The Performing Manager – Sample Syllabus
MCOM-GB.2122
KMC 4-50
Course site found at http://sternnewclasses.nyu.edu
Professor Patricia Bower
Office: KMC/Shimkin 3-104
Office Phone: 212-998-0085
Email: pbower@stern.nyu.edu
Office Hours: by appointment
Teaching Fellow: TBA
Course Overview
Effective managers must motivate and inspire others to follow their “lead.” This course will explore the
seemingly elusive quality often referred to as personal charisma—that hard to pinpoint ability to not only set
a clear direction in an organization, but also, communicate the energy and passion to forcefully engage others
in a process.
“The Performing Manager” will also focus on developing your ability to “tune in” to other people—to attend
to and respond to the multitude of messages that come our way every minute of the day—without falling
victim to information overload.
You will engage in a number of active exercises and performance techniques, borrowed from theatre, sports,
music, and even stand-up comedy in order to:

Connect more viscerally with audiences

Develop concentration and awareness in interpersonal communication

Project enthusiasm in small and large group interactions

Manage performance anxiety in presentations and interviews

Facilitate, in Aristotle’s words, “the dynamic unfolding” of the self within you.
This course will also help you to:

Think more quickly “on your feet”

Listen more attentively in interviews, meetings and presentations

Project full confidence in a variety of business situations
Class will be held in large, carpeted rooms without desks. A lot of the time, you will be up and moving about,
not sitting passively. Come wearing some comfortable clothes that you don’t mind roughing up a bit!
Specifically, you will participate in physical, vocal, and verbal improvisations; deliver presentations at every
class; watch video examples of passionate speakers; explore an array of disciplines that develop focus and
concentration; and learn to use engaging language that holds an audience’s attention, highlights important
points, and motivates listeners. Every student will deliver an individual, final leadership communication
speech on the last day of class.
Required Materials and Text

Leading Out Loud by Terry Pearce. Prentice Hall, 2003. (revised addition). Available at Stern
Professional Bookstore.

Henry V (recommended only) by William Shakespeare. Buy any edition (some available in
bookstore), use your own collection, or obtain it free online at http://thetech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/henryv/full.html
Pre-Work



READ: Leading Out Loud by Terry Pearce (a quick and easy read).
Henry V by William Shakespeare
PREPARE:
1) A short (2 - 3 minutes max.) speech about your greatest personal passion or passions. Tell us about
what you really LOVE or LOVE to DO (within boundaries, of course!). This speech will serve as a
benchmark of your current speaking skills and allow you to set goals for personal development over
the three class sessions. The speech will be taped on streaming video and available online for your
use. You will deliver this speech during the morning of day 1.
2) A second short speech (2 – 3 minutes) about a very thrilling experience. You will deliver this
speech during the afternoon of day 1.
WRITE: Complete the Student Information Sheet, available in Blackboard under “Course
Documents.” Include, on the Information Sheet, a short memorandum about your current strengths in
communication as well as why you are taking this course.
Class Participation
Due to the nature of this class, participation is everything. All of the value of the course will be gained
from the classroom activities. Thus, absence from any class will require you to drop the class. And, as
you can see from the table below, participation counts for 50% of your class grade.
Point Values and Due Dates
Grade distribution will follow the determined standards of the Stern School of Business. Your final grade will
be based on both class participation and your completion of the following assignments:
Item #
Description
Due date
Points
1.
Pre-course information sheet with memo
March 25 in BB
5
2.
Benchmark Presentation, “My Passion”
March 29 in class
*
3.
“Thrilling Experience” Presentation
March 29 in class
*
4.
Video Self-Evaluation of Benchmark and
Thrilling Experience Presentations
April 2, 12 noon in
BB
10
5.
“Business Narrative” Presentation
April 5 in class
*
6.
Written evaluation of executive
communicator or speaker
April 10, midnight, in
BB “Assignments”
5
7.
Intention Model
April 19, in class
10
8.
Final Leadership Presentation
April 19 in class
20
9.
Participation (includes on-time
submission of all items above, full
attendance, on-time arrival in class,
preparation for assigned speeches)
50
TOTAL PTS.
100
Note: * items are not graded, but evidence of full preparation and completion in class will
count as part of your participation grade.
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Class-by-class Overview
Class
#
1.
Date
Sunday,
March 29
Morning
Afternoon
Activities
FOCUS: Course Intro. Warm-up exercises to develop
personal and physical flexibility, concentration, sensitivity
to others, and expand one’s repertoire of physical expression
and interpersonal rapport.
Benchmark Presentations—the “Passion Speech,” recorded
on video using KMC 4-50 and one breakout room.
FOCUS: on non-verbal communication. Mask work (an
exercise developed by the well-known French mime,
Jacques Le Coc). We will work in small groups in KMC 450.
Exercise to learn how to physicalize specific mental images.
“Thrilling Experience” Speeches, incorporating non-verbal
communication techniques. Recorded on video using
breakout rooms—we will do these in two rooms, using
“feedback teams” for discussion and peer coaching.
2.
Sunday,
April 5
Morning
FOCUS: on the voice and speech. Your voice is a window
on your attitudes about yourself. Vocal tone, pitch, rate,
diction, and non-verbal vocalisms say a lot about what lies
beneath the verbal aspect of communication. We will
perform a number of voice exercises to develop breath
support, resonance, and the ability to project one’s voice in
numerous spaces and environments.
Assignments Due
READ: Leading Out
Loud by Terry Pearce
DELIVER:
Benchmark
Presentation (2 minutes
maximum—no visual
aids)
DELIVER:
Thrilling Experience
Presentation (2 minutes
maximum—no visual
aids)
READ: “Henry V” by
William Shakespeare.
PREPARE: to read
aloud or recite one
speech from “Henry
V.”
Video examples of leadership speeches: Shakespeare’s
Henry V with Kenneth Branagh, and other examples.
Practice with script of Henry V incorporating verbal and
vocal techniques.
Afternoon
FOCUS: Using narrative in a business setting—creating
verbal pictures through metaphor and analogy.
Preparation for the Leadership Speech—proposing or
announcing change in an organization. Discussion of
Intention Model.
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DELIVER:
The Business Narrative
Presentation (3 minutes
maximum—no visual
aids)
Class
#
3.
Date
Sunday,
April 19
Activities
FOCUS: Final session. Each student will have the choice
of where to deliver his or her Final Leadership Speech:
Cantor Boardroom, set up with large table and chairs; or a
large classroom with a lavaliere mike.
Morning
Pizza Lunch Provided; debrief of Leadership Speeches
Afternoon
Final session exploring the use of improvisation to improve
team “performance.” We will engage in a variety of
exercises to learn enhanced awareness, listening, and idea
generation in groups.
Course wrap-up and review. Taking the work into the “real”
world.
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Assignments Due
DELIVER: Leadership
Speech (maximum 7
minutes with 2
additional minutes for
Q&A).
Assignments
Assignment #1: Pre-class Information Sheet with memorandum
Goal:
To enable students to set specific, personal objectives for the course.
Task:
Fill out the Student Information Sheet and save it as a Word file. On the sheet, you are asked to include a
short “memo” to me describing your current strengths in communication and the reasons why you are
taking the Performing Manager class. This document is very important, as it will help me guide your
progress in the course as well as help you set specific goals for improvement.
Deliverable
Upload your completed Student information Sheet file to Blackboard “Assignments.” You will find a link
in the assignment itself that will allow you to upload directly to BB. Be sure to click “Submit” after you
attach your file.
______________________________________________________________________________
Assignment #2: Individual Benchmark Presentation—“My Passion”
Due: Class #1—morning
Goal:
To enable students to “benchmark” their speaking skills and begin to get comfortable presenting in the
course.
Task:
Prepare a 2-3 minute “benchmark” oral presentation about something (place, object, that you absolutely
LOVE or something that you LOVE to DO—your PASSION. It could be an activity, hobby, sport,
charity, person, or even a thing—you decide.). Do not plan to use visual aids—use the power of language,
non-verbal communication, and your “performing presence” to convey your ideas. Get us interested in,
and excited about your “passion.”
Deliverable
Deliver your presentation in session one. This presentation will be videotaped for your benefit, but it will
not be graded. It will constitute a portion of your participation grade. We will use a breakout room to
handle all of the presentations. All students will meet in the main classroom, KMC 4-50.
Do not plan to use visual aids.
______________________________________________________________________________
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3. Thrilling Experience Presentation
Due: Class #1—afternoon
Goal
To begin to implement dynamic non-verbal techniques, vivid visualizations and metaphors into oral
communications for the purpose of engaging an audience.
Task / Deliverable
Deliver a short (2-3 min. max) presentation about a very thrilling experience. Engage your audience in
the experience by incorporating specific sensory-based images that can transport listeners into the
experience. Focus on concrete details that your audience can relate to. Devise specific visual, aural,
tactile, olfactory, or kinesthetic metaphors that illuminate the experience and make it more vivid for your
audience.
Incorporate dynamic non-verbal delivery techniques to illustrate and emphasize the images you convey
verbally. We will again use a breakout room for this presentation. Classmates, you’re your TF and
professor will offer feedback.
Do not plan to use visual aids.
______________________________________________________________________________
4. Comparative Evaluation of your Benchmark Presentation and Thrilling
Experience Presentation
Due: December 1; posted in Blackboard “Assignments” section.
Goal: To analyze your strengths and weaknesses in dynamic presentations, based on the learnings to date
in the class as well as your past experience.
Tasks:
1. Watch the video of your presentations. All streamed video URLs will be posted on
Blackboard on the “External Links” page.
2
Fill out the Video Self-Evaluation form, posted in BB, “Course Documents.”
Deliverable
Post your completed evaluation via the “Assignments” section in Blackboard by the date indicated on
page two. Be sure to include YOUR NAME when you name your file (e.g., “BSmith Self Eval”). Also,
put your name on the actual form when you fill it out.
______________________________________________________________________________
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5. Business Narrative Presentation
Due: In class #2—afternoon.
Goal: To develop the ability to integrate narrative into business communications as a way of reaching
audiences’ “right brain.” This exercise will also enhance your facility in using metaphors and analogies to
illustrate complex ideas.
Task / Deliverable:
Prepare a short (3-minute max.) individual presentation that uses a story centers to convey an important
business message. The message could be something you learned on the job—or in any environment—that
will serve your audience in their business careers. In class, we will learn how narratives have been used
for centuries to drive home important points and help audiences remember things. Stories draw in
listeners, engage them in the narrative action, and through the inclusion of images and metaphors, imprint
their memory.
You may not use visual aids; focus on telling your story with words and non-verbal communication
techniques.
______________________________________________________________________________
6. Written Evaluation of Executive Speaker
Due: December 10, midnight; posted in Blackboard “Assignments”
Goal: To develop your critical listening and viewing skills. This assignment will also help you to
formulate your thoughts and observations about what works and what doesn’t work in leadership
communication.
Deliverable:
Individually, write a review of a speaker’s performance using the “Analysis of a speaker” form posted to
Blackboard “Assignments.” You may review any one of the following speaking examples:
1. Guest executive speaker at the Stern School or a Stern Administrator speaker.
2. A video presentation that you find online (with approval) or locate on the handout provided on
BB.
3. An important speech or presentation within your organization, if you are a part-time student
4. A speaker at any NYC lecture series (92nd St. Y, The New School, etc.)
5. Other (with approval)
The document, “Analysis of a Speaker,” distributed in class and posted with this assignment in
Blackboard, includes the criteria on which to build your case.
Grading Criteria:
Content: quality of observations, inclusion of principles learned in class, insight and depth.
______________________________________________________________________________
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Assignment #6. The Intention Model
Due: In class #3
Goal: To set the stage for your final course presentation, The Leadership Speech.
Task:
Base your Final Leadership Speech upon an actual, live business situation today. Choose one of the
speaker/topic/audience options set out in the Final Project Assignment below. Your speech must be
delivered by a leader who is facing a very tough communication challenge.
Fill in the document, The Intention Model,” found in Blackboard “Assignments” as well as in “Course
Documents.”
The first part of the Intention Model will ask you to describe the business situation—company setting,
your role, the audience, and situation that prompts this speech, and a brief description of the background
events that have led to the current communication event.
Deliverable:
The Intention Model. Post it to Blackboard “Assignments,” and bring a printed copy to class on
December 14.
When you deliver your Leadership Speech, prepare to “brief” your audience about the leadership
situation, your role, your designated audience, and the “stakes” in the outcome.
______________________________________________________________________________
Assignment #7. Final Project: The Leadership Speech
Due: In class #3—morning. Each student will have the choice of where to deliver his or her Final
Leadership Speech: KMC 4-50, set up with tables in a horseshoe shape: or KMC 2-60/or similar, a large
auditorium.
Goal
Synthesize and put into practice all that we’ve learned about effective communication in a challenging
leadership setting.
Task
Address a leadership speech to a challenging audience that does not, initially, share your views.
Option 1: Be yourself. But imagine a future audience in a business environment, OR speak to senior
management in the firm you currently work for. Think about the questions posed at the beginning of our
class text, Leading Out Loud by Terry Pearce. Who are you? And what do you want? What is or will be
important to you as a person and as a business professional?
Imagine a change that you would propose, within this future or present real organization, that would be
path breaking and require listeners to alter their current perceptions and common ways of doing things.
For example, you might:
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



Propose a more socially responsible business model that could, at least in the short term, reduce
earnings;
Propose a controversial change in the pension system that could put some older workers and
current retirees in jeopardy;
Propose increasing charitable contributions as a means of managing negative corporate image—
but which would also strain the bottom line;
Suggest reforms in accounting, promotion, organizational structure, culture, etc.
You can choose any topic that you wish. Realistically, all of the above topics are very complex, so to fit
in the seven-minute time slot, you will need to pare the message down to its essentials.
You will address an audience, face-to-face, who will be difficult to persuade. Assume that your
presentation audience knows the situation and background events leading up to the communication.
Consider the following questions in preparing your speech. Use the Intention Model to design your
communication:
 What is your objective? What do you want your audience to think, believe, and do as a result of this
presentation?
 Who are your audience? What do they care about? What interests lie behind the issues at stake, and
how might their interests seem contradictory to yours?
 What does your audience have invested in the status quo? What is at stake in this communication?
 How will your audience react to your speech—think about the pro-con neutrality scale.
 How can you employ the techniques of visual and verbal imagery, as taught in the class, to gain your
audience’s trust, engage their attention and enlist the support of their “first brain”?
You may use a few visual aids, but again, use them only to illustrate or add impact to persuasive points.
Your real task is to be with your audience. It’s not about your slides.
Deliverables
 Individual presentation lasting 7 minutes plus 2 minutes Q&A.
 Completed Intention Model Planner
Option 2: Be yourself, but assume an important student leadership position in the Stern School—
President of the MBA Class of 2008, perhaps. Or SCORP leader. Or…your choice. Present a
controversial idea to an internal Stern School audience proposing a change regarding curriculum, School
mission or strategy, admissions policy, teaching vs. research agenda, etc. Your audience must not
already be sold on this idea.
You must have something personally at stake in this communication—your position, your support from
constituents, your reputation, your future ability to network with fellow students, etc. It has to be
important—not just, “let’s add a new concentration in…X.”
All of the above questions about audience and deliverables apply.
Option 3: Be yourself and assume a leadership role in an external organization such as a civic group,
professional or religious organization, corporate setting, or political action group. Present a controversial
proposal that suggests an important change of policy or direction.
All of the above questions about audience and deliverables apply.
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