We live in a fast paced world where opportunities simply do not come knocking twice. In fact, most times the only chance you get is one chance to make a first impression. Obviously then, you need to make that first impression not just good, but brilliant! For in today’s world if the first impression you give of yourself is not better than your competition, then it’s definitely the last impression you leave behind on your way back to square one.

This is where a certain skill-set called “Presentation Skills” come in; this is why ‘Presentation Skills’ are such a must have for all in the present day corporate scenario. But they are even more important in the world of media simply because the media in itself is all about ‘Presenting’. And a first impression made here is also relatively hard to change or forget. So anyone who doesn’t value the finer details of work ethics simply becomes a person who doesn’t belong in this world. Therefore, all media students need to acquire this skill set, and add a little extra to it so as to stand out in a crowd that is, in fact, all set to do just the same.

Then the question arises as to how do we get a step ahead of the competition? Getting and staying a step ahead is never easy. However, there are some ways which can help us accomplish this. I’m here going to speak about the three ways to optimize ones presentation skills that I consider the fundamental, and therefore the most relevant of these.

1. Study those that went before you

Human as we are, it is taken for granted that we all yearn to be unique and original. Yet, we must learn from others as much as we can and add a little bit of ourselves into it so as to give it a flavor of our personality. That will make us truly good, not only where presentations are concerned, but with everything else we do as well.

The reason is simple. If you want to write a sentence, you must learn the ‘ABC’ first. Consider all the great speakers you can think of for instance. There is at least one common trait shared by all great speakers and public figures- they studied those who went before them. For no matter how enamored you we may be by their oratory skills, none of them were born with the ability to impress or persuade or inspire. But what makes them unique is that they mastered the basics, and that is what actually sets them apart!

2. Power Dressing

Often the burdens of professional commitments can make us lose sight of the simplest and most obvious of things. For instance, it would be rather easy to undermine the importance of ‘how we look’ as compared to ‘what facts and figures we give the client’. However, going by the general human psyche, ten times out of twelve we unconsciously form an impression about a person according to the way he appears to be. And this goes way beyond whether he looks ‘good’ or ‘ok’ etc. In fact, we go to the extent of judging his preferences, personality, thinking patterns and even his character simply by the choices he makes while dressing up. Therefore, it is extremely important to dress appropriately for every occasion.
The art of dressing up is like a language. And if one can learn to speak the language of those he seeks to impress, then his success rates automatically increase. Therefore, we should always do our home-work and ‘dress up’ in accordance not only to the occasion but also according to the custom of the place. For that is true ‘Power Dressing’.

3. Connect

While making any presentation, one would realize the need to connect the dots as one goes along. Obviously the more time you spend on the subject of consideration the easier this gets. However, we live in a fast paced world, and often don’t have the luxury of ‘time’ in our hands. But even then we do have other connections to form. And once we start concentrating on the things that are within our reach, other things do fall into place to quite a great extent. For instance, if the presenter can form a connection with his audience by using his body language, hand gestures and by making eye contact etc. he can judge which direction to take, or how to impress his ideas upon this particular audience. Even the subject of discussion can be molded so as to reach the desired conclusion in ways which will be acceptable to his audience. And once we start connecting with the audience, we begin to realize that any good presentation is actually a two way communication process.

Once the fundamentals are in place, all we need to realize is that presentation skills do not need some inborn talent. These are skills that can be acquired. And, these can even mastered if one if willing to practice. Therefore, my dear media students must “practice, practice, practice!”

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I could be just about any media student, and this is an episode from a story called “My Life”. My mum and I have always had a very strong mother-daughter bond between us, ever since I was a little girl. To be honest, it’s not because we have always been best buddies who shared everything with each other. Trust me, in today’s world your mum would have to be a Madonna for that to work. However, like most people belonging to the present generation, I learnt with time that a bond that strong needed much more strategising and planning than mere honesty could afford! So, the bond in reference here was actually formed by creating a delicately balanced scenario which revolved around a daughter keeping her mother happy. And this wasn’t difficult really, once I realised that all I had to do was keep my mum blissfully unaware of what was really going on in my life. in short keep my world outside my home just there- outside my home!

And all was well, for quite some time. But then one day, out of nowhere, a phenomenon called social networking suddenly became the next big thing. And, without so much as a warning, the world outside my home suddenly found its way into it through a dimensional worm-hole called the computer screen. Social networking sites were the beginning of the disintegration of a proven, smooth functioning system, whereby the walls between my outer and inner world became wafer thin, to say the least. Even with time and new strategies and techniques, status quo could be maintained only for a short while. And one fine day all hell broke loose as I received a friend request on ‘Facebook’ from MY MUM!

My mum is a middle aged woman, a simple woman at that. So I always thought things like technology and gadgets were way beyond her reach. And even though I grew up comfortably in the part of the world where technology evolved at a rathe fast pace, I never once assumed that she could have been comfortable with such things. Perhaps my mind was clouded by the image that had been formed there by the traditional Indian thinking according to which mums do the cleaning, cooking and mending. In that sense, perhaps I was more traditional than my own mother. For how could I have overlooked the fact that before becoming my mother she was a part of the generation that had struggled harder than anyone else for things like women’s’ liberation, emancipation and the likes. So when something like social networking sites began to make their place in the lives of people all around the world how could she, and others like her be left behind. For no matter how ‘kewl’ we think we are, they are way beyond our league. After all, they are the ones who have ‘been there, done that’ in every sense of the word(s), if you know what I mean.

That was the day when the world around me first came it a standstill, then did a summersault, and then became so twisted that I could never make it straight again. That was also the day I looked at my mother through this worm hole for the first time, and realised for the first time, that all this while my mum too had had a world of her own that was not only beyond my reach, but beyond my wildest imagination. I also realised that it was not her eyes I was trying to close by building make believe walls between worlds, but my own. And it took my mum just one click to open them for me.

The internet and new media may have changed the world, but it still is a world where change is for the taking. And anyone who can accept and evolve with the ways of this fast changing world will be the survivor. Things like “facebook”, “twitter”, and “linkedin” etc. are only the tip of the ice-berg if theorists like Marshal McLuhan are to be trusted.

If we had stuck to my theory, soon there would have come a time when the next generation would have looked upon our generation as the outdated one. And the way of the world having always been simply that the old must make way for the young, I and the likes of me would have been thought of as outdated. But this will never happen anymore, for my mum has changed my world for ever, by showing me that the future is truly unpredictable, especially for those who foolishly believe that there is no world beyond their imagination. For though I could never have imagined it, I’m proud that my mum’s on facebook!

Today’s is a world of cars that move fast and information that travels even faster. The jet age even seems passé now… a thing of the past. And as the information boom consumes the whole world as a black hole would consume everything around it, our world prepares itself for another major explosion in terms of the next technological discovery, we, the media representatives the morrow find ourselves in the position of the religious texts of yesteryears. For what the world will believe tomorrow must necessarily be provided by us, and approved by us!

Under such a scenario it becomes extremely important for a media trainee to be well equipped with all the arms and ammunitions that technology can provide. For, in tomorrow’s world, it is hoped that media will indeed be the agency that will not only deliver service in terms of information, connectivity and broadcasting etc. but also be a crucial part of government decision making by becoming increasingly responsible- socially. Ergo arises the need for the media trainee to have all possible sorts of weapons of mass-construction possible.
Technology available today is vast and diverse in terms of use and usability. Therefore, it is crucial for the media students to firstly be aware of the technology that exists today, and secondly, know how to make the technology work for him. But this is only step one. Next comes the increasingly crucial step of constantly updating ones knowledge, and upgrading ones skills. This is important not only so that one is able to do his or her job properly or to the best of one’s ability, but also so that one can ward off becoming obsolete and outdated and thereby redundant. For, the increasing level of importance that media is gaining in today’s world it is only obvious that the media industry is destined to grow both horizontally and vertically and along with this will grow the level of competition within the media industry.

Whereas not much can be spoken of the kind of technology that the future will bring for us, the media student can for now hone up his or skills by acquiring whatever technological skills are available today. Of these that have the maximum potential in terms of empowering the media student would include:

1. A Good Mobile Phone.

A good mobile phone is a means to not only be reachable, but also one’s window into the internet. And that is a must for a media student. Also, with the ease of uploading pictures and videos on the net it serves a dual purpose of letting any person, even those not a part of the media world, to become part of it. This they can do by becoming citizen journalists- a phenomenon that media will need to reckon with more and more as time goes by. It goes without saying that possessing a gadget if of help only if the owner knows the instrument inside out!!!

2. Internet Savvy-ness.

Another thing that is self evident from the discussion so far is that the media student needs to be thoroughly savvy with the internet. It will just not do for him or her to be internet shy. Therefore, for all those who are not all that active on the net now would be a good time to get started. The internet is like a jungle. So the more you allow yourself to explore the easier it will be for you to find your way around when you actually need to use it. Besides, social networking sites now-a-days are not just a place where you can get in touch with people, but also where a lot of business and work related networking takes place. So the more comfortable and knowledgeable you are regarding all this the better it will be for you, both in the long and short run.

It is not enough to be aware and knowledgeable however. For ultimately it is not about what you know and what you can do, but what you do with whatever you know! So the trick is to empower yourself not just once, and to keep doing it again and again. Also, the future will be a world ruled by information. So those who want to not just survive in it but be the winners of it must first learn and acquire the habit of gaining information and then using it to further enhance their existing skills, and then using those to further gain some more information. For the world of media belongs only to those who are not afraid of always being the learners- those who newer think they know enough. So go out, dear media student! Explore the world full of information and technology, and don’t forget to have lot of fun while you’re at it.

There was a time, not too long ago, when the general population all over the world would begin its day with a cup of tea and the morning newspaper for then the newspaper was there only source of information, there only window to the rest of the world, there only medium for the distribution of knowledge. But that was then. Things are very different now and newspapers have ceased to be the only source of information quite a while ago. In fact, today’s world is a world where information and knowledge is available almost anywhere, anytime. And the medium of the distribution of information have also grown in number. Now we have the satellite television, the internet, the mobile phone etc. And because of these media our world is a truly interconnected one.

This is what the media does for us. But then what does the media mean to us? The more I think about it the more convinced I am that this particular question simply cannot elicit the same or even similar responses from all of us. For, the media is not just a window to the rest of the world for me. However, it probably was just that to my grandfather when he was my age and for a long time after that. But even for him its meaning changed over time as the newspaper was, with time, supplemented by the television and, later still, the satellite television.
I belong to the present generation and the meaning of the word media has changed for me as well. As newer technological developments take place the advancements made in the world of media continually kept altering my interpretation of the word. So, speaking for the present generation, therefore, I can safely say that the media is a sort of a functional extension of our consciousness. And, not only has it become a part of our everyday lives to the extent that we cannot even imagine a world without it, but it has also become a part of our evolution process now and continuously evolves, moulding and shaping itself around our needs. For one thing, everything from a radio to a television to the computers, laptops, palmtops, etc. has, with time, gotten smaller and smaller as well as increasingly user friendly. This has happened because as time went by our needs have not just been influenced by the choices that the world offers us, but have also been shaping to those very choices.

This is a significant revelation about media for it declares clearly that not only has the media changed over time, but also that it will continue to do so continuously. It is quite probable then, that just as I sit here pin-pointing the distinctions between my versions of media with that of my grandfather, perhaps, someday, my children will also be able to contrast their interpretation of media with mine. But what will their media be like? How much will our media change in order to become their media? Or what will be the media?

The answers to these questions are not within my reach, intellectually or otherwise. However, I can make some amount of assumptions based on the path the media has traversed so far in terms of trends etc. and the scientific and technological advancements that have been made up to the present day world. Let us take the case of changing trends in the way media functions in the world of media itself- ‘social media to be more specific. Here, a great change can be seen to be taking place in the current times, made possible by “Social Media Monitoring & Measurement”.

Social Media Monitoring is a process whereby a certain amount of monitoring or ‘listening’ done by the company can lead to great insights revealed by monitoring or tracking key words, as they appear, with the intent of a quick response or a course correction. The purpose is simply to learn, engage, help or collaborate by listening to the target groups which could comprise of consumers, prospects, industry thought leaders, former customers, business partners etc. Thereby media that was till now an entity that provides information, has now become one that converses and listens as well. And the end result is a shift in the media perception and consumption.

Some other technological developments of the day even have the potential of leading to a paradigm shift in the way media is looked at today. One of the technological innovations of the day, for instance, is the “Sixth Sense Technology” by MIT’s Pranav Mistry, which, to the say the least, is destined to alter our perception of the world as we ‘sense’ it as it becomes a part of our everyday reality in the not so distant future. The Sixth Sense is a wearable gestural interface that adds to the physical world around us with digital information and lets us use our natural hand gestures to interact with that information. In essence, this gadget formed by a combination of a small projector, a mirror and a camera has made a quantum jump from present day trends of miniaturisation of devices and come up with a new to the world concept as it alters the way we ‘sense’ the various media. Imagine the prospects of such a technology!

Promising as these trends and technology sound, they have the power to alter the position held by the media in our everyday life. And if such paradigm shifts are predictably possible in our own times then we can only imagine how dramatically unbelievable the media of the future can be. One thing that I can be sure of though is that my children will perceive and consume media differently.

The year was 1979 when the metal-cased blue-and-silver Walkman TPS-L2, the world’s first low-cost portable stereo, made its way to the sale counters in Japan. It was the first of its kind and it introduced a paradigm shift in people’s music listening habits by allowing them to carry their music with them. With time it modified its image with add-ons like stereo playback and mini headphone jacks, permitting two people to listen at the same time as it slowly crept into various parts of the world. Originally marketed as the “Soundabout” in the U.S, the “Stowaway” in the U.K, and the “Freestyle” in Sweden, it was christened “Walkman” when Sony had the name embossed into the metal tape cover of the device.

The credit for this invention goes to Nobutoshi Kihara, an audio-division engineer who built the device for Sony co-chairman Akio Morita who wanted to be able to listen to the opera on his frequent trans-Pacific plane trips. Interestingly Morita hated the name “Walkman” and asked that it be changed, but relented after being told by junior executives that a promotion campaign had already begun using the brand name and that it would be too expensive to change. The brand name has stuck with it ever since as Sony still continues to use the brand name “Walkman” for most of its portable audio devices. And, as recent as March 2007, Sony extended the brand by launching its first all-digital, flash-based video Walkman, the A800 series, where A stands for “All in one, Advanced, and Attractive”.

Technologically the Walkman may have opened up a whole new range of possibilities; however it was its socio-cultural impact that took the world by surprise. For the invention of this small little device had literally added another dimension to the world. Music that had up till now been confined behind closed doors had now found not just new feet, but wings as well! And a little while after this butterfly fluttered its wings, a cultural storm began to be witnessed all over the world.

The year was now 1984, and three years had passed since the cable network had made its debut. In fact, this was a time when cable television had become a household name in the developed parts of the world. And the demand for music created by the walkman had found its way into the idiot box as well. And music coupled with television led to the birth of MTV. This soon became a phenomenon as MTV began reaching 1.2 percent of the daily television audience and more than a quarter of daily teen viewers. Within no time world witnessed the birth of a new generation of individuals with a different self-image, and consequently the children of the eighties began to be called the “MTV Generation”.

The origin of the phrase has been attributed to the MTV Network itself “to describe the teenagers that dominate their ratings”. With time it came to be used to refer to musical preferences, and was later expanded to include the purchasing choices of a generation of consumers. The ‘New York Times’ used it to describe “young adults struggling to establish a cultural niche for themselves, something that will distinguish them from the hippies and baby boomers and yuppies of times past.”

Today, however, the term is sometimes used to refer to the youth of the late 20th century; and it now means different things to different people. It is even sometimes used synonymously with the terms “Generation X” or “Generation Y”. But whatever the connotations of the phrase may have been, it certainly signalled a generational movement of some sort which may have been triggered by a technological advancement but, like the Walkman, had cultural implications as well. And thereby music had once again moved into another realm of human perception.

Next came the IPod, a brilliant gadget in terms of technology, but even more culturally revolutionary. The ease of accessing music through this gadget along with the ease with which people can alter choices at negligible cost has created another level of music preferences. People are no longer bound by technological constraints or by the constraints of information. For when used with the internet, an IPod is an extension to the music found anywhere and everywhere in the world. With an IPod there are no limitations of any sort.

Looking back at how the perception of music and its impact on culture have evolved it is easy to say with certainty that with time we will only be escalate in the level of our perception of music and its influence on us. But what that level of perception will be is as good as anybody’s guess! The only guarantee is that, like its predecessors, it will be the most brilliant amalgamation of technology and culture seen by man ‘so far’. And with its creation will begin the evolution of another level of human awareness and perception. The rest only time shall tell.

The 48-Hour Challenge is Back in Mumbai!

Call for Teams — Hurry, limited seats! — Entries invited from all over India!

48 Hours – it’s all you got to shoot, edit, add music, sound and titles and submit as an entry to the Mumbai 48 Hour Film Project (48HFP) 2010!
This year’s competition is even better and bigger with cash prizes, gift vouchers and screenwriting software to be won. The Best Film from Mumbai competes with the Best Films from close to 100 cities worldwide for the Best International Film, and what’s more, the top 10 films go to the Cannes Film Festival 2011’s Short Film Corner! The dates of the competition are Friday Nov. 12 to Sunday Nov. 14, 2010.

A distinguished panel of film personalities like Amol Palekar, Balki, Manish Jha and Dolly Thakore have already said YES to support the Mumbai 48HFP 2010 as jury and special guests! The Best films will be felicitated at a grand ceremony to be held on Nov. 18, 2010 and all entries will be screened! Venue and timings will be informed shortly.

Registration fee: Rs. 2500/- per team
Team strength- no limit
Teams are invited from all over India
To register log on to www.48hourfilm.com/mumbai
For any queries- Write to your Mumbai Producers, Preeti & Yogi at mumbai@48hourfilm.com or call on 91 98200 10052 or 91 98203 66313

Payment details: Send cash or DD/cheques drawn in favour of ‘Can Communicate’ to 11, Satyam Industrial Estate, Off Govandi Station Road, Next to USV Limited, Govandi, Mumbai 400 088. Receipt and email confirmation will be provided.

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