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An insight into the Australia Day Awards

by Cellobella on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 · 5 comments

This year I was invited to sit on the WA panel to select the 2009 WA candidate for the Australian of the Year awards… filling in for my boss.

I felt completely unworthy to judge such amazing men and women and as I read through the applications – neatly filed for me – I felt even more selfish and callow.  And humble.

Anyway I made my notes and my shortlist and went along to the meeting in which we were to discuss and vote for our candidates.

We were upstairs in a board room at a city hotel and found ourselves with coffee in hand and mints at the ready sitting around a large U-shaped table… cabinet style.

The chairman sat at one end and explained to us how we would select the candidates.  First Australian of the Year WA, then Senior Australian, Youth and finally Local Hero.

First up we each put forward our top 5 shortlist.  Then after some discussion we had a second vote – this time giving 3 points to our top candidate, 2 for our second and 1 for our third.  Then we looked at the candidates again to make sure we were happy with the way the votes fell.

I was pleased to see one of my favourites make it into the top group.  Maybe I could do this judging thing. :)

It was a really rewarding day and I felt proud to be an Australian with all these fabulous worthy extraordinary people really contributing to my society and making Australia a great place to live.

Anyone can nominate anyone else and really, if you know someone who is worthy of recognition it is a worthwhile thing to do.  Next year’s round will open around July 1, 2009.

Royal Show Redemption

by Cellobella on Wednesday, October 1, 2008 · 8 comments

A couple of years ago I wrote about the bogans at the Perth Royal Show. I was quite scathing. Now, it’s not that the show has suddenly become a bogan-free zone – quite the contraire – it’s just that – for the first time in about ten years I went to the show and I actually enjoyed it.

Far from the jaded worn out parent from a couple of years ago, dragged from one show bag stall to the next overpriced ride, this year I left the elder at home to play Spore (thanks to his Aunty he is now SUPER popular) and simply dropped the young one off to volunteer at Animal Aid Abroad…

Where she stayed happily content all morning.

This left Groover and me free to wander the showgrounds at our whim and act like young teenagers in love – without the heavy petting in public.  

It took me back to my younger more impressionable years and my Grease-like fantasies of what teenagers did at Royal Shows… or at least end of year carnivals…

Okay so he didn’t hit a mallet and win me an oversized stuffed dog twice my size (this year’s choice prize) but then, I’m not actually a teenager and so didn’t miss it, nor miss finding the wretched thing space in my over-cluttered house.

Back to this year’s Royal Show…  does anyone else find it distasteful that they sold the naming rights?  It just doesn’t sound right to have the [insert advertiser name here] Perth Royal Show… did they ask the Queen first?  Wrong wrong wrong.

And would you go on a rollercoaster propped up on stacked wooden blocks?

No. Neither would I. And after I noticed these height adjusters – which did not seem to be in any way secured to either the rattling rollercoaster above or the ground below – I paid careful attention to every other ride’s supports. Here’s a closer look…

Groover and I did go on one ride though, which seemed to be made for teenagers, or at least smaller people than us.  It was the best ride I’ve been on at a local show.  And so it should have been at $10 each.  Highway robbery.

Didn’t seem to be putting off the masses of people in sideshow alley though.

Anyway after our free time we picked up Dippity, had some lunch (a lovely wood-fired pizza), Groover left and Dippity and I did a bit of wandering before doing another volunteering stint at another exhibit.

We finished the day exhausted and I learned a few lessons.

  1. Get your kids to volunteer for a stall – it tires them out and they spend less (of your) money
  2. Volunteer yourself and get free entry to the show – saves $24/adult ticket
  3. Leave kids at home or get them to go with someone else and enjoy the show 
  4. Check the base of all rollercoasters you intend to ride

A new model for powerful presentations

by Cellobella on Monday, September 15, 2008 · 1 comment

You know how I feel about Powerpoint presentations… well how’s this for a good model for a seminar day:

5 minutes
20 slides
Slides change every 15 seconds automatically

See how it worked for Matt (as in Where the Hell is Matt?)

Nice.

Well… short. I like the finale. :)

Stop. Think. Compliment

by Cellobella on Friday, September 12, 2008 · 3 comments

Ennuin July 2008

Today someone took the time to tell me what a good job I was doing. And that person is someone I manage.

I felt really good.

No. REALLY good.

The lesson was learned.

It’s not enough to give positive feedback down the chain – it’s important to also send it up the chain.

Yes is feels brown-nosy and sucky, but in a world where you usually only hear from people when something is going pear-shaped (and I’m not talking about my figure), the smallest drop of kindness stands out.

But doesn’t it feel awkward?!

Finding a moment to stop and tell your boss that you appreciate what they do and how they lead is not easy… it’s uncomfortable. It’s not “the Australian way”.

The thing to do I’ve discovered is to hold on to that good feeling you get when you’re complimented and push it outwards… with your courage.

It might make their day.

It made mine.

Powerful presentation

by Cellobella on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 · 5 comments

Presenting…has NOTHING to do with PowerPoint.

Oh the agonising sessions I’ve been to! I once had to sit through a presentation of 82 slides! 82! Madness. Boring and irritating.

I’m thinking about good old PowerPoint because of Cromley – who points out that people sometimes get PowerPoint confused with Word.

Well that would explain some of the text heavy slides I’ve seen in my time.

It seems to me that PowerPoint has made us lazy. We don’t have to learn our speeches off by heart any more. We don’t have to think of ways to “entertain” our audience.

And because speakers are so focussed on their slides they don’t see the eye rolls, the yawns, the snores… those glazed looks when people just have their eyes pointed in the right direction but are not actually seeing anything.

When Groover worked for GE Capital a hundred years ago, they had a corporate policy on PowerPoint: Only ONE slide per presentation. One!

So you had to make it a good one.

Maybe that’s a little extreme – but then, maybe the MD like me had been bored mental by Powerpoint presentations.

Personally I think if you are going to have slides they need to offer something that you can’t in your speech. A graph. An image. A video. A groovy animation – which PowerPoint is quite good at making.

One speaker I saw who used it very effectively had an automatic presentation with a soundscape running behind it. He used images which just smoothly changed from one to the other. At the most there was maybe three words, if any at all, on the slide. He just told his story and the slides ran in the background. He didn’t talk “to” his slides at all.

Do you use PowerPoint? How do you use it effectively?

Update:  If you enjoyed this article you might want to read my article on public speaking.

Creative Commons License photo credit: adactio

Can you live with bad spelling?

by Cellobella on Saturday, August 9, 2008

Me… not so much.

Sure I’m not perfect. Definitely has always been a tricky one for me and just the other day bolognese had me a bit flummoxed but if I notice a mistake – I can’t go to sleep knowing that it’s there.

I write a lot for my living and I read a lot, and let me tell you that bad spelling, especially on a job application does not impress.

Sure on radio you could argue does spelling really matter? – it’s not like anyone can actually see the words – but it does matter.

If you’re reading a script and you notice a bad spelling you check yourself. The read can become stilted, can sound read as you try and decipher what is being meant.

Bad spelling can change the meaning of the sentence… and worse really bad spelling can make you giggle – and laughing on air – well what if it was a script about a serious subject – an obituary for example.

Frankly if it’s typewritten there is no excuse.

Handwritten? Should I be grateful they can write at all? Well everyone makes mistakes I guess. I’ll allow one or two but no more.

This guy? Well I can hear he is frustrated with the bad spelling he encounters everyday – my advice – never give up!

Colin – I join you in your crusade!

Privacy at school

by Cellobella on Thursday, July 24, 2008

The new classroom at CCGS

I drove past the new buildings at Christchurch Grammar School the other day and took this photo – quickly because of course the lights turned green as I was getting my camera out.

I hadn’t really looked too closely before but the lights were on in the upstairs classroom and I could see a student wandering around.

It occurred to me that I’m not sure I’d be too comfortable as a teacher or a student in a classroom that could be seen from the road. By people picking their noses at traffic lights. Not that I was but you know what I mean…

Oh c’mon! I was scratching it!

I also wouldn’t feel that great if the general public could see me at my desk at work. It would feel like an invasion of privacy.

And that’s a bit odd because we have regular tours through our offices – I guess they don’t go near my desk.

Do you work in an office where the great unwashed can walk by and watch you?

I’ve seen a few banks in New York who have desks right up against the window – just a pane of glass separating them from the shoppers, office workers, tourists and homeless.

I don’t think I would like that.

And I certainly wouldn’t have like my parents seeing me misbehave at the back of the classroom when I was at school… not that I did Mum…. that was a joke! Really.

Across the Nullabor in pictures

by Cellobella on Saturday, July 12, 2008

Finally took my photos off my camera – here are a few from my recent trip to Sydney.

Farmland from the window
The farmland was looking reasonably green.

The Nullabor
And then we hit the Nullabor.

A fun night in Sydney
We had a fun night at a cheap and cheerful restaurant… I think it was BBQ King… something like that …yummy Chinesey food anyway.

A fun night in Sydney
Still at the restaurant.

At Henry Henrys
At another bar the next night… but I was good.

Cattle Class
Cattle class on Qantas – I swear the seats are getting closer together.

What do you really want to do?

by Cellobella on Monday, July 7, 2008

sepia reflectionsOkay okay I’m at a conference with my colleagues and okay okay it is true that at a conference you are likely to drink slightly more than you would otherwise. Am I not correct?

You know I am correct.

Well tonight after retiring to a attendee’s room we eventually discussed this question: “If you were financially able to take time off to do the one job you’ve always wanted to do – what would it be?”

Here are the answers… as I remember them:

  • An English teacher to migrants who for whatever reason had to learn English at home
  • An organiser of activities for latch key children
  • Work with vulnerable teenagers – doing the “brat camp” thing… sort of.

What did I want to do?

If I could organise it, I would sign up for a scientific expedition. Anywhere. Somewhere in the outback perhaps.

That is my dream.

What’s yours?

Creative Commons License photo credit: tysonA

Another reason I’m a bad mother

by Cellobella on Wednesday, June 4, 2008

My desk at work

My daughter’s friend’s mother said that my daughter described me as a workaholic.

That’s bad isn’t it?

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