3B. Effective Presentation_021503
Communication may be viewed as the change in a human being as the result of
transfer of information. No change, no communication. The objective of an effective
presentation should therefore be the achievement of such change. Your task is generally to
take ideas and to insert them into the world of ideas and perceptions of an audience and to be
sure that the ideas are perceived in the way you want them to be perceived. The idea is to be
convincing and to learn the techniques and skills in convincing others of your point of view,
or changing your point of view because you have become convinced.
I. Strategies
A. Instinctively operate from a position of strength
1. Allow yourself routes for strategic withdrawal when you discover you are
confused or possibly wrong
2. Don't fight to maintain untenable positions. You’ll get a reputation for either
not knowing when you are off the paradigm or for being stubborn in the face of
convincing arguments.
3. Consider alternatives before they occur. Think: possibilities, plausibilities,
probabilities. These are all different from “proven”. The technique of “strong
inference” and a priori consideration of “all” possibilities is an extremely
powerful intellectual device. The paradigm is the basis for listing these
possibilities.
B. Develop flexibility
1. Multidimensional thinking. Try to remember the global ideas.
2. Be willing give up conventional thinking when faced with a situation outside
the conventional paradigm, but only after systematically eliminating all other
possibilities.
II.
Understanding audiences
A. Become aware of the paradigms that control the thinking of the audience. If they are
different from yours and you are unaware of this fact, you’re not going to be effective.
B. Never overestimate your level of expertise on your subject.
C. Work the percentages. You must be fluent in literature results and previous experience
when presenting results. You should be prepared to defend your data and parameters
with respect to precedents. If you are unable to answer a question during a given
presentation, be sure to give the answer at the next one.
D. Some safe assumptions:
1. The other person is self-centered
a. Your words will be interpreted in terms of his/her experience
2. The other person is self-defensive
a. He/she will react to anything that you say that is threatening
b. He/she will disagree as a reaction to the threat
3. The other person is usually unaware he/she is self-centered and self-defensive
a. Your job is to make the person feel secure
III. The multidimensional approach
Why does a perfectly logical, clearly presented, and well-substantiated idea fail
to be accepted? No written or spoken word is purely rational. Every human
exchange occurs at four levels:
A. Emotional or psychological level
B. Physical or sensory level
C. Rational or logical level
D. Scientific and professional level
E. Each dimension must be recognized for effective communication
IV. Understanding human communication
A. Formulating an objective
B. What is the specific thing you wish to accomplish?
C. What do you want to get into the mind of the audience?
D. What do you want the audience to know that they do not know?
E. How do you react to the presentation of others?
F. How would you improve them?
G. Must proceed in small increments
H. Must produce intellectual cause and effect patterns (graphs)
1. Are an idea and an observation connected or not?
2. How are the connections established?
3. How do you test whether you have succeeded in communicating?
V. Making an outline
The main advantage of an outline is that it clearly distinguishes between main
ideas and their supportive parts, and it effectively displays subordination in a
clear visual way. An effective outline can serve as an important tool for
research, as a communication vehicle, as a test of idea validity, consistency,
logic and cohesiveness, as a test for completeness or for the occurrence of
omissions of data and information and as a vehicle for dividing a presentation
into workable parts. In establishing an outline you are searching for the identity
of individual segments of the outline, means to strengthen ideas, arguments
and data that will prove connections between ideas and observations.
A. Characteristics
1. Focused and specific in items
2. Functional, allow planning and understanding, a working tool
3. How do you make good introductions and conclusions?
B. Format
1. Title
The title must gain the respect and understanding of the audience or
they may go no further. It should be an idea package and an attention
getter. Selection should either come at the end of the completion or
modified at the end. A good title will provide information, pique
curiosity, establish a relationship, isolate ideas, and provide an
introduction to the outline.
2. Audience evaluation
a. What is possible to accomplish?
b. What is the audience to receive?
c. How would you measure it?
d. What are the specific assumptions of the audience ability?
3. Statement of objective
4. Statement of thesis
a. An objective converted into an audience attraction
b. The basis for audience interest
5. Introduction
6. Presentation
a. Sentence outline of each point (forces logic sequence)
b. Clarify pattern, logic flow and idea relationships
c. Divide presentation into workable tasks
d. Provide means for transitions and cohesiveness
7. Conclusion
C. Some Criteria of Effectiveness of Outline Components
1. Functional (how does it move ideas toward objectives?)
2. Relevant (how does it relate or apply to objective?)
3. Clear (is it comprehensible?)
a. You cannot be clear if you are outside the paradigm
4. Valid (does it meet the test of the paradigm?)
5. Appropriate (does it meet a specific need of the objective?)
6. Efficient (does it prove, reinforce, provide perspective, etc?)
7. Accurate (what is the precision and what are the controls?
D. Some Common Pitfalls
1. Apologetics
a. Don't apologize for being unprepared
i. If you are prepared, you don't have to apologize
ii. If you are not prepared, it will be obvious
2. Subjectivity
a. Failure to have a broad perspective
b. Failure to appreciate audience's paradigm and mindset
3. Diffuseness and Fussiness
A good way to eliminate this pitfall is to use geometry and
mathematics. All the chemical ides that we employ can be expressed in
terms of a "picture" or an "equation". Failure to be able to do so is a
characteristic of diffuse and fussy chemical thinking. When the "right"
picture is drawn, everything makes sense.
a. Failure to focus on well defined idea compositions
b. Failure to integrate ideas
c. Failure to define terms understandable to the audience
d. Failure to provide concrete examples
e. Failure to think multidimensionality
4. Over or Under Emphasis
a. Failure to give an appropriate weight to given data
b. Overstatement is an invitation to challenge
5. Slopiness
a. Failure to run the proper controls
b. Failure to appreciate the limitations of a method
c. Failure to achieve proper statistics
d. Failure to have executed a proper literature survey
e. Failure to have availed one's self of local expertise
6. Mechanics
a. Diction
i. The audience must hear you and understand you
b. Illustrative Material
i. Blackboard
a) Failure to properly utilize space on a blackboard
b) Failure to write legibly
c) Failure to take advantage of color
ii. Transparencies
a) Failure to produce a proper transparency
b) Failure to recognize body position relative to audience
iii. Powerpoint
a) _
b) _
c) _
d) _
e) _
VI. Introduction
A. The first perception of an idea is very important
B. Give ideas integrity by thinking topologically
1. Composition, constitution, configuration, etc.
C. To the extent possible bridge your ideas to the audience's
1. Relate to ideas familiar to the audience first
D. Structures for introductions
1. Statement of a problem
2. Statement of an impressive fact or idea
3. Statement of a history
4. Statement of an impressive claim
5. Statement of a thought-provoking question
E. Statements of Idea Structures
1. Problem-solution
2. General-specific
3. Specific-general
VII. Presentation
A. Minimize tables and mathematical expressions. Maximize graphs and chemical
equations and physical interpretations.
VIII. Summary
A. If you can’t make a summary with a picture or a chemical equation, you probably are
not going to connect with the majority of the audience
IX. Conclusions
A. How do you want your idea to be viewed for the last time?
B. What do you want you audience to take away?
1. Focus attention on the unified, integrated ideas
2. What is known now that was not known before?
C. Tell them what you're going to tell them
D. Tell them what you want to tell them
E. “Tell them what you told them."