2010: The Year of the Ear

Listening is the new seeing.

While in recent years, we have enjoyed a bounty of new ways to visualize data and stories in our presentations, I predict that active and engaged listening will be the hallmark of the year to come.

In the business press, plenty of stories describe how social media is upending traditional ideas of how companies relate with their customers. We’ve read how Dell and Zappos listen and act via Twitter, creating better relationships and sales in the process. Media gurus like Bob Garfield are selling books about this. (Watch his excellent short video here.)

In the world of presentations, these same tools (SMS, Twitter, mobile web, etc.) are just now making noise. More speakers are becoming listeners as the backchannel of communication is coming forward. Olivia Mitchell has been detailing this rise better than anyone. Check out her blog posts about Presenting with Twitter.

Moreover, in less than one month, this book will come out:

You may know Cliff Atkinson from Beyond Bullet Points. I met recently with Cliff and reviewed an early draft of this work. He is onto something. Just like Bob Garfield.

So, listen up — to your audiences, your customers, and your students. Your ear will be dear this year.

Update, 10-31-09:

Here’s a video (2:24) of Timo Elliot of SAP demonstrating his PowerPoint Twitter Tools: