Week 8 DiscussionCOLLAPSE Presentation Preparation Next week, you will give your presenta

 Week 8 DiscussionCOLLAPSE

Presentation Preparation

Next week, you will give your presentation. Your goal is to feel confident about your topic. However, as you read this week, some people fear public speaking more than death.

First, identify the topic and audience of your persuasive presentation.

Second, considering the course materials for this week, describe the strategy you will use to hold your audience's attention, establish credibility, and convey nonverbal emotions. For example, how will you keep your nerves calm? How will you make sure you cover each point you want to make? How will you use effective hand gestures, exert the right tone, and speak with confidence? How do you stay within the time limit? Discuss why you chose that strategy. 

Post your initial response by Wednesday, midnight of your time zone, and reply to at least 2 of your classmates' initial posts by Sunday, midnight of your time zone.​

Optional: Feel free to upload and share your PowerPoint presentation with your class for feedback this week.

1st response

 RE: Week 8 DiscussionCOLLAPSE

  Preparing Presentation

Topic: Effective Communication

Effective communication in an organization plays a crucial role in the long-term prosperity of that firm. For this reason, it is of the essence for members of an organization to understand why they need to ensure they communicate effectively with each other. My presentation will focus on effective communication in organizations at all times and why it is important.

Strategy

My presentation will be either successful or unsuccessful, depending on the strategy I apply when presenting to the audience. Since I want to capture the audience's attention, the best strategy I can use in this presentation is storytelling. Most lecturers and even guest speakers usually communicate via storytelling. Similarly, I would use a storytelling strategy because it captures the audience's attention by placing them in my world. By telling a narrative that relates to effective communication, I will gain the audience's attention and ensure they are concentrating during my presentation.

It is not easy to establish credibility with an audience I have never engaged with before. However, with certain steps, I can build credibility that makes the audience want to listen to my presentation. For instance, I will have to dress the part for credibility, ensure I maintain eye contact, provide my credentials, and set up a common ground with the audience. Additionally, I will establish credibility by ensuring every member of the audience can hear me talk irrespective of where they are sitting.

Conveying non-verbal emotions is a complex activity that will lead to a presenter losing their credibility if not done right. In this sense, I have to convey non-verbal emotions by ensuring my voice is audible, presenting with facial expressions, and ensuring there is personal space between the audience and me as a presenter. Secondly, I can convey non-verbal emotions via gestures. Gestures such as using my hands while speaking, beckoning, pointing, and waving can help me convey non-verbal emotions. Furthermore, I can use eye contact as a significant way to create visual sense with the audience. Presentations are considered dismal if the presenter fails to maintain eye contact with the audience when speaking. The way I will look at the audience will communicate several things, such as affection and interest. In this sense, these ways can help me convey non-verbal emotions while presenting.

Another issue that I have to consider while presenting is ensuring I cover every point regarding effective communication. Some presenters have been linked with increased speeches and storytelling, making them forget there is limited time to talk about certain points. For this reason, notably, I have to be very careful not to waste my time presenting because I chose the storytelling strategy. Thus, I will have to inquire regarding how much time I have to establish a presentation time plan. A time plan will help me allocate time for each point I am supposed to cover and ascertain that I do not spend a lot of time on one point. Time planning is one of the best techniques for ensuring that  I talk about each point I have concerning effective communication as a presenter.

Additionally, speaking with confidence is another issue that I must take into consideration. In presentations, confidence is one of the most common elements that drive a presenter to success. The fact that the audience can note when a presenter is not confident makes it worse. Therefore, I have to display confidence while speaking by visualizing it ahead of time and ensuring that I prepare efficiently for the presentation. Excellent preparation will help me speak fluently and confidently without getting nervous.

2nd Response

   RE: Week 8 DiscussionCOLLAPSE

Topic

Words That Shook the World – An examination of famous communicators and the proclamations which altered the course of our history.

I chose this topic as it is relevant to the course, and I believe it would be interesting to dissect famous examples of communication that helped shape our society. The presentation is aimed at an audience consisting of my classmates.

Strategy

To grab the audience’s attention, I plan to open my presentation with an appeal to pathos (Singh, 1). I hope to evoke emotion by using examples of verbal, written, or illustrative communication which will be familiar to the class, which should allow them to recall a decisive time or place in our history.  

To establish credibility, I intend to include data, statistics, and changes initiated by communication. I will show the communication’s cause and effect, so to speak, and reinforce my presentation's ethos (Singh, 1).

I intend to use body language and avoid ‘fidgeting’ to convey nonverbal communication (2). Additionally, I plan to include illustrations and pictures to bolster the audience's multisensory experience (Gallo, 3). The aim is to appeal to more than merely a single sense (Gallo, 3).

To stay calm, I plan to employ the techniques and exercises detailed by Allison Shapira in her YouTube video entitled, “5 steps to calm your nerves right before a speech” (3). These include:

• Finding a quiet place.
• Getting rid of nervous energy.
• Centering oneself.
• Reminding oneself, “why me.”
• Running through the opening and closing.

I will use slides to complement the presentation (2) and cover all the main points. I will prepare well (Morgan, 5) to avoid losing sight of any topics I intended to cover. This preparation will include deciding on the tone of the presentation and the presentation’s timeframe. I will focus on avoiding the overuse of hand gestures, as these tend to draw the audience’s attention (2).

To maintain confidence, I intend to “stay in my lane” (Gallo, 3). It is far easier to project confidence when one is authentic, open, and transparent.

References:

1. Khushboo Singh. 2019. How to Harness the Power of Persuasion to Improve Communication. Thrive Global. https://thriveglobal.com/stories/how-to-harness-the-power-of-persuasion-to-improve-communication/
2. JWI505. Week 8. Lecture Notes
3. Carmine Gallo. 2014. Talk Like Ted
4. Gwen Moran. 2019. 5 TED Talk Strategies to Be More Compelling at Work. Fortune. https://fortune.com/2019/09/25/ted-talks-public-speaking-tips-strategies/