It’s OK to ask for help. So, I am asking…

​One of the hardest lessons to learn is that it’s OK to ask for help. I know my strengths and I know the areas where I can use help. I’m also human, so I sometimes need to be reminded that it’s OK to ask for help.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been immersing myself in one of my special interests; Mentorship (or as some people call it the “art of mentoring”). I’m developing Mentorship training sessions in collaboration with Shawn Mintz, who successfully launched and runs MentorCity, an online platform that helps organizations and individuals with their Mentoring needs. I won’t go into great detail about Mentorship here, that’s not what this blog is about.

I know that visual design and marketing are not among my strengths. I’m taking steps to learn enough so that I avoid doing things that are counter-productive for marketing my business. This includes reaching out to connect with mentor(s) who can help me. I recently connected with a new mentor through the HRPA mentoring program (hosted by MentorCity). We’ve already met once, by video chat, and gotten to know each other. We have similar values and outlooks on blending business and personal lives. I’ve also applied for a mentor through the Women’s Rural Mentorship project run by the WE-CAN Project at Queen’s University and the Kingston Economic Development Corporation (KEDC). I know that I can learn from more than one mentor at a time!

Do I know everything? Of course not, no one does. And that’s OK. I like to share what I do know; I like it so much; I based my entire business model on sharing stories to help others thrive.
 
I also believe in paying it forward: I mentor others (mostly through my professional associations), I deliver pro-bono talks to a variety of groups, and I write this blog.
 
I’d like to end this week’s blog with a request for help from you, my readers. Help with a visual design issue. I’m delivering a bilingual presentation in mid-June through a webinar format. I’ll only have one set of slides to share during the session. I plan to have content in both official languages on my slides.  I’ll be switching back and forth between speaking French and English as I present. My handouts will be unilingual, and both the French and English versions will be available to all participants.

The client that this session is being developed for is exploring ways to make the content more accessible, including real time translation, and close captioning.

I’d really like your help with ideas on how to include both French and English text on one set of slides.  Have you seen this before? If so, what did you like about what you saw, and what irritated you? Do you have any ideas on how I can include text in two languages on one slide, in a way that looks professional and is visually appealing? 

​Your suggestions would be a great help!