The New York Times Magazine article suggests there are three Stephen Colberts.  I’d submit that there are four, considering the hip-hop Colbert who performed Empire State of Mind with Alicia Keys. (thanks Matt McMahon!)

A few years back Tom Purcell, executive producer of The Colbert Report (pictured next to Dr. Colbert ) taught a writing class at the P.I.T.  He spent six Saturday afternoons with us reviewing how the staff approaches writing The Word and the other classic bits, and generously offered to extend the class a few more weeks to help us develop our writer’s packet.  I managed to write a few pieces I was happy with, including one for the Threat Down segment, but struggled with insecurity to finish a strong packet.

I’ll accept David Meerman Scott’s challenge to make 2012 the year of courage.

A quote from storyteller Ira Glass, host of public radio’s This American Life, inspired me to finally launch a new web series.

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

Then, the circumstance. A few weeks ago, I watched in awe as a guy climbed 60 feet up in our tree to cut down a huge branch damaged by the snow storm. I grabbed my video camera and began to tape. It was fascinating. The idea for a web comedy series hit me — “Three Simple Steps.” It would be some interesting footage I could film myself with a few jokes along the way yielding roughly a solid minute of nonsense. Something I could do for little to no budget, and put myself on a deadline to finish a comedy story each week.

My buddy Garth Beams helped me out with the animation and rewriting the script for episode one, about cutting down a different tree.  Check out the pilot episode.

A notes from behind the scenes:

The question I get most often about these is “how did you get these approved at a big corporation?’

By starting small.  The first comedy I produced at IBM was at the end of 2004, and it was internal only — for a sales meeting — which kept the risk very low.  I kept the cost low by asking one of my best friends, Scott Teems, a director, to help me for $400.   The video was a hit, I was asked to create a sequel, and was able to pay Scott a nice tip.

John Cohn, of Discovery Channel’s “The Colony” and I filmed our third Mad Science episode in the dead of winter, on Lake Champlain, in an unstable canoe.  Maybe not the brightest idea.  But it was a blast.

Check out our previous episodes, Micro-forecasting and Smart Grid.

It’s been another blessed year for us here in the Holy Land. For summer vacation, we spent a week at the Bethlehem Ramada. I told Joseph that this time he better call ahead for reservations — otherwise there’d be more than one jackass sleeping in the stable! ; ) The boys have loved the Ramada swimming pool since they were kids, but even to this day, Jesus only walks on the shallow end. When the boys were beachcombing, James cut his foot on a conch shell. Jesus carried him all the way across the beach, back to the hotel infirmary.  That night, He wrote a poem about the experience — “Footprints.”

Jesus continues to excel in college. He made the honor roll (again) and won first place the intramural fishing contest (again). In His spare time (ha ha!), He volunteers at the local hospital, where He heals the sick, and one time, a dead guy.

This year, we started celebrating Jesus’ birthday in July. It’s just unfair for kids who have birthdays so close to Christmas. The “wise men” showed up again, which means another year of re-gifting frankincense. Oy vey!

The other kids are fine. I’ve never been a big believer in the whole birth-order thing, but it’s been a struggle for James growing up in Jesus’ shadow, what with Him being the eldest — and the Messiah. Last month when James was reprimanded for toilet-papering the band locker room, the principal hauled him up in front of the entire class and asked him, “What would Jesus do?”

Please write and let us know what your kids have accomplished.

Merry Christmas,

Mary, Joe, Jesus, James and Fluffy

Illustrated by Garth Beams, written by Tim Washer, inspired by Luke 2:1-20.  SDG.

My father always told me “redundancy is a sign of ignorance.” If he told me once, he told me a thousand times. It’s one of the most frequent mistakes I see in PowerPoint presentations, and it can turn your audience off quickly. A few ideas for a better speech:

• Do your homework: Reach out to a handful of people before your presentation and ask what is the most important question on this topic that they would like answered. Not only will your material be more relevant, but you’ve let a few audience members know their opinion counts. It will have a positive influence on the energy in the room.

• Less is more. One executive I’ve worked with, let’s call him “Charlie,” used to introduce cluttered slides with the useless disclaimer, “I know not everyone in the room can read this….” He failed to discern subtle nonverbal cues from audience members like squinting—or exiting.   The most influential slides I’ve seen deliver their message with only three to five words. It allows for an easy-to-read slide and keeps the focus on you. I never use a font smaller than 30-point, unless I’m presenting to a very small group or negotiating with my wife.

• A picture is worth a thousand words. Although my English literature professor assured me this ratio doesn’t apply for a midterm essay, it holds true for PowerPoint. Since our minds absorb visual information faster, it’s a much more powerful way to convey your point. Impress your audience with a classic from Corbis.com, ShutterStock.com or even Flickr.com. My friend Charlie made the exchange and still had a few words left over.

• Tell stories. Everyone loves a good story. Use client examples, or find a relevant reference through WSJ.com, NYTimes.com or an industry trade publication. Simplify the tale with the narrative formula: a) problem, b) solution, c) results. For a good story, those are the only elements you need. And possibly a dragon.

• Schedule 20 minutes, and finish early. People love to get time back.

And finally, the most important rule bears repeating: always avoid redundancy.

And here’s the finished product:

www.asmarterplanet.com