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TECH
I use Chrome as my browser every single day. I think I know it like the back of my hand. But I only discovered this awesome trick a few days ago.
I promise you this Chrome tip will blow your mind (or at least it did mine).
Currently when you play a video (e.g. on Youtube) a little speaker icon shows up in the tab to let you know it's playing. To mute the tab though, you have to right click at the top of the tab and select 'mute'.
That might be news enough.
But, imagine if that speaker icon was actually a mute button....
It can be!
Do the following:
- Type into your search bar: chrome://flags
- Search 'Tab audio muting'
- Click 'Enable'
- Restart Chrome
- Play a video on Youtube
- Press that little speaker icon on the tab
And that's it.
You can click the sound on and off with the touch of a button.
WRITING
People often complain about formulas or templates for tweets and twitter threads. But is it wrong to use formulas that work?
Or the real question is: what makes a headline clickbait?
7 simple strategies to write killer headlines and 10x your reach
Is this clickbait?
Let's say I click on this and it takes me to a list of 7 adverts for paid cruise holidays. This is clickbait.
Clickbait is when you click to read more, but then what you read isn't what the headline promised.
I'd feel mighty annoyed, because I fell for the clickbait and I got something I didn't need.
But what if the content is great?
Let's say I click on that headline and I see a post with 7 easy-to-follow strategies that I can use to write my next headline.
After reading it, I can see immediately that if I use these strategies more people will read my content.
This is now simply a great hook. Not clickbait.
It made me click. But then it delivered. The headline entices you, and then the main event is everything you hoped for.
Same headline, different outcome.
The first is clickbait, the second one is a wonderful hook.
Don't feel bad about using a formulas or templates to write a hook. They are based on good formatting, editing, and writing experience.
The aim of any headline or opener is to intrigue the reader enough to make them want to hang around and read the rest.
Good hook + good content = a happy, committed audience.
EDUCATION
Trying to run online events on your own is not easy.
When we do that, we try to deliver high quality education, AS WELL as being tech support.
As educators though, we're more comfortable with the teaching than the tech. The result: we spend more cognitive processing time worrying about the tech than we do about the learning.
It takes more brain power to start breakouts, monitor the chat, or spotlight people. We lose focus from what is the main event - delivering quality learning.
So, if you're running a larger course or event, allocate one person to the tech. Their job is to make sure everyone joins the call smoothly, mics are muted/unmuted, and breakouts happen when needed.
The other person can focus just on the content.
Of course, this isn't always possible. Sometimes it might just be you. If that's the case then the easiest thing to do is to minimize how much tech you use.
Scrap the Kahoot quiz, the fancy whiteboard, and the breakouts. Instead, if you're on your own, keep the tech simple and let yourself focus on what you're best at.
Don't let tech distract you from the teaching.
See you next week.
P.S. Whenever you are ready, here are 3 things you can do to level up your content creation and presentation skills.
- I highly recommend a wonderful community I'm part of - Masterclass 24/7. This is a warm, supportive community helping people grow and thrive on twitter. Large accounts share their secrets so you can write great content, increase your reach, and 10x your growth.
- If you're stuck creating content then check out Justin Welsh's Content Operating System. It's a simple system for creating 5-10 pieces of content a day. It's entirely changed my content creation process.
- I offer interview coaching and presentation coaching to help you go into your next one confident, prepared, and ready to give a great performance.