61A00200 - (P06) Business Communication Skills, Lecture, 1.3.2022-5.4.2022

Deliverables

The assignment is divided into 2 parts as follows. Both are due on the same day, the outline submitted to this submission box before class, and the presentation given in class:

2a Presentation strategy outline (upload as a PDF)

2b Persuasive presentation

Assignment details

Your main task is to prepare a 3-4 minute individual persuasive (sell) presentation that you will give to the other students in class on the presentation day. The presentations will be given in small groups, and you will get and discuss feedback on the presentations in these small groups.

Before the actual presentation (that is assignment 2b), you will need to analyze the situation and plan properly to ensure that your presentation will be effective. As an outcome of your analysis and planning, you will need to present your plan as a written outline (2a).

Please note that also Assignment 5 is related to this assignment, as it is a reflection paper on the two presentations, A2 and A4, that you give during the course. Please start working on A5 already after the individual presentation to make sure you have the presentation and the feedback that you receive fresh in your mind.


2a Presentation strategy outline (15%) instructions

Write a strategy outline which

(a) covers the points listed below (presentation situation and components of persuasion) and
(b) links your analysis to the theory presented in inputs 1 (communicating strategically) & 2 (persuasive techniques).

Presentation situation in a nutshell

• Presentation topic: What is the presentation about?
• Title: What would be a catchy title for your presentation?
• Message outcome / objective: What do you want your audience to think, feel or do as a result of your message?
• Audience analysis: Who is your audience? What do they know and expect? What don't they know? How do they feel about your topic? How can you persuade them?
  

Components of persuasion: input 2 persuasive techniques

• Ethos: What is your initial credibility as a communicator in this situation? How will you try to enhance your credibility?
• Logos: What are your main claims? What evidence will you provide to support these claims? What audience benefits will you focus on? Why?
• Pathos: How will you attempt to overcome any possible audience resistance? What strategies will you employ?
• Persuading through structure: How will you overcome any possible audience resistance? Can you employ a persuasive pattern?

Make sure your outline gives the reader of the outline (i.e. Christa) a concrete idea of your plan, i.e. what you will deliver to the intended presentation audience. Rather than writing "I will have three main arguments”, which is very vague and doesn't tell the reader what these arguments in fact are, you can write, for instance, "My three main arguments will be argument 1, argument 2, and argument 3. These arguments will help address the two main concerns, namely A and B, that I expect that the presentation audience will have.”

Length: 1-2 pages, single-spaced


Evaluation criteria

Please take a look at the grading rubric (in the submission box) before writing and submitting the assignment.