Creativity and Storytelling by James Whittaker

We have the honor and pleasure of welcoming James Whittaker all the way from the States to Helsinki as our trainer for the day on March 19th 2018. James will delve deeply into creativity and storytelling within design, IT, testing and agile projects based on experiences from companies such as FBI, Google, IBM, Ericsson, Cisco and Microsoft. This course is especially useful for project owners, agile teams, developers and testers to create better user stories and better business.  

ABOUT THE TRAINER

James Whittaker’s career spans academia, start-ups and top tech companies and starts in 1986 as the first computer science graduate hired by the FBI. James then worked as a freelance developer, most notably for IBM, Ericsson, SAP, Cisco and Microsoft, specializing in test automation. He joined the faculty at the Florida Institute of Technology where he continued his prolific publication record in software testing and security. In 2002 his security work was spun off by the university into a startup which was later acquired by Raytheon.

James’ first stint at Microsoft was in Trustworthy Computing and Visual Studio. He then joined Google as an engineering director and led teams working on Chrome, Maps and Google+. In 2012 James rejoined Microsoft.

James is known for being a creative and passionate leader and sought after speaker and author. Of his five books two have been Jolt Award finalists and one a best-seller. Follow him on Twitter @docjamesw and at his website docjamesw.com.

Agenda

8:30   Registration and Coffee
9:00   Opening and Introductions
9:15    James Whittaker: Creativity
12:00  Lunch
13:30 James Whittaker: Storytelling
16:30 Discussion and Event Closure

Part 1: 
The 7 Stages of Creativity: Developing Your Creative Self 

Creativity is the one universal ingredient of success. Creatives report higher job satisfaction and lead more fulfilling lives than any other class of people. And yet our school curricula focus on rote learning and test taking at the expense of creativity, problem-solving and higher-order thinking. Microsoft Distinguished Engineer James Whittaker shows you how to develop your creative mind and use it as the fulcrum of a lifestyle where creativity doesn’t just happen, it becomes the default case for everything you do in work and life. Come to this session and learn to supercharge your creativity to make your work more interesting and your life more exciting.

Learn:

• How to learn faster and retain knowledge better.
• How to merge your passions with your day job.
• How to discover and nurture your creative biorhythms.
• How to become an expert in your field.
• How to turn your creativity on at will.

Part 2: 
The Storyteller’s Spellbook: Mastering the Art of Personal Expression

Boredom. Nowhere does it manifest more aggressively than in corporate conference rooms where speakers struggle to get an idea across in an engaging way. That boredom is killing those ideas, sapping audience energy and slowing down progress. Microsoft Distinguished Engineer James Whittaker has decoded the solution to engaging stage presence and cast it as a set of spells to be woven into the fabric of a presentation. Like actual spells, these techniques are activated by 1) what you say, 2) how you say it and 3) what you do while you are saying it. James presents these concepts, not by lecturing them, but by demonstrating them. Expect to be thoroughly entertained with authentic stories while you learn how to command a stage and turn an audience into a room full of believers. Whether you want to improve the story of your company, product or yourself, this course will turn you into a storytelling wizard.

Learn:

• How to conceive and structure a presentation for proper flow and maximum impact.
• How to prepare for your presentation to conquer stage fright and ensure recall.
• How to make important points stick in the minds of your audience.
• How to weave story, voice modulation and movement to spellbind your audience.
• How to tell your own story to improve your career.