Page 149 - Communication in Organizations Basic Skills and Conversation Models

Communication in organizations 138

rest of the presentation. Because it is difficult for the audience to understand what the
subject of the presentation will be, it is useful to give a clear overview during the
introduction of the order in which the subject will be handled and the time that is
required. The audience then knows what to expect and when they can ask their questions.
The middle section consists of the core of the presentation and takes up about 80 per
cent of the available time. The middle section is constructed according to the goal of the
presentation. For example, if presenters wish to clarify a problem, they can list its causes
and consequences and discuss them one by one. Should they wish to give a historical
overview, then they could do this in chronological order. If presenters have to defend a
standpoint, they can first list all the arguments that lead up to it, or they can first explain
the standpoint and then mention the arguments that support it. Should presenters wish to
ask for audience cooperation, they should first give an explanation of the necessity of the
activities and then handle the process of affairs in a logical order.
During the preparation presenters structure their presentation and sometimes make a
complete written version of it. However, reading out a written version often leads to
audience boredom. To prevent this risk it is useful to note key words in the margin of the
text that briefly summarize it. Giving the presentation using these key words allows
presenters more opportunity to use common language. It looks as if they are speaking
spontaneously, which is often more interesting for the audience. Should they suddenly
lose the thread of the presentation, then they can always return to the written out text. It is
self-evident that with this method presenters have to arrange their papers carefully to
avoid nervous shuffling.
For the closing of the presentation, presenters need the last 10 per cent of the time. In
this phase they should return to the question posed in the introduction. It is important that
presenters come to solid conclusions, with a short repetition of the arguments already
given. With the very last sentence the presenter can profit from the knowledge that
people are equally alert, and remember a lot of information, at the end of the speech as
they are at the beginning. Thus, the closing sentences can leave an ineradicable
impression.

The audience
It is important that presenters realize in advance what the level of education of their
audience is and have some knowledge of their colloquial language. Then they will be
able to adapt their presentation to the (intellectual) level of the audience. People’s
abilities to abstract and generalize are dependent on their level of education and culture.
The higher the level of education of the members of the audience, the easier presenters
can make use of theoretical concepts. However, in most cases they would really have to
make an effort to illustrate their presentation with concrete examples. Furthermore,
presenters have to try to make an estimation of the prior knowledge of the audience in
advance. If they are being confronted with the subject for the first time, then presenters
will have to start by giving certain basic information. Finally, it can be useful for
presenters if they are aware of the attitude that the audience adopts regarding the
presentation of the subject and regarding the organization which they represent.