Page 153 - Communication in Organizations Basic Skills and Conversation Models

Communication in organizations 142

Another possibility is to animate the spoken text with slides, videotapes or films.
Often when using slides a great deal must be explained, whereas in contrast videotapes
and films speak for themselves.
The major advantage of the use of these aids is that they are already available during
the preparation phase and need only to be inserted at the right moment. In addition, they
often give a lot of information in a short time, which remains better in the audience
memory through the use of a combination of words and pictures. A description of the
technical use of the different aids is beyond the scope of this text. If plugs need to be
placed in sockets, one had better read the manual of the specific appliance rather than this
book. We also omit here the practical use and many problems that can present
themselves. The only comment we wish to make is that it is very irritating for the
audience if the appliance does not work, or the user fiddles clumsily with the appliance.
Also regarding this point, a solid preparation where the different aids have already been
tested increases the chance of a successful presentation.

Dealing with reactions

When speakers have finished their presentation they may expect questions and
comments. There are various ways in which they can stimulate the asking of questions
and the making of comments and giving of criticism. The first way is by giving the
audience the opportunity to ask questions if the presentation is not clear. The second way
is by asking the audience to wait with their questions and comments until the presentation
has been rounded off.
The advantage of the first way is that lack of clarity can be immediately solved. The
audience thus remains very much involved in the story. But there are also a number of
disadvantages related to this method. The audience often asks for further explanation that
would have come up in the continuation of the speech anyway. Some listeners miss a
little piece of information that will be repeated in a summary that still has to come.
Members of the audience often think associatively. If they are informed of a situation
they think of something similar and want to go into this. Different members again want to
ride their hobbyhorses, and try to get attention on this via a question. Allowing questions
to arise spontaneously can make the presentation very messy. The presenter loses the
thread each time and the majority of the listeners are distracted from the direction of the
speech. A solution for this is to ask the audience to react at once if there is a lack of
clarity, but to hold their questions on the subject matter and comments for the discussion
after the presentation. If one of the audience still makes comments on the subject matter
during the speech, presenters can use the skill of ‘situation clarification’ (see p. 28). They
could say, for example: ‘I notice that you are posing a point to be discussed on the subject
matter. Although I can imagine that it is interesting for you to get into this now, I would
like to propose that you hold that point a moment, until I have finished my presentation.
Do you agree with me?’
After their presentation presenters can expect various sorts of reactions. There are
different kinds of questions. An interested listener may ask for some extra information;
another might ask for the presenter’s opinion; and there are questions from listeners who
seem set on the goal of not letting a single opportunity pass without contributing their