Presentations

Willing to receive? Attention of the audience & hold interest through presentation- The role of persuasion

Persuasion:

Conscious manipulation to face-to-face communication to induce others to take action

Scoring & Interpretation

For questions 1-2-3-5-6-7: 3 pts. for Usually, 2 pts. for Sometimes, 1 pt. for Seldom For question 4: 3 pts. for Seldom, 2 pts. for Sometimes, 1 pt. for Usually

Sum up your total points. Scores:>= 19 : You make effective use of your persuasive resources16 to 18 : You can be more persuasive in your interpersonal

relations< 16 : You have room for significant improvement in your

oral persuasion techniques

How is persuasion different from authority or power?

Means of influence- focus on getting other people to do, what you want them to do, but:

1) Power & authority: means of making others to do stg. They otherwise would not have donePersuadees feel they are acting of their own accord within the goals & guidelines set for them

How is persuasion different from authority or power?

2) Authority represents the rights that go with managerial position

3) Authority has limits: setting up a psychological line

4) Authority implies obligation, but in persuasion- performing the rask with commitment & enthusiasm => motivation better than authority

General Strategies of persuasion:

1) Credibillity: trust & confidence. Demonstrate competence; knowledge & ability Having trustworthy intentions (establishing a trust

bond) Personal charisma (striking others as friendly,

caring, enthusiastic & positive)2) Logical Reasoning: Citing logical reasons for them to

behave as you wish.3) Emotional Appeal: Using a langauage touching the

emotions. “What the listeners need is a stimulus that will move them from passive to active”

Persuasive practices for securing attention & arguing well:

1) Addressing people by name: Increases the capacity for selective perception & make people feel involved

2) Posing questions: Turning the opening statement into a question

3) Using different channels and encoding: Music, other sound, direct action (usually associated with political movements)

Presentations

Able to receive? Audiences have little or no control over the information flow => Allow pauses between main points, avoid information overload

Achieving information? Pose questions, voting, presentation being informal discussion

Preparing the presentation materials

If accompanied by a written report, written version SHOULD complement the presentation

If before => chance of discussion If not => introduction to the Topic Not distribute the full version at the

beginning of the presentation

Preparing the presentation materials

Answer key questions (audience, objective, context, source)

Clarify terms of reference/project briefDecide what to include and what to

cutDecide how to organize the materialMake the logical structure visible

The Presenter: I) Postures

DON’T: – Adopt a head down, round-shouldered stance

when addressing audience. Lack of eye contact: Nervousness, lack of confidence.

– Leaning on one foot– Trying to blend with the background– Folding the arms tightly across the chest:

protects the person’s “soft underbelly” from attack

DO:

Stay upright & well balanced Stable, but not static, allowing for some movement

around the room Moderately relaxed, but conveying energy rather

than apathy. Be careful for cross-cultural aspects

Skills developed after repeated cycles of experience & reflection => Begin to feel more confident, positive & alert

II) Physical Appearance

Choice of clothing: Help to project the right image, increase confidence

No fixed rulesPresenters may simply decide to

dress in the way that they feel most comfortable.

III) Developing the human voice:

In contrast to informal one-to-one conversations, the presenter has to speak:– For an extended period– In a fairly structured way– To many different people simultaneously

DON’T talk with a weak voice

Work on 4 dimensions of vocal delivery:

1) Setting the volume2) Varying the pitch: Convey a positive message when

sentences end on a higher note, obtain advice of someone3) Pacing the delivery:

Fault: Speaking too quickly or slow delivery (monotonous) => Vary the pace of delivery

DON’T include too much material => Plan. If insufficiently flexible & at a rapid pace; lose

audience’s attention => Highlight key points Can switch from longer to shorter sentences helps

to vary the pace of delivery.

4) Exploiting the pauses

Depending on its length, silence = comma Can be used to separate different ideas &

emphasize a particular agreement Long pauses: Rarely used. Allow thinking A single pause will seem longer to the

presenter than to the audience

Typical techniques include:

Use the pause to build eye contact with the audience

Appear to be lost for words, but then return with a major piece of the argument

Add to the dramatic effect by simply walking silently from one part of the room to another

Use them in combination

IV) Remembering what to say:

Greatest fear: Forget what to say next.

1) Reading a prepared script: Mistake, ineffective delivery, limited eye contact & minimal use of gestures to reinforce msg.

2) Memorizing a prepared script: In an organizational context, sounds artificial; can be caught out when opened up to questions.

While effective for short statements, unassisted memorizing: not practical for most people.

3) Improvising on the day

Valuable techniques for informal discussions

Some necessary and impressive in Q&A

4) Using a prompting system: Prepare the presentation in a detailed & structured way. Use cue cards: tied together or numbered in case dropped on the floor.

Audio-Visual Equipment:

1) Projectors: Limitations & user errors:– Stand in front of the display screen– Talk to the projector instead of audience– Display slides that do not coincide with

the spoken delivery– Use too much text– Not checking spelling errors– Technical failures

2) Whiteboards

Common teaching aid, useful in discussions & brainstorming sessions

Limitations & user Errors:Turn their backs on the audience while writing & making them difficult to hearPresenters may have illegible handwritingDried out pensUsing indelible pens by mistake; makes presenter unpopular with the next user

3) Video Players

Short video clips: useful to illustrate a point DON’T use so long video clips

Limitations & user errors:

Technical faults

Incompatible playback formats

Inappropriate use during a live presentation

4) Props & ‘Take Aways’

Props: additional materials used to enhance a presentation. Ex/ Food samples, scale 2222models of building developments

Presenter may also wish to provide the audience with materials to take away after presentation: – Information pack having supporting details– Paper or electronic copies of the presentation

Limitations & user errors:

Handling out material at the beginning; audience will look at it instead of focusing on the presentation

Inappropriate materials

Four Key Elements:

I) Creating an opener: How do you secure the audience’s attention? Think from their perspective: Relevancy, your credibility. Ex/Pose a question having relevance for themCreate a powerful scenario, using visual imageryQuote a statistic that will surprise themShare an informal anecdote Refer to a relevant and memorable quotation

II) Signaling ‘transitions’ and changing pace:

DON’T move too quickly from one topic to another; if not lose their audience’s attention

Take time to emphasize transitions; give a brief recap of the last topic; pause a little bit

Use non-verbal cues May introduce an audio-visual prompt such

as photographic image

III) ‘Closing’ with a flourish:

Equivalent to the concluding section Draw the arguments together & attempt to

ensure that the audience has absorbed Summarize key points, show how they

combine to achieve that purpose May split the audience into groups, setting

a task and asking each group to report back

IV) Handling questions, interruption & dialogue:

Open questions: better Allow members to discuss first, rather than asking for

an immediate response Sometimes difficult to switch between ‘delivery mode’ to

engaging an active dialogue. Then retain control through careful preparation

Try to predict questions & have prepared answers in your mind

Q & A: Problems: 1) Unable to give an answer2) Know the answer but consider that it isn’t interesting 3) Not want to give the answer => Be Honest!

IV) Handling questions, interruption & dialogue:

Interaction as questions: provide dialogue Quiz questions: alert to the themes; time Poorly-worded questions: distort audience Well-handled questions are valuable If you get a feeling that you’re losing your

audience, DON’T ignore as this is a communication barrier