CRUSH SCHOOL

5644 1st Avenue South Minneapolis, MN, 55419

I blog on Brain-Based Learning, Metacognition, EdTech, and Social-Emotional Learning. I am the author of the Crush School Series of Books, which help students understand how their brains process information and learn. I also wrote The Power of Three: How to Simplify Your Life to Amplify Your Personal and Professional Success, but be warned that it's meant for adults who want to thrive and are comfortable with four letter words.

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Create Killer Presentations Your Audiences Will Love

July 16, 2018  /  Oskar Cymerman

The 3 types of presentations we've all been a part of:

  1. The kill me now type: Presentations done for the sake of filling time with an activity that seems productive but is a waste of time for everyone involved, including the presenter. We've all been there and want to forget. Luckily, they don't happen all that often and when they do, we've learned to use the weak bladder excuse to periodically stop the brain pain (the flight response). 

  2. The I think I heard something about it but forgot type: Content-rich presentations delivered in such a way that we forget most of what was taught even though we might have stayed engaged throughout. This is the type we experience most often. The presenter has good intentions but lacks the understanding of how to deliver a killer talk or multimedia presentation. 

  3. The killer type: Engaging presentations full of valuable content presented in such a way that we can remember and apply it to our work or personal life. They don't kill us. They kill IT. They cause us to have strong, positive, and hopefully appropriate feelings toward the presenter. We feel thankful, inspired, and challenged to action.

The infographic below is about the elusive presentation type - one that showcases the speaker's knowledge as much as skill. One, that proves he or she can communicate ideas in a way anyone can understand and apply them. One, that leaves us in awe of the presenter and wanting more because somehow, some way the presenter understands how the human brain learns and leverages it when creating the presentation. One, that we'll talk about to others. One, that leads to professional success because everyone wants that person on their team.

When employers talk about communication skills they specifically want an employee who communicates effectively, is engaging. and energizes others to act.

Below, is a start. My future posts will explain how to practice and deliver killer presentations. I hope I communicate my ideas effectively...

My new book Crush School Student Guide: Learn Faster, Study Smarter, Remember More, and Make School Easier contains 4 lessons designed to help students create, practice, and deliver effective presentations and avoid the dreaded "Death by PowerPoint." Each lesson contains exercises and examples. But I don't just tell students how to do it - I walk them through the process and provide a plan and a template to follow so they can create their presentation right in the book.

It's kind of like having a coach who helps you practice a skill after it's shown to you. In fact, all 60 chapters/lessons are designed for students to use the skills after they're described. The infographic below is merely an "information-delivery" medium. Applying it is the key to learning. Check it out!

Creating Killer Presentations Audiences Love

When writing Crush School Student Guide: Learn Faster, Study Smarter, Remember More, and Make School Easier, I wanted to create a resource a student can use for school and beyond. My goal was not only to write a book that helps teens learn more effectively while stressing less about school - I also set out to create a guide that helps them learn transferable skills they will need in college and later work. 

The infographic above is one of a series of three I use to teach students how to create, prepare for, and deliver more effective presentations.

If you're like me, you've sat through hours of mind-numbing PowerPoints or Google Slide presentations you remember little from. This is because the presenters did not know how to do it better. They were asked to give presentations in school but not taught how. They just did what their teachers did. I bet their information was valuable but it was delivered ineffectively.

Skills, such as effective presentation and communication of ideas are the biggest reasons why some individuals achieve great success and others stay stuck on the first few rungs of the professional ladder. As these skills are often an afterthought in high school and college, students who choose to learn them on their own rise above the average and advance in their future professions. 

Just take a look at the list below and think about how many of the skills below were deliberately taught in your high school and how much class time was spent analyzing how to improve them.

  • Creating, Preparing for, and Delivering Effective and Engaging (Killer) Presentations

  • Improving Critical Thinking

  • Better Decision-making

  • Becoming More Open-minded

  • Creativity and Innovation

  • Teamwork Basics and Creating Effective Teams

  • Setting Goals and Creating Plans

  • Understanding and Developing Habits

  • Training Memory

  • Speed Reading

  • Problem Solving

  • Project Completion

My guess is... not much. Chances are you were expected to use them but not explicitly taught how to or given a plan to improve. This realization of how inadequate schools are at skills instruction is what guides my writing.

The Crush School Student Guide is an all-in-one book, guide, and exercise manual that contains a series of short, fun, and easy to follow lessons designed to teach students skills needed for school and work success; skills required but not explicitly taught in today's schools.

Imagine your kids having a book that gives them:

  1. Over 60 strategies they can use to learn faster, study smarter, and remember (a lot) more of what they learn. 

  2. A self-paced fun way to learn how to learn and acquire success skills they'll be able to use in school and beyond.

  3. A reference guide that shows them how to use brain-friendly strategies to do better at school (understand difficult concepts, complete school projects, and study for tests).

It is now available on Amazon for pre-order. Just click here.

You have the power to change lives. Use it often so they can change the world.

Oskar

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Hi! I'm Oskar.          

I teach, write, speak, rant to make learning better.

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tags / teaching teens, parenting teens, brain, sharpness, clarity, brain rules, neuroscience, presentation, communication

The Curiosity Web a.k.a. Why Spiders Are Cool

May 06, 2018  /  Oskar Cymerman

Are you afraid of spiders?

If you are, why?

Is it the legs? Sure they have a few more than us, but you know what else has 8 legs? Ticks. And ticks suck. So does Lyme disease. But spiders eat ticks. Maybe not enough to exterminate them all but still.

Spiders are helpers. They get the mosquitos and flies too. Both of those insects suck. Now I'm being yelled at by entomologists and arachnologists that theoretically only ticks and mosquitos suck while the flies bite. Oops, sorry, and bite me.

But my point is that spiders are cool even if they're not sexy enough for most of us. I get it. They look scary. But they're cool. Especially the ones you don't have to touch.

Alright, I admit it. I am softening you up for the visual you're about to see. I got this idea to show you the "Curiosity Path" only the path turned out to be a web. But don't blame me. Blame life and the human condition because Curiosity forms a Web of Awesome and spiders make webs. One thing led to another and...

So check out the astonishing spiders and the curiosity web they've weaved below. It'll help you understand why curiosity is so important.

The Curiosity Web: The Advantages of Being Curious.

Curiosity, especially the kind that has you digging deep into a topic, and the ensuing discovery lead to learning more, which leads to deeper knowledge, which leads to better expertise. When we stay curious and dig deeper our life experiences are more meaningful, we become more insightful and aware, which leads to better understanding and interactions with others and the world, which leads to better relationships.

Curiosity is how creativity is built. As you explore and learn you generate more and better ideas, which leads to better problem solving and more informed decisions. All of the above leads to success in school, work, and life. 

Curiosity didn't kill the cat. It made it awesome. Don't believe me? Check out my previous post and graphic: How to Reawaken Curiosity (or Remain Curious Forever) here. 

And what if you printed this graphic and put it somewhere your kids will find it? Will the spiders catch their eye? Will they be curious? Will they be able to get past the scary spiders and read what each one carries? Will it then be possible to talk about curiosity with your kids?

There's only one way to find out.

You have the power to change lives. Use it often so they can change the world.

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