Analyzing the Situation Presentation Skills PDF

ENGL1102AEF: P R E S E N TAT I O N SKILLS ANALYZING THE SITUATION A N A LY Z I N G T H E S I T U AT I O N A N A LY Z I N G T H E P R E S E N TAT I O N S I T UAT I O N 1. Analyzing the occasion 2. Analyzing the audience 3. Analyzing yourself as a presenter 1. A N A LY Z I N G T H E OCCASION Presentat...

ENGL1102AEF: P R E S E N TAT I O N SKILLS ANALYZING THE SITUATION A N A LY Z I N G T H E S I T U AT I O N A N A LY Z I N G T H E P R E S E N TAT I O N S I T UAT I O N 1. Analyzing the occasion 2. Analyzing the audience 3. Analyzing yourself as a presenter 1. A N A LY Z I N G T H E OCCASION Presentations may be conducted ‘internally’ within the same communication group, or ‘externally’ between different groups. A presentation’s occasion (including its communication purpose and its venue) and the characteristics and size of the audience can exert a substantial effect on the formality and style of a presentation. For an effective presentation, you need to analyse the presentation’s situation, including: – its occasion, – its audience, and – your role, as the presenter. After you have some understanding of how these three aspects inter-relate, you can then decide how you want your presentation to affect your audience. In general: specific instructions or guidelines are given in the invitation. a teacher assigns you to give a presentation on a given topic an account manager of an advertising company may be asked to present an advertising proposal a director of a charity organization may be invited to deliver a speech at a fundraising event Sometimes: not much background information or direction are given. Still the presenter has to clarify a few issues before planning the presentation, esp. to analyse the communication situation so as to ensure the appropriateness of the presentation for the occasion. KEY ASPECTS TO BE CONSIDERED a) purpose b) audience size c) physical setting and facilities of the venue d) timing and duration e) possible distractions f) other presenters g) what happens after the presentation A) PURPOSE Every presentation has its own aims, and certain outcomes are expected. Presentations can be categorized into four major types: – informative, – persuasive, – goodwill and – multipurpose presentations Before planning the specifics of your presentation: – think about the type of presentation that you are giving, and – consider your general aim or purpose. Determine the primary purpose for the presentation in each of the following cases. PURPOSE – ACTIVITY Case 1: At a social event, the project leader of a fundraising campaign delivers a short ‘thank you’ talk to 100 voluntary helpers for their support and efforts in making the fundraising event a success. Primary purpose: ______________________________________________ Case 2: A sales manager gives a status report on his monthly sales to the sales director and 14 other sales managers. ACTIVITY Primary purpose: _________________________________________________ B) AUDIENCE SIZE The number of people in the audience greatly affects the following: the delivery style and formality, the visual aids selected, the language that you use, the room and seating arrangements, and the level of interaction between you and the audience. AUDIENCE SIZE The larger the audience size, the more formal the presentation style. A small audience prefers a less formal and more relaxed speaking style. A larger audience prefers a more direct approach that requires little interpretation, as they may not have much time to ask for clarification. W H AT T O D O BASED ON THESE AUDIENCE SIZES: 1. 5 – 10 people 2. 10 – 30 people 3. 30 – 100 people 4. Over 100 people Plan for your audience size by using the following criteria: (1) Five to ten people (a small group): establish the relationship rapidly with each member of the audience instead of the group as a whole sit informally as part of the small group sketch charts or drawings casually on a whiteboard (2) 10 to 30 people (a medium-sized group): requires a more formal approach, still have to be concerned with individuals and how to handle questions use large visual aids stand in front of your audience (3) 30 to 100 people (a large group): usually includes a diverse range of people and establishing a relationship with individuals is harder select appropriate visuals of considerable size may need a microphone to help you present (4) Over 100 people (a very large group): require some kind of ‘theatre-based’ situation a great degree of control over the question and answer sessions is critical to the success of the presentations. have to present more dramatic examples to arouse their attention C ) P H Y S I C A L S E T T I N G A N D FAC I L I T I E S The presentation venue greatly affects the presentation style in the situation. Imagine: how difficult it would be for you to deliver a presentation about your views on university budget cuts in a noisy area next to the canteen that had a constant flow of students during lunch time? Apart from the physical setting, you also need to consider the furniture and equipment available and the layout of the room. Equipment: (1) a lectern (2) a whiteboard (3) an overhead projector (4) microphones (5) a computer for PPT presentation (6) internet access The layout: whether the seating arrangement is in (1) rows or (2) a U-shape. The formality and style of the presentation situation would affect both (1) the way the message is sent and (2) the way it is received. Factors that affect the physical comfort and ease of your audience: – (1) the size and shape of the room, – (2) its temperature and ventilation, – (3) its lighting and acoustics, – (4) the furniture and – (5) the location of fittings such as screens, power points and projection equipment etc. N.B. If these environmental factors are positive, no one will notice them. If they are negative, the audience will be constantly aware of them, and will pay less attention to your presentation. AC T I V I T Y Determine the audience size, level of formality and visual aids for each of the following cases. Case 1: At a social event, the project leader of a fundraising campaign delivers a short ‘thank you’ talk to 100 voluntary helpers for their support and efforts in making the fundraising event a success. Audience size: _______________________________ Level of formality:_____________________________ Visual aids: __________________________________ Case 2: A sales manager gives a status report on his monthly sales to the sales director and 14 other sales managers. D ) T I M I N G & D U R AT I O N (1) Timing: The length of time allowed Whether your presentation is given early in the morning or in the evening may influence how you approach the audience. For example: Considering the effect of holding a monthly staff meeting about company updates on a Friday evening after the staff have been working hard all week. (2) Duration: This factor also affects how much of your presentation your audience is likely to listen to. For example: The time allowed for an end-of-year party thank you speech may be the same as the time allocated for a speech to shareholders at an annual general meeting. However, at the party the audience is more likely to be distracted, and therefore less likely to ‘tune into’ all of what you have to say. E) POSSIBLE DISTRACTIONS Be aware that apart from the environment, there are many other distractions which may:  have negative impact on your audience  reduce the effectiveness of your presentation For example: - Imagine the impact of having a talent contest or lucky draw scheduled after a serious presentation on the importance of good health. - In such a situation, it is likely that your audience’s minds will drift away from your ideas despite your best efforts to make the presentation on good health interesting, relevant and informative. - In this situation, you may want to either move the entertainment to another time slot or adopt an informal and humorous style for your presentation and leave the ‘serious’ facts for another time. F) OTHER PRESENTERS Whenever you are part of a team of speakers, make sure that you know: what kinds of presentation other speakers will be making, and the issues they will cover. Try to find out: who will be speaking before or after you, and what they will be saying. There is nothing more embarrassing than finding out right before your presentation that: another speaker is going to cover the same information as you, or directly contradict the viewpoint that you have just presented. Imagine a motor car sales manager introducing a new model of sports car in a seminar that is followed by a presentation on the problems of air pollution arising from private cars! There are some factors you would have to consider if you are taking part in a team presentation: 1 Who your fellow presenters are 2 The content of the talk for each of your fellow presenters 3 The visual aids they will use 4 The logical connections between the content of each presenter’s talk 5 The presentation style and language of each speaker. Differences in style can make for an interesting team presentation, but if the styles or levels of formality are too different, the overall message might seem unclear or incoherent. 6 Think, too, about what sequence each speaker should present in. Try to balance personalities, as well as content, and choose strong speakers to begin and to finish with. G ) W H AT H A P P E N S A F T E R T H E P R E S E N TAT I O N You should also have an idea of any special events that occur immediately after your presentation. For example: Will your presentation be followed by a question-and-answer session? Will there be an informal tea break when you can approach your audience and get to know them better? Will there be a voting session on your proposal after your presentation? There may be many factors affecting the effectiveness of presentations, and thus it is important to know as much about the occasion of your presentation as possible. Once you are well aware of what will be happening before, during and after your presentation, you can plan for, and take advantage of, the situation. 2. A N A LY Z I N G THE AUDIENCE FROM THE SITUATION TO YOUR AUDIENCE After gathering the situational details that are specific to the presentation, you should start learning everything you can about your audience to adapt the presentation to their needs and expectations. N.B. Always keep your audience’s concerns in mind as you develop your message. When analysing your audience, you may start by finding common features that enable you to identify with them. The more ways you can link to your audience, the more attractive you will make your presentation. WHY ANALYSE THE AUDIENCE? Before discussing in detail how to analyse the audience, we need to discuss a basic but important question: Why is understanding the audience so critical to successful public speaking? Audience analysis: – a process by which the presenter discovers as accurately as possible what the audience’s needs and interests are. This is important because this helps to guide decisions in different aspects of presentation preparation, e.g. – what topics to select, – what illustrations or examples to use, – how to introduce and conclude the presentation, – what language to use, – what style and tone to adopt, and Knowing your audience will also help you reduce the anxiety as you speak, because you can be confident that you are targeting your presentation accurately. Whenever you are asked to speak you should consider three vital questions about your audience before developing your presentation. – (1) Who will be your audience? – (2) What do I want my audience to know or do after listening to me? – (3) How can I compose and deliver my presentation effectively to achieve my aim? AU D I E N C E R E S E A RC H CONSISTS OF BOTH DIRECT AND INDIRECT METHODS. DIRECT METHODS 1. Interviewing someone who is a member of the group you are talking to. This is a very personal method of gathering basic information. >> Open-ended questions (which start with ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘what’, etc.) can be used to seek no particular response and allow respondents to elaborate as much as they wish. >> Closed-ended questions (e.g. ‘Do you find this new product innovative?’) get a definite answer with a small range of specific answers supplied by the interviewer. 2. Questionnaires. This is a good way of gathering information from a large group. 3. Personal observations. You can attend meetings and observe the responses of your future audience. 4. Previous presenters. Talking to those who have presented to your audience before offers a unique way to learn more about the possible reactions of your audience. INDIRECT METHODS Indirect methods are used to obtain information that needs to be extracted from a mass source of data. Methods include: (a) research using online sources (b) publicity materials such as brochures, articles or newsletters and ask the reader to response. TYPES OF AUDIENCE As a presenter, you may not always be able to find out all the relevant information about your audience. In situations where you lack sufficient information about your audience, you will need to make judgments based on what you know! Understanding the types of audience > helps you to identify the tactics for approaching them. Consider the various types of audience > then adapt the content of the presentation accordingly. Different potential audiences might require > different ways of packaging the presentation. Effective presenters are audience-centred > and they adapt their presentations to reflect the audience’s interests and expectations. Audiences are made up of people with different characteristics, knowledge and concerns. A practical way to classify audience types is to assess their motives and needs for attending the presentations. Three types: Captive audience Voluntary audience Accidental audience CAPTIVE AUDIENCE These audiences have no choice in participating in a presentation and have to be there. They are often found at classes, seminars, meetings and lectures. For example: insurance agents learning about a new retirement plan in a product training session human resources managers attending a mandatory seminar about the new pension policies released by the government There will usually be a potential resistance between the audience and the presenter at these occasions. A smart presenter should understand this situation beforehand and try to acknowledge it at the beginning of the presentation. V O L U N TA RY A U D I E N C E These audiences are often motivated They attend the presentation out of genuine need, and often seek information or useful knowledge. For example: they may be people looking for information that helps them improve sales performance and productivity, enhance the client database, or upgrade their formal qualifications As a presenter, you should be aware of how important it is to build the impression that you are going to fulfil a need which exists among the audience. AC C I D E N TA L AU D I E N C E These audiences have not come to the presentation’s venue specifically to listen to your presentation, but have come for some other reason(s). For example: Shoppers may stop to listen to a marketing officer’s presentation about the benefits of a product in a shopping mall. Identify the type of audience (i.e. captive audience/ voluntary audience/ accidental audience) in each of the following cases: ACTIVITY Case 1: A two-day workshop on Latin dance for social dance lovers ACTIVITY Case 2: High school students attending a school assembly ACTIVITY Case 3: A presentation on child psychology for parents who are concerned about the growth and development of their children ACTIVITY Case 4: An open discussion forum on current affairs, held at a public park every Sunday ACTIVITY Case 5: Teachers who attend the inauguration ceremony of the new school headmaster C R E AT I N G A N AU D I E N C E P RO F I L E A well-prepared talk to the wrong audience has the same bad effect as a poorly prepared talk given to the right audience. It is very useful to create an audience profile for better understanding: who your audience are in terms of their age, gender, culture, social status and education what background knowledge they might or might not have about your topic the audience’s motivations for attending your presentation. The following kinds of information should be included in your audience profile Demographic information Psychological information D E M O G R A P H I C I N F O R M AT I O N All the background information we need to know about the audience: – the age distribution – the gender balance – the occupations and economic status – their rank within their organization – their education level – their cultural/racial/ethnic background Study the following case and conduct a demographic analysis to outline some basic characteristics of the potential audience in this situation. An Asian conference on education is organized for academics and professionals from education. The conference’s main goal is to provide an opportunity for participants to interact with each other. It also aims to provide a place for participants with cross-disciplinary interests related to education to meet and interact with members inside and outside their own particular disciplines. Last year’s conference was attended by more than 900 participants from more than eight Asian countries. ACTIVITY (GROUP DISCUSSION) Age Sex Occupation Nationality Education/Cultural background P S YC H O LO G I C A L I N F O R M AT I O N Also known as psychographic information. It is useful for creating an audience profile Reason: it gives the presenter a fuller understanding of the audience’s motivations, attitudes and needs. (1) How willing is your audience to listen to your message? This depends greatly on the relevance and impact of your message to the concerns and expectations of your audience. For example: For a message about a company’s restructuring plans, an audience with greater job security will probably react very differently to an audience who feel insecure about their jobs Parents are likely to react more positively than teachers to a presentation about assessing the language abilities of secondary school teachers Parents would likely react more negatively than teachers to a presentation explaining budget cuts to secondary school subsidiaries that result in an increase in school fees. (2) What is your audience’s attitude towards your topic? This allows you to speak with some authority, and helps you create genuine empathy with your audience. For example: Suppose you are giving a presentation to parents about a proposal for using English as the medium of instruction in their children’s school. With an initial understanding of their positive attitude towards this proposal, you can plan your presentation so that it captures the audience’s support for the proposal by highlighting the potential benefits of using English for teaching various subjects. (3) How knowledgeable is your audience of your topic? If your topic requires some technical background or specific knowledge to understand, it would be helpful to find out: (1) what percentage of your audience possesses this knowledge, (2) at what level of sophistication. The best way to research your audience’s knowledge about the topic: to ask the person who invites you to present about the audience’s background knowledge. Give your audience some reading matter on essential background information before you present if necessary. 3. A N A LY S I N G YOURSE LF AS A PRESENTER You and your presentation’s content and style are a key part of the presentation’s situation. The more credible you as the presenter look and sound, the more likely it is that the audience will agree with the issues presented. ASSESSING YOUR ABILITY AND CREDIBILITY (1) Whether you have enough knowledge about your presentation topic – Ask yourself: Do you really know enough about the subject? – Do some extra research to sharpen or enhance your own insights, – Collect credible facts to support your views. (2) Whether you have enough time to adequately prepare your presentation – plan well ahead to be sure to have time to prepare your presentation. – write down the tasks in sequence – then schedule time to fulfill each task. (3) Whether you are interested in the subject – If you want to give a good presentation, you should be genuinely interested in your subject. – Reason: You will sound unnatural if you have little or no interest in the topic. (4) Whether you have the reputation or authority to speak on the subject – Select subjects related to your own occupation, profession, interests and personal experience – In doing so, your audience will accept you as authoritative. P R E S E N TAT I O N P L A N N I N G C H E C K L I S T Subject of presentation What is the aim of the presentation? What do you want to achieve? What are the objectives? What action should the audience take following the presentation? Who is the audience? Characteristics Knowledge and experience Reason for attending Attitudes towards the presenter Attitudes towards the subject matter Expectations from presentation Emotions that may be roused What impact do you want to achieve? What medium is appropriate for the presentation? Does the medium use the necessary communication channels? Does the medium match the impact required? Does the medium match the message? Does the medium match the audience? How are you going to get some feedback?