In the companies that I run I encourage my key people to learn public speaking skills. In fact, several of them have internal Toastmaster chapters, in which they get to hone the skill of giving speeches as well as learning ways to make whatever they want to convey comprehensible to the audiences - sweet and short

That is not to say that I haven't been into meetings that were time wasters - and every time I've encountered such meeting I just walk. straight. out. of. the. room.

That is all I need to do - as I do not like people wasting my time, I also do not like others' time being wasted, especially in meetings that have no apparent aim and are not going anywhere, fast

one that is a totally time waster is due to several factors -

1. The skill of the one holding (chairing) the meeting

2. The way the information being conveyed

Let's face it --- The purpose of having meeting is to convey messages and to encourage exchange of views of the participants - either top-down, bottom-up, horizontal, or all of the above

The skill of the one who chair the meeting is crucial - but unfortunately I have been to too many meetings whereby those who supposed to be leading the meeting don't even know why they are there to begin with

I have been in all kinds of meeting - from the ridiculous to the marvelous

Back in China where I was from, back when the cultural revolution was still raging, 'meeting' was a mean used by the 'elite' to spread their propaganda, and to 'enhance' the effect of those meeting, the elite will incorporate episodes of 'showing example' whereby they would parade those who have been accused of 'counter-revolutionary' and publicly punish them (sometimes ended with summary execution) in front of everyone

While that was taking place, the participants, no matter if they were horrified with what happened in front of them, were all enthusiastically applauding the 'elites' with their 'righteous acts'
 
.....
 
But I have been in excellent meetings as well, meetings that have been led by people who know what they are doing, and do it very well

People's attention span is short. A meeting can only be successfuly if it doesn't end up cramming the brains of the participants with all kinds of garbage

Information must be pre-sieved before any meeting has taken place so that the info that were being disseminated during the meeting can easily be digested and understood and absorbed

Powerpoint is only a tool - it is far from perfect

But for people who knows what they are doing, even an imperfect tool such as Powerpoint (and all the open-sourced variants) can aid in information dissemination

That is why a call for banning meeting and/or Powerpoint altogether is mindless to the very fucking core

Shanghai Bill, I have read a lot of the comments you post on /. and I gotta say that they are very balanced and informative

Okay, regarding this 'blame the parent' piece from Google there is nothing to understand --- What Google is trying to do, and in fact, what TPTB has been trying to do to all of us is to impart a sense of 'powerlessness' so that we, collectively, will have to ask them (aka TPTB) for help, to solve our powerlessness

It's just another brick on the wall, so to speak --- the entire thing is structured, piece by piece, to make us feel useless, make us feel that we essentially can't accomplish anything on our own

You see, first, they blame the "male-dominated society" for 'discouraging' the girls from participating in the tech

Then they set up programs exclusively for girls to 'learn the tech', as if to show us --- the male portion of the society, that they are taking power away from us

And to further gaining ground, they are accusing the parents for failing their girls

It's all part of the psy-ops that they are running against the citizens --- designed specifically to enhance their dominance over us, the people

Shanghai Bill, you have spent quite a lot of years outside of USA, your time away from the US enables you to see things from another perspective

And I, originally from China, came to America as a young refugee, also comes equipped with the ability to analyse the American phenomenon, with both the view of an outsider as well as that of an insider

What I am seeing in America, since my arrival in the early 1970's, is the increasing power of TPTB, and their overbearing dominance over the populace

Right now, as we speak, TPTB's plan is in their final stage --- their aim being turning the American society, a society supposed to be based on freedom and liberty, in to a society in which TPTB will become an essential part, a part in which the society can't exist without

That is why they are doing what they are doing

Unfortunately most of the Americans can't see what's going on

I hope you can see what I am seeing, Shanghai Bill

Not to rain on your parade, son

Through their latest action the Europeans have proved to the world that they would rather kiss Uncle Sam's behind, no matter how smelly it is, than to stand up to that big. bad. fucking. bully.

The United States is itself already pretty much fucked up, but in this caset, Europe, thanks to the "European Parliament", has become even more fucked up than the US

You guys always look down on countries in Asia / Africa such as India or Kenya

You guys always think that countries such as India can never catch up

I have news for you...
 
While it is true India does have its hands full with the myriad problems that it is facing, India has bean growing leaps and bounds in terms of improving its own infrastructures and in its talent pool for the past few decades, and THIS TREND IS RAPIDLY ACCELERATING IN SCALE

I know, because I do have businesses in India, and I go to India several times every year

To India and to all Indians - as you guys have seen for yourself the snobbery the "Western People" are towards India, isn't it time India stands up and show the world - especially those Western snobs - what you can

Show 'em, India!!

Those motherfucking assholes are the real life version of the keystone kops --- They always do the wrong thing

Had the assholes really know their stuffs that British soldier Lee Rigby would still be alive today

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M...

And the London tube wouldn't have been bombed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7...

Does that mean had Telstra know anything about the hack the deal wouldn't have gone through?

While FBI was pointing finger at the social media as one of the source of huge problems it forgets, - perhaps too conveniently, - that one of the biggest source of problems happens to be >o?the government of the United States of America