Our Product is Explanation
All posts for “lesson”
Explainer Tip: Remember the Curse of Knowledge
Posted by: leelefever on August 10, 2009- 5:00pm
Categories: Explainer Tip, Explanation, lesson, ourwork
The following post is a part of a series called "Explainer Tips" where we share lessons we've learned in crafting explanations.
One of the books that I read just before creating our first videos was Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath. More than almost any other, this book helped me see new opportunities to present ideas in a unique way. One idea from the book really stands out - it's The Curse of Knowledge
We've all experienced it - in talking to a doctor, an engineer or academic, we get... Continue Reading
Explainer Tip: Stop Talking About Technology
Posted by: leelefever on July 27, 2009- 5:00pm
Categories: Explainer Tip, Explanation, lesson, our work
The following post is a part of a series called "Explainer Tips" where we share lessons we've learned in crafting explanations.
You likely have friends and family members who consider themselves non-technical. When discussion turns to anything related to computer, they throw up their hands and say "I just don't get tech stuff!" The truth is, this is the vast majority of people. And it's completely understandable why they feel this way. Technology can be very intimidating and many of the most... Continue Reading
Explainer Tip: Make People Care
Posted by: leelefever on June 25, 2009- 5:00pm
Categories: Explainer Tip, Explanation, lesson, our work
The following post is a part of a series called "Explainer Tips" where we share lessons we've learned in crafting explanations.
Looking back on my education, one thing becomes clear: I was a not a good math student. What I've learned since then, is that I had the potential to enjoy math, but there was a mismatch between the way I needed to learn and the way I was taught. I wrote about this previously in a post called "Talkin Bout My Education." Math turned me off because it seemed like... Continue Reading
I've been a Twitter user for just over 2 years now and I'm still trying to figure out how to use it well. A couple of weeks ago, We created an @commoncraft account that's focused on our business and looks behind-the-scenes. Now that I have an established account (@leelefever) and one that's just getting started, I've been thinking a lot about what's possible with Twitter. Some thoughts:
(If you're new to Twitter, watch our video Twitter in Plain English )
To Follow or Not to Follow
I... Continue Reading
Good Explanations Are Not About You
Explainist (yay! they're back) has a new post about Explanatory Filenames and how to think about the person on the other end. Quote:
But think about the guy on the other end who receives proposals from 10
different candidates on the deadline day, all with the same filename.
The first thing he has to do is rename each of them. If you’re thinking
about your audience, you’d save the proposal with your company’s name
in the filename — e.g. TomCo-Annihilatrix_Proposal.pdf.
I think the key point... Continue Reading
What A New Dentist Taught Me About Explanation
Over my life as a dental patient, dentists have told me to pay close attention to brushing the back of my bottom front teeth. Unfortunately, this piece of professional advice had a hard time getting into my daily routine. That changed recently - I'm now much more likely to brush these teeth - and it's because a new dentist took an extra 30 seconds to explain something important - why.
There I sat, with a small liquid vacuum cleaner hanging off my jaw, waiting for the dentist to check in on the... Continue Reading
The last few weeks have been both frustrating and enlightening here at Common Craft headquarters. We're in the middle of an ambitious production schedule that has us working on two new series of videos that will appear on the Common Craft Show and Store. There are a lot of balls in the air - multiple scripts, storyboards and productions. It's a lot to manage.
Of course, the bottom line for us is quality explanations. Recently we put many hours into producing 3 videos in a similar theme -... Continue Reading
Being Lightweight: Business Design
Posted by: leelefever on July 20, 2008- 5:00pm
Categories: beingsmall, business, lesson, lightweight, marketing, ourwork
This is the third in a series of posts about Being Lightweight. The first two were about Working with Clients and Tools We Use.We are lucky to have a product that people like. Our challenge is to experiment and find the best ways to build a business around this product. To be successful we need the business to be profitable, but also work within the life we want to live.We see this process as "business design" and as this series outlines, being lightweight is a big priority. Below are a... Continue Reading
Being Lightweight: Tools We Use
Posted by: leelefever on June 9, 2008- 5:00pm
Categories: beingsmall, business, cooltols, lesson, lightweight, ourwork
This is the second in a series of posts about being lightweight. Our first was focused on working with clients and this installment is all about tools we use.
Tools, or the the wrong tools, become a risk when they create unnecessary drag in every day work. Often, we've found ourselves wondering if we're using a sledgehammer to drive a nail. If so, we look for alternatives.
In being lightweight, we also consider mental and emotional baggage that goes along with tools. We're often willing... Continue Reading
Being Lightweight: Working with Clients
Posted by: leelefever on May 10, 2008- 5:00pm
Categories: beingsmall, business, lesson, lightweight, ourwork
It's a question we ask each other all the time - what is the most lightweight way we can do this?We are a small company who is trying to do big things. In order to be
successful, we need to reduce drag - to remove the processes,
bureaucracies and commitments that slow us down and don't pay off.
Today we're kicking off a series of posts called "Being Lightweight" that will relate what lightweight means to us and hopefully help you think differently about how you focus your attention.
Working... Continue Reading