David Pogue spoke on three separate occasions during this year's ICE conference, and the effectiveness of his delivery never ceases to amaze me. He connects with and holds his audiences with seeming ease. One way he accomplishes this through the way he plays his strengths when he is onstage.

Other than being an incredibly friendly individual (which is a great asset in itself), Mr. Pogue stands out thanks to his humor and musicianship. In a former life, David Pogue was a Broadway accompanist and conductor. He is a musician, and he is not afraid to show his talent off when he's speaking before a group of left-brained geeks. In fact, he seems to enjoy it. His tech-centered song parodies always bring a smile, and I find myself wanting to request favorite Pogue hits when I see him sit behind a piano during one of his presentations.

Mr. Pogue is also a funny individual. In a seemingly dry profession, he finds humor all around. Whether he's taking jabs at the RIAA or poking fun at teachers' collective ignorance of technology or parodying Steve Jobs, his content is riddled with humor. Through this, he presents meaningful and relevant content, but he makes the speaker-audience connection deeper because he knows how to play to his strengths.

What are you good at? How can your own talents enhance your presentations? Discover those qualities about yourself that enable you to connect with people on a personal level and carry them to the professional level. It comes back to viewing a presentation as a form of conversation, and your personality should shine as much as the content – allowing your audience to connect with your content through connecting to you.

Tags: impression, david pogue

ICE 2008 is over, and, save the correction I posted yesterday, everything went fairly smoothly. There was some confusion over the room in which I was supposed to present, but the ICE staff was very helpful and friendly in sorting that out!

I needed to have taken a picture of the schedule outside my assigned location. David Pogue was scheduled to give a talk in that same room earlier in the day!

The Talk

Both the delivery and the technology went well yesterday. I was speaking on a raised stage area, so I had to remain conscious of my footing to avoid literally breaking my leg (which a friend of mine had suggested I do idiomatically wishing me luck)! Also, a piano was on the stage with me, so I felt required to play it some before my talk began.

I was tickled by something I said incorrectly during the presentation. Intending to say, "Creating an outline on your slides is fine if you are teaching high school freshmen how to take notes," I accidentally substituted the word "fremen" for "freshmen." In truth, if you find yourself in a room full of high school fremen, I suggest you run before they claim your water for the tribe!

Miscellany

I attended some good presentations – including a couple by David Pogue I might write about later. The exhibitor floor was pretty sparse with Microsoft's booth being the only one that stood out in any way. Apple's booth was virtually nonexistent this year.


points for popcorn!

While in the exhibitors hall, I snagged a copy of Mr. Pogue's Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual, and he autographed it for me! I had a couple more chances to talk to Mr. Pogue throughout the day, and I found him incredibly friendly and approachable. I find it hard to believe that people write disparaging stuff about him on their blogs!


memorabilia! whee!

My friend Mary had a table set up along the back of the hall, documenting a technology success story. She was featuring composer trading cards her children had made using Microsoft Publisher. It was a great idea, and I might end up using it in my classroom later this year! (By the way, Mary's my music teacher hero.)


I'll trade you a Dvořák and a Copeland for a Mozart!

Finally, I will leave you with this odd piece of artwork outside the Indiana Convention Center. I can't find any info about it at the moment, but it looks like two adults dancing atop a pile of money in front of a poor child (not visible in the picture). If you know the story behind the sculpture, let me know!


just rub it in, why don't you?

That's all for this year's trip to ICE. I'll keep you posted if any other interesting opportunities come my way!

Tags: my talks, david pogue

One of the things that caught me off guard in the video of David Pogue speaking at TED was the fact that his talk began with him sitting behind a piano, singing about tech support woes in a parody of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence."



In and of itself, Mr. Pogue's talk was pretty good. It was humorous and insightful, and it was delivered very competently. What made it stand out, though, was Pogue's use of songs throughout his presentation. Quite suddenly, he would just bolt to the piano, and regale his audience with a modified rendition of Simon & Garfunkel, Barry Manilow, and even Andrew Lloyd Webber.

See, David Pogue used his unique background as a musician to bring an element of surprise and humor to his talk. What unique abilities or insights do you have that can make your presentations unique and unforgettable? What is something that makes you uniquely you? Remember, your presentations don't have to merely consist of slides and droning. Allow your individuality to shine through, and you might find your talks more enjoyable for you and your listeners.

Tags: TED, examples, atmosphere, impression, connections, david pogue