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Ask HN: What cool skill or project interests you, but feels out of reach?

125 points akktor | 5 comments | 09 Jun 25 12:41 UTC | HN request time: 1.605s | source

This question's for all those cool projects or skills you're secretly fascinated by, but haven't quite jumped into. Maybe you feel like you just don't have the right "brain" for it, or you're not smart enough to figure it out, or even worse, you simply have no clue how or where to even start.

The idea here is to shine a light on these hidden interests and the little (or big!) mental blocks that come with them. If you're already rocking in those specific areas – or you've been there and figured out how to get past similar hurdles – please chime in! Share some helpful resources, dish out general advice, or just give a nudge of encouragement on how to take that intimidating first step.

Let's help each other get unstuck!

1. avmich ◴[11 Jun 25 00:01 UTC] No.44242854[source]▶
Presentations, including video ones. The ideas feel pretty clear in the head long before you can describe it in a manner which ideally could be a pleasure to watch. What tooling to use, how to work with all that, how to even plan the layout of words, scenes, images seems pretty puzzling, and solutions are like a slow walk in a dark room.
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2. leakycap ◴[11 Jun 25 03:20 UTC] No.44243899[source]▶
I'd recommend Beyond Bullet Points by B. Atkinson; it's a book about PowerPoint but teaches you how to synthesize presentations, including videos and in-person presentations.

As far as career upgrades, this book was decisive for me in making the lightbulb go off so I could share my vision with others and have them see it, too.

3. namaria ◴[11 Jun 25 09:34 UTC] No.44245777[source]▶
Storytelling is the skill you're looking for. Visual aids and recording/editing are incidental.

What makes presentations, video essays, etc, great is having a great story to tell.

It's all about the archetype of the hero, and plot arch (normal life -> problem -> departure -> toll -> return).

You have to present people with a reason to embark on the story - which is the reason the 'hero' leaves on their journey; a clear understanding of what's at stake, the price to be paid, the confrontation and the return to a new, better normal.

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4. avmich ◴[11 Jun 25 15:28 UTC] No.44248678[source]▶
I'm pretty good with textual stories. The presentation format is another matter, there is a difference.
5. directevolve ◴[11 Jun 25 21:28 UTC] No.44252007[source]▶
One option is to put your thoughts down in great detail on paper, then feed it into AI and ask it to design you a slideshow with text and suggestions for visuals.