Running Head: PRESENTATION OF IDEAS 1

Presentation of ideas

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Institution
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PRESENTATION OF IDEAS 2

Assessment Task 1
1. Explain three different ways that could be used to present ideas to staff in the
workplace and at least three factors that you should consider when choosing the best
way of presenting ideas to staff.
Ways used to present ideas
i. Use of digital notice boards
The use of screens in the firm will aid in communicating the intended
messages to the particular target group. The screens will act as digital notice
boards and will be attractive and hence capture the attention of the employees.
This will lead to an effective presentation of the ideas of the firm.
ii. Use of videos and visual messages
With the high technological advancements, the use of audiovisual messages to
present ideas to the employees can be very effective. Videos will be developed
and the particular information inscribed into videos. The videos should be
attractive and hence pass the information while keeping the employees
attentive to the video.
iii. Bookend meetings
Bookend meetings are meetings that will be developed at the beginning of the
week and at the end of the week. The first meeting will be held at the
beginning of the week to develop the goals and tasks of the week. Another
meeting will be held at the end of the week to discuss the achievement of the
goals and any strategies towards the achievement of the objective of the firm.
Factors to consider when choosing the way to present the ideas
i. Type of audience
The type of audience will determine the method of presentation of ideas. The
audience characteristics, diversity, and access to the method chosen will be
considered to ensure that the information is received and understood.
ii. Type of feedback needed
Depending on the feedback desired, some methods will be more effective than
others. The requirement and the urgency feedback will determine the method
used since other methods will have slow feedback than others.
iii. Types of messages
The type of message being conveyed is very critical in the determination of
the presentation method to be used. Some methods will suit some messages
more than others.
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2. Assume you have had an idea about implementing a new workplace communication
system at work called Slack whereby work teams communicate through a single,
shared workspace making communication easier. Also, assume that you have
overheard your Manager discussing this system with another colleague recently.
However, you know that your team of staff are unfamiliar with the system.
Explain two different methods you would use to communicate your idea to your
Manager and to your team, explaining how you would take into according to the
differing familiarity with the concept of communicating your idea.
i. Use of manuals and printouts
I can deliver printouts of the manuals of the system and its usage to all the
employees and the manager. I will ensure that all the aspects that the system
usage is covered for all the employees to be well acquainted with the system.
ii. Usage presentation
I will engage the employees and the manager on the usage of the system and
use pictures and real-life usage examples to ensure that the employees
understand how to use the application.
3. Explain why communicating ideas in a personal setting and within the workplace may
differ.
Communication on the personal setting in the firm may differ due to the relationships
between the employees and their personalities. The firm's policy and culture will
dictate how the employees communicate on a personal level. The policies/culture of
the firm will form the relationship standards and the methods that the employees
should use and the structures of communication. Secondly, communicating may differ
due to the personality of the employees communicating. Since there is diversity in the
workplace, the employees may differ to ensure inclusivity and eradicate any chances
of discrimination verbally (Jenifer & Raman, 2015).
4. Your Manager at work constantly blocks your ideas. Explain three reasons for his
negative response to your ideas. Each reason should relate to your Manager’s values,
beliefs and attitudes.
i. Fear of change
The manager’s fear of change will make him/her oppose all the ideas that
might bring change to the system in place. This might be attributed to fear of
losing the position or unknown.
ii. Personality difference and disrespect of diversity
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When a manager does not appreciate diversity in the workplace, he/she might
be against all the ideas raised by people they consider inferior or minority.
This, therefore, makes the manager block the ideas of people from other
diverse groups in the workplace.
iii. The manager wants to be feared and respected due to his/her authority
The manager can block the ideas just to make the employees know his/her
capability. The manager can block the ideas of people he/she feel is a threat to
her position or show good leadership capabilities.
5. Identify five skills and/or attributes that you consider are important for a person to
have when participating in the development of ideas. For each skill or attribute you
list, outline why you consider this skill or attribute to be important.
i. Good communication skills
The employees should be able to communicate their ideas effectively to other
employees. The employees should be able to bring out their point of view and
feel about the ideas being discussed by the employees.
ii. Good listening skills
They should have good listening skills for them to be able to listen and
comprehend the views and information that other team members have
pertaining the ideas in discussion.
iii. Problem-solving skills
The employees should be able to encounter and solve the problems that occur
during idea discussion and generation. The employees should be able to
resolve any personal issues or work problem linked to the discussion of the
ideas.
iv. Perseverance and accommodative skills
The employee should have the skills to persevere and accommodate all the
members of the team. Due to diversity in the workplace, the employees may at
one point be attacked on personal grounds or other have ideas that may seem
contradictive and attack of the employee’s personality. They should, thus, be
able to accommodate and persevere while sourcing for other means to resolve
the differences.
v. Teamwork
The employee should have teamwork. This will result in a collaborative
resolution of issues and idea development in the workplace.
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6. Read the article at the following link and, in your own words, discuss two habits that
assist people to discuss great ideas.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3051713/hit-the-ground-running/8-habits-of-people-
who-always-have-great-ideas
i. Open to magic
Individuals who are open to magic will always have a tendency to source for
great ideas and experiences. To learn, understand, and develop new ideas,
these individuals will have a tendency to communicate ideas to individuals in
a bid to substantiate their ideas. The individuals will also discuss with other
people to validate their ideas and have a better understanding and hence a
better idea development.
ii. They are always trying new things
The individuals will always be trying new things to develop their ideas. Trying
the new things will involve discussion with other individuals to gather their
views, experiences, and suggestions. This will push the individuals to source
for more information from other individuals to be able to get the exact
information they need to develop their ideas. This, therefore, will motivate
them to develop their ideas.
7. Explain how storytelling can assist in communicating ideas.
Storytelling is very important in the communication of ideas. Storytelling will make
the ideas relatable and hence make the employees of the firm have a better
understanding. Storytelling will make the employees have a deeper view of the ideas
as it makes them feel like they own the idea. This, therefore, makes the employee
have greater participation in idea discussion and implementation. Also, storytelling
captures the emotions of the listener and makes them have a say in idea development
and implementation. This insinuates that storytelling creates an aspect of inclusivity
and hence makes the employees be participative in the firm's operations. Storytelling
will bring all the employees aboard and invite them on a personal level towards the
development of the firm hence ensuring highest cooperation (Dahlstrom, 2014).
8. Explain two key storytelling techniques that can be used for communicating ideas.
i. Use of conflict
The use of conflict will create the listener's attention and figurative nature and
hence work to ensure that they are attentive at all the parts of the story. This
makes them capture of the aspects that the storyteller will want to pass. Also,
it will aid the listener to have a better understanding and reason through the
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problem-solving stage at the firm. This will make the employees have a better
understanding and proper engagement through the storytelling stage.
ii. Making the story visual
The use of visual aids and figurative nature of storytelling aids the listener to
understand the message intended to be passed during storytelling. The visual
aids will assist the storyteller to capture the attention of the listeners and at the
same time pass the message to them gaining their maximum understanding.
9. Describe the benefits and risks of the technique of humour in presentations or debates
about ideas.
Using humour in a presentation is linked to some benefits that assist the presenter in
passing the information to the audience. First and foremost, the use of humour as
Vrticka, Black, and Reiss (2013) state, creates a bond between the speaker and the
audience. This makes the audience feel and understand the message hence success in
passing the information. This keeps the audience engaged at all the times of the
presentation. It boosts the understanding of the audiences and makes the presentation
achieve its goals in passing the message to the audience.
On the other hand, the use of humour can be very risky and prevent proper passage of
information to the audience. Use of inappropriate humour can cause the audience to
have a negative perception of the speaker. In some cases, the humour used might
disrespect the diversity of the workplace and hence make the audience be
uncomfortable. This may taint the image of the presenter and make their information
receive passive resistance among the audience. Inappropriate humour can ruin the
presentation and deter the presentation from achieving its objectives.
10. Describe a benefit and a risk of sharing personal information in a presentation or
debate.
Proper blending of personal information in a presentation can motivate the audience
and make them more attentive. The audience will want to hear any practical example
in some cases and sharing personal information might help them link the topic and
actualization. This will increase understanding and recall of the presented topics
among the audience. The audience will also have some aspect of trust and respect for
the presented due to the amount of information he/she has shared. The audience will
be able to connect to the presented. On the other hand, sharing personal information
inappropriately or giving too much might be a deterring factor towards an
understanding of the audience. The presenter might give too much information hence
making the presentation seem a personal experience rather than an official
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presentation. Also, the personal information given can be irrelevant or depict the
opposite of the information given and hence the audience may end up losing
concentration and hence they will not be able to pay attention to the presentation.
11. Describe two techniques that can be used to ensure that information provided during
is relevant to an audience.
i. Perform an audience analysis
Audience analysis will aid the presenter to understand the audience
characteristics and the methodology to be used in the presentation. This will
make the presenter understand all the aspects of speech and presentation that
can be used and those that he/she should not so that the presentation objectives
are achieved.
ii. Purpose-driven presentation
Having a purpose-driven presentation will make the presenter have all the
information aiming at achieving the goals of the presentation. With a purpose-
driven presentation, the presenter will have all the information that the
audience will need to listen and hence remain with a task of organizing the
presentation and making it achieve its goals.
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References
Dahlstrom, M. F. (2014). Using narratives and storytelling to communicate science with
nonexpert audiences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
111(Supplement 4), 13614-13620.
Jenifer, R. D., & Raman, G. P. (2015). Cross-cultural communication barriers in the
workplace. International Journal of Management, 6(1), 348-351.
Vrticka, P., Black, J. M., & Reiss, A. L. (2013). The neural basis of humour processing.
Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14(12), 860-868.