Garr Reynolds's Blog, page 21

Hans Rosling redux: Mixing analog with digital visualization

You have probably heard Hans Rosling's presentations on world population using the cool Gapminder software before. In his latest presentation — his sixth for TED — he mixes in some analog technique as well. This new analog teaching technique he picked up from Ikea, he says. This presentation below is excellent and is a good example of mixing analog and digital visualization techniques that result in a memorable short-form presentation. Watch the video below.











At a glance
Let's look at...

Hans Rosling: the zen master of presenting data

I have linked to Hans Rosling many times before, but I think he is great and a wonderful role-model for a new generation of presenters in science and in business. Hans Rosling is a wonderful example too of someone who "presents naked" with data and with the aid of technology. Below he offers hints for using the Gapminder free software for displaying data. Five hints for using bubbles:

















The five hints for presenting bubbles
A summary of Hans's five hints:
Use full screen to...

Jazz: the ultimate in naked communication

Jazz is one of the purest forms of self-expression. We need more jazz in this world. Jazz is also the epitome of naked communication. The legendary jazz cornetist Don Cherry said that "music is one of the arts that make a person completely naked." The best music is indeed played naked, this is especially true for jazz. When I was in Paris last week (pics), I received a CD as a gift from Jeremy, a French entrepreneur who said my work had helped him; the CD was a token of his appreciation. I...

Appearances in London & Paris in June 23-25

After a few days in Zurich, I will be in London most of next week and then moving on to Paris for a presentation there on Friday. Most of the business is in private companies, but there are three public events — two in London and one in Paris. I hope you'll be able to attend one of these events in England or France.

London


• June 23: Apple Store Regent Street
7:00pm - 8:00pm in the theatre. Presenting on design fundamentals to improve your keynote presentations. iPhone is out the next...

Asymmetry and emptiness: lessons from the tearoom

Lessons are everywhere — even in something as seemingly unrelated to our lives as the traditional Japanese tearoom — we just need to stretch our imaginations a bit. A few principles from the Japanese tearoom or Sukiya are described simply and beautifully in the famous The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo (my copy), a small book first published over 100 years ago. The Japanese conception of Sukiya, according to Okakura, may signify an Abode of Fancy, an Abode of Vacancy, and the Abode of the...

We are the stories we tell ourselves

I wanted to point you to this short TED talk below for two reasons: (1) It's a pretty good example of delivery while displaying visuals on a monitor, and more importantly, (2) the content will be inspiring to many of you, and especially to those who may be stuck or looking to make a change in their life (but are a bit scared). In many ways, this presentation by Roz Savage is a good follow-up to the last post. Jake Shimabukuro (see below) excels by far surpassing other people's...

Presenting the humble ukulele: Jake Shimabukuro wows TEDxTokyo

On Saturday I attended the 2nd annual TEDxTokyo conference. Last year was great; this year was even better. The event was extremely well run and the mix of presentations and performances was outstanding. My head is still spinning. What a day! One of the most memorable performances was by Jake Shimabukuro. Please set aside 20 minutes out of your day to watch this whole presentation/performance. Jake plays a few songs and shares a couple of good stories as well. Crank up your speakers and...

The importance of starting from Why

Here is a good recent TEDx Talk that was delivered simply and effectively with nothing but a flip chart and a pen for visuals. The idea that the presenter Simon Sinek was talking about is very simple and not really new perhaps. But it's always good to get a reminder of what is important. I could quibble over some things in the talk — Apple's success (now) is of course more complex than he implies — but the essence of what Simon expresses concerning the importance of Why is quite true. I'm...

Visualizing the consequences of sugary drinks

There is evidence* that a diet which includes loads of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) can lead to serious health issues over the long term such as Metabolic Syndrome and its myriad complications, including Obesity. The consumption of HFCS has increased substantially over the past 30 years, as has the obesity rate in the US (and some other developed countries). In the popular media, documentary films like Food, Inc. and TV shows in the UK and US by Jamie Oliver have talked about the...

The storytelling power of photography

We all know the power of great photography. To me, there is still nothing like the still photograph to convey emotion and the significance of a particular moment. Obviously, photographs are not just for print. Ken Burns, for example, says that he views the photograph as the basic building block or DNA of his documentary film making. "Pictures," he says, "are often our closest representation of the reality we're trying to come to terms with." With that in mind, I'd like to point you to a...