Unit 2 - 2.1 Describe examples of effective presentation techniques. 2.2 Select and justify appropriate presentation techniques for a specific creative idea

2.1
An Effective presentation, while difficult to master, can be a critical way of communicating information to other people - be it, for example, for training purposes or pitching a creative idea. There are certain techniques that can be used, which i will describe below, that make for effective communication in general, but can also make a huge difference in how well your presentation will be received by the audience. This ranges from body language to terminology.

A confident, open body language is important when giving a presentation for a number of reasons; it not only helps project your voice (there is nothing worse than hanging your head and mumbling to the floor!) but instills confidence in the audience too and they are therefore more likely to listen (being able to hear your voice is a big help...) and digest what you have to say.

Do your research! Even before attempting a presentation, it is critical to know the topic you will be discussing, and at least have an idea of how your presentation is going to flow, even if you are likely to improvise your "script" along the way.

It is also a good idea to consider the audience and tailor your dialogue accordingly: referencing back to communicating technical topics to those that might not have an in depth knowledge on the subject, avoid jargon if it isn't completely necessary, and depending on the audience, it is important to adapt how formal/informal your language will be. Giving a presentation to your colleagues in a staff meeting can be more informal than discussing figures with a board of directors!

That being said, the right amount of humour can make a big difference to how well received your presentation will be. Again, this depends on your audience and the topic, but using humour or personal interaction throughout can make it more entertaining, and therefore much more memorable. On a similar note, if giving an electronic presentation, the use of pictures or other visual stimulation can also make it more entertaining. Just don't go overboard with clipart. Nobody likes clipart...

A combination of the above techniques can help effectiveness, but it can vary from one presentation to the next, and ultimately comes down to the presenter's confidence.

2.2

When presenting a creative idea, such as a web or print design, I would use a range of visual stimulus, such as an online portfolio of previous design work, a slideshow or even physical copies of print work like posters, banners and fliers. This is important for the type of work that I do, as it is design based, and therefore relies heavily on visual elements and how things physically look to the human eye.

Unit 2 - 1.2 Compare a range of techniques used for influencing and persuading others and their application.

In the creative media world, particularly concerning marketing, the influencing of others is always present. If not directly attempting to convince someone to buy a certain product, visual design work still has a purpose of influencing others to feel a certain way, depending on what the overall project is trying to achieve.For other circumstances, verbal communication can be more effective, particularly when it comes to negotiating with someone else.

The above illustrates the different techniques used in persuading and negotiating, and how they each link in to influence. The amount of each depends on the circumstance, for example, an advert attempting to convince you to buy a product will be much more persuasion than negotiation and will therefore heavily focus on persuasive language and imagery with the aims of swaying your opinion in the direction they want, where as perhaps a meeting with a client to discuss a design brief will be more negotiation than persuasion, as the key aim is to come to an agreement that mutually works for both parties and suits both the clients needs and the capabilities of the provider within the budget and time frame.

Unit 2 - 1.4 Describe methods used to communicate technical and specialist issues within and across teams.

In the Creative Media sector, there can be times where it is necessary to explain technical issues or discuss specialist topics with both people who may have an in depth knowledge on the topic and those who don't. It is therefore important to know how to adapt your methods of communication depending on who you are discussing the topic with.

If you are discussing a project with your own team, it is more likely that they will understand the technical terms and jargon relating to the topic. For example, within a web design team your colleagues will most likely be able to understand what you are talking about if you start rambling on about correct HTML syntax or the importance of clearing floating divs, and also saves time as you won't have to necessarily stop and explain the terms you use.

 However, if you then need to explain this information to a client who has little to no knowledge in this area, the technical jargon is likely to go straight over their heads. Therefore it would be more suitable to avoid using technical terminology and put the issue into layman's terms as much as you can to avoid any confusion. While this might take slightly longer, at least the information will be digestible and the talk won't just be a one-way jargon fest.  

Unit 2 - 1.3 Describe how to give and receive constructive feedback.

It can be said that too many chefs spoil the broth, but perhaps an extra chef or two with some constructive feedback to offer isn't always such a bad thing. Whilst we would all love to ace everything we do on the first try, we are only human (mostly) and therefore we don't always get things perfect straight off the bat. Criticism, in a constructive manner, is therefore a very powerful step in the work process as it allows us to get a "second opinion", be it on a piece of material we have produced or how we go about our daily performance in general, with the aim of taking this information on board and using it to either better ourselves or a piece of work.


"Constructive" feedback or criticism, in basic terms, is the act of offering advice on areas that need improvement, in a way that provides suggestions how the person receiving the criticism can improve, rather than just pointing out what they have done poorly. It generally goes hand-in-hand with praise, reflecting on areas that have worked well and why, and using this to suggest how the poorer areas of work could have been done differently.


It is also important to be able to receive constructive feedback as well as dish it out. It is beneficial to have another set of eyes to look over your work and point out things that perhaps you didn't notice yourself. It can be easy to take the criticism to heart, but it is important to remember that the point of it is to help you improve, and so you should take the points on board even if your pride makes it difficult for you to agree with it. 

Unit 2 - 1.1 Describe several communication techniques and their appropriate application.

In this day and age, there are so many ways to communicate using a wide variety of tools it is difficult to avoid anyone...

That being said, the array of communication techniques available to us all come in handy one way or the other, whether it be for business or socialising. Below I will describe a few prominent examples and their applications.

Email

It's hard to pinpoint when email was truly "invented", but it remains a very popular, easy and fast way of communicating today. For both businesses and personal use, and with the ability to add attachments to emails, such as scanned documents or digital images, it is extremely efficient in comparison to traditional mail. As long as you have some form of device to send from (e.g. a computer or a smart phone), an Internet connection and an email account (you can get them gratis using services like Hotmail or Gmail!), you can send emails to your hearts content... within reason of course. 

It could be said that a downside to email is that the person you wish to communicate with must also have the necessary 'equipment', but email is such a widely-used form of communication that it has become almost second nature, and particularly in business, it is almost an unwritten law to have some form of email address for the company as a whole as well as individual employees.

Faxing

Faxing is much like a has-been of communication, but don't worry faxing fans, it is still hanging in there. Many businesses use faxing as a prominent form of communication, particularly when it comes to transferring documents that require signatures, however, it doesn't particularly have a casual/social application... as amusing as it would be. Like email, it still requires equipment (a fax machine) and a phone line for both you and the recipient, but it takes little effort as long as you have the fax number you wish to send to. Besides that, there's something oddly gratifying about stuffing paper into a slightly antique-looking phone machine thingy, dialing a number and knowing that the person on the other end is going to get the message on their own faxing contraption-ma-bob. Me gusta.

Telephone

A good ol' chinwag on the telephone is also a very versatile and likely the most commonly used form of communication using technology, that allows you to talk to someone across long distances. With people becoming more and more attached to their mobile phones, there is rarely a time when you can't get hold of someone using this method... that's right, despite common misconception, mobile phones are not only useful for playing games or checking facebook! They can be used for both business and social requirements,particularly when you want a 'guarantee' that you have 'gotten your message across', something that email or faxing doesn't necessarily offer, and it can be said that it is a faster way of communicating than, for example, email, as there are far fewer variables that could delay communication. You either have talked to someone, or you haven't, simples.

Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Blogger (They deserve a nod, too) Tumblr... the list goes on when it comes to 'Social Media'. All of these platforms offer a way of communicating with a broad audience over the internet, in a variety of forms such as blogs, galleries and status updates about the last meal you ate... I'm looking at you, Facebook. Love them or hate them, social media platforms are growing, with new ventures popping up left, right and center, and while many of them dwindle (cough, Google+, cough, Myspace) there are still many that continue to thrive and are used by millions of people worldwide. They come in handy for social occasions when you want to share your thoughts to big audience, great for you attention-hungry individuals, or even for business networking (Linkedin).

WIP