Keep At It

 

Pioneer lesson for our modern time.

The main lesson from my pioneer ancestors for our modern time: You can get there from here. It's only 2,750,000 steps. Take them one at a time.
 

Technologically Advanced

 

Blueprint images and gingerbread shape are all from Gemini AI.

The animation is VideoScribe.

(Yes, I've been playing in the toolbox.)

Any time spent learning...

 

Send Someone Soaring

 

“I can live for two months on a good compliment.”

Mark Twain 

brainyquote.com (https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marktwain100358.html)

I was fresh out of college on my first real job. It was with a company specializing in computer-based training for corporate clients. The pressure was on and the whole team was putting in the effort to meet our deadlines. In the middle of all that, a colleague left a sticky note on my desk which read, “Our leaders are noticing you. Keep up the good work.” My best effort got even better.

A bit of encouragement goes a long way, and it doesn’t cost much. Send someone soaring with a sticky note.

 

Watch Out for Jargon and Business-speak

 

Wikimedia Commons, North American X-15 at the National Air and Space Museum, Dec 2017, by Mys 721tx, cropping and blurred background added, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_American_X-15_at_the_National_Air_and_Space_Museum,_Dec_2017_1.jpg

I visited the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, some time before all the remodeling and renovations. (That’s one of my favorite museum memories.) Our group ended up on the mezzanine alongside the North American X-15. We had an excellent guide that day. She gave us the historic dates and performance records broken by the plane in its time.

In the course of our conversation, I asked, “Since it’s a rocket plane, does it use liquid or solid fuel?” The guide dived in to give me a correct and accurate rundown of the fuel properties, including its chemical make-up. “Great,” I said. “Is that liquid or solid?” She laughed and said, “It’s liquid.”

Clear and concise communication, even elegant messaging, cuts through the overload. As professionals, we have to be conscious of overshooting the target.  How many meetings have you attended where someone got carried away?

I asked Gemini AI to create some important sounding but meaningless business-speak.  It did a great job creating a non-example:

“To effectively leverage our core competencies and achieve a holistic paradigm shift, we must proactively synergize our cross-functional deliverables to ensure maximum scalability across the entire ecosystem. By pivoting toward a client-centric, data-driven framework, we can facilitate a deep dive into our vertical integration strategies, thereby optimizing our value-added touchpoints without compromising our agile methodology. Ultimately, our mission is to disrupt the status quo through hyper-local innovation and strategic alignment, creating a seamless interface for stakeholder engagement that translates into actionable insights and best-in-class operational excellence.”

As writers and instructional designers, we are in the communication business. So, communicate!

 

Use Graphics to Remove Obstacles

 

Graphics do more than “make pretty.” In an eLearning situation, they need to carry their own weight, instructionally speaking. Infographics can convey something in seconds, if they’re designed right. In this example, graphics indicate that the link navigated to the correct page, reducing cognitive load on the learners. They can think about the content since they’re not sidetracked.

In Support of Being Nice

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But few people practice this. Until we become nicer people, there will be no peace in this world.

Kirk Douglas

A Triumph of the Spirit: a Tribute to Kirk Douglas, June 2002

YouTube.com From the “Sunday Morning” archives: Hollywood Legends 40:30

...and where did we put the emphasis?

 

Focus Attention

No self-respecting presenter or instructional designer would ever willingly overload a slide. And yet… somehow, we all get roped into it. Maybe we’re only allowed a single slide in a shared presentation or something. The single slide gets five points to cover. (Here’s my sarcasm showing: just try and tell me it’s never happened to you.)

There’s the presenter droning on for ten minutes displaying a slide with nothing happening on it. And the audience’s attention? It’s wandering all over the slide trying to find its place. Or… it’s wandering off the slide trying to get away from this place.

It’s a clunky hack (but worth it) to highlight the point you’re talking about. The highlight could be a box or an arrow or anything to point out what the current topic is. Yes, we’d rather have separate slides for each segment, but we have to make do in the real world.

 

 

Being nice is a superpower!

Recently, we had a company-wide town hall webcast. It was a video call from headquarters. We noticed that each of the executive speakers had a popular song playing as they approached the stand. So, in our team’s follow-up conference call, we indulged in choosing our own “walk-up songs” for when we’re called up to speak. I blurted out “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” from the Toy Story movies. After the initial laughter, my colleagues seemed to agree that it was a suitable song for me. “Great,” I thought sarcastically. “I just revealed myself as being NICE.” (Though that’s no big revelation.)

But niceness is not a weakness. It’s confident, supportive, civil, and persuasive. It’s also pleasant and friendly. I made informal observations of my educator/instructional designer colleagues. Along with their high organization and creativity traits, a lot of them have mentoring/shepherding traits.  I suppose it helps to be nice when you’re teaching something. (I know that’s not a hard and fast rule. Some content demands a disciplined mind for it to be learned.) Being nice doesn’t exclude me from my career crowd, though. It seems to go with the territory.

So, don’t shy away from being nice. It’s a superpower. And, by the way, you’ve got a friend in me.

 

There's an up-side to job searching?

We all know how putting our best foot forward can tie us into knots. At times, it's simply discouraging. We also know that the main goal is landing that role that fits. We focus on that at the expense of all else.

But wait, there's more. I'm way impressed with the caliber of the people I meet along the way.  Whether or not I land the position, there are people I want to associate with. I may be some kind of weird social butterfly, but I've connected with folks who have turned me down for jobs I was applying to. (Surprise! You thought you were done with me!)

Sometimes that has paid off in the long run, leading to future roles. Mostly not. But having friendships and positive contacts are their own reward. They enrich both my professional and my personal life.

But wait, there's more. I'm way impressed with how my current friends and colleagues rally around to alert me to openings that I may miss otherwise... besides enriching both my professional and my personal life. You get a huge, heartfelt thank you!

Maybe I'm stretching to see a silver lining, but I think I found a couple.

 

Show and Tell

For the last ten years I've been working as an instructional designer in the health care field. In that area, privacy and security are high priorities. So, I was unable to copy examples of my work for a proper portfolio.  So, I mocked up some example slides without using my former employers' assets.

In Conversation:

Camron Brewer from Key Learning Studios posted something nice about me on LinkedIn. Thought I'd link to it.

LinkedIn Conversation

Thanks, Camron!

Key Learning Studios

Walk to End Alzheimer's 2020

Update:

The weather was kind to us as walked in American Fork on the 19th. We only got a little bit wet.  We walked a route that started and ended at Beehive homes, where Grandma Shirley lived the last couple of years of her life. We enjoyed the chance to participate again in the Walk to End Alzheimer's.

You can still join our team and walk in your neighborhood. Or you can donate to our walk at https://act.alz.org/site/TR?fr_id=13693&pg=personal&px=13771728

I'm leaving the link active through October so any help will be greatly appreciated.  And thanks to you who already pitched in. We do appreciate it. #endalz #endalz2020

---

Since we lost my mother at the beginning of 2020, my family and I have chosen to participate in this year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s in her honor. The event will be fun this year. Rather than gather all the teams together, they’re doing a welcome ceremony online, then having us walk in our respective neighborhoods. In Utah County, Utah, they’re holding the walk on Saturday 11/19, just over a week away.

I'd welcome your support, no matter how great or small.  Join our team, Shirley, We're Strong, or donate at:

 

https://act.alz.org/site/TR?fr_id=13693&pg=personal&px=13771728

Thanks,

 

Les

Slow is Smooth, and Smooth is Fast

This is a military motto. My son brought it back with him from deployment overseas. It's not intuitive. We think in order to speed up a project we need to speed up our effort. Unfortunately, speeding up the effort frequently makes us inaccurate. (That's polite-speak for "sloppy.") So doing something again is certainly slower than doing it correctly in the first place. There's a quote attributed to UCLA coach John Wooden that my father used his whole life: "If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?"

So, what's the secret to speeding up? Of course, it's slowing down.

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Wherever I have traveled, I've found a historical or art museum to attend.  I've compiled quite a list of both places I've been and those I want to see. This blog seems to be a great opportunity to share them.

There's one that I've wanted to see, but the chance to go there is slipping away. The Newseum in Washington, DC is a museum dedicated to the importance of a free press and the First Amendment. 

So, I'm hoping that a reader/follower will go there this month and will share a last-minute review. Tell me what it would have been like to go to the Newseum. (It's at 555 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001. Their phone is (202) 292-6100.)

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Walk to End Alzheimer's 2019 Update

Well, thank you, friends.  You've helped me reach my personal goal... TWICE! Before employer matching! Since there are still 11 days before the walk, I've raised my goal amount from $100 to $350. So any help you could send my way will be greatly appreciated.

Take care, everyone.

http://act.alz.org/goto/Les_Oswalds_Page

Bueno, gracias a uds. mis amigos. Me han ayudado alcanzar mi meta personal... dos veces! Sin la ayuda de me empleador.  Desde que hay once días antes de la caminata, levanté mi meta de $100 hasta $350. Cualquier ayuda que les gustaría compartir sería linda.

Cuídense bien, todos.

http://act.alz.org/goto/Les_Oswalds_Page

Together, We Can End Alzheimer's Disease

I'm at it again, raising money to end Alzheimer's disease. Our Walk to End Alzheimer's is September 28th at The Orchard at University Place in Orem, UT. Join my walking team, Shirley We're Strong, either literally or virtually -OR- make a donation. (My employer will match 1-to-1 on anything I raise.)
Thank you for your help.

Lo hago de nuevo, recaudando dinero para terminar con la enfermedad de Alzheimer. Nuestra caminata para acabar con el Alzheimer es el 28 de septiembre en The Orchard at University Place en Orem, UT. Únase a mi equipo de senderismo, Shirley We're Strong, ya sea literal o virtualmente, -O- haga una donación. (Mi empleador igualará 1 a 1 en todo lo que plantee).
Gracias por su ayuda.

http://act.alz.org/goto/Les_Oswalds_Page

Childhood Values Are Still Valuable

Nope! Nothing Earth-Shattering This Time

I updated the marker-board drawing in my office.  Thought I'd share. And, yep, we can sure use your caring and talents, if you'd pour them out on us. Thanks!