellars.  www.trollbridgecellars.com is…you guessed it… a gorgeous Flash site that not only has an easy-to-use Content Management System, but is also search engine friendly. For a boutique winery like Troll Bridge Cellars, having a beautiful website that reflects the elegance of its wines is a major priority. But equally as important is its ability to be found online through organic keyword search. And we can’t forget Troll Bridge’s need to regularly update the website content for its loyal fan base and returning customers.

So there you have it…the beauty of Flash, the findability of HTML, and the agility of a custom content management system. What more could you want in a website? To take advantage of this same amazing combination for your website, contact MB/I to discuss the possibilities.