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Often my wife, co-workers, and friends say that I have a really strange way of thinking and it is extremely difficult to follow the logic on the train wreck of thoughts running through my head. In fact, the most common expression I hear from people tends to be, “How did you get that when we started out with this?” To which I reply, “Do you really want to know how I started at A, then went to Z, then back to Y, on to 3 through 12, and finish on B and C?” Inevitably, after they ask the first time, they usually don’t ask again.
I found as a child that I often see possible connections in strange ways (not always useful) that others do not. But this has proven to be an asset to me time and again in helping others use obscure ideas to remember a feature or concept that I was teaching.
It’s almost like making up a nonsense sentence to remember a list of items, like the notes on a musical staff using first lines then spaces. I remember “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge on his FACE” or EGBDF for the lines and FACE for the spaces.
So I decided to drag you on-board one of my mental trips and take you from start to finish. Keep in mind that memories are one of the best triggers to recalling information (like when you remember a vivid memory just by hearing a song).
Here we go… See if you can find the connection before we get to the station.
I have many fond memories of growing up in a small town in rural Illinois with little to do other than watch TV and movies. Knowing that alone about me, you will find it no surprise that I was influenced greatly by my choices in entertainment, even at an early age.
I watched shows like Bewitched, Green Acres, Petticoat Junction, and The Lone Ranger. I could often be found playing outside, hiding in the bushes with a cowboy hat, mask on, cap gun in hand; jumping out as our elderly neighbor walked by, yelling, “Stop right there, you varmint!” Then promptly getting wacked with a cane and scolded.
As I grew older, I traded in the Lone Ranger for Vampires and Werewolves. I spent many long days after school and on weekends at the library researching the various legends. Werewolves were most interesting because I was intrigued with the story of the Lugaru of Romania with their origins in the myth of Remus and Romulus raised by wolves (yes, later on this myth does also remind me of a certain group of Star Trek characters). Like most teenage Van Helsing wannabes, however, what I really wanted to know was how to destroy them in case I should ever find myself in that situation.
In my early twenties and more into the dating scene, I pursued the “man of mystery” angle of the James Bond movies, two of my favorites being Gold Finger and the Man with the Golden Gun.
More recently, I have been watching Supernatural on the CW network, where there were several episodes that featured a gun with special ammunition that could destroy demons.
“Where is he going with this?” you might be asking yourself (or maybe just, “AHHH, he’s crazy!”). So let’s recap to make the connection and the final TV stop.
The Lone Ranger used what kind of bullets? Yes! Silver, like you could use to take out a werewolf. James Bond had a couple of arch-enemies that used golden bullets. And finally, Sam and Dean Winchester used a special gun that shot magic bullets to destroy demons. Which led me to a very SHAM WOW final stop.
The Magic Bullet Infomercial. So why an infomercial, and how can this help me?
Infomercials are filled with direct and repeated points that need to be reinforced or stand out to make a point and drive home the value proposition of the sales pitch. These are often done verbally but, for added effect, are also done visually. You may already use this technique in PowerPoint and Word. They are called bullets and they come in several shapes and sizes.
They can be dots, dashes, images, arrows, and numbers. Often these are used to focus a reader or audience member’s attention on the main points being made. For instance, let’s take the Magic Bullet…
- It Does ANY job in 10 seconds
- You get two 21 piece sets for the price of 1
- Order now and get a 30 day supply of our Fat Burning Boost
- 30 day money back guarantee
So does all this talk of bullets make you want to get those tech tips now?
In the blog posting for this podcast you will find tips for:
- The Magical World of Bullets (Create or Modify)
- Creating Bullets or Numbering
- Change Spacing of Bullets
- Creating Bullet Points in Excel
- Bullets and Numbering Giving You Trouble?
Choose Format | Bullets and Numbering, and click on the appropriate tab. Select each bullet or number option and click the Reset button.
Just remember, just because someone wants to know your method or process doesn’t mean they won’t throw Mamma from the train when you explain it.
Thanks for listening, and don’t forget to sign-up for the expanded text edition of our Tips and Tricks or send us your ideas for future entries to the blog.
