Chapter 15 - Psychology of Presenting

Summary

Patti Douglass explores the psychology behind engaging presentations, highlighting tactics to captivate and educate audiences effectively. Drawing inspiration from Pavlov's classical conditioning, the emphasis lies on using stimuli to make learning automatic. Essential elements of compelling presentations include visual, interactive, and emotional storytelling, with a strong narrative thread throughout. Douglass also breaks down various speech structures like problem-solution-benefit and chronological order, stressing the importance of emotional engagement over logic. Tailoring presentations to different learning styles—visual, auditory, and kinesthetic—ensures wide-reaching impact and retention.

Highlights

• Pavlov's theory can be applied to make learning automatic in presentations. 🐶
• Visuals should be more than words on a screen—use graphics and images! 🖼️
• Emotion triumphs over logic—capture hearts to drive your message home. ❤️
• Organize your speech for the brain with problem-solution-benefit and stories. 📖
• Tailor content to visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners for comprehensive engagement. 👁️👂✋

Key Takeaways

• Harness the power of emotional engagement over logic for memorable presentations! 🎭
• Use a mix of visuals, stories, and interactivity to captivate your audience. 😍
• Structure your speech for clarity: intro, main points, conclusion. 🗂️
• Engage different learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) for maximum impact. 🎯
• Always end with a strong, memorable statement - forget the polite 'thank you'! 🚀

Overview

In the intriguing world of public speaking, Patti Douglass dives deep into the psychology that makes presentations unforgettable. Drawing from Pavlov's classical conditioning, she suggests using repetitive stimuli to engage audiences on a subconscious level where learning becomes second nature. Douglass advocates for infusing presentations with visuals, stories, and interactive elements to form an emotional connection, ensuring the audience remains attentive and engaged throughout.

Douglass emphasizes the significance of emotional appeal over cognitive logic in speeches. By organizing content into easily digestible formats, such as problem-solution-benefit models or narrative storytelling, speakers can guide their audience through a journey of discovery and persuasion. This method not only helps to inform but also strengthens the emotional impact of the message, making it a key strategy in mastering public speaking.

Further amplifying her insights, Douglass highlights the importance of recognizing diverse learning styles within any audience. By addressing visual, auditory, and kinesthetic preferences, presenters can create an inclusive environment that caters to everyone’s learning needs. This approach not only maximizes retention but also broadens the speaker's reach and enhances their overall effectiveness, illustrating how psychology is pivotal in the art of presenting.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Psychology of Presenting The chapter titled 'Introduction to Psychology of Presenting' begins by addressing the common question of how to ensure that audiences listen to, engage with, and learn from presentations. The chapter introduces the concept that there is a psychological aspect to engaging an audience. It references Pavlov, known for his famous experiment with dogs, to illustrate the idea that certain stimuli, when introduced repeatedly, can influence behavior. This sets the stage for exploring techniques and strategies rooted in psychological principles to enhance the effectiveness of presentations.
• 00:30 - 01:30: Theories and Techniques for Engagement The chapter discusses methods to engage both dogs and people by conditioning them to respond almost unconsciously. This involves introducing specific stimuli and techniques within presentations to make learning automatic. Effective presentations, as per this theory, should evoke emotions to ensure audience engagement.
• 01:30 - 03:30: Elements of a Memorable Presentation The chapter 'Elements of a Memorable Presentation' outlines key components that make a presentation memorable. These include utilizing visual and interactive elements, evoking emotion, employing a conversational technique, and incorporating good storytelling. The chapter emphasizes that visuals should not just consist of words on a screen to memorize or read from, but instead should engage the audience effectively.
• 03:30 - 05:30: Organizational Structures for Speeches The chapter "Organizational Structures for Speeches" emphasizes the importance of using memorable visuals and interactive elements in presentations. It discusses how engaging graphics or images can enhance a speech and how involving the audience through questions can make the presentation more interactive. Additionally, the chapter highlights the role of emotion in storytelling, mentioning that language can also be a powerful tool to elicit emotions.
• 05:30 - 07:30: Importance of Emotion Over Logic The chapter emphasizes the value of emotion over logic when presenting. It suggests making presentations conversational and speaking from the heart, encouraging the use of note cards only if necessary. It stresses the importance of knowing the outline and stories well enough to speak naturally, rather than relying on a memorized speech.
• 07:30 - 10:30: Storytelling in Presentations The chapter titled 'Storytelling in Presentations' explores the use of stories in speeches and presentations. It discusses how stories can be integrated either throughout or as the central theme of the entire presentation. The emphasis is placed on the importance of structuring the presentation to capture and hold the audience's attention. The brain's need for and expectation of structure is highlighted as a key factor in enhancing attention and learning. Various methods for organizing a speech are suggested to accommodate this need for structure.
• 10:30 - 13:30: Understanding Audience Learning Styles This chapter focuses on the importance of tailoring speeches and presenting information in a way that aligns with different audience learning styles. It introduces the problem-solution-benefit model, highlighting its effectiveness in motivational and persuasive speeches. The chapter also discusses the cause-and-effect approach to effectively communicate and engage with the audience.

Chapter 15 - Psychology of Presenting Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 many people wonder how you can almost ensure that people listen to and engage with and learn from your presentations there is a psychology behind how you get people to do that the guy named Pavlov who had the famous Pavlov's dogs where he figured out that you could introduce certain stimuli repeatedly to
• 00:30 - 01:00 get dogs to behave a certain way every single time also figured out that there are ways to get people to almost unconsciously learn and that is by introducing certain types of stimuli certain techniques in your presentations the learning becomes automatic if you practice some of these things so good presentations according to this Theory should elicit emotions to acheve achieve audience engagement and
• 01:00 - 01:30 learning a really memorable presentation includes visual components interactive components emotion a conversational sort of technique when it all possible and a memorable presentation has a good story in it now to review a few of these things visuals does not mean just have a bunch of word on your words on your screen that you memorize or just read
• 01:30 - 02:00 that is not memorable visuals are usually good images Graphics that kind of thing interactive presentations are ones where you ask questions of your audience you get them to think and help you present emotion can be elicited in stories most often is but there are other ways as well even your language
• 02:00 - 02:30 can be more emotional than logical and then if you can at all make it conversational you can speak from your heart know your outline well enough to present remember we Advocate using note cards if you need them but you want to know your stories your whole outline well enough to speak from the heart rather than to have a memorized or Worse R speech and then stories stories
• 02:30 - 03:00 stories you can have stories throughout your presentation or you can have a single story be your entire speech now one thing you can do to help the brain pay attention and learn is to organize your speech because the brain knows structure it expects structure and it craves structure and we've talked about these before but there are a number of ways you can organize your
• 03:00 - 03:30 speech to help the brain follow along easily one is the problem solution and benefit where you introduce a problem provide a solution and then explain the benefits of that solution and that is good for motivational speeches persuasive speeches and anytime you really want to bring people to your side of thinking cause and effect is where you show the cause of what you're discussing
• 03:30 - 04:00 and the effects and this is good when you want to make sure that your audience understands the logic behind your position now remember that emotion is stronger than logic emotion is stronger than facts it's why fake news works because people get caught up in the emotion of a situation rather than really analyzing
• 04:00 - 04:30 whether it's true or not comparison is good for when you want to show the advantages of your product your position over other ones and or you want them to understand better through analogies usually you'll have three points because remember in presentations three seems to be a magical number and you choose maybe three things that you can compare and contrast your own position position or product to and
• 04:30 - 05:00 finally chronological works well when we hear things especially Stories We want to hear it in order that's why we're always saying wait wait wait back up now how how did y'all even get to this place people just want first things first so great great great way to present stories so the thing we've been doing the most Po in this course is
• 05:00 - 05:30 to introduce three main points at the beginning that's when your audience is wanting to pay attention so at least they hear those first three main points the body of your point is going to support those three main points with facts data information stories whatever it takes and then at the end you restate the three main points because when audiences re realize that you're
• 05:30 - 06:00 concluding they perk up again and start paying attention so you want them again to understand your three main points now before number one ever happens don't forget you want an attention getting statement or question to get your audience involved and engaged so you do that first then you introduce yourself and give yourself some credibility by saying this happened to
• 06:00 - 06:30 me so I am here to tell you how it works or I do this every day in my job so I want to share with you how much easier it will make your life whatever the case may be you need to give yourself credibility before moving into those three main points in your thesis and all of that and then after number three don't forget to leave your audience with an impactive statement of some kind don't finish reiterating your points and then say well that's all I have today
• 06:30 - 07:00 I'm so glad you came thank you for listening no no no they won't remember that they'll remember the big Point again they'll remember your whole purpose they'll remember your emotion if you restate it a call to action whatever it takes so the next time you find yourself in a dark and scary alley Don't Panic remember my three tips and you will be
• 07:00 - 07:30 safe something like that that's so much better than thank you you don't need to say thank you at the end now let's talk about storytelling I have a video here for you and I cannot figure out how to show it in a recording because every time I play it in the recording it is silent the somehow the mic does not pick it up so I have it here for you to click you can
• 07:30 - 08:00 watch on YouTube so you can see it full screen if you just click the red YouTube button it just plays it in that small box and it doesn't seem to have an enlarging tool that's okay just watch it however you can because this is the 2023 world champion of public speaking Joselyn Tyson and her whole speech is a story except for the end where she has some ways to relate it to your life and
• 08:00 - 08:30 some calls to action the name of the speech is have you been there it's just something she repeats several times in Her speech it's a little memory device but please watch this because if you want to know how to tell a story in a speech or with your friends or anything this is a good way now it's not as conversational as most of our presentations should be because it is very very very rehearsed I myself have P
• 08:30 - 09:00 participated in Toastmaster speech contests and the winners of those are almost like performances and you'll see what I mean when you see hers the delivery is still wonderful so just take away some of observe it see what she does see how she uses her whole body to tell her story see how she uses her whole stage to tell her story see how she's dressed see her
• 09:00 - 09:30 facial expressions listen to her vocal variety listen to how she pulls you into the speech by using the word you a lot and listen at her humor including her self-deprecating humor one thing I heard one time that has stuck with me is when you're giving an inspirational speech and that's what this is make sure not to make yourself the hero of the story
• 09:30 - 10:00 don't tell a story on someone else and then swoop in with all the wisdom that that person needed to come out of it no the most effective speeches ones where people will believe you and listen to you is where you make yourself vulnerable and you tell about having been knocked down and how other people swooped in with their wisdom and their good advice and their help and got you
• 10:00 - 10:30 out of the situation so that you learned a lesson from other people it's much more appealing it's much more attractive to us when the speaker is vulnerable and self-deprecating and let's other people do the heavy lifting to get them out of their scrapes oops I'm not going to show you that because it doesn't work all right so let's talk about some learning styles
• 10:30 - 11:00 why because once you realize that there are different learning styles and we have different learning styles from one another you'll realize that any audience you have probably contains some people with each of these so your presentation is best if you have some of the components that help visual Learners some that help auditory learners and some that help kinesthetic Learners Now
• 11:00 - 11:30 by this time you may or may not have taken your learning style done your learning style activity to see which learning style you have but if you were visual that means that you need to see things to learn them if you're auditory you need to hear the lesson to understand and kinesthetic Learners need to do the thing they need to touch
• 11:30 - 12:00 it they need to write something they need to they need an an they need an activity I like to learn this way if you're training me to use a computer program I it doesn't help me to watch you do it while you speak you need to sit me down in the chair and let me do what you are walking me through and then I have a good chance of remembering it I
• 12:00 - 12:30 ALS I also need to take step-by-step notes so that I will remember what we did later on so let's talk about what these Learners need you can help a visual learner by sharing an outline before the presentation so they can be looking at it in your presentation you can use graphics and bright colors charts graphs images images images pictures and really encourage them to take notes so that they can look at
• 12:30 - 13:00 those notes later and include videos in your presentations like I wanted to auditory Learners will do best if you will record your presentation so they can go back and listen to it later you can embed sound in it which I wasn't able to do in this presentation you can move around the room to make sure everyone hears you as well as sees you and you can use a mic listen don't be
• 13:00 - 13:30 the person who says I know everyone can hear me I'm not going to use this mic that person always needs a mic everyone needs a mic you don't know how well other people hear they may not hear as well as you can you also don't know how you sound at the other end of the room and then to help a kinesthetic learner have some role playing do pair and share turn to the person next to you and you
• 13:30 - 14:00 have five minutes for you each to tell how you would handle this situation and then we'll come back and talk have them write down everything that they hear like have a fill in the blank for them so they have an activity do interactive polling like using things like oh like Top Hat you know they can do polling just anything that gets them engaged in an activity with you those are are some great tips for knowing how
• 14:00 - 14:30 people learn why they learn and why they get engaged use some of them and it will take you to a new level of public speaking and presenting