Communication Part 1: 'KISS principle - Keep It Simple Stupid' on simplifying slides

The 'KISS principle' is a famous design principle which says that we should aim to make everything simple and less complicated if we want others to understand us. But making things simpler is way more difficult and time consuming, as captured in this quote by Mark Twain, "I didn't have the time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead". This is a perfect example of the Newton's second law of energy, that entropy (or disorderliness) of the universe tends to increase when left isolated (Yes I am still an engineer at heart!). Hence it is easier to say the same thing in more words.

This also explains why we take so much longer to create shorter presentations with more pictures and fewer words. Trained as a consultant for the last few years, creating slides and presentations is a key skill I have acquired. I have also learnt that attention to detail and overall feel of the slides (colors, alignment, font etc.) can make a lot of difference to how seriously you are taken. But one thing which I have come to appreciate more recently, is how to use those slides to communicate effectively with my audience.

As a 'Change manager' in Asia Pacific, I have to continuously communicate key messages with my audience which spans over 250 hotels, spread across India to Japan (East-West) and China to Australia (North-South). This audience varies significantly in age, culture, language and interests. Plus, English is not their first language, but for me, English is the only language I am comfortable with. Hence to be able to communicate effectively with such a large and diverse audience, it takes a lot of planning and innovation - it is like 'marketing' to your own colleagues. However, I am only starting on this journey and in my baby steps towards being effective in my communication, the first step is to simplify my slides.

To simply my slides, here are the 8 steps that I take combining my experience at Bain and Starwood (see screenshot below):
1) First, I pick one message per slide and write out these messages briefly in separate bullet points on a word doc
2) Then I re-order these bullet point messages to make the story flow more logically
3) Once convinced of the flow, I write out these messages as titles of each slide in ppt ensuring it doesn't go over 2 lines (font size 32 or more)
4) Then I pick up each slide and take the liberty of writing out complete sentences to explain the message
5) I then run a check to cut down all the unnecessary words in the sentences to leave standalone key words which are then separated into sub-bullet points (font size 16 or more)
6) If these sub-bullet points can be clubbed under separate headings/titles, I add the headings/titles and bold them; else I just bold the words that indicate what the bullet point is about
7) I then try to compress the bullet points to one half of the slide and dedicate the other half to a carefully selected picture (screenshots, quotes, data charts etc.) for almost 80% of all my slides; sometimes, I use the picture(s) on the top covering 80% of the slide and the key learning at the bottom of the page in big font
8) Lastly, I check if everything is aligned, factually correct and pleasing to the eye

How do you make your slides simple? Would love to hear your views!

'Keep talking!' - Introduction to a series of posts on Communication

There is a famous song by Pink Floyd, called 'Keep Talking', which starts with the following lyrics:

"For millions of years, Mankind lived just like the animals,

And then something happened, which unleashed the power of our imagination,

We learned to talk"

In my current role as a 'Change manager' (more on that in later posts) in Starwood Hotels and Resorts, a critical factor for making sure any change happens at all, is to be able to communicate effectively. And as a Communications person in Asia Pacific, my role has the added complexity of transcending multiple languages, varied cultures and beliefs and add to that, the lack of in-person connections. Communication has fascinated me for years and finally as part of this role, I am now able to delve deeper into this topic and plan to share my understandings as part of these blog posts. People interested are welcome to share their views and learning, since communication is all about 'sharing'. Please join me as I embark on this journey to understand how all of us can communicate more effectively!

It’s Tea-time!

The sun hung low in the sky, its mild orange-red rays blanketing the leaves; the trees danced softly to the tunes of the cool breeze while the smell of damp dust rose and settled, a little bit nearer every minute. Staring out of my wide open window, I felt a sense of relaxation sweep over me. I decided to take a break and get myself a hot cup of masala tea and stood gazing far & beyond as I felt the sun’s orange-red lukewarm rays cover my face, blending perfectly with my orange-red tea full of taste. I didn’t want anything or anyone else in that moment, just me and my cup of tea.

Tea is one of the healthiest beverages and is known for its medicinal values. It is the second most widely consumed beverage after water and can be had both in hot and cold forms. In countries like China and Japan, tea acts more as a digestive aid. In Arab countries, a special form of tea called ‘noon chai’, a pink milky tea with dry fruits is common. In India however, the role of tea is more of an everyday beverage. It is one of the first things that both girls and boys learn to cook. One will find tea stalls at every nook and corner of any Indian city and more so in the tourist spots. They are like man-made resting points. Tea can be had with just water (black or green) or with milk to make a simple chai or you can add zing to it by adding flavors of ginger, elaichi, dalchini, lemon, marigold etc. etc. All said and done, I believe tea plays a crucial role in everyone’s life. You could be an addict, a regular or a complete non-drinker, but you cannot escape the influence of tea in your life.

Not only does tea refreshes or energizes but also calms and relaxes ones senses. Whether its black tea or green tea or regular tea, tea time is a taking-a-break time, it is a time to step back. It’s not for nothing that we see TV advertisements where protagonists get a sudden euphoria moment after having their cup of tea. We are indeed most creative when we are relaxed and tea helps us achieve that state. Don’t we wait for those tea-breaks in every conference or meeting or even on regular working days? Drinking tea wakes us up to endure the rest of the monotonous day. I know of many offices that have scheduled tea-breaks at specific intervals of the day for just this reason. And even at home, don’t we wake up to a cup of tea and then get refreshed with another cup in the evening. This tea’s dual effect of refreshing while calming never fails to amaze me.

Tea time also symbolizes a togetherness time. Tea brings people together and gives you company when you’re alone.  Tea time is a time to catch up on the juicy gossips of the day in office; it is a time to network after the presentation or conference, a time to sit with your family and unfold events of your day, a time to read the newspaper or a few pages of that beloved book or simply it is a time to just sit down and reflect on the proceedings of the day. Let’s face it, it is indeed the most interesting time of the day. Even guests will not be let gone without serving them a cup of tea. Tea brings people together and bonds them together. Indeed the aroma of tea transcends just its physical form as it serves a bigger role in one’s life.

In my opinion, no other beverage can take the place of tea. A coffee can only wake you up but it can never calm you at the same time, a soft-drink cannot fulfill the calming and medicinal benefits of tea and alcohol will never be able to keep you sane enough to enjoy the moment. So kudos to tea and hope it continues to fill it’s aroma in our lives forever!

Transitioning into a 'professional life'

It was one of those usual Monday mornings. Waking up at 4 AM to catch a 6 AM flight for a 9 AM client meeting had now become a norm. With a reporting of at least 45 minutes before departure and a minimum of an hour to get into the ‘prim and proper get-up’ expected of any girl from a premier consulting firm, I was now well accustomed to a life of timelines. I woke up to my merciless alarm and sprang out of bed to get dressed. As I stood in front of my wardrobe, I realized that in spite of spending a handsome amount on a complete wardrobe change just 6 months ago, the ‘grays’ and the ‘blacks’ sometimes made me miss the ‘greens’ and the ‘maroons’ that I remember pulling on while heading out to college. But nevertheless, one just had to be stylish even in those ‘grays’ and ‘blacks’ and so jeans were replaced with formal skirts, tees with formal shirts and blazers, sneakers with closed heels and earphones with subtle jewelry. It has now been about 6 months and even before I realized it, I had transitioned into a new phase of my life; this phase called that of a ‘professional life’.


I hurriedly checked in my luggage at the airport and boarded my usual 6 AM flight. As I gazed out of my window, multiple thoughts started pouring in (one doesn’t have the luxury of such musings very often in consulting life, you see). Just 6 months ago, I was still a college girl; but now, life had changed. I had suddenly grown up in the past 6 months. I was already a partial owner of a house (a tenant) and my rent was comfortably taken care of by my sufficient bank balance. I had a chauffeur driven car and I stayed and dined at the most expensive restaurants of the city. Yet, sometimes, I missed my college days. I missed staying in hostel wings with friends you could always talk to without being judged. Friends and colleagues aren’t the same unfortunately. I missed staying up late nights to gossip or to watch ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S’ over and over again or to just spend some time with myself. I missed admiring sunsets and playing badminton and I definitely missed speaking to more than the same 7 people in a day! The biggest thing, however, that I missed about not being in college anymore was that I just couldn’t call it a day by saying “I’m having a bad day!”

Ah! A lot had changed indeed. There were no imaginary demarcations of years into semesters for improving my scores; I just had to be better every day! Early mornings of traffic now replaced deep slumber during college days, afternoons of client meetings replaced classroom lectures, evenings of gym sessions replaced sports practices and nights of sophisticated dinners or extra work replaced crazy parties. I could now relate to the Dilbert comics easily and drank coffee more often in a day. I now read the Economic times daily and spoke a new language overflowing with consulting jargon. I now flew a particular airline and stayed at a particular hotel to accumulate points and had a new source of money in my account called ‘reimbursements’. Blackberry messenger had become the new way of communication and words like ‘taxes’ and ‘insurance’ actually started mattering! I was now conscious of being politically correct and was comfortable with office games (read office politics), an art unknown to me before. Further, I now had increasing responsibilities of not only managing my work but also my life with the people I love, which is certainly the biggest challenge of any working life.

It’s true that college days are some of the best days of life, but a professional life has its own lessons to offer. With the security of a growing bank balance and the independence of spending it the way I like, I now felt more empowered. I was now more assertive, had a clearer understanding of things around me and had preferences in many things, all traits of a mature person. I was now more responsible and more sensitive to people’s emotions which made me a better person. This whole transition had somehow helped me gain a clearer perspective and given me a sense of direction in life. That’s when it clicked me that I really had moved on in life and moved on for good. Content with myself, I smiled at the sky until I heard the flight captain announce that the plane was now preparing for landing. Coming out of my state of musings, I realized that I hadn’t read at all for the meeting due in about half an hour. I quickly opened my briefcase and started preparing for the day ahead.

Take time to 'stand and stare'

It was a rare morning today. I got up much earlier than usual at about 7 am and that too on a holiday! On other days if I get up early, its only because I have to study for a quiz in the day or because I have to go somewhere. For most of the days, I end up getting up just half an hour before the scheduled class and in the frenzy of getting ready, I fail to even look around me. The mind is programmed in both the above cases... I have work to do; some task to accomplish!

But today, it was different. As I was wiping my face on my towel, I stared out into the quadrangle. The sun's rays had just begun to provide the warmth and I could see the lazy dog in the quadrangle yawn and stretch in full glory of the rays. Gazing above to the far blue sky , I could see the big white fluffy clouds through the leaves of the eucalyptus trees that line the quadrangle. The birds on the trees were chirping merrily and the smaller ones were hopping on the ground, pecking at different places. The squirrels were busy hopping and running up and down the barks of the trees stopping at frequent intervals to nibble something off the barks. There were butterflies of various colors; yellow, orange, green fluttering around the leaves. The view was stunning! I was simply amazed how I could feel my heartbeats slow down and relax as I felt myself lose in the such a beautiful morning sight. After a good 15 minutes or so, I came back and read the poem 'Leisure' by W. H Davies. (I am pasting the poem here for people who haven't read it.)

Its true that Nature can have such a charming effect on you. I wondered if I had been missing out on such wonderful things all this while. I'm not sure if such a feeling can actually motivate me to wake up early everyday... Umm... maybe not :P... Sleep is precious you see!

But today was a rare day; and once in a while, I simply love to ' JUST BE!"



"LEISURE"

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

- W. H Davies

Life's updates

"So and so cracks so and so!", "Please register for www.____.com", " What a day it has been! ", "www.youtube.___.com" ,"DND"... The list is endless!
What are all these things? Mere mumble-jumble?... Look more closely at them and you will realize that you see these phrases almost everyday! Yes you got it right... I AM hinting at the famous GChat/GTalk/ Twitter status messages... its your own personal space...limited in one case ( Twitter) and unlimited in another ( GChat/Gtalk)!
You can use it for any purpose you want... to let people know whats on your mind, publicize your own life or your views or your daily happenings or somebody else's daily happenings! And not only that... it also allows you to add a pic of your own or of anything else that you want... a dog, a painting, a flower.. anything!... Simply put... there is so much to do in order to personalize that little space of yours on the net!
I find these status messages as the perfect way to keep myself updated about various things happening around me/somewhere else. Every time I log onto Gmail, I find myself scrolling through the long list of online people and glancing at their statuses . By the time I reach the end of the list, I am definitely wiser than before with latest info/news as well as gossip :P ... Isn't it a perfect way to share knowledge/ information? And whats more... its almost free!! ( Once you have the internet that is... in most cases I can take its presence for granted :P )
So people, lets make full use of this free space given to us on the Internet and make this world a wiser place to live in!
( News courtsey- 'Internet' being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize)

Making up!

So so... what am I hinting at by this title? Not the make-up of girls silly... but the making up of people after a fight/argument!

Hmm, so youve had a bad day at work or at school/college and have spilt it out on someone ...either knowingly or unknowingly... so now youve got yourself into a whole lot of trouble.. with a spoon full of angry words and a bad taste in the mouth...

So what happens next? Do you sit in one corner whining and cursing away making that taste even bitter or do you let the level of bitterness reduce as tears flow out?... Or is it that you keep waiting for that other person to come and say 'sorry'? (Im sure we are not the sort of people who can forgive and forget things soo easily :P)...Anyways whatever be the way... After a fight/ an argument/ a disagreement, one becomes this evil character who needs to be cooled down and in most cases conquered by- PAMPERING :D...

Have you ever noticed the BIG role that some people (including yourself!) play in our life when they help 'make things up' by doing the above ? These same people know exactly how to cool you down and bring about a faint smile on your face even in your anger. It could be the same person who caused this anger in the first place or could simply be one of your friends/family members.. but they know exactly how to set things right! The charm of such people is truly what makes them so special to you and you seem to grow even fonder of them (mostly :P)... When you play that role to help make things better... realize that you are that special one and you could treat yourself with that long-devoured shirt or even with something as simple as buying oneself an ice-cream or a rose :)

Today, let us remember all such special people in our lives without whom we cannot 'make-up' our world! :D

Say Cheers!