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Dan Curtis - Professional Personal Historian
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The source for the latest news, how-tos and tips about the recording and preserving of your life story or the stories of your family.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'personal historian'
It’s Time to Relax, Reflect, and Renew for 2010.
In a previous article, 14 Questions to Help You Build a Better Business, I wrote about the value of using the end of the year for reflection. I decided to take my own advice and use this final week of 2009 to take a break from posting articles an...
The Top Five Personal History Blogs for 2009.
I hope this listing of the best personal history blogs of the year will become an annual event. Blogs are an important part of any marketing plan. If you don’t already have a blog, I would strongly urge you to start building one. Who knows, may...
14 Questions to Help You Build a Better Business.
I find the end of the year a good time to take stock of my personal history business. I set aside a day and look at my successes and the things that didn’t work. I make a point of writing this all down. It’s an important exercis...
Monday’s Link Roundup.
If you’re into gadgets, this Monday’s link will be of interest. Carry a Scanner in Your Pocket describes an iPhone application that allows you to scan documents. How cool is that? It almost make me want to put an iPhone on my Santa w...
Holiday Gifts With a Personal (Historian) Touch.
Last December I wrote about some low cost or no cost gift ideas. And with the holiday season quickly approaching, I thought it was time to suggest some gifts that have a personal touch. DIY bookmarks. Here’s something for the bibliophile in yo...
Stop Struggling and Succeed!
I spent this past weekend on a silent Buddhist Insight Meditation retreat. I’ve been practicing Insight Meditation regularly for over a decade and twice a year attend a two-day retreat. It’s hard work and useful insights arise. The most...
Ten Tips for Creating a Great Business Card.
Dollar for dollar, your business card is one of your best forms of advertising. I’ve been looking at my card lately and thinking it’s time for a major makeover. It’s not that it’s terrible. It’s just not memorable. ...
Avoid These Three Interviewing Pitfalls.
A good interview is at the heart of any personal history. I train and mentor Hospice volunteers in Victoria on the art of life story interviewing. It’s part of a program being offered by Victoria Hospice. I’ve found several interview...
The Year of Magical Thinking.
This past Saturday I attended the Canadian premiere of Joan Didion’s play The Year of Magical Thinking, based on her book by the same name. Both her book and play are extraordinary. The Chicago Sun-Times has said: Unforgettable…Both perso...
What’s The Connection Between Reflexology and Life Stories?
I visited my local vitamin shop last week and ended up sampling a free, ten-minute reflexology treatment. My feet felt wonderful. This got me thinking. Reflexologists and personal historians face the same marketing challenge. People have heard abou...
How to Get Mom or Dad to Tell a Life Story.
Sometimes I encounter an adult son or daughter who’s had no success in convincing a parent to record a life story. My experience has been that if people are really reluctant, it may be very hard to nudge them into documenting their lives. I h...
The “Mini Memoir” Contest!
An exercise I particularly like to use in workshops is the six-word memoir. This is based on Smithmag.net and their popular six-word collections. For more information click here. The idea is rumored to have started with Ernest Hemingway. He was chall...
How to Retain Clients Who Can’t Afford You.
I’m sure that many of you have had the experience of a potential client eagerly wanting to engage your personal history services but unable to afford the cost. It’s disappointing. But here’s a word of advice. Don’t immediately...
The Top 10 Posts of The Year.
I’ve written over two hundred posts since starting this blog fifteen months ago. These are the top ten, ranked in order of the most viewed. 100 Free Resources for Personal Historians. How to Interview Someone Who Is Terminally Ill. How Much Sh...
The Power of “No”.
Saying “no” politely is a necessity if one wants to lead any kind of stable life. ~ Richard Chamberlain The “N” word has a bad reputation. It’s seen as negative and mean. Many of us find it hard to say. But saying ...
12 Key Tips for Successfully Working Alone.
I’ve been self-employed for twenty years. I’ve loved being my own boss. But it hasn’t been all sunshine and roses. There have been some real challenges and some hard sloughing. Over time I’ve learned some things about worki...
What I’ve Learned About Getting “Truthful” Interviews.
Among personal historians the topic of honesty in interviews is a recurring topic. We want to ensure that our interviews illuminate the depth of a person’s life and not simply skim across the surface. Questions arise about how far we should go ...
12 Top Rated Family Tree Makers.
If you’re looking for a family tree maker, look no further. I’ve assembled twelve of the best. Some are free while others have a modest subscription price. You’ll find some of these programs are relatively simple and others have all...
5 Reasons You Should Consider a Video Life Story.
Most people when they consider a life story project think of a book. There are a lot of good reasons for producing a book. But I’ll be honest. I have a video bias because producing video personal histories is my specialty. I also produce books...
5 Benefits of Hiring a Personal Historian.
If you’re thinking of hiring a personal historian, keep reading. If you’re a practicing personal historian, remember that potential clients don’t really care what you do. What they care about are the benefits they’ll get fro...
20 More Free Resources for Personal Historians.
I had a great response to an earlier post, 100 Free Resources for Personal Historians. Some of you sent me your favorite sites. I’ve collected more myself. Here they are! Doodle. “…takes the pain out of finding the right date and...
More Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Personal Historian.
I was looking at an earlier article I wrote, Six Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Personal Historian, and realized that I’d missed three important questions. What is your specialty? Be leery of anyone who answers, “Oh, I like to work on...
10 Essential Self-Editing Books.
Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned professional, these ten reference books are a must for your library. My thanks to the following Association of Personal Historians colleagues who suggested many of these books: Pat McNees, Mim Eisenber...
What Do Fishing and Personal History Clients Have in Common?
When I was a young lad, an old friend of the family would sometimes take me fishing. He was a good fisherman and he would always say, “Dan, if you want to catch fish, you’ve got to go where the fish are.” This got me thinking that...
Monday’s Link Roundup.
In this Monday’s Link Roundup don’t miss The truth has a price by Lauren B. Davis. About memoirs she writes, “The question becomes which is more important, the book or the person (other than the author) written about?” And if...
Do You Want to Bolster Your Presentation Skills?
In my previous article I covered six ways you can “Get Control of Your Pre-Presentation Jitters”. In this post I’ve assembled seven great sites that provide a range of practical ways you can improve your personal history presentatio...
How to Get Control of Your Pre-Presentation Jitters.
I’m a “ham” at heart so I love to get in front of an audience, big or small. But when it comes to an important presentation where I know I’ve got to make a good impression, I can feel the pre-presentation jitters creeping in...
5 Tips to Overcoming Your Marketing Blues.
Do you ever have what I like to call the “Marketing Blues”? It’s not pretty. For me, it starts with a gnawing sense that it’s time to get out from behind my computer and let more people know about my services. I know...
Back to School for Personal Historians.
The beginning of new school year got me thinking. My learning these days is hit and miss. I learn on the run, sandwiching it between my daily tasks. You’re probably like me – scrambling to learn how to use a new piece of softwar...
Do You Make These 5 Common Video Composition Mistakes?
One of the things that quickly marks a video interview amateurish is poor composition. You can have the very best equipment but if you don’t take time to set up your interview properly it won’t matter what you spent on your camcorder....
