No one has died from giving a bad presentation. Well, at least one person did, President William Henry Harrison, but he developed pneumonia after giving the longest inaugural address in U.S. history. The easy lesson from his story: keep it short, or you might die.
Scott BerkunIt seems that bad advice that's fun will always be better known than than good advice that's dull-no matter how useless that fun advice is.
Scott BerkunFor centuries before Google, MIT, and IDEO, modern hotbeds of innovation, we struggled to explain any kind of creation, from the universe itself to the multitudes of ideas around us. While we can make atomic bombs, and dry-clean silk ties, we still don't have satisfying answers for simple questions like: Where do songs come from? Are there an infinite variety of possible kinds of cheese? How did Shakespeare and Stephen King invent so much, while we're satisfied watching sitcom reruns? Our popular answers have been unconvincing, enabling misleading, fantasy-laden myths to grow strong.
Scott BerkunInnovative ideas are rarely rejected on their merits; theyโre rejected because of how they make people feel. If you forget peopleโs concerns and feelings when you present an innovation, or neglect to understand their perspectives in your design, youโre setting yourself up to fail.
Scott Berkun