September, 2001

Book banter discussion began with consideration of our next book. The following are among the books considered:

• Leading the Revolution by Gary Hamel
• Bread and Butter, What a bunch of bakers taught me about business and happiness, by Tom McMakin
• Disturbing the Universe by Freeman Dyson
• The Art of Framing, Managing the language of leadership by Gail T Fairhurst and Robert A. Sarr
• Working Knowledge, How organizations manage what they know by Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak
• Performance Improvement Quarterly, "A Step Beyond Univision Evaluation: Using a Systems Model of Performance" by Catherine M. Sleezer, Jiping Zhang, Deane B. Gradous and Craig Maile

As we considered these books, a consistent theme, or desire, emerged in our discussion that is echoed in the September 2001 issue of Performance Improvement. An article by Diane Gayeski, "Beyond Level 4: Tying HPT to Valuation of Intangible Assets," states "For HPT methods to achieve their potential, we need to speak in the language and metrics of business executives."

While our subconscious considered the next book to read, the discussion shifted to focus on Sizzle & Substance, Presenting with the brain in mind by Eric Jensen.

Sizzle & Substance, Presenting with the brain in mind by Eric Jensen

Jensen's book brings together a grand collection of educational/learning, communication and psychological theories. The result is an extremely practical 'how to book' for anyone who designs, develops, and delivers presentations-whether one on one or to a crowd. In every chapter, the "Brain Connection" sidebar emphasizes the value of applying the recommended techniques. For example we presenters produce chemical states in the brains of our participants. We could develop our presentations to more planfully produce a variety of brain states. Closings, an important part of our presentation, should be emotionally engaging. According to Jensen, some or all of the following elements, are important to the closing: movement, meaning, value, completeness, and next step(s). Why? For retention and long-term memory. How? Here is one example: we allow down time for participants to reflect on their learning for a few minutes, then we ask them to share insights with a partner.

Writing in non-technical terms, Jensen encourages the reader to try any number of presentation improvements. He includes self-assessment checklists for us and team-building activities for participants.

In our discussion, we focused on aligning his recommendations with a closer evaluation of what we are doing in our own presentations. What are we doing to create a safer learning environment? What are we doing to stimulate engagement?

As often happens at Book Banter, participants share tools or resources they use. Deane Gradous introduced the use of Sufi teaching stories. These stories entertain and at the same time develop perception and intuition and offer deep lessons for daily life.

Our discussion of Jensen's book continues next month. Many of us plan to prepare for another excellent BookBanter discussion by tagging ideas with blue or green flags representing "I want to talk about the merits of this cool idea" or "I plan to try this strategy in my next presentation."