Chapter Sixteen
Small Group,
Business, and
Professional
Presentations
Chapter Sixteen
Table of Contents
Communicating in Groups
Making Decisions in Groups
Making Presentations in Groups
Business and Professional Presentations
Delivering the Presentation*
Chapter Sixteen
Presentational
speaking
Reports delivered by
individuals or groups
within the business
or professional
setting*
Communicating In Groups
Clear communication is vital to working
cooperatively in groups
The quality of a group’s product is often
determined by the competence that each
person brings to a task*
Communicating In Groups:
Effective Group Participants
Being an effective
group participant
requires keeping sight
of the group’s goals
and avoiding behavior
that detracts from
them*
Communicating In Groups:
Effective Group Participants
Eyes on the prize
As a group member, your overriding
responsibility is to help achieve the group’s
goals
Fight the good fight
The best decisions are usually those that
emerge from productive conflict
Productive conflict helps clarify ideas, present
counter-examples, and consider worst case
scenarios*
Communicating In Groups:
Effective Group Participants
Productive conflict is issue-based rather
than personal-based
Personal-based conflict
Conflict in which group members argue
about each other rather than with each other
Issues-based conflict
Productive conflict in which group members
critically debate issues on their merits*
Communicating In Groups:
Effective Group Participants
Avoid groupthink
Groupthink is the tendency to accept
information and ideas without critical
analysis; results from strong feelings of
loyalty and unity within a group
Avoid groupthink by engaging in
productive conflict*
Communicating In Groups:
Effective Group Participants
Adopt constructive group roles
Task roles
Group member’s roles related directly to the
accomplishment of the objectives and mission
of the group
Interpersonal roles
Group member’s “relational” roles that
facilitate group interaction*
Communicating In Groups:
Effective Group Participants
Avoid assuming close up “counter
productive” roles
Counterproductive roles
Negative interpersonal roles which focus
solely on individual needs, which are usually
irrelevant to the task*
Communicating In Groups:
Leading a Group
Capable leadership is critical to the
success of any group
One of the primary responsibilities of the
leader is to set goals and ensure that they
have been met*
Communicating In Groups:
Leading a Group
Set goals
Each member of a group should be able to
answer these questions:
For what purpose does the group exist?
Do all group members understand and accept the
goals?
How close is the group to achieving this purpose?
How well are the activities or functions of the
group aligned with these goals?*
Communicating In Groups:
Leading a Group
Set goals by using the following steps
Identify the problem
Map out a strategy
Set a performance goal
Identify the resources necessary to achieve
the goal
Recognize contingencies that may arise
Obtain feedback*
Communicating In Groups:
Leading a Group
Encourage active participation
Group members may not want to
participate for the following reasons:
Apprehension
Lack of self-esteem
Dominance
Status differences*
Communicating In Groups:
Leading a Group
Leaders can make use of several
techniques to encourage participation
Directly ask members to contribute
Redirect the discussion
Set a positive tone*
Making Decisions In Groups
Effective groups
engage in a
deliberate process
resulting in decisions
that all participants
understand and to
which they are
committed*
Making Decisions In Groups
Group decision-making is best
accomplished through a six-step process
based on the work of John Dewey
Identifying the problem
Conducting research and analysis
Establishing guidelines and criteria
Generating solutions
Selecting the best solution
Evaluating the chosen solution*
Making Decisions In Groups:
Identifying the Problem
This step involves gaining a thorough
understanding of the issue at hand
Each participant should share his or her
perception of the problem with the group
and briefly state what he or she thinks it
is all about*
Making Decisions In Groups:
Research and Analysis
The group may need to research an issue
for several reasons:
To close gaps in information necessary to
analyze the problem properly
To clarify or resolve two or more inconsistent
views or positions expressed by participants
To investigate past solutions to similar
problems*
Making Decisions In Groups:
Guidelines and Criteria
Group participants should establish
criteria by which any solution they
propose will be judged
Establishing guidelines and criteria is an
interactive process that should end in
consensus*
Making Decisions In Groups:
Generating Solutions
This step involves a brainstorming session
in which every member contributes as
many desirable solutions as they possibly
can
No debate and discussion of the merits of
the proposal should occur during this
stage of the decision-making process*
Making Decisions In Groups:
Selecting the Best Solution
Once potential solutions have been
generated, the group can begin to weigh
the relative merits of each against the
criteria agreed on earlier
Select the solution that best meets the
criteria set forth*
Making Decisions In Groups:
Evaluating the Solution
The final step involves evaluating the
group’s solution
Part of evaluating the solution involves reevaluating the criteria and guidelines
against which the solution was measured*
Presentations in Groups
Group presentations are similar to
presentations done individually
In a group presentation, some or all of
the members divide the tasks that would
ordinarily be done by one person*
Presentations in Groups:
Assigning Tasks
Together with the
group leader,
members must
decide who will do
which tasks*
Presentations in Groups:
The Moderator’s Role
Symposiums and panels require the presence
of a moderator, who ensures everyone knows
their speaking responsibilities.
Symposium
A formal meeting at which several speakers
deliver short speeches on related topics
Panel
A group of persons who discuss a topic in the
presence of an audience*
Presentations in Groups:
Consistency of Delivery
Inconsistencies between the presenters’
delivery styles spell failure for group
presentations
Focus on the purpose and nature of the
presentation while isolating the proper
delivery style*
Professional Presentations
Beyond the panel
and symposium,
there are many
other forums in
which groups
deliver their
findings*
Professional Presentations:
Public vs. Presentational
There are clear differences between a
speech given to the public, and a
presentation delivered in a professional
setting
The audience for a presentation can be as
small as three people
Presentational speaking is less formal than
public speaking*
Professional Presentations:
Public vs. Presentational
Further differences between
presentational and public speaking
Topic selection
Audience composition
Audience participation
Speaker expertise*
Types of Presentations
There are five common types of business
and professional presentations:
Sales presentations
Technical reports
Progress reports
Staff reports
Investigative reports*
Types of Presentations
Sales presentations
A presentation that attempts to lead a
potential buyer to purchase a service or
product
Technical report
A report that gives detailed information
about a procedure or device*
Types of Presentations
Staff reports
A report that informs managers and other
employees of new developments that affect
them and their work
Progress reports
A report that updates clients or principals on
developments in an ongoing project*
Types of Presentations
Investigative reports
A report of a study
of a problem that
includes
recommendations,
usually conducted by
an outside agent*
Delivering the Presentation
The range of
delivery styles may
be broader for
presentations than
for speeches*
Delivering the Presentation
Informational style of delivery
A delivery style that is precise, disciplined,
focused, clear, logical, and well organized
Instructional style of delivery
A delivery style that is stimulating, engaging,
consequential, decisive, and action oriented*
Delivering the Presentation
Relational style of delivery
A delivery style that is open, candid, honest,
believable, and trustworthy
Transformational style of delivery
A delivery style that is emphatic, powerful,
insightful, expansive, and visionary*