Creative tools / Beyond the blah blah / Atlassian community event / Ultimate skills workshop / Is it information or consultation?

Cut through the blah blah

It's a question we can wonder - how do we grab someone's attention or alert them to important information, how do we cut through all of the noise and information we're overloaded with.

If you've seen any of my 'stuff' you'll know I use visuals as a clever tool; for myself and my own thinking and for engaging, communicating and collaborating with others.

Oh, and it's a great influence tool too!

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Atlassian Community - Melbourne - Lynne Cazaly

Atlassian community - Melbourne

Join me at the next community event in Melbourne on July 24. I’ll speak about information overload and cognitive load coping as a modern way of working. The agenda is stacked with clever - not to be missed. Register here

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4 of my creative tools

This article prompted me to share some more insight about my creative processes.

This is a little more about the art we do ourselves and it doesn’t have to be that paint/draw/clay art you might think about when you see the word ‘art’.

Here are 4 ways I use art and creativity in my life and I know these help me feel better, get me through the shitty tough times in life (cancer, covid, grief), inspire and yet relax me, and give me ideas out of the … nowhere!!

Here we go :

1. SKETCHING and DOODLING

If you’ve seen my presentations, read my books, been in my workshops or read my posts you’ll see I use visuals. From originally using marker + paper 10 years ago, I’ve more regularly used an iPad + Pencil and many different apps. I make visuals for purposeful communication but also like ‘farting around’ 🤪 to see what I can do. Not trying to be perfect; just exploring and wondering. I'm running a skills workshop on this.

2. IMPROVISATION

For many years I’ve been a fan, audience member, student and now performer in shows with Impro Melbourne. There’s comedy improv we likely know but there’s also the learning and unleashing and making up stories improv. The spontaneity, narrative, stories, word play, characters and communication that improv gives me is multi-player, multi-level and multi-world stuff! There’s so much to learn yet it’s such a playful and creative art. I’m better with improv in my life and I feel blah and meh when it’s not part of my art.

3. WRITING

Yes I’ve written books, posts and blogs and some have called me ‘a machine’. But it is also creativity. I have a thought — oh my, lots and lots of thoughts — and I explore the thought with the written word. Are you imagining me sitting diligently at my laptop? No. I’m messy scribbling things in a journal, onto sticky notes all over the dining table, into a notes app. Anywhere. I love thinking deeply about things and writing with a marker from Muji and any paper or my digital device/s whether in a notes app or via voice to text.

4. FIBRE ARTS

This is my most recent creative arting. I’ve done a few basket weaving workshops and they’re wonderful but too small, constrained, prescriptive and ‘do it like this’.

I love the materials — leaves, vines, palms, sticks sticks give me sticks - I stop the car to ‘pick up sticks’ and add to my growing collection. Wonderfully surprising to me is how this art is evolving - I will be having an exhibition 7-27 October 2024 in Melbourne at Gasworks Arts Park in Port Melbourne. Details to come. I have more sticks to collect and things to make.

So there are 4 of my creative arts that mean I am a human and not a machine. That I think deeply, care even deeper and want to feel good about myself in this world like the rest of us.

Art is an essential.

Let me know, do you art, and what do you do?

And here's the article that inspired my thoughts...

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Invited to a consultation but it was an information dump - by Lynne Cazaly

Invited to a consultation -- but it was just more information

You know all of those consultations and conversations - promoted that way - but in reality, when we're there in the meeting, in the workshop, it's just more information?

If we're leading the consultation or meeting, we may not know how best to explain which pieces truly are for consultation and which bits are already set in stone.

We might fear the tension or conflict of people annoyed that they didn't get a say in a process.

Or we might ask for input secretly knowing nothing they say is going to make a shred of difference.

Sadly, then, we 'dress up' an information dump as consultation.

People give their thoughts, ideas and opinions and are of course annoyed when none of them are really recognised, acted on or implemented.

It's a modern day work pattern and it wastes plenty of time, effort, energy and ... performance theatre. It's also a part of the cynical cycle where we can't be bothered contributing to a consultation because ... 'well nothing ever happened with what we said anyway".

You can hear the cynicism and feel the defeatist feelings.

Check now:

• Where and when are you planning on consulting with people in your business?
• And exactly which pieces of information are you going to consult with them on?

If there's plenty of informing or information dumping on them, choose other ways than the valuable real time face-to-face meeting or workshop.

Make a video! A short one.

Go more asynchronous rather than a synchronous meeting.

And most of all, don't dress up an information session as consultation or worse... collaboration!

Listen to this

The audio book recording of my latest book ‘Argh!’ is available on Audible and other audio book channels. 

I shared some pics from the recording experience recently, using SquareSound / Soundfirm for the recording and production. Thanks to Maryanne Rowe for coordinating and Ryan for recording and production. 

As a self-publisher, this kind of extension of my book is funded by me, not a big bucks publisher or distributor. 

So it makes the process all the more easy and rewarding when you have control over important decisions and are consulted with throughout. It’s a true collaboration. 

I’ve been a radio broadcaster and voice over artist in the past and returning to ‘the booth’ was a joy. I hope you can hear that in my reading. (And I know that some audio books can be a drag to listen to - hopefully not this one 😁…!)

If you’ve got a book that you’d like to record into a format that increasingly more people are accessing for ‘reading’, I recommend these professionals. 

Why every leader should take an improv class

Have you? If that’s a no, put it on your development list, right near the top. 

And if you have, you know what I’m talking about. 

In this crazy world of change, no one teaches better, trains better or helps us deal like an improv class. 

The performers who make stuff up on TV and theatres the world over, moved things online during the pandemic, and they adapted nicely! 

Here are five reasons why taking improv has got to be on your list for either an in-person class or an online one. Or a bit of both! 

1. You’re constantly thinking on your feet 
2. Communication is essential 
3. Your nerves get tested
4. You fail a lot (I think this one, this one is what makes us more willing to experiment, try and have a go)
5. Growth becomes a mindset. 

Read more in this article in Inc. Magazine by Jason Hennessey 

And then sign up at your local improv troupe, group or club. 

In Melbourne, that’s the wonderful Impro Melbourne and a big shout out to the wonderful people, teachers, performers and players like
Jason Geary
Patti Stiles 
Lliam Amor
Rik Brown 
Katherine Weaver 
Jenny Lovell 

In Perth, check out Glenn Hall !

Improv is where the great lessons, techniques and mantras like ‘yes and’ come from! 

There’s plenty more to be had. As soon as you can, do it. Ready?

Are you comfortable calling yourself a leader?

I had the opportunity to watch a video of a short TEDx Talk from Drew Dudley on Everyday Leadership last week.

A leader who delivered a presentation used this talk as part of his session. It was a lovely surprise - to shift the focus from the speaker presenting, and let someone else build on and support your message. (Using a TED talk in your talk!) 

But Drew's talk was also a delight because it was brief, clear, and revolved around a key story of everyday leadership. 

He reminds us that we do things that can have a BIG impact on others… and not even be aware of it. We don't take credit it for it or acknowledge it. He says we should redefine leadership. We need to tell people they had that impact on us. That's a part of everyday leadership. 

Drew refers to these 'lollipop moments' - based on his story about handing out a lollipop earlier in his life. 

He believes we should thank the people who have had an impact on us, acknowledge them, create more of these moments and 'pay it forward'. It's an important part of leadership! 

So in your roles in your work, business, family and community lives, tell someone they were a lollipop moment - that they had an impact on you. Because you can be sure that you too have had a big impact on others. You are being a leader.

You matter so much to others.

Be comfortable with that.  

Simon says : Start With Why

Simon Sinek's popular TED Talk and book of the same name'Start with Why' came up a few times in workshops, sessions and client meetings recently. 

So I re-listened to his TED Talk this morning and then visually captured the key points on my iPad. This week's visual sip is a distillation of literally what 'Simon says'. 



Over the past week I've watched, listened, graphic recorded, facilitated and provided feedback on a number of presentations, pitches and speeches.

Some of them were brilliant! Like the very talented speakers that came through the Thought Leaders Speaker Showcase in Sydney last week. My visual notes of that inspiring morning are here.  These most compelling presentations started with why!

But out in the workplace over the week, I saw plenty of dull 'n dozy, read these 50 bullet points and 'hurry-up-and-finish' presentations that clearly didn't start with why! Many were soaked with what and how. Uninspired. Uninspiring. 

Highly paid, big hitting leaders were delivering these presentations. Most of them took the 'dim the lights, draw the shades, lock the door ... and make them listen to my damn PowerPoint' approach for their presentation strategy. Who'd want to follow a leader like that?!

If they'd simply started with why, with a story about purpose, about cause and about belief, they would have been way more powerful, compelling, engaging and ... unstoppable across the organisation, and the industry. 

When you next plan to step on to a stage to present or you take position at the front of the room, take note from the Speaker Showcase stars and Simon Sinek and start with why!