Fail Fast

18 June 2013

VentureFest was today, and I received a nice little badge to get me into all the events…

We have learned a great deal about entrepreneurship the past few days. We have discussed ideas and opportunities, two words commonly associated with the latter and addressed preconceived notions about the two. Everyone has ideas. Entrepreneurship is not built around ideas but instead is built around the identification of opportunities.

In just a mere amount of days my group and I have turned what was just hanging onto a string of an idea to a well developed and better presented argument to the solution of a problem.

I have noticed that when you say thank you to a local they respond, “Okay” and when you say something about how good the food is or how nice someones clothing is the local answers, “That’s fine”.

I love Oxford, I love the UK, and I love Great Britian.

Each and everyday there is something taught that I know was directly targeted at me. It has been interesting to realize that as a woman in business, I have the power to change people’s lives if I use my power correctly. Today we started our presentations on the research we have done for each of our projects. The feedback Dr. Hoffmire gave us on our presentations had more to do with how we presented rather than what was in our presentation. He is such a smart man. I have begun to realize how much business success relies in getting people to agree with and support your discoveries. For this reason, being able to present yourself and your ideas is such an important skill. Although I did not present today, my presentation will come later this week, I learned many valuable lessons about presenting from watching others and listening to Dr. Hoffmire’s comments and critiques on how they did.

Hugo is CEO of Coronation Fund in Cape Town, South Africa. His story is another at Oxford that stars one rising out of hardship to succeed in their passions and talents. He really has gone from a life of poverty, segregation, and trials to one that is successful both worldly and spiritually.

This is my room at the Becket House, kind of messy after two weeks at Oxford and ZERO downtime. 😉

Here are a few of the important tips I gleaned from listening to several presentation critiques. I guarantee you will benefit from implementing some of these practices into your own presentations, even if it is only applied to the introduction of yourself to new people….as that is one of the most important presentations there is…

Walk around, do not let your feet stay where they start.
Make it short and sweet and speak slow, but NOT too slow.
End with a bang. Go full circle
The most awkward part of the presentation is the hands. Hands behind back portray openness while one hand holding the other shows comfort.
Keep your hands away from your face.
Speak with a powerful voice and demand control from your audience.
Don’t lose control of your presentation, reel it in!
If it is not REALLY GOOD, videos usually portray a lack of confidence.
Know your information.
Be AUTHENTIC. Your actions and voice should match your personality.
End with a strong Thank You.

An innovator learns to fail fast. We had a deep discussion today about why it is that men seem to speak out more in the classroom environment, in the business realm, and usually in the world. Too many people are afraid to make mistakes and as a result they hold themselves back from reaching their full potential. If you don’t go through the awkward things don’t change.

I love all the experiences I have had thus far here at Oxford and look forward to making many, many more great memories.