Studying Presentational Skills

Presentation skills are the abilities every presenter needs in delivering, engaging and effective presentations to a diversity of audiences. These abilities cover diverse areas which include presentation structure design, the voice tone, and the body language as you convey the message to the audience (DuBrin, 2015). Leaders are often introducing new ideas and generating visions for a better future. Presentational skills are essential in influencing others to see things differently and take action to bring into existence a better world. One needs regular practice to develop and refine his or her presentation skills. The essay will discuss and apply the concepts for effective communication to two speakers on Ted. On TED presentations I choose to compare two speakers namely, Eduardo Briceno speech on HOW TO GET BETTER AT WHAT YOU CARE ABOUT and Carol Dweck THE POWER OF BELIEVING THAT YOU CAN IMPROVE.

The two presenters, Eduardo and Carol, are credible when conveying their message to the audience. For example, they are well organized during their presentation, and they speak in a clear tone that is persuasive to the audience. Their credibility is intact since most of the listeners know that they are honest, sincere and reliable (DuBrin, 2015). The speakers have experience in persuading people. For instance, Eduardo gives motivational talks to students in schools and Carol has written a book called Mindset Growth which is meant to cause a positive change in people. Eduardo Briceno and Carol Dweck know what they are talking about since the topics seem so clear to them. They both talk without reading from notes and explain the concepts deeply. They have broad information about the topics, and they put themselves as part of the audience, for instance, Eduardo says that most of us go through life trying to do our best at whatever we do (Briceno) He explains in detail the learning zone and the performance zone that would help the audience get better at the things they do. Also, he explains the importance of organizing thoughts into the two zones activities. According to Eduardo, in the learning Zone people do activities designed for improvement, and therefore mistakes are always expected. In the performance zone, there are no mistakes since people learned from them in the learning zone. In the performance zone, the main goal is to do things as best as one can and execute what was mastered in the learning zone. Carol Dweck explains The Power of Yet using examples of which shows that she knows what she is talking about. She is also familiar with the growth mindset concept as an idea that people can grow their brain's capacity to learn and to solve problems. In this presentation, she demonstrates two ways to think about a problem that is slightly too hard for an individual to solve.

The two presenters have an effective way of passing their messages to the listeners. They have engaged with many people when talking to seminars and schools and therefore they know what the listeners may want to hear. They choose topics that interests and motivates the listeners hence persuade them, listeners, to get their messages. They have noted the importance of figuring out what the audience wants, and they present it the way they want it. Eduardo has conducted research and noted that many people do not improve on the things they care about despite their hard work. When conducting the research, he figured out what the listeners want to hear from conversation research he conducted, and therefore he has solutions to the problem. Similarly, Carol Dweck researched growth mindset and learned that people have problems with learning how to solve their problems. She introduces the concept of not yet to show that if an individual fails to solve a problem now, he or she will face in future. The listeners are interested in the messages developed by the two presenters, and hence it is easy for them to gear their messages to the audience.

Both Eduardo and Carol have suggestions, and they are trying to sell the benefits of their suggestions to the audience. The presenters explain to the audience how they can gain from their suggestions. For example, Eduardo states the importance of two different zones which includes the learning zone and the performance zone. In the learning zone the main goal is an improvement, and therefore the audience should carry out activities that are designed for improvement. In this zone, one should concentrate on the things he or she has not mastered and made many mistakes to learn from them. After one has mastered everything, he or she gets to the performance zones where he executes what he mastered in the learning zone. When one spends more time in the learning zone, it helps him or her to improve what he does. Mistakes are also minimized since one learned from them in the learning zone. Carol also tells the audience the benefits of believing that they can improve and have the right mindset. According to Carol when people change their mind they allow it to grow to a big capacity that learns and solve all problems. People should apply the idea of not yet since it gives them an insight that they will be able to do it in the future.

The two presenters use heavy-impact and emotion provoking words to give the presentation force and power. There are some words used in the proper setting to give force and power to a speech. Using powerful, optimistic language can improve an individuals leadership image. Closely related to using heavy- impact language is the use of emotion-provoking words. Eduardo uses words like real confidence is about modeling an ongoing learning, he uses heavy-impact language when asking What if instead of doing, doing, doing and performing, performing, performing we spend more time in exploring, asking, learning, listening, experimenting, reflecting, striving and becoming? He asks emotion-provoking questions such as what if we each have always had something we are working to improve? What if we created more low-stakes islands and waters? And what if we got clear within ourselves and our teammates about what we seek to learn and perform? (Briceno). Carol also uses emotion-provoking words when she starts the presentation with the words the power of yet. As she continues, she evokes emotions by saying thats when their neurons are making new connections, stronger connection (Dweck)

The presenters use an anecdote to elaborate meaning, and this helps them to communicate effectively. Eduardo carefully chooses a picture of Demosthenes, an actor in ancient Greece to explain that for a lawyer to become great, he never spend all his time in the performance zone. On the contrary, he spends the most time doing activities for improvement. When presenting, Eduardo makes his audience to laugh when he makes a joke about a lawyer suspending a sword from the ceiling to stop him from raising his shoulders. He uses the story of a lawyer to describe the difference between performance zone and learning zone. Carol, on the other hand, does not crack any joke during her presentation but she shows the audience an image showing growth in mindset. The red brain is on fire that is why it appears red since it is working on how to solve a problem. At the beginning of her speech, she gives a story of a high school in Chicago where students had to pass a certain number of courses to graduate, and if they did not pass a course, they get the grade not yet which motivates them to work hard to pass the course next time. The two presenters make sure not to repeat an anecdote too frequently so that it can deliver an important message.

The two presenters make sure to back their information with data to support their words. Eduardo state that he has realized from research that many people are working hard to improve, but this has not been happening. Carol uses data to support her ideas by showing the audience two curves that show the difference between students taught about growth mindset and those who had not been taught. There was an improvement in those students who were taught about growth mindset.

In conclusion, Eduardo and Carol apply the six concepts of presentation when delivering their speech. After watching their videos, I learned a lot of concepts that I must apply as a leader for my future endeavors. As a speaker, I must be as credible as possible so that the audience can trust in what you are saying. A good speaker must be able to gear your message to the listener by adapting the message that interests and motivates the listener (DuBrin, 2015). Individuals with high intelligence tend to be prejudiced about messages based on strong, logical arguments the presenter demonstrates. Moreover, as a future leader, i must consider audience on the importance of his or her suggestions. Leaders are controlled by the readiness of group participants to take actions on their initiatives and suggestions. The presenter considers the usage of heavy-impact and emotion-infuriating words. There are some words used in the proper setting to give force and power to a speech. Using powerful, optimistic language can improve an individuals leadership image. The use anecdote to elaborate meaning is another element a presenter considers when communicating effectively. A carefully chosen anecdote is valuable in urging group participants about the benefits of organizational values. The anecdote is not repeated too frequently so that it can deliver an important message. The presenter must also back up conclusions with data. Persuasiveness is improved when written, and spoken presentations are supported with solid data.

References

Eduardo Briceno: How to get better at the things you care about. TED.com Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/eduardo_briceno_how_to_get_better_at_the_things_you_care_about?referrer=playlist-practice_makes_perfect#t-35376

Carol Dweck: The power of believing that you can improve. TED.com retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve?referrer=playlist-practice_makes_perfect

DuBrin, A. J. (2015). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills. Nelson Education.