Can’t see the video? Watch it on YouTube!

You can learn more about Nancy Duarte by connecting with her on her blog, Facebook or Twitter.

During this episode I mentioned that you could have a chance to win a copy of one of Nancy’s books – Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences or slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations. Send us an email at theForge@techsmith.com with your biggest take away from the interview with Nancy. I’ll randomly select a winner for each book the first week of June.

Plus, we want to hear from you. What would make the Forge even more useful and valuable to you? Do you want more episodes, hardware reviews, how-to’s, longer shows, shorter shows…? We are going into our fourth season – with 29 episodes down – we want to make the next season even better! Let us know all of your feedback by sending us an email. Get creative and we’ll send you one of our AWESOME custom Forge shirts with the Forge Crest

The post The Forge: Episode 29 Presentation Tips with Nancy Duarte appeared first on TechSmith Blogs.

Intrigued by the process of creating and delivering out-of-this-world presentations, Nancy dove into researching famous movies and speeches. Fascinated by the wealth of information she found within, the discovery process revealed a surprising pattern which she’s shared in her books and during her inspiring Ted Talk (video below).

Click here to tune in LIVE at 2pm ET on Thursday, May 16
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This month’s episode will teach you that anyone can give an unforgettable speech, so long as they keep a few of her important tips in mind.

Can’t see the video? Watch it on YouTube!

You can learn more about Nancy Duarte by connecting with her on her blog, Facebook or Twitter.

The post The Forge: Episode 28 with Nancy Duarte appeared first on TechSmith Blogs.

Click here to tune in LIVE at 2pm ET on Thursday, April 18

The conference was an absolute blast; a one-day affair + a one evening happy hour to start in lovely Birmingham, Michigan. Focusing on visual approaches to thinking and communication, it was open to anyone interested in learning more in a hands-on kind of way. Naturally, it was a perfect fit for the TechSmith crew!

In addition to meeting up with our old friends, Karl Gude, Brandy Agerbeck and Jamie Nast, we made new friends that we can’t wait to tell you more about! The breakout session facilitators were from all over the country and of all different kinds of backgrounds, providing a nice mix of mindsets and objectives to the attendees.

We found a few brains to pick from the event, including Brandy Agerbeck, Ryan Coleman, Karl Gude, and Jamie Nast, whose interviews we will be airing on this week’s episode! Tune in to learn more about Brandy, who shared her great technique for communicating complex thoughts through drawing in her book, The Graphic Facilitator’s Guide: How to Use Your Listening, Thinking, and Drawing Skills to Make Meaning; Ryan, whose love for the “what if?” approach to strategic planning and implementation helps break down barriers in a workplace that isn’t necessarily visually oriented; Karl, whose knack for making the complex clear has taken him around the world and made him globally recognized; and Jamie, whose mad mind mapping skills led her to author the popular book, Idea Mapping: How to Access Your Hidden Brain Power, Learn Faster, Remember More, and Achieve Success in Business. We asked the speakers about their stances in the Digital vs. Paper battle, if they had any tips for thinking visually, and many more questions that we’re sure you’d like to hear the answers to.

These bright minds shared all kinds of valuable information with us, and there’s certainly something for everyone to learn, regardless of background, profession, or goals. So, watch the preview below and be sure to join us this Thursday, April18, at 2PM (EST) for some visual communication goodness!

Can’t see the video? Watch it on YouTube.

The post Thursday on The Forge: #VizLit13 Recap with Brandy Agerbeck, Ryan Coleman, Karl Gude and Jamie Nast appeared first on TechSmith Blogs.

So that’s exactly what he did. Ron went out and learned about screencasting and in December, he was the winner in the Training Category for the 2012 ScreenChamp Awards. His video, 5-ish Screencast Tips is a fun look at tips that will make every screencast better:

Top Five-ish Screencast Tips from ScreenChamp Awards on Vimeo.

I asked Ron why he created the video. He made a first version for a contest on LearnCamtasia.com, where he came in second place. That gave him the confidence to submit to the ScreenChamp awards. That idea came from him thinking about creating training courses for Camtasia and thought about what would kick off the idea. Ron said, “I wanted it to be informational, so whether or not you cared about Ron Hogue or cared about Camtasia, it should be something that’s helpful to you. It should be something that generates more interest, and says ‘this seems like a fun guy, maybe I want to check out more of what he has to offer.’”

Ron said that he used a few tools to make his video. He used a Sony Bloggie camera to record himself, along with a Shure SM93 lavalier microphone that connected into a Blue Icicle, which is an XLR to USB converter. On the software side, he used check out his blog.

The post Meet Ron Hogue, 2012 ScreenChamp Training Category Winner appeared first on TechSmith Blogs.

We talked with Jonathan Halls about video, and given his experience he knows a thing or two. Here are 9 tips that we pulled from the interview.

Jonathan pointed out “Video gives a lot of exciting opportunity that we’ve never really had.”

“We get benefits of saving money, saving hassle, saving time, so forth, at the same time it is avery useful tool for learning. Video is not always good for learning, we got to be honest about that. The reason more people watch CNN then C-Span, CNN keeps changing the shot to make it interesting.”

Jonathan offers up a few tips for getting good enough quality from shooting with your SmartPhone:
1. Set it on wide, and never ever use zoom
2. If you want to get real close, actually move the camera up real close
3. Built in microphones are extraordinarily limiting
4. When you shoot, be careful to hold it with both hands. Shaky cam is the first signs of amateurism.
5. Make sure the lighting is good. Want to see the eyes. When we look at people we look at their eyes.
6. Watch out for those little hums. If you have air conditioning in the background, that will be accentuated.
7. Don’t have one shot and hold it. If you’ve got someone walking through the door, take 3 different shots and cut them together.
8.Really think about what the visuals require for the learning, and get in there and make them happen.
9. Your camera is your viewer, and where you put your camera is where you put your viewer, the more we understand that the more we can start thinking about making engaging visual content.

After Jonathan, we talked with Tiffany Wood, product manger for Snagit. Did you catch what she said about the number of captures that have been taken since the release of Snagit 11? Over 400 million! That’s a lot of captures. Check out what else Tiffany has to say about the newest release of Snagit on Windows (Snagit 11.2)

The post Forge Episode 27 is now posted appeared first on TechSmith Blogs.

In this episode, Jonathan lays out at least 9 tips for getting better camera video, even if you’re using your cell phone. For instance, Jonathan says, “Video gives a lot of exciting opportunity that we’ve never really had.”

“We get benefits of saving money, saving hassle, saving time, so forth, at the same time it is very useful tool for learning. Video is not always good for learning, we got to be honest about that. The reason more people watch CNN then C-Span, CNN keeps  changing the shot to make it interesting.”

In addition to talking with Jonathan, we have an interview with Tiffany Wood, product manager for Snagit. Have you checked out the new version of One Click in Snagit 11.2 (Windows)? Tiffany talks about that and some interesting statistics about Snagit.

UPDATE: Video is here.

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The post The Forge: Episode 27 with Jonathan Halls and Tiffany Wood appeared first on TechSmith Blogs.

Vesone says before making his ScreenChamp entry, he had played with editing sports clips he found online, but hadn’t put together other videos. Evanced Solutions, the company Vesone works for, was about to launch a new version of one of their software solutions. They knew they wanted a video, and that’s when Vesone saw the opportunity to throw his ring in his hat. Since then, Vesone has been transitioning from Support Agent to video production.

Vesone was the winner in the Audience Choice (Best in Show) category for the 2012 ScreenChamp Awards. His video, What is SignUp? is a walk-through of Evanced Solutions calendering system.

What is SignUp? from ScreenChamp Awards on Vimeo.

When talking about showing off his first draft, Vesone said, “Everyone was blown away. They kept saying ‘we didn’t know you could do this, why didn’t you say something sooner?’” To make the deadline and overcome some of the problems with an early production, Vesone ended up pulling an all-nighter to get the video completed.

Vesone has a few tips for anyone just getting started with screencasting:

• Get into the software and start exploring.
• Watch and read the tutorials.
• Don’t just look at the tutorials for the software you’re using. Seeing what other software can do, you get ideas and can expand what you can do.
• Lynda.com is particularly helpful.
• People are afraid of hearing their voice and being in front of the camera. Just jump in and start testing!
• There’s a lot you can do with screencasting- have fun with it.

We also wanted to find out what Vesone used to create his screencast. He mentioned that his company created a mini-studio in an office. It’s pretty low tech, with one wall painted green to create a green screen. On the other walls, they cut bed foam into 9×9 inch squares and covered the wall. Beside the studio, they shot camera video with a D5100 DSLR. They used a condenser mic with a Zoom H4N field recorder to capture the audio.

For software he used Camtasia Studio, Adobe After Effects, Audition, Photoshop and Illustrator.

When asked about what he plans on doing next, Vesone said he has a whole queue of videos lined up. And with the win of the ScreenChamp award, along with all the great work he’s doing, his work queue is most likely not going to get any shorter.

The post Meet Vesone Dean , 2012 ScreenChamp Audience Choice Winner appeared first on TechSmith Blogs.

Here’s today’s show:

Don’t have time for the entire show: Watch this 1 minute 37 second overview: http://youtu.be/NKcC5Yz3IYQ

Two great segments are on their way to you. First is with Dave Gray (@davegray). Dave is one of the founders of VizThink, a co-author of the book GameStorming, a book focused on breaking down barriers, communicating better, and generating new ideas, insights, and strategies. And he’s also the co-author of The Connected Company, about how companies can change the way they work to be more connected with workers, customers and partners.

In our interview with Dave, we talk about his ideas for a visual alphabet, why it doesn’t matter that you can’t draw, how he makes his videos, and more. You can check out his visual alphabet video here:

We also chat with Troy Stein (@troystein), Product Manager for an experimental education app for Apple iPad, called Ask3. For our educator friends out there, ever hear the phrase, “Ask three before you ask me?” as a way to get students to ask their peers before asking the teacher. Troy shows how the Ask3 team has taken that concept (and more) into app form to help teachers and students communicate. But beyond that, you’ll get to see how it can help students answer their classmates questions as well.

Do you have an idea for an interview? A product review? Want us to answer a specific question about a TechSmith product? We want to hear from you! Help us make the Forge the best and most useful it can be! Email us at theforge [at] techsmith.com or leave a note in the comment below.

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The post The Forge: Episode 26 with Dave Gray and Troy Stein appeared first on TechSmith Blogs.

Here’s the recorded video of today’s episode or watch on YouTube.

See Dan’s presentation about health care here. You should also check out the Napkin Academy for more about visual communication and Dan Roam’s methods.

Conan Heiselt’s zooming video is not only a great explanation about zooming, but is also a great example of visuals in action.

If you missed past episodes of The Forge, here are some great segments that shouldn’t be missed:

Dan Nunez – Clipboard tutorial
Bill Hamilton, President of TechSmith, History of Snagit 
Mel Aclaro, Professional Screencaster
Recording Mobile Devices
Don McAllister, Professional Screencastor
Cliff Atkinson, presentation guru
Where to get music
Before you begin recording
Leigh Graves Wolf, Education Professional:
Jamie Nast, Mind Mapping Expert
Cupcake in the face

Leave us comments below – tell us what you thought about today’s show!

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The post Talking visual communication with Dan Roam, Episode 25 of the Forge appeared first on TechSmith Blogs.

Dan Roam (@dan_roam is the author of the international bestseller The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures, the most popular visual-thinking business book of all time. His other books include Blah, Blah, Blah and Unfolding the Napkin.

Dan is the founder and president of Digital Roam Inc, a management-consulting firm that uses visual thinking to solve complex problems for such clients as Google, Boeing, eBay, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, the U.S. Navy, and the United States Senate.

Dan has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, ABC News, Fox News, NPR, and at the White House.

In honor of Dan’s appearing on the show, we want to help spread and increase visual thinking, so we’re going to give away 3 copies of Dan’s book The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures. How can you win one?

UPDATE: Due to scheduling conflict, we had to talk with Dan a bit early. He’ll still be on the show, but we completed the interview. No worries though, if you got your question in, you’re still eligible to win a book.  Send us a question – what would you like us to ask Dan Roam on the show? We’ll randomly select 3 winners, and then draw from all the questions submitted. Email your question to theforge@techsmith.com.

Want to watch live? Drop by our live stream on Thursday, January 17 at 2 PM EST.

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The post The Forge with special guest Dan Roam appeared first on TechSmith Blogs.