What constitutes an outstanding presentation instead of a mediocre one Essay Example for Free

What constitutes an outstanding presentation instead of a mediocre one Essay Presentations, are defined as the simplest collection of ideas that help persuade, inform or motivate people (Stevenson, 2002, p. 3). In the past, presentations were simply concerned with a monotonous display of bullet-point lists, to convey the speaker’s train of thoughts. Today, technology has encouraged a broad variety of presentation mediums: standalone presentations on the Web, loop presentations to show repeatedly at trade show booths, burning of CD’s of a presentation to distribute to a wide audience, adding of sound, animation, and even video to the slides (Stevenson, 2002, p. 3). The purpose of this paper is to outline what marks the difference between an outstanding, and a mediocre presentation, and to analyze the critical factors that go in the making of one. The term â€Å"outstanding† doesn’t really convey the right impression since the overall aim of effort applied in making a presentation, is to achieve some sort of desired result. For this, we shall use the term â€Å"winning† presentation for our remaining discussion. The desired result examples can be as follows (Stevenson, 2002, p. 3): 1) Outlining of timeline and deliverables of the product launch to the manufacturing team. 2) Teaching the sales force about the feature and benefit of the new product so that they can sell better. 3) To make a business case for the potential market for the new product to gain financing from investors. 4) To introduce new products to customers. So, what makes a presentation mediocre? Different communication experts have their own opinions drawn from personal experience. But, for the sake of all-inclusivity, we shall outline the most typical characteristics of mediocre presentations that not only fail to produce results, but are commonly labeled dull, dry and boring- no euphemism required for a situation where the audience is compelled to doze off because the presentation failed to capture their interest. ANR Communication Services at the University of California, have outlined Seven Deadly Sins of PowerPoint presentations (ANR, 2006): 1) Length: It is not necessary to utilize the whole time allotted, in fact the winning presentation should always aim at delivering a message as fast as possible. The common refrain is that some speakers tend to â€Å"warm-up† with a windy introduction that noone bothers to pay attention to. It is always advisable to hit bottom-line directly, and come â€Å"straight to the point†. 2) Bad visuals: Bad visuals come in several categories, but their general definition lies in a sheer ignorance of aesthetics. E. g. using elaborate graphics which have no connection to the subject matter, and were included just in order to cast an impression of technical know-how. Other examples are sandwiching too much information in very little space, and using illegible fonts against an atrocious background. Other sins are: 3) Not sticking to the main point: Too many speakers have a habit of digressing from the subject, and beating around the bush, an exercise that can be really testing on the audience’s patience, and defeat any chances of success with the presentation. 4) Too many numbers: Even technical presentations can do better without an overdose of figures and numbers. It is a common misconception for many people, that a bombardment of numeric data using charts and graphs would illustrate the monumental effort they put in, in order to create the presentation. Charts and graphs, and figures are meant to support some conclusion, but in no way should they be the only reason for the presentation to exist. 5) Technical failure: Too many presentations have been ruined due to glitches such as the Projector not working (that too after spending considerable time in making one presentation). It is always advisable to double-check before final show. 6) Not summarizing: If the presentation fails to summarize the key points discussed, the entire purpose is defeated because audience memory is short. The speaker needs to tell the audience what was the underlying conclusion for them having met. 7) Inadequate rehearsal: This goes with Point no. 1 and 6. Other useful ideas worth mentioning are David People’s recollections from interactions with IBM executives (People, 1992, p. 20): 1) Showing information, and then â€Å"apologizing† in advance – it conveys the impression that the speaker is not confident about the subject matter, and kills the very purpose of presentation. 2) Not explaining any reason why the subject has any value to the audience – such an act can convey a total disregard for audience time. In order to round up our discussion on mediocre presentations, it is important to mention common technical characteristics of such presentations (OneVision UK, 2004): 1) Slide transitions and sound effects; when unnecessary they can become a pain in the neck for they divert the focus of the audience from the central theme. 2) Standard Clip-Art which shows a clear lack of creativity on behalf of the presenter who could have done better by including more relevant graphics. 3) Presentation templates – unless there is no other alternative, these should be best avoided. 4) Reading the presentation – a speaker should have extempore communication skills, otherwise the presentation can be very boring. A winning presentation does not repeat the common fallacies mentioned for mediocre presentations as above. Also, a winning presentation has a persuasive style that impresses with its tone, content, representation and output (People, 1992, p. 45). To tell the difference between the two, Tom Sant from the American Management Association, reviews the scope and utility of a winning presentation, which should take into account the following considerations (Sant, 2004, p.12): 1) It is not a blind price quote. 2) It is not a bill of materials, project plan or scope of work. 3) It is not about the history of a product. The watchword, here is â€Å"influencing† of client (Sant, 2004, p. 17). Each time a presentation is made, the objective is in terms of thinking about the long-term influence that the presentation will have on the client, something that requires a lot of introspection on part of the presenter. Thus, presentations should be looked at as â€Å"tools and opportunities† (Sant, 2004, p. 17) rather than a summary judgment on a particular subject. Having clarified the differences between the two types of presentations, we shall look into the key ingredients of winning presentations. Structurally, a winning presentation comprises of two parts: the formal (one-way) episode followed by a question and answer session (two-way) (Gilchrist Davies, 1996, p. 3). As a bench rule, the presenter must allow at least 3 times the time allotted for one-way communication. This time is utilized for discussions, development of conceptual ideas, generating feedback, and general brainstorming. Also, a competent presenter is able to perform well in three areas of communication (Gilchrist Davies, 1996, p. 5): 1) Non-verbal i. e. body-language. 2) Verbal i. e. fluency of language and intonation. 3) Visual i. e. computer screens, slides and paper-based accompaniments. A competent presenter must have enough behavioral science knowledge so that he is able to control the crowd, in case a heated argument is generated. Contentwise, a winning presentation offers ample room for independent thinking, and allows plenty of flexibility in terms of omissions and adjustments. The objective is, that the presentation must â€Å"flow† in terms of ideas, an exercise that builds continuous credibility for the presenter (Sant, 2004, p. 29). Thomas Leech, at the American Management Association, has identified the following guidelines to delivering a winning presentation, which he calls â€Å"fundamental keys† (Leech, 2004, p. 11): 1) Prior preparation: According to several top-key executives, the biggest blunder a presenter makes when he declares that he didn’t prepare well. 2) Self-belief: It is important to convey â€Å"sincerity and honesty† through the effort made. 3) Knowing one’s purpose – the bottom-line. 4) Having a focused central theme: The audience came with a purpose. It is important to shell out the central theme at the very start of the presentation, so that people are able to develop connections. 5) Knowing your audience and tailoring the presentation according to their needs: A presentation has to be varied depending upon the possible expectations of audience. Also, age-groups have to be taken into account. Other fundamental keys are: 6) Early summarizing for time-pressed audience. 7) Reinforcement of central belief: The central theme should be backed up with substantial evidence, to make the presentation idea seem rock-solid. 8) Visual effects: It is important to ensure that visuals add, and not blur presentations. 9) Consider Murphy’s Law: This is what happens in real-life scenarios. According to Murphy’s First Law, if anything can go wrong, it will! So, it’s always advisable not to take chances with defective areas of presentation. 10) Making the delivery personal and passionate: A competent presenter is always able to connect with the audience. Instead of begging the question, he tries to convince the soundness of his ideas through passionate and compelling discussions, the most successful ingredient of winning presentations. That was presentation, but from a preparation point of view, a successful PowerPoint presentation must undergo a preliminary review, keeping following things in mind (Negrino, 2005, p. 9-107): 1) Writing the presentation: It is always advisable to start with an outline of the entire content, and using features like the Research Pane to make slides. 2) Gathering images and sound files: The graphics and animation part should be done, avoiding the loopholes mentioned in mediocre presentations. 3) Picking a design: It is important to pick a slide design, apply the layouts, and adjust text location for aesthetic appeal. Other attributes are: 4) Working with text: Editing slide text, formatting slide text (font, color, etc. ), aligning slide text (left, center, justified), changing line space (again it depends on aesthetic requirements.), using numbered (bulleted) lists, adding hyperlinks and text-boxes, 5) Illustrating the presentation: This involves adding images, clip art, using the drawing tools, adding relevant diagrams, charts, tables etc. 6) Making it move: This envisages adjustments in slide order, setting slide transitions, adding custom animation and summarize slide effects. 7) Preparation: The presentation should always be reviewed by a colleague, especially if it’s very important. It is useful to make printed notes for the speaker, and slides and handouts to the audience. Summary: On a final note, the weight of a good presentation, apart from key points mentioned in this paper, depend a lot on the individual presenter’s qualities, what are known as â€Å"gestures† (Arrendondo, 1991, p. 73). It is important to state that appropriate gestures and movements add meaning to a message, and mark the difference between a â€Å"winning† and a â€Å"mediocre† presentation. The gestures should convey a positive energy, and enthusiasm in the subject, and be manifested through the presenter’s self-belief.

The Economic Effects Tourism Has on New Zealand Essay -- New Zealand T

The Economic Effects Tourism Has on New Zealand The following report provides an accurate and informative overview of the nature of tourism, its history and growth, the structure of the New Zealand industry and the impact of tourism from a New Zealand perspective. The report will draw a conclusion which Highlights area of consideration in tourism planning. Conclusion and Recommendations For New Zealand tourism has a lot to offer but at the same time, care has to be taken not to mistreat it. The social and cultural impacts of tourism on New Zealand so far have been on the whole beneficial but as tourism continues to grow this could change. Non-economic benefits of tourism are maximized when visitors and hosts share mutual interests and when trade is relatively small. However these factors limit potential tourist markets and income. One solution to this problem could be promotion of New Zealand as a high quality destination at a higher price, i.e. less tourists spending more money. New Zealand tourism is largely reliant on 'Eco-tourism' so to maintain the tourism industry it is imperative that our environment is conserved. However tourism itself can have negative effects on the environment. The tourism sector must act responsibly in its use of the environment and any use must be sustainable. It is the economic effects of tourism which bring the most benefit to the host nation. Tourism is a low import user which means more of the money earned here stays here. The government is earning money through tourist taxes such as the airport tax, increased export earnings and income tax revenue from people employed by the industry. A balance must be struck between these benefits and associated negative impacts on the community and the environment. If New Zealand is to see more growth in tourism we must try and make the country more attractive to visit. More flights, low visa requirements, favorable exchange rates are all facilitators that will make New Zealand more appealing. With a high level of promotions overseas that will motivate tourists to think of our country as a destination which will be able to satisfy their needs. The Nature of Tourism There is not really a universally accepted definition of tourism. In 1994 the World Tourism Organization (WTO) revised its definition. It says the tourism comprises of 'the activities of persons travelli... ...ourism has an influence on most areas of society, employment, environment, health, economic stability and quality of life. Therefore it is the concern of governments, the public sector, is to ensure the negative consequences is minimized. At the 1968 UN Conference on International Travel and Tourism it was made clear the government intervention and management is required for the smooth running tourist activities between countries. In New Zealand the biggest participants in creating the creating the tourism product are from the private sector, that is individual operators like airlines, accommodation chains, attractions and tour operators. These sectors have their own organizations. For example hotels are represented by the Hotel Association of New Zealand (HANZ). The sales sector has groups like the travel agents Association of New Zealand or the Inbound Tourism Organizations Council. In Turn they all feed into the New Zealand Tourism Industry Association (NZTIA). The NZTIA can then represent their interests to the New Zealand Tourism Board (NZTB) , which is the country's national tourism Organization, or the ministry of commerce, which is responsible for tourism legislation.

Online English Grammar Lessons

The mentioned skills must be reactive by every applicant in order for them to enhance their skills not only in Job seeking but also in their work field. Minor Statements These are specific problems of company's current system: Hassle in typing the applicant's data on the database due to lack of people (Maximum of 2 senior recruitment specialists per recruitment office) Lack of information about the nature of the Job Hassle in answering the application form manually before they will have their initial interview at the same day. 1. 4 ObjectivesThis study intends to develop an Online English Grammar Lessons for aspiring call center applicants. 1. 4. 1 . General Objective The main objective of the study is to design an interactive e-learning system, in order to provide accessible teaching method that can be easily integrate by the end user into the training program. The ultimate goal is to design comprehensive teaching tools specifically designed to the development of the end user's comm unication skills particularly in grammar through the contents of Online English Grammar Lessons.Specific Objective The proposed system specifically aims to: 1 . Helps to use the English language effectively in grammar. 2. To enable assimilate the correct patterns of the language. 3. Knowledge of the underlying ‘rules' of grammar 4. To develop insight into the structure of English language. 5. To enable the assimilate the correct patterns of the language. 6. To develop the mental abilities of reasoning and correct observation. 1. 4. 3. Scope and Delimitation SCOPE This study mainly focused on the development of one's communication skills using inline teaching approach of English grammar lessons.The study will include online registration for those who are aspiring applicants of the said company. This study looked into a better impact of using technology today, it can help our beneficiaries to know the differences of using manual system to a computerized generation today. Communi cation skills development consists of wide range of topics. The researcher limited this research to the development of pronunciation and diction of the applicants.

Importance of Water in The Awakening Essay - 1475 Words

Importance of Water in The Awakening Kate Chopins The Awakening begins set in Grande Isle which is the summer get-away for a few families of New Orleans upper-class. It is a community of cottages owned by the Lebrun family. Edna Pontellier and her husband Leonce summer there with there two children. This is the setting where Edna also develops a close relationship with Robert Lebrun. He is one of Madame Lebruns sons who helps her run the cottages for the Pontelliers and the Ratingnolles. The book begins and ends with Edna and her attraction to the water. Throughout the story water plays a symbolic part in the unfolding of Edna and her relationship to Robert and also her awakening to a new outlook on life along†¦show more content†¦Edna is very passionate and critical of her painting. After Adele has a fainting spell from her long day and retires inside Robert invites Edna to join him on the beach to bathe in the heat. Edna looks toward the water and feels a draw to it. The water is a source of stren gth for Edna she follows Robert down to the welcoming Gulf. Edna can not understand why she wants to go with Robert down to the water nut she feels drawn and the conflicting impulses which would steer her away from the proposal seem to disappear. Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to understand her position in the universe as a human being. Edna, up until now, had been going through the motions of being a wife, mother and woman in the society in which she has lived. The ocean to Edna is a place where she feels comfort and although she does not fully understand why she is drawn to it, she goes. She likes the way the water feels when she enters it with Robert. It is a new feeling for her. Edna also finds comfort in spending time with Adele whom she adores. They spend some time together on the beach to escape Robert one time and talk. The two become close friends. Edna tells Adele that looking over the beach and the water reminds her of her days in Kentucky as a child. This time with Adele at the beach looking over the water also helps to further spark Ednas passion as a painter. Grand Isle is host to a large celebration, in which families dance together, eat ice cream andShow MoreRelatedEssay about Importance of the Ocean in Chopins Awakening874 Words   |  4 PagesImportance of the Ocean in Chopins Awakening      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Kate Chopins novel, The Awakening, Chopin uses the motif of the ocean to signify the awakening of Edna Pontellier. Chopin compares the life of Edna to the dangers and beauty of a seductive ocean. Ednas fascinations with the unknown wonders of the sea help influence the reader to understand the similarities between Ednas life and her relationship with the ocean. 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