Resolutions in the Shower

This morning I started contemplating again several things...it always happens when I'm in the shower where I don't have pencil and paper handy! So I must rely on my memory (which many of you know is not all that good). Several thoughts came to mind that I want to write about. First, I want to put forth one of my New Year's Resolutions for 2009. On a second post for later today or tomorrow, I want to write about the four concepts identified by Cynthia Coburn and Richard Elmore that relate to moving schools. The two subjects are actually related, and one led to the other in my somewhat logical thinking process. So let me share with you the one resolution that I've decided to focus on this year. No doubt, you've seen and heard others talking about a revolution in presentation style. Books like Presentation Zen and Slideology have been bestsellers. I want to be part of that revolution! So here I am ... declaring it to the world ... down with boring presentations! I never want to be accused again of doing a boring powerpoint presentation!

I've been admiring the simplicity and appeal of some of Jim Knight's newer presentations. (Not that they haven't always been good!) He has been studying and learning from some great masters in the field. He just had a great blog post with his thoughts a few days ago (12/29) that you might want to read. The link to his last post is http://tinyurl.com/93nggd.

Anyway, one of my resolutions for this year - 2009 - is to work on improving my presentation style. I want to shift my focus in my presentations away from the "powerpoint" to the meaning and message as Garr Reynolds and Nancy Duarte speak about. It requires time and energy I am finding, but it also really helps to get to the fine points of the message. So, as I was thinking about an upcoming meeting that needs to be very focused, I am endeavoring to begin this transformation. There are practical considerations...

• Where can I get good visuals?
• What is an efficient way to organize and plan?
• How do I organize my materials?

I'm hoping that the books I'm reading and the blogs I'm frequenting will help with those questions. I'm also going to seek the help of my online communities. These are the technical aspects of this change that I can get answers for rather easily if I make the time and effort to find them.

I'm more concerned about adaptive challenges that I am going to face, which I haven't completely figured out. These will take more time, and this is where you, my readers, come in. I am convinced that this is where I need to spend my time...

• What exactly is my message?
• How can I get teachers and school personnel to buy in to this message?
• How does a presentation become a call to action?

Heifietz and Linsky talk about adaptive challenges a lot in their book, Leadership on the Line. Solving adaptive challenges takes collaboration, dialogue, deep reflection, and time. I think about one of the beginning activities we do in the Instructional Coaching Institute which is to think about a change that has been managed successfully versus one that has not. In the institute, we talk about and have a dialogue about what it takes to make real and meaningful change occur. Knowing that change is a process, and a spiraling process, I am going to focus on these questions. Because change takes time, I'm going to check in periodically with this post and reflect about either my success or lack of success. I will take stock of where I am in this process of change. I guess I could call it my own little action research project!

Happy New Year to everyone! I would love to hear about your resolutions related to change for this year. The prognosis for successful change when it comes to resolutions is really minimal according to social scientists and surveys. Keeping in mind Prochaska's model of change can help us understand why that may seem so. Thinking about January 1 as a marker in the process can help us to think logically about making a habit permanent. So let today be the first mark in the change process for me!

Twitter - Have you heard of it?

My colleague, mentor, and friend, Jim Knight, has turned me on to a new, innovative communication tool (at least it is new to me.) I'm not quite sure what to call it - I guess the best words I can think of to describe it is an "interactive communication website." It has the capability of networking people so that we can exchange ideas and communicate with lots of people relatively quickly. Since so many people communicate with smart phones and small handheld devices, it is very convenient. Think of a bunch of birds twittering - short little communication bits that can serve to alert us to each other. I've signed up, but now I'm going to try it. I urge you to take a look at Jim Knight's blog to get a little more information. You can find his very informative posts at http://www.instructionalcoach.org/. Then sign up at the Twitter website; go to http://www.twitter.com/. Search for me using my twitter username - suewoodruff. Hope to to hear you twitter soon!