Grumpy Old Genie

Grumpy Old Genie

This morning I was wondering if I would blog today....then I looked at my RSS feeds.

I read quite a number of posts and shared a couple to my GeniAus Facebook page . Something I saw annoyed this Grumpy Old Girl. One blogger who has three blogs had posted exactly the same article to those three blogs. Each of these blogs is targetted at a different family group so I guess the blogger thought the message important enough to share to the three different audiences...but what of people like me who follow all three blogs?

The purpose of each of those blogs appears to be to share and record stories from a branch of the bloggers family. The blogger struck a problem when she had something general to say.

Was it really necessary to post the same article in those three places?  Would it be a better strategy to use other social media channels to share the message widely?

That blogger could have one blog for all posts and label and categorize them carefully so that her different audiences could find articles of interest to them. This could even bring more readers to the blog as readers would be exposed to articles outside their area of interest. Such a blog could have a broader purpose - ie to share the stories of my ancestors, connect with cousins and discuss issues in genealogy.

Another alternative would be to have multiple blogs - one for each family line plus a general general genealogy blog for discussion of news, issues, resources etc. This would benefit those readers who are only interested in hearing stories of one family line.

Another approach is to have a general blog and then other blogs for niche subjects. Prominent Australian bloggers who take this approach are Alona Tester and Pauleen Cass.

So what I am really thinking about today is recognising your audience and having a clear purpose for your blog/s.

Which approach do you take?

Questions, Comments and Anecdotes

From time to time I like to republish some of my old posts. I have witnessed the behaviour I first wrote about here at local, national and international events over the past year. 

What to do?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WARNING: This is a crankypants post.

When I was teaching we drummed into our students the meanings of and differences between Questions, Comments, andAnecdotes or Stories. When we were giving a lesson and students interrupted with a question or comment we would respond to them immediately or say we would deal with it at an appropriate time during the lesson; if they launched into a long-winded anecdote that had little to do with the topic under discussion we cut them off with a "sounds like an interesting story, perhaps you can tell us about it later."

What got up my nose on the recent Unlock the Past Cruise (but is not confined to that event) was the lack of manners of adults (who should know better) in the Q&A sessions towards the end of speakers' presentations. Some people asked relevant questions, some offered interesting comments and opinions and some launched into long-winded anecdotes that did little to enhance the subjects under discussion. 

I heard one woman tell the same story in two Q&A sessions and the poor presenters who did not want to be rude let her go on and waste that precious time we had for collaborative discussion at the end of talks.  GRRR! 

The problem is that speakers are generally polite and do not know how to cut audience members off without appearing rude. What to do?

My solution is simple. Please mind your manners and when a speaker asks for questions and comments during or at the end of a session please stay on topic. Most presenters, and especially those on the Unlock the Past Cruise are happy to speak privateyl with audience members after the conclusion of their formal talks. Please, save your stories for post-presentation chats.

Here are some handy definitions:

Question: a sentence worded or expressed so as to elicit information http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/question?q=question

Comment: a verbal or written remark expressing an opinion or reaction
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/comment?q=comment

Anecdote: a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/anecdote?q=anecdote

The problem with some of the anecdotes we heard in Q&A sessions on the ship is that they were neither short, amusing or interesting.

Questions, Comments and Anecdotes

WARNING: This is a crankypants post.

When I was teaching we drummed into our students the meanings of and differences between Questions, Comments, and Anecdotes or Stories. When we were giving a lesson and students interrupted with a question or comment we would respond to them immediately or say we would deal with it at an appropriate time during the lesson; if they launched into a long-winded anecdote that had little to do with the topic under discussion we cut them off with a "sounds like an interesting story, perhaps you can tell us about it later."

What got up my nose on the recent Unlock the Past Cruise (but is not confined to that event) was the lack of manners of adults (who should know better) in the Q&A sessions towards the end of speakers' presentations. Some people asked relevant questions, some offered interesting comments and opinions and some launched into long-winded anecdotes that did little to enhance the subjects under discussion. 

I heard one woman tell the same story in two Q&A sessions and the poor presenters who did not want to be rude let her go on and waste that precious time we had for collaborative discussion at the end of talks.  GRRR! 

The problem is that speakers are generally polite and do not know how to cut audience members off without appearing rude. What to do?

My solution is simple. Please mind your manners and when a speaker asks for questions and comments during or at the end of a session please stay on topic. Most presenters, and especially those on the Unlock the Past Cruise are happy to speak privateyl with audience members after the conclusion of their formal talks. Please, save your stories for post-presentation chats.

Here are some handy definitions:

Question: a sentence worded or expressed so as to elicit information  http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/question?q=question

Comment: a verbal or written remark expressing an opinion or reaction
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/comment?q=comment

Anecdote: a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/anecdote?q=anecdote

The problem with some of the anecdotes we heard in Q&A sessions on the ship is that they were neither short, amusing or interesting.

Takeaway

One of Lisa Murray's thought bubbles from last weekend's conference.  It applies to so many situations.

Get Prior Information on your Audience

I recently published some Pointers for Presenters of genealogy talks, seminars etc. This post received quite a number of comments one of which asked me "Would you be able to elaborate, please, on your suggestion 'Get prior information on your audience'?"

What I am suggesting in this pointer is to find out as much as you can about the audience for your talk before you prepare.  The talk can then be pitched towards the interests of and levels of knowledge of the audience. One size does not fit all.

Are you talking to a group of professional genealogists, members of a local family history society or a group of wouldbe beginner family historians at the local senior citizens club or public library? Perhaps you are speaking to a group of young people as part of a co-curricular activity in a school or a genealogy group who use computers for genealogy. One will never find a totally homogeneous group but can often identify some common traits in a group.

By liaising with the host/organisers of the talk you might be able to find out if your audience has any shared interests eg genealogy in a particular location or ethnic group. You can then illustrate your talk with examples that will resonate with them; this will create an affinity with the audience.

If yours is one of a series of talks you can ask the host about the type of people who have attended previous sessions. This may help with appropriate language for the situation: sophisticated and technical for the professional genealogists or simplified with no jargon for a beginner group.

Additionally by noting where and how the event is being promoted you may gain some clues about your audience. If the event is only publicised via Facebook and Twitter one would expect an audience that is more au fait with technology.

Find out how your talk is being promoted. Is the audience expecting to be entertained, informed, persuaded or educated?

In an ideal world one would always be able to glean much information about a prospective audience. This is not always possible but, where one has an opportunity gain prior knowledge on their audience and tailor the talk appropriately, I believe that the presentation will be more effective and entertaining and more likely to be heeded.