The Burden of Proof

Posted on by Josepha

As we head into the final quarter of the calendar year, many organizations are looking toward the future. Sorting out the money, planning the calendar, and identifying the biggest worries are high on most board agendas. And from time to time, every board stops to look at their mission statement, just to make sure they are still headed in the right direction.

One of the boards I serve on is doing exactly that. There are discussions of who we are, what purpose we serve, and where we fit in the local landscape. We discussed what we want to be in the future, what we tell people about ourselves, and why we want to be part of the organization. And, of course, we discussed who we believe our audience to be.

Who We Speak To

The question of who your audience is versus who you want them to be is never an easy one. For so many organizations the answer to “who do we want to appeal to” is “we want to appeal to everyone”. And of course who your audience currently is tends to tie right in to who you appeal to naturally. During our conversation of audience, our board president said:

“If you serve, or want to serve, minority groups, then the burden of proof lies with you. Not with with the people you wish were there.”

In plainer words, if you want to speak to people who have reason to believe you are not speaking to them, you have to say “and that includes you”. If you are a church that accepts and loves those of all sexual orientations, you have to say it. If you are a technology company that accepts and values those of all skin colors and sexes, you have to say it. If you are a sports league that accepts and invests in those of all levels of ability, you have to say it.

What We Want to Be

All people, as we grow into the wonderful adults we will be, are shaped by those around us. We are formed by the experiences we are afforded (or subject to, depending on your perspective). We trust what we know and sometimes that means we surround ourselves with people who think, act, look, or speak like us.

Trusting in what we know is a basic survival instinct; anyone like us, probably won’t harm us. Stereotyping is a basic coping mechanism; grouping people and things lessens our cognitive load. Putting our faith in people and things that aren’t already like us takes a lot of self-awareness and personal growth… but we don’t continue to grow without it.

With these combined truths, you can see why it is so important to state when you embrace that which is not like you. Because people, when left to our own devices, often won’t.

Where It Takes Us

Very few people or companies will argue that diversity (of thought and demographic) is bad. There is a lot of support for the idea that different view points lead to better outcomes, no matter the project.

The most important thing that it does, though, is help us to share who we are with the people who would love to be here… if only they knew we were here for them. Figure out who you wish you could share your work with, and tell them how much you miss their voice.

Not sure how to get started? Here are a few things you can do today!

  1. Look for coded language in your public content.
  2. Instead of broad declarations (everyone is welcome), make clear statements (beginners welcome).
  3. Amplify people who are having trouble getting heard. 
  4. Here are a few more ways to support minority voices.

The Panel Predicament

Posted on by Josepha

For anyone who has worked with me organizing content-driven events, you will have heard me say regularly how much I hate panels. I am quick to declare my dislike of them, but generally only in the safety of a group of organizers. I’ll try to provide some clarity in the need for panels, why I dislike most panels I see, and what we can change to make them better.

The Value of Panels

In theory, I understand the appeal of panels. There is a lot of information available in the world, and it’s increasingly difficult to assess how trustworthy to consider the opinion of any self-proclaimed expert. There are many ways to achieve expert level opinions: by education, by research, by practice. Probably other ways, too. To solve the problem, we host panels. We gather industry thought leaders or experts and have them discuss things openly, in the accountability-forging context of “filming in front of a live audience”. We then leave it up to the audience to decide — what is your version of this truth that we’ve presented to you, almost without editorial aid?

The Failing of Panels

In practice, panels are far from that. They are either overpowered by a single voice or are overpowered by apparent fighting among the panelists. Moderators double as panelists and leave the group with no discernible direction. Panelists answer in a round robin style, often leaving no time for interesting or informed viewpoints to shine through. Panels are overstaffed and used as a way to prevent the discomfort of having to turn down speakers. Most people don’t apply to be on a panel, and many who get assigned to participate on a panel think that it means no preparation is required.

The Best Panels

It’s not that we’ve never seen a good panel. We see them from time to time, on TV or at large-scale niche events. There is a lot of writing available about how to be a better speaker, but not a lot about how to be a better panelist. Or even how to craft an excellent panel as an organizer. So I’ll tell you what’s proven to work for me over the years, as a long-time event organizer.

Crafting an Excellent Panel

In my experience, the best panels require a thoughtful moderator and panelists with a decent level of rapport (but not best friends). It’s great if you already have a group that fits that description. If you don’t there is a short, simple process that you can follow to foster one from the expert panel you have assembled.
  1. Dedicated Moderator – Find your moderator first, because you’ll need them throughout this process. The best moderators keep the discussion moving by helping with time management, directing questions toward particular panelists, and resisting the urge to join the discussion.
  2. Limited Number – If the time allowed for your panel is one hour, you should select no more than three panelists not including the moderator. That gives each speaker about 15-20 accumulated minutes assuming everything else is perfect.
  3. Prepare Panelists – Your moderator and panelists should have two meetings. Each meeting should take about an hour and be via voice (or a video call if you feel fancy). In the first one, do some general introductions and learn about everyone’s expertise as it relates to your broad topic. The moderator should take notes* and the panelists should explore what they are all excited about so that a topic can be defined.
  4. Clarify Your Topic – After the first meeting, the moderator will know what the most interesting areas of expertise each panelist has. That will help them guide questions (whether prepared or from the audience) to the right people. It will also help create a panel title that is clear, concise, and marketable.
  5. Written Questions – In the second meeting, the moderator should have some questions that have already generated interesting discussions among the panelists. Ask the panelists if, since their last meeting, they’ve been wondering about something another panelist said. Write down 5-10 questions and be prepared to start the panel on the day with 2-3 of them.

Rinse and Repeat

That’s it! Five steps and most of them are talking. 🙂 The first time through it will feel strange and uncomfortable, but after that it’s like riding a bike. *A note on notes. If you’re the moderator the notes you’re taking are:
  • who has a tendency to talk the most
  • who needs encouragement to talk
  • what panelists do 
  • what panelists wish they could do
  • why they do what they do (their philosophies)
  • why their future vision is what it is (their observations)
  • etc

From LiveJournal to WordPress

Posted on by Josepha

It’s been over three years since my grandmother passed away. She was a brilliant woman and a prolific writer. When I first started my daily blogging (in 2009) she and my mother were two of the first and most regular readers. That daily blog is all on this blog, though clearly much less frequent than daily.

Last week my sister and I were in search of one of my grandmother’s recipes. I was certain I had it in my old emails, so I went in search of everything my grandmother once sent me.

In addition to comment notifications and a few threads about literary executorship, there was one lone email she sent me from her blog on LiveJournal that she thought I would enjoy. I don’t know if I appreciated the post as much then as I do now (so many years have gone by and I surely have changed since then), but it did lead me to her old blog.

It’s been placed in memoriam status, but it seems like one of those things I should move into a platform I trust. I will start the process of moving her writing into WordPress and everything that goes with that soon, so here’s to a new digital adventure on the horizon!

Dumpling Obsessed

Posted on by Josepha

I have a poorly kept secret to share with you. I love dumplings. Dumplings, by my broad definition, are protein-y type things wrapped in starch-y type things. Those protein-y, starch-y things on things are then cooked somehow… boiled, steamed, fried, baked. There is probably a more technical explanation, but for my purposes this definition is just about perfect. And by “my purposes” I of course mean the express purpose of eating dumplings and trying to figure out how to make them myself.
Take for instance these dumplings here. They have a few names: gyoza, pot stickers, pork dumplings. I’m not sure about the first time I had them, but I’m pretty sure they are what started me on this path of finding/making/eating this type of food. I was so set on finding the perfect recipe and making these dumplings, that my friends hosted a dumpling making party. We probably assembled a couple hundred. We were quite proud of ourselves. After I felt like I’d perfected those, I moved on to:
  • apple dumplings
  • chicken and dumplings
  • samosas (is this a dumpling?)
  • char siu bao (I’m bad at those)
  • xiao long bao (I’m really bad at those)
  • pelmeni
  • empanadas (again, is this really a dumpling?)
  • tamales (def not a dumpling, but also don’t you touch my tamale)
So in the end what I’m wondering is this: What sort of dumpling do I need to tackle next? I know there are many many out there I haven’t heard of, but since I haven’t heard of them how can I possibly ever expect to find/eat/make them?

The Struggles of a Midwest Spring-Summer

Posted on by Josepha

In my area, we don’t really get a clear spring season. There is about a week between what your body knows as “impossibly cold” and “impossibly hot” that sometimes has pleasantly cool, yet somehow sunny days.

The thing that confirms that Spring actually is trying to happen are the very windy days. Windy as in Wizard of Oz, sweep away your house, constantly blow your skirt over your head windy. Spring-Summer (my affectionate term for our “spring”) is also confirmed by temperatures that go from a cool 68F in the morning to a blazing 91F by midday.

But don’t let my natural Sauce Pot tone of vocie fool you. I really love this weather. Here are a few of my favorite parts:

  • The birds that return to sharing their morning songs
  • Grilled pineapple and salmon skewers
  • Sparkling water with a key lime squeezed into it
  • Dogs that sit in the pooling sunlight and turn their noses to the interesting winds
  • The smell of sunscreen
  • Walking through the local rose gardens (and the orchid house)
  • Green wine on restaurant patios — bonus for having some friends along

Excuses abound for gathering people in Spring-Summer, too.

  • Concerts
  • Beer fests
  • BBQ fests
  • Bacon fests
  • Hanging Out in My Friend’s Backyard fests*

So welcome, Spring-Summer, and please don’t rain down tornados and torrential rain this year.

~ Much love, Josepha

* That is made up, technically, but you also know just what I mean.