keynote presentation

keynote presentation

The Power of Persuasive Keynote Presentations

1. Introduction

An introduction to the concept of influence through presentations to a group of people in an individual or group setting. Presentation Persuasion in the Oxford Handbook of the Self, have found different purposes or motives for self-presentation, using it to manage impressions others form of us, to obtain something from others or induce constraints, and to enable our passage into particular social groups. And what is persuasion? A conscious attempt by individuals to change the attitudes and beliefs of others, altering, reinforcing, or even undermining behaviour. He explains that the eloquence required for successful persuasion in these examples wouldn’t exist if the speaker had not first convinced himself of his personal theory on the matter, and self-persuasion is merely intending to bring about belief change in oneself, through the use of logic, decision making or any other form of attitude change. He identifies persuasion as a form of social influence which seeks to change the way a person thinks and feels with the ultimate result of changing behaviour. Persuasion can occur in different forms, ranging from conscious intentional efforts with full awareness of the attitude change being sought, to unintentional persuasion where the persuader is unaware of the impact he is having on the other person. This provides an overall context for the stages of persuasion, the speaker aiming for a behavioural change through sway-able attitudes, and it portrays how prevalent persuasion is within human interaction. Combining these concepts of persuasion and presentation creates a broad category of one-to-many communication where the hopes and success of influence are high, and the very tool of persuasion is presentation. Presentation may seem a contemporaneous act, but it includes influential forms such as printed material and speech intended for reading, all merely prepared discourse for an intended audience which may be absent and extends over an indefinable time interval. But it is the oral presentation to an immediate audience which I most often engage as presentation, and is the central concern of this research. Step 1 – Intentional Message Management and Persuasion Sperber and Wilson’s theory of Relevance, outlines the cognitive effort an audience undergoes when comprehending an input to extract meaning from it and relates this to a speaker’s efforts of imparting information to an audience.

2. Understanding the Audience

When assessing your audience, it is necessary to consider the different attributes of the individuals who comprise your audience. These factors include age, gender, culture, ethnicity, economic status, education, and group membership. In considering these factors, the most important question to ask yourself is “how will this factor influence the way my audience reacts to my speech topic?” The answer to this question will help you determine the best approach to take in order to effectively convey your message to your audience. A second question to consider is “what are common concerns or issues that are influenced by these factors?” The answer to this question will further help in relating your audience and speech topic towards a defined purpose.

Understanding the audience is the most important facet of the speech-making process. As a speaker, you must be sensitive to the needs and desires of your audience. An audience’s expectations for a speech are based on their knowledge and interest in the speech topic. If they have little interest or knowledge, they will want you to inform them. If they have a great deal of interest and knowledge, they will want you to persuade them. The more you know about your audience, the better you will be able to create a speech that caters to their needs and interests.

3. Crafting a Compelling Message

Transition from message to messenger. The first step in crafting a compelling message is to shift your mindset from what you will deliver to what your audience will receive. Every audience member is thinking the same thing, “What’s in it for me?” Take the time to understand exactly who will be in your audience. What are their attitudes and beliefs about your topic? How will your message affect their feelings about your topic? What are their concerns? What action do you want them to take as a result of hearing your message? The clearer your answers to these questions, the better you will understand what your message must contain in order to be successful. Once you know what your audience’s attitudes and beliefs are at present, decide what you want them to believe after they have heard your message. This is your audience’s destination. Now you need to build a path from the starting point to the destination. This path is your argument. Consider alternative arguments and decide which are best for persuading your particular audience. Now is the time to organize your argument. All too often, speakers develop the body of their speech before thinking about what they want to say. This results in key points of the argument being buried within the speech and general confusion about what the argument actually was. Write your key points down and think about how to make them lead into one another so that your conclusion will naturally follow. Mapping a speech out in a visual way such as a flow chart can be very effective.

4. Effective Delivery Techniques

The content for this section is rooted in the belief that some speaking habits are so powerful that they can make or break a presentation, no matter how good the content. Roosevelt’s speaking habits are what made his fireside chats so successful when communicating with the American public. He took care to stick to the point and to keep his presentations simple and clear. He utilized plenty of examples, analogies, and repetition of key points to ensure that people understood his message. He was extremely conversational in style and very friendly, using first-person language. He would talk about what he personally had been doing to help the American public and would never talk in the third person. He was extremely positive in his speaking and would use humor to get his points across. Humor can do wonders for a presentation by easing tension and engaging the audience. Studies have shown that people who use plenty of humor in their presentations are generally rated as more effective than those who don’t. This is because being funny shows confidence and a lack of nervousness. It lightens the mood and helps to create a bond between the speaker and the audience. Another factor in Roosevelt’s speaking technique, a factor which is in some respects taken for granted today, is his use of the media. With Roosevelt, it was radio; today it is more likely to be television or the Internet. The main point to note here is to look and sound confident. Being confident is a very persuasive characteristic, but being nervous is very persuasive also; people are more convinced by a howling dog than a barking one. This is unfortunate as even being a little nervous can make us lose credibility and with it believability in our message. One way to avoid nervousness is to be well-prepared, know your points and practice. Practice will make you more familiar with your material and hence more confident. A useful technique for appearing confident is to always speak slightly louder than you need to. This has the added bonus of projecting your voice further, ensuring that people can hear what you are saying, and it gives you leeway to emphasize points by raising your voice.

5. Closing Remarks and Call to Action

Tips for the talk are always result-oriented, and today is no different. We have spent our time together exploring the art of persuasive presentations and have been witness to persuasive tactics in our own presentation. Understanding that you are a results-based group, part of my challenge is to initiate action. I want you to make an honest assessment of your persuasive ability, understanding that good is not good enough given that it is your job to win approval for your ideas. Measure the effectiveness of a talk not by the response afterwards that says, “nice job” but by the change in your audience’s opinion or behaviour. Now here has been an opinion-altering session. You are armed with the material to package your arguments more effectively, even manipulate if you so choose. But the tactics of this session should not be implemented haphazardly. Take time to plan a strategy at each of your future persuasive events. Remember the steps from the opening. The most critical choice is the message you will leave with your audience. Now you’ve learned how to package that message effectively. And a year from now when you look back and see great change in your ability as a persuader, don’t be alarmed if you find yourself explaining it away as a mere peripheral change in attitude. After all, we know it wasn’t resistance that you went after. And resistance is futile. Undo behavioural change. Let the Power of Persuasion be your guide.