A friend and I have a running joke. Anytime we're together and need to schedule something, I pull out by iPhone. He removes a small, leather folder filled with Daytimer (TM) calendars. I make a digital note; he writes on paper. I feel it's part of my ministry to the world to remind him that he is "so old school." He is an analog man; I a digital man.
Today, the tendency is to flaunt our digital bytes: smart phones, computers, HD televisions, even digital hearing aides, but--I can't believe I'm saying this--sometimes analog is better. Over the years I've taught classes on public speaking, teaching writers how to craft and deliver a speech. I've delivered thousands of speeches, lectures, seminars, and sermons and like many contemporary speakers, I've used PowerPoint slides and video. Nothing wrong with that, but I was recently reminded that a great speech can be delivered without digital projector and a computer.
TED Talks (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) brings together some of the brightest and most innovative thinkers in world to share from their work and experience. The good people at TED make these talks available over the Internet--for free. It is a gold mine of mind massaging thought.
One such talk caught my attention, not just because of the topic (which I found important and engaging), but because of how the speaker conveyed his message. Most of his presentation was analog. Watch how Hans Rosling makes a complicated, data heavy topic understandable and memorable. The video runs 10 minutes.
Alton Gansky
