SPIES R US PRESENTATIONS

Hi everyone! We're on the home stretch now! One last presentation and we're through for the semester!

I want to go through with you the different ways you can deliver your presentations.

(1) Here is our report...blah, blah, blah!
You can appoint one spokesperson or you can all participate by delivering your presentation like a speech. But, aiyoh, this will be very boring! You will need to be very accomplished speakers to be able to carry this off well. I don't expect your group to do well if you choose this method of delivery.

(2) Tada!

You could use a powerpoint presentation together with your presentation. This will be much better than (1). Make sure your slides are not too "wordy", i.e. too many details on one slide. Just give the main points to hit home the message.

(3) O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?

You can use a skit or a short drama to convey the research you uncovered. This will certainly catch everyone's attention. But be careful that you reherse well. If you are unsure of your parts and have too many pauses, then the skit will be ineffective. You can combine (1) and (3) together, too.

(4) Montage

You could use digital photos each representing a facet of your discovery. As each picture is prohected on the screen, you reveal more and more of your findings until the last picture ends your presentation's findings.

(5) MTV

You can put your research findings into a video presentation. If your group gets the full 10%, submit your video to MTV.com and have it listed in their top 5 best videos!

What are some other ways you can make your research data come alive?


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My Best Student Assessment 4 Groups

Hmmm...!?! I have completed listening to 12 tutorial groups give me their presentations on the aging population in Singapore and unemployment or healthcare or retirement, i.e. about 60 Spies R Us groups in all!

Phew!!!

Let me share with you about my best groups and tell you what they did that was really great...Two Spies R Us groups in T70 were really outstanding!

JUDGERS chose to have one person represent their entire group. Their topic was THE AGING POPULATION AND RETIREMENT COSTS in the Singapore context. Their entire presentation was well structured. They gave me the topic of their choice, clearly identified the issues/problems and then proceeded to give me their solutions. They did not ding dong between issues/problems and solutions which would be very confusing to the audience.

They chose a confident speaker. He was not uum-ing or ah-ing. He spoke evenly and clearly throughout the presentation. They gave me two solutions only - well, they may have given more but I heard 2 of them clearly! :-) It may just be 2 solutions, but they really dealt with them in depth. I feel this is better than to give me 10 solutions and not explaining them clearly. This would only reveal your team's weaknesses during the Q & A part of the presentation.

Now for the other group, GROUP 3. They chose THE AGING POPULATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT. They adopted a different strategy. They had EVERYONE play a part!. Is this better than having one person? Maybe. Maybe not! It depends. In this case they made the right decision. Why? Everyone had a clear role/part to play.

The first speaker gave a good intro by informing us of the subject. Then she told us what each team member would be touching on. This gave me a big picture of their presentation. I therefore knew where they started and where they wanted me to end as I followed their arguments. The passing of the presentation parts from one person to another was well done; there were no pauses and each person wasted no time in presenting their part. At the end of their part, they would hand off to the next speaker by explaining what the next person would cover. This was good in that it conveyed to me a sense of continuity in arguments. Another good thing was that they hit my mind and my heart - not literally, or I would be in hospital now writing this! :-) They 2nd speaker gave me the usual facts that I have heard countless times. Ho hum! You need to present the facts, and facts are facts! You can't really present these in very many forms. BUT...they had a great strategy to catch my attention. The facts hit my head - the thinking part. But then their 3rd speaker told a story of an older person who had trouble finding a job - that hit my heart, the feeling/emotional side of me. Well done! The 4th speaker carried the team's argument further by presenting, again, facts! Ho hum! But again, that was necessary. However, he gave another example to show why his argument was important. He mentioned about the Singapore government's emphasis on the need to look forward and to lower expectations. Yes, yes, we hear that stuff all the time in the papers, and over the TV. One ear in and one ear out! But when the speaker used China as an example, it really drove home his point. If the Chinese in China, where the cost of production is still very much lower than ours, are looking forward and are willing to lower expectations so that they can at least have jobs, then we had better change and lower our expectations too! Otherwise we will be so expensive, no one would want to buy what we produce! I found that strategy of facts plus stories or appropriate examples very powerful. The last speaker did a good job in rounding off the arguments.

I hope you will read these last few posts because I know you guys can get very good grades for your Spies R Us presentations. Please do your best! You have nothing to lose but everything to gain!

As you meet in these last few days before your Spies R Us presentations, what are the things you can do to polish your presentations?

*Do a few dry runs.
*Time yourselves. You have 10 minutes.
*Get someone outside of your Spies R Us group to give comments.
*If there is a lot of umm-ing and ah-ing, it shows you are unclear of your part. Clarify it quickly.
*If you exceed your time, is the excess due to too many points or is it due to too many pauses, and wastage when passing from one person to the other?
*How do you decide whether to have 1 presenter or have everyone play a role?

Any other considerations?

Another idea for your presentation!

I last wrote about a Spies R Us group that had a powerpoint presentation while the presenter was speaking.

One of my last groups had another idea. They had a short 15 second skit before the presentation! That's great! If they had ended their presentation to encapsulate the gist of their message, that would have been even better!

What else can you do to make your presentation effective?

Student Assessment 4 - Practice PRAY!

Hi everyone! I have already taken 6 classes this week through Student Assessment 4. This assignment requires your Spies R Us groups to study 2 websites that will be made known to you in class followed by an eight minute presentation in front of your classmates. This will be followed by 2 minutes of Q & A.

I give the groups a choice of selecting 1 person to make the presentation or to have everyone play a part. I have found students reluctant to speak, prefering to appoint someone else to do all the talking.

If your goal is to be a better public speaker, this is a GREAT opportunity to practice PRAY, especially Y for YES! Say YES to this opportunity to develop your public speaking skills. Don't shy away from this. If you cannot speak in front of your classmates, how can you learn to be comfortable standing in front of a bigger crowd? When I started to learn about public speaking, my instructor had me videotaped and I had to make presentations in front of my classmates. Then they had to evaluate my delivery. Your situation is much easier! So, don't waste this opportunity. When every fiber in your body is saying, "No!", remember, say, "Yes!"

There is limited time for research and presentation. This means you have to be selective. Let me give you a few tips...and enjoy your next tutorial with me! :-)

• Ask yourself what the top 4 to 5 issues are. Get to know them well rather than to find out everything about the subject.
• Then write down the information in point form so that you have access to it at all times. But don't read from your notes; it's very boring.
• When you speak, look at your audience. You MUST get used to this because establishing eye contact is very important. If you do not connect visually with people visually, then you are not able to see how they are responding. Additionally, people tend to see you as being credible if you make eye contact with them. Having shifty eyes that dart from one focus point to another does not convey authenticity or confidence.
• When speaking, speak clearly and slowly. When I told my students they had 8 minutes, they said, "Wah, so long, ah?" Watch your time. If you have 4 major points and have 8 minutes, then if you take 2 minutes for each point, you're right on target! If you really cannot use up 8 minutes, then make sure the time you do take are packed with good stuff from your research. Don't fill time with repetitions of your points! Boring!
• Conclude your presentation well. Not one of the Spies R Us groups concluded their presentations well. At the end of your presentation, state the subject and give the main points in summary.
• One Spies R Us group used a powerpoint presentation to accompany the presenter! Instead of noting the points down on paper, the presenter had the points down in a powerpoint presentation. These were in bullet form. The background was vibrant. The points were not wordy. He spoke well. That was an excellent presentation.
  
• During the Q&A, DON"T BLUFF YOUR WAY out of questions you don't have the answer for. A number of students tried that and when I asked further questions, they got deeper and deeper in trouble with their reasoning. If you don't know the answer, give an educated guess.
  

Managing Stage Fright - Y for YES!

I have shared with you three principles I observe whenever I am to deliver a speech--Preparation, Reherse, and Arrangements.

P
R
A
and now we have Y!

The final principle I observe to manage stage fright is Y for YES! When I am asked to make a presentation or to deliver a speech, my first reaction is to say, "No, because I ..." and then I give whatever excuse. I don't enjoy standing in front of a crowd with knocking knees, dry mouth, and shaking hands! I suspect you don't, either! :-(

One of the best ways to overcome stage fright is to speak publicly again and again to such a point that it does not overwhelm you. Thus, whenever I am invited to speak, I say, "Yes!" unless there is really a conflict of schedules.

Everytime I speak, I learn new things about myself, my preparation, my delivery style, my effectiveness as a speaker, and my ability to manage stress. Therefore, when you get an invitation to speak, say, "Yes!"

Will every speaking opportunity turn out OK in the end? Unfortunately, the answer is no. But as long as you learn something from the event, that is well worth the stage fright and insecurity you will experience!

In 1982 when I was working at a shipyard, there was a productivity campaign organized by the then National Productivity Board with the slogan,

Good, better, best
Never let it rest
'Till your good becomes better
and your better becomes best.

It's a great motto to encourage productivity. It's also a great motto that applies to gaining confidence in public speaking. Keep taking advantage of opportunities to speak. Speak to become good at it! And when you're good, work to become better! And when you're better, shoot to becoming the best!

How do you manage stage fright? P R A Y!

Preparations

Reherse

Arrangements

Yes

In two weeks, your groups will be making your Spies R Us presentations at tutorial. How will you be preparing for the event?

Managing Stage Fright - A for Arrangements

We looked at 2 of 4 ways to manage stage fright--Preparation and Rehersals.

PREPARATION: When I prepare my speech well, I am very confident when I stand up and speak because I know what I am saying will be the truth.

REHERSALS: When I reherse my speech, I become more and more familiar with the content of my speech, and can work to deliver my speech through gestures and intonation of my voice.

The third way how I manage stage fright is Arrangements. I make sure all arrangements that need to be made in advance are taken care of prior to my speech.

For example, I will find out where I will speaking at. Will it be in a hotel ballroom? In an open field? In a small office? In an auditorium? Will I be speaking from a stage or on the ground? Will there be a podium? I will also make sure I know how to get there on the day of my speech. I must make sure I know the route, the travel time, the bus numbers, the MRT station to alight, etc. I need to find out what time I need to be there. I want to arrive early so that I will not be flustered.

Additionally, I make sure I know who will meet me when I arrive. I need to know if there is a podium for me to use. I make sure there is a "sound check" when using a microphone. I always ask if the microphone I use is a hand-held mike or a lapel mike. These will help me know whether I have use of both hands or just one hand when making my speech. If I use a wireless mike, I have the freedom to even move off the stage. But if I am using a cable mike, I need to know how far I can go. If there is no microphone available, then I must know how to project my voice properly so that I don't strain my vocal cords. I also ask that a cup or a bottle of water is available as I tend to get thirsty during the delivery of my speech.

I also make sure I know what time to end my speech as there usually are other things on the agenda that day. I need to know who to pass the mike to after my speech. If I am calling for some form of a response, this needs to be discussed in advance so that the organizers of the event do not get caught off-guard with the responses at the end of the speech.

The night before, I make sure my wife checks the shirt, tie, and trousers I will wear for color coordination--I'm partially color blind and so am not able to judge colors very well! :-( If the event is going to be held outdoors, then make sure I bring a cap along. I try to get to bed early and wake up a little earlier than usual to go through my script again.

Once I am at the place where I am to speak, I try to sit in a corner and compose myself. Some of you prefer to mix with the people coming to listen to you speak, and that's OK too...as long as it helps to calm your nerves. Being a Christian, I commit the event and the speech I am about to make to God.

When I make sure all the arrangements are taken care of in advance, then I won't be distracted by all the little details and concerns that would distract me from delivering my speech.

We have looked at three ways to manager stage fright--Preparation, Rehersals, and Arrangements. One more way will come in my next post! Meanwhile, share with us how YOU manage stage fright when standing before your classmates or friends.

Causes of Stage Fright

One fear of speaking in public as a leader is stage fright.

This, "refers to an anxiety, fear or persistent phobia related to performance in front of an audience. This form of anxiety can precede or accompany participation in any activity involving public self-presentation. The condition is technically referred to asGlossophobia--a fear of failure, poor preparation, inadequate positive repetition and persistent negative thoughts" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stage_fright).

When we stand in front of people, we can be temporarily immobilized. Some times, even the very thought of even having to make a brief announcement or speak is so overwhelming that we will avoid being put in such a situation.

Like wikipedia says, "stage fright is not a terminal condition; it is merely another obstacle one must work to overcome." What can we do to overcome this fear? Stage fright can drive us to PRAY! PRAY--four principles that have been very helpful in my own speaking career. Let me deal with two principles first--P and R:

(1) PREPARATION: I get stage fright if I am not well prepared. If I am prepared for my speech, I come to the podium with great confidence. How do I prepare for the speaking engagement?

I find out who I am speaking to. If it is to a group of teenagers, my delivery and approach to the topic would be different if I were to address a group of business executives in the boardroom. The examples I use must be age-appropriate. So must the language and jokes I use.

I make sure I get my facts right so that if anyone were to ask questions, I would be well prepared to answer them. I ensure that I check my facts and sources. If I am quoting statistics, I note who conducted the research. If opinions are expressed, I make sure that I communicate these as opinions and not facts just to "beef up" my position.

I make sure I know where I want to lead my listeners to. If it is to communicate facts, then I try to give them something they can easily remember. In training young people from different cultures, I make extensive use of hand motions. Even now, as I write on how to overcome stage frieght, I use the word PRAY to help you remember how to manage stage fright. It makes things simple for my audience, and me! If I want to ask for a commitment from my audience, then I must show in my speech why that commitment is important, what the benefits of making this commitment are, and must prepare in advance what actions I would like to see take place in the lives of my listeners at the end of my speech. For example, if I am speaking to young people about remaining sexually pure before marriage and about the dangers of cohabitation, I would draw the attention of my listeners to the Rutgers University research on the negative consequences of cohabitation. I would tell them about ways to save themselves for marriage. And, at the end of my speech, I would ask them to come forward to the front as an indication of their desire to remain sexually pure for their future spouse.

(2) REHERSE: After writing my script, I reherse it both in my mind and out aloud. I imagine in my mind how I will deliver my speech, and, in the early years of my speaking career, practiced my arm and body motions, until it came naturally and appropriately. I have even asked for feedback from trusted friends who will be honest with me. They critique the content of my speech and my stage presence. They feedback to me areas where I can improve. Repeated practice helps me gain confidence, knowing that I have PREPARED well, and have also REHERSED many times.

How would you apply these first two principles in your life?