Introduction
Designing a compelling presentation is crucial when one aims to deliver specific points. They can be used to share experiences, thoughts, or facts, to encourage the audience to take action or to increase awareness about the issue of the matter. Thus, every presenter strives to share information efficiently by choosing appropriate techniques. It is critical to be able to construct a presentation in terms of its structure, the forms that one uses to develop the ideas, and how the speaker introduces the topic and concludes it. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the chapters about framing, elaboration, and beginning and ending from the book Inviting Transformation and reflect on the learned materials.
Framing
The chapter about framing suggests possible organizational structures for designing a presentation. Different options are discussed, including motivated sequence, narrative or narrative progression, and category. The speaker needs to construct the ideas along with the chosen pattern because it generates a more natural process for the listeners to receive information (Foss and Foss 69).
Through implementing a clear structure, the presenter shows that they value the audience, their time, and their effort. For instance, the elimination structure provides the issue statement and possible solutions and recommendations for it, gradually excluding the options that do not fit and choosing the best alternative. The organizational patterns that I found most appealing are the use of multiple perspectives and spiral, which I have used before unconsciously. From the options, provided in the chapter, I have discovered new suggestions for building the thoughts in a presentation.
Elaborating
The chapter about elaborating discusses various forms of developing the ideas and working out the details that will support and broaden the gist. It is crucial to choose elaboration forms, considering the goals of a presentation, because it helps to gain a better contemplation of the ideas by the audience and to develop the significant points more effectively. The chapter offers such elaboration alternatives as comparison and contrast, emotions, examples and facts, participation, and others.
For example, when a speaker decides to implement proverbs into their presentation, they aim to “express obvious truths and capture audience members’ experiences” (Foss and Foss 93). Elaboration forms that I find most engaging are participation, questions, and humor. From my perspective, integration of those concepts can help to gain a better audience engagement and create a bond with the listeners, which will provide a more exceptional experience for all the parties involved.
Beginning and ending
The chapter about the beginning and ending talks about the significance of the introduction and conclusion and possible ways to do them. I was curious to learn that the dramatic and exciting starting point of a presentation does not have the desired effect on the audience, but rather scares them and drives them away from the primary topic. The introduction should connect the listeners to the subject in an engaging way so that they can focus on the main idea and reflect on it. As for the ways to begin a presentation, the authors suggest a narrative, a poem, a question or a quotation, and a reference to a speaking situation. I believe that these are efficient ways to attract the audience’s attention and start developing the material based on the chosen organizational structure.
Conclusion
Another vital element of every speech is the conclusion, which emphasizes the original idea and leaves room for further contemplation. The chapter proposes to let the listeners know if the speaker encourages a discussion at the end of a presentation. Besides, it is suggested not to change the tone of the speech at the end because it might be unexpected for the audience. It is possible to use different conclusion forms, including a call to action, a summary of the theme, a reference to the introduction, and others. The ending types allow finishing the speech with the right attitude and capturing the significant points. In conclusion, those chapters provided useful insights for designing a presentation. In the future, I would like to implement different framing, elaboration, and beginning and ending forms to see which of them work best for the specific objectives.
Work Cited
Foss, Sonja K., and Karen A. Foss. Inviting Transformation: Presentational Speaking for a Changing World. 4th ed., Waveland Press, 2019.