MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATION Managers need to know what to do when they are required to give a presentation. In this chapter, we will discuss presentation fundamentals: (1) presentation purpose, preparation, and deliver; (2) speech dangers and filled pauses (FP); (3) presenting with emotional intelligence; (4) figures of speech usage; and (5) proper uses of charts, graphs, and cables. Purpose, Preparation, and Delivery “The three essential clements of an effective presentation are purpose, prep- aration, and delivery. Each is critical to achieving effective results. As you begin thinking about a planned presentation, you must first understand the purpose for your presentation. What do you want the audience to know? Then select the appropriate type of presentation for that purpose. Purpose Your purpose can be to persuade, inform, or entertain your audience. Each of these purposes has a corresponding objective. When you per- suade, you convince someone to believe what you are telling him or he-— you are changing his or her mind. When you inform, you ate giving the individual information or facts that they need. When you entertain, you are making someone feel good, such as telling a joke ot finding something of common interest to talk about. Busy customers, clients, and company personnel will give up moments of their precious time to listen to your presentations. Delivering an effec- tive presentation every time is imperative. ‘Ihere is an old cliché to which many business people still relate: “If you don’t have time to do it right the first time, where will you find the time to do it right a second time!” ‘The measure of any good presentation is the accomplishment of the speaker's purpose Let us consider the possible objectives of each presentation type: + Persuasive presentations can be designed with an objective to © cause a change in belief © cause a change in immediate actionsER TIVE PRE TATION SKILLS 123 + Informative presentations can be designed wich © a narrative objective © adescriptive objective © an explanatory objective + Encertainment presentations have a gratification objective, achieved when your audience experiences a sense of satisfaction. Your audience will need to fecl a sense of satisfaction, regardless of the presentation purpose, When the audience is unsatisfied, achieving your purpose and objective is jeopardized. Table 7.1 shows examples of a pre- senter’s purposes and objectives for various speaking occasions In climbing the managerial ladder, most people eventually reach a level of responsibility where they ate required to give a presentation from time to time. Motivating lethargic and even demoralized employees with vivid and vital language is often times requited. Presenting a business Table 7.1 Purposes, objectives, and occasions for differing oral presentations Presentation Presentation Presentation purposes objectives occasions “To cause achange in | Legal arguments belie by persuasion | Poiial arguments Debates Persuasive ‘Tocausea change in | Group conferences action by persuasion | Salespromotona ales Proposals ‘To inform by desribing | Casroons lecture Oral reports (eulogy, dedication, ‘To inform by explaining | commemoration, acceptance intro Informative duction, acknowledgment, et.) ‘To inform by narrating | Factual reports Manufacturing reports Annual reports “To cause gratification, | AMterlinner presentations val COverlaps all three pur- | Lectures on popular themes Entertainment“ | poses of presentation | Travel talks Monslogs ‘Award presentations124 MANAGERIAL COMMUNI ATION plan before a review board to secure financing for a project is part of many managers’ positions. In both cases, the manager must use language applicable co the audience. One example of an effective persuasive presentation might be an appeal for approval of an increase in the budgeted amount for pay increases. Giving the presentation to a budget committee for a large, nonprofit organization just before an annual budget review is very com- mon. ‘Ihe desired result of the presentation would be board approval of an increase in the line-item amount for employce salaries. ‘The presenting manager's purpose would be persuasive, the objective would be targeting a change in the board members’ actions (the board actually approving the raises), and the occasion is selling or promoting the pay raise idea. ‘An example of an effective informative presentation is for a middle manager seeking to inform all 25 frontline supervisors about a crucial procedural change for an assembly line operation. The stated purpose is informative. ‘The objective in this case would be explanatory, showing the benefits of a change in the ways of doing things. The occasion would be a conference room setting or small classroom. This personal approach would be more effective than sending an email message. If the speaker's purpose is merely to entertain, the rules governing that purpose are somewhat different. An example would be a two-minute after-dinner presentation congratulating a colleague on a promotion ot extraordinary accomplishment. While the primary objective of an enter- taining presentation is audience gratification, the element of gratification is present in all three types of presentations. Do not leave your audience unsatisfied, regardless of your purpose. Sometimes the news delivered in a presentation is dreadful, such as in Franklin D. Roosevelt's war address. But the specch did not come with- our gratification which was the president's planned response to Japan's aggression. Later in this chapter, we will look more closely at FDR's war presentation, Preparation Preparation requires organization because too much disorganized infor- mation can be overwhelming for both the presenter and audience