Process & Presentation

David Zach, presenting at the AIA Colorado Practice + Design Conference during the Process & Presentation session, delivered an engaging exploration of design, communication, and technology. He emphasized the importance of quotations as encapsulated ideas that connect to broader concepts, encouraging attendees to create their own intellectual web. Drawing from his experiences with architects, landscape architects, and the Society for Experiential Graphic Design Wayfinding, Zach highlighted the significance of understanding context and navigation in built environments.

Zach contrasted the experience of reading on Kindle devices versus physical books, noting how physical books foster deeper engagement and memory retention. He shared his use of tools like Readwise and Reader for organizing research and his preference for E-ink devices like the Boox Palma, particularly after cataract surgery heightened his sensitivity to screens. His research library, organized into sections like philosophy, business, and literature, reflects his belief in the intellectual value of books and the Cabinet of Curiosities concept.

The session explored the importance of handwriting and note-taking, with Zach referencing Yahani Plazma’s “The Thinking Hand” to illustrate how manual engagement activates distributed brain functions. He encouraged attendees to embrace mind mapping and future wheels for exploring alternatives and synthesizing ideas. Zach shared his experiences with AI tools like Claude, demonstrating their potential to enhance human creativity while cautioning against over-reliance. He described using AI to refine his talks and rediscover valuable concepts, such as cadencia, which he incorporated into his presentation.

Zach showcased personal projects, including an Art Deco kitchen and bathroom designed with salvage materials, emphasizing the importance of understanding materials and processes to connect with the design world. Anecdotes, such as being critiqued by Lord Norman Foster and his challenging introduction to a school board, illustrated the value of adaptability and resilience. Practical presentation tips included voice modulation, audience engagement, and handling technical challenges gracefully, with Zach advocating for improv training and the “Yes, and” concept to build rapport.

Throughout the session, Zach emphasized the importance of audience research, understanding the ecosystem, and maintaining authenticity in presentations. He shared his use of buttons as physical leave-behinds and humor as a tool to reduce fear of the future. His dynamic approach to speaking, blending spontaneity with thoughtful preparation, left attendees with actionable insights on enhancing their communication and creative processes.

Create Physical Spaces That Inspire Thinking

Surround yourself with books, curiosities, and meaningful objects to stimulate creativity and thinking. Research shows that just being around books makes you smarter, and physical environments influence cognitive performance.

Research shows just being around books makes you smarter. So how many of you have books that you’ve never read? Of course, but you still know about that book. You have a sense of what’s in that book… I love the concept of Cabinet of Curiosities and this is how museums in Europe originated.

Find Your Amiable Host for Networking Success

Introverts can overcome networking challenges by identifying and partnering with naturally outgoing people who can make introductions and open doors to meaningful connections.

I would find an amiable host. So if you’re going to go have to spend a lot of time with people who are present at a conference, find somebody that other people like… have them be your host. They would take me around, introduce me to people. And it took all the effort of trying to talk to people.

4% Rule: Don’t Try to Please Everyone

Accept that 4% of any audience will show up intending to dislike you. Don’t waste energy trying to convert them – focus on the 96% who are open to your message.

4% of any audience shows up with the intention of hating you. They show up angry. Do not try to cheer them up. They want to be angry. And I remember one time there was a guy the whole time like this, never cracked a smile, never changed the expression, came up afterwards and said, that was the best damn speech I’ve ever heard.

Your Talk Begins Before You Enter the Room

Successful presentations start with thorough preparation and understanding of your audience’s ecosystem. Research who will be there, their competitors, strengths, and weaknesses to show up fully prepared.

When does your talk begin? When you walk in the room, sort of. It’s when you walk out of your room. When you leave your house, you leave the room because you are always on stage when you are the keynoter… Are you doing research about who’s there, who’s in that firm? Who are the firms you’re competing with? What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses?

Always Have Multiple Backup Plans

Technical failures are inevitable, so prepare redundantly with multiple dongles, phone backups, and printed slides. Test equipment at least an hour before your presentation and be ready to present without technology if needed.

Department of Redundancy Department. So they have little dongles like USB C to HDMI. I always carry at least two. Always have it backed up on my phone, and I always have a printout. And I have at times had to say, okay, we don’t have slides.

Build Your Knowledge Web Through Diverse Curiosity

Develop a interconnected web of knowledge across multiple disciplines to better serve clients and understand their context. This requires intentional curiosity and reading beyond your immediate field.

Consider doing your own web in order to be interesting to your client. In order to understand the context in which your client is working, you need to have a web of ideas. And again, because of your training, you’re better prepared to have that web.

Physical Books Beat Digital for Deep Learning

Reading physical books leads to better comprehension, empathy, and retention compared to digital reading. Books are synthesized rather than just summarized, requiring more thoughtful engagement.

People who read online consider themselves smarter, but it has shown that they are less empathetic. We tend to scam online. We tend to be more attentive with books. Books are contained… Things in articles tend to be summarized. Books are synthesized.

Master the Art of Graceful Problem-Solving

Audiences don’t judge you for technical problems or disruptions – they judge your reaction to them. Maintaining grace under pressure and using improv techniques can turn problems into opportunities for connection.

There’s going to be problems. Again, people will not judge you for something going wrong. They judge your reaction to it. And the number of times where something has been disrupted and somebody has come up and talked about the notion of grace under pressure.

Collect and Curate Ideas Throughout Your Career

Build a systematic approach to collecting quotations, ideas, and insights over time. These become valuable resources for presentations and thinking, as quotations often encapsulate complex ideas that connect to broader concepts.

I’ve been collecting quotations since junior high… you look for things that are worth remembering. And quotations quite often encapsulate an idea that connects to so much more… I have a database with over 5,000 quotations.

Use AI to Extend, Not Replace, Your Thinking

AI should be used as a collaborative tool to enhance human intelligence rather than as a replacement for original thinking. The key is maintaining agency over the creative process while leveraging AI’s capabilities.

My concern is a lot of people are going to get distracted, busy, and so they’re going to let the AI do it for them. That is a horrible response… I’m supposed to write it, you’re supposed to help me… use it to extend your brain.