Review: Wreck-It-Ralph, Disney movie

This is actually a movie I would pay to see again.

In fact, I want to pay MORE because I should've seen it in 3-D in the first place.

I just didn't want to get ripped off, because a lot of the time, you pay the $15 or whatever to get the 3-D glasses, fight for a good 3-D seat, and you end up disappointed because the 3-D animation wasn't that great anyway.

This time was different.

Not only was the plot excellent, the characters lovable & evolving, but you could tell that the graphics would be so much more enhanced with 3-D because of the extreme creativity of this other world. 

This was also not a movie just for the kiddies (lame, simple humour), but great for adults as well. You genuinely empathized with multiple characters, laughed at the silly ones, "awwwww"-ed at the cutesy characters and hated the villain (but felt sorry for him a little, too). It kind of gave off that "Toy Story-esque" feeling when you KNOW for sure your toys come alive when you leave the room.

Is it a movie skewed towards females?  A little.  But it's definitely a movie the boyfriends and husbands can enjoy well enough to sit through a couple of hours and not die of extreme boredom.

And hey, Happy Wife= Happy Life. 

Review: A+

Giving Effective Presentations: Tips & Tricks

Over the past few years, I've given a few presentations to smaller groups/clients.  My time at 7-Eleven Canada has given me a bigger and better opportunity to present to larger audiences (100+) of varying audiences: from store managers to the senior VP group, all tuning in from various parts of the country. Some presentations are on video conference, while others are isolated in a conference room.

I'm still a newbie at this, but I think the below presentation tips will give novice presenters the confidence to pull off their first few National/large presentations (even though you may be shaking in your boots at the same time).

1) Speak Loudly. Speaking loud makes you sound more confident than you really may feel! A lot of times, you are so nervous that you end up speaking at a normal speaking decibel or even quieter than your usual volume.  This is no good because a) You sound nervous and b) no one can hear you. If you sound nervous, you don't sound confident in what you're saying. If you speak LOUD, then it sounds like you know what you're talking about. Which leads to point number....

2) Present hard Facts. If you have done your research and believe in the facts/data on your powerpoint, you will have no issue presenting the facts. Because facts are numbers and numbers always speak the truth (especially when presenting to senior-level management). When presenting to National audiences, they won't remember the frou-frou, they'll only remember the numbers you presented to them, especially if they've been listening to boring presentations all day. This makes it easy for you, because all you have to do is present the numbers/facts, which also makes it easier for you to remember and feel confident about. Just make sure you are explaining what the numbers mean to the business, too.

3) K.I.S.S. is something we've all learned- KEEP IT SIMPLE, SILLY! Sooooo many people have too many words on their slides. Nobody will read your words. If you can make your facts into a chart, MAKE IT INTO A CHART. Show trending charts or pie charts; those always depict what you need to show, to prove a point. If you have more than 4 bullet point form notes on your slide, that is too many. If you have sentences on your slide, you must make it into a point form. [PS- blogs are not presentation slides, in case you're wondering why I am typing out paragraphs!]

4) Always remember you are the Expert. No one has researched your topic as much as you. Even if you're new to the company or industry, you have done all the background research and are the expert in your field. Otherwise, nobody would have asked you to present in the first place.

5) Go Early. Check out the scene if you haven't presented in a particular location already. Is the podium too tall for you (as it is in my case, many times)?  Make sure you get a stool or make a note to stand away from the podium/get a mic, etc. Is the screen behind you? If it is, make sure you've got your own notes handy so you don't have to talk behind you the entire time.  Do you have a portable "clicker", or does someone need to help you click slides? Make sure you check out the scene for all possible things that could make you feel uncomfortable, and therefore will cause you to deliver a less than effective presentation.

6) Find your Audience. Before preparing your presentation, make sure you know who your audience is. Is it all senior executives? Local store teams? Internal staff? Regina, SK versus London, ON or Canada-Wide? This seems straight-forward, but I've been caught thinking I would be presenting to a small team but ended up being surprised with upper management attending the conference. I've also been surprised when senior management was NOT there. Depending on who's there, the same exact presentation will change: visuals, language, depth.

I'm sure there's more, but I've already gone beyond 4 points so I'm sure you are already losing focus, if you haven't already!

Good luck, and good speech!

Dodgeball Tips & Tricks for Girls who can't Throw

I joined the Vancouver Dodgeball League this past Spring.

First, I should tell you that I have always had a fear of balls. Sport balls.

Two years ago, I decided to get over that fear of balls and took up Tennis. I really enjoyed it and still play (poorly, but play nevertheless).

Last year, I took up Volleyball with a group of my girlfriends.  That was fun, but I never really got good enough to enjoy it completely.  I think it will take more practice.

As I stated to my boss earlier this week, I probably would be very good at athletic sports, had my parents placed me in more Sporting teams as a child because I have that innate competitive spirit and endurance. However, I was placed in Piano lessons & Music history/theory for 13 years and Kumon (Math) classes instead. How stereotypically Asian (by the way, I am terrible at math!).

Anyway, back to balls.

I am now at the point where I can enjoy Dodgeball. I am not a good thrower, but here are some tips for girls like me who still want to play dodgeball:

1) Learn how to catch. This is a VERY important skill that not everyone can do. Do not be scared of the ball, even when it's flying straight at you, hard. You must catch the ball. If it comes remotely close towards you, lean into it, catch it against your upper chest (lower kinda hurts) and wrap your arms around those balls! Try to keep your upper body straight so that the ball does not hit your chest and fall off a slouched body (you're out if the ball hits your body and you don't catch it).

2) Ladies- Try to collect all balls and keep them in your zone. While the boys are throwing, continue dodging balls, catching them and keeping them in the zone.  Roll them over to the throwers or hand them to the boys as they are busy zeroing into the other team & analyzing who else they will hit. Be the provider of balls and own it.

3) Act as a Shield. Be the sacrificial Lamb. If there are only a few of you left, this is especially the time to take on this role. You need to keep the throwers and stronger players on the floor, so shield the good players as much as possible and get hit instead so that they can continue to play and knock the other team off. Do that while catching balls.

4) ShowDown: If you find yourself in a ShowDown position (you are the last team member standing against the other team's last man standing), the best tip I received - and used to victory- is to allow the other person to throw the first ball. Dodge that ball. Once they've let go of that ball, RUSH THEM with your two balls. Even though I missed with my first two balls, my competitor also missed me twice, allowing us to go again.  I was able to get him with my third ball when I rushed him with it and he was trying to run backwards.

5) Always try to catch people off-guard- when they're running backwards, throwing at someone else, not watching....

That said, I'm still not the best player, but I AM having a lot more fun than the first day when I got smoked in the head!

And no, I have not had to avoid wrenches yet.