Guest Q&A with Stephanie Bell

Meet Stephanie

Jefferson City lawyer, mother, community builder, and Haiku Deck Guru Stephanie Bell turns out Haiku Deck after Haiku Deck to spread the word about local events and to encourage people to get involved in the JCMO community. If you have a cause you care about, you can’t help but be inspired by Stephanie’s commitment to building community creatively!

Stephanie S. Bell – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

Guest Q&A

Haiku Deck: How did you hear about Haiku Deck, and what inspired you to try it?

Stephanie: I first found out about Haiku Deck while watching the twitter stream for Alt Summit. Some of my favorite bloggers were there so I was trying to stay in on the action. I happened to see Guru Wendy Townley’s recap on Personal Branding, and it was love at first sight. I immediately started brainstorming all of the different uses for Haiku Deck. At the time, I didn’t have an iPad, so I had to first devise a plan to convince my husband an iPad is a necessity. A few months later, I got my iPad and Haiku Deck was one of the first apps I downloaded.

“I didn’t have an iPad, so I had to first devise a plan to convince my husband that an iPad is a necessity.”

Haiku Deck: How does Haiku Deck help you spread the word about your community events?

Stephanie: I think most people would call me a community activist. I always have an event coming up or a message I am trying to get out to the people. I saw Haiku Deck and instantly knew that this could change the way I communicate with my people and the people I’m trying to reach.

“I saw Haiku Deck and instantly knew that this could change the way I communicate with my people and the people I’m trying to reach.”

I tend to be verbose–I am a lawyer, after all. Haiku Deck helps me focus on the important parts of the events. It requires me to sit down and ask why I’m inspired to host or attend this particular event and why I think others might be similarly inspired. I have been amazed at the results I have received from the decks.

A typical post where I share an event on Facebook might get a 20+ likes, and a share or two. The first deck I made about “Hidden Spaces Secret Places” received 1,000 views in 24 hours. I never could have reached that large of an audience without Haiku Deck.

“I never could have reached that large of an audience without Haiku Deck.”

The ease with which you can share your message in such a simple, likeable way is unmatched.

Hidden Spaces. Secret Places. – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

Haiku Deck: What has the response been from people you’ve shared your decks with?

Stephanie: The response has been incredibly positive. My goal is, and continues to be, to inform people about our community and engage them in the process of making it a great place to live, work, and play. I tend to include a lot of pictures of my own – and people love to see pictures of themselves, their company logo, their neighborhood, or their comments in a Deck.

“I tend to include a lot of pictures of my own — and people love to see pictures of themselves, their company logo, their neighborhood, or their comments in a Haiku Deck.”

They also tend to share it much more frequently than just an event poster. I have convinced people to share my decks – my next step will be to convince my fellow citizens to start creating decks of their own to share what it is they love about our town.

Haiku Deck: What tips do you have for people who’d like to give Haiku Deck a try?

Stephanie: My tip would be to check out the Haiku Deck blog (I guess if you are reading this, you probably are already doing this – Hai-5!). There are some fantastic ideas on the blog that will really take your deck to the next level. Thankfully, I was scanning the blog right before I published my last deck (about Kicks in the Sticks) and Catherine had a post all about “Enlivening Events.” I skimmed her list of “best practices” where she suggested “Include short testimonials from previous event attendees.” Of course! I had almost left that out! After last year’s event, I had saved blog posts and Facebook messages about the event itself. I picked my favorites, added them to my deck, and I really think it made the “wow” difference.

“I picked my favorites, added them to my deck, and I really think it made the “wow” difference.”

It is one thing to tell other people that your event is awesome, but it is certainly better to let other people describe your event in a positive way for you. A simple tip, but one I hadn’t thought of.

Kicks in the Sticks 2013| JCMO – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

Share Your Story

We’d love to hear about the ways you use Haiku Deck for building community and promoting events! Send us a link to gallery@haikudeck.com, or tweet us with the hashtag #hdgallery.