It’s been a while since I’ve published outtakes from an interview and with the tight format of my Electric Sky Portrait episodes (10 minutes each), there are plenty. Here are the contents of the virtual cutting room floor from this week’s interview with Stephen Gritt, Chief Conservator, Restoration and Conservation of the National Gallery of Canada.
2008.02.18
Challenge number 4: Use stories
When you think about it, storytelling is a constant in any form of media including audio and video. Even when the content is meant to educate or convey a procedure, there’s some method to the delivery that can be identified as storytelling. The fact is, information is easier to remember when the consumer can relate to the content and the use of stories is an amazing way to make that connection for your audience.
Your challenge this week is to think carefully about how you present your content and find ways to enhance your message through storytelling. Remember the best stories have a beginning, middle and an end — three acts if you like — and they don’t clutter the story with unnecessary details.
If you have any questions feel free to email me, markblevis@gmail.com. Your next challenge will be available next week at markblevis.com.
2008.01.28
Challenge number 3: Take advantage of the silence
Though I don’t have the facts and figures in front of me, I’ve been told and have experienced for many years that the winter months are mentally and emotionally hard on a lot of people; the reduced hours of daylight, the long stretches between holiday weekends, the increased workload and the absence of neighbours (people you see regularly during the summer months).
Similarly, in social media, there’s frequently long periods of silence on blogs, podcast and social networking sites that can wear us down. Sometimes those silences can be understood. In most cases they happen for no apparent reason.
Your challenge for this week is to accept these periods of quiet as opportunities to take pressure off of yourself instead of stepping it up. And, knowing that those silences can be deafening, take a few minutes to comment on one blog you follow closely and another that you’ve just discovered. Make the comment strong and on topic to make the site’s creator feel that their content means something to you.
If you have any questions feel free to email me, markblevis@gmail.com. Your next challenge will be available next week at markblevis.com.
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