Lesson 24 – Benjamin Zander & Finishing Presentations

Benjamin Zander at TED Talk
We watched (again!) Benjamin Zander's TED Talk called The Transformative Power of Classical Music. I didn't realize I had assigned this video for homework before. Somehow, I can't find it on the blog. However, I hope you benefited from watching it again. Perhaps having done the homework and seeing again helped you see how much more you could understand and appreciate. 

What I hope you notice this time is how Zander used humor as his PUNCH strategy to introduce his topic. 

You can watch the video again here:

Write in your journal about these questions (and any other thoughts you have)

• What is one-buttock playing?
• How can you be a one-buttock player?
• What similarities can you find between Zander's talk and Duckworth's talk including what she wrote about her experience?
• How can you apply these ideas to your presentation, to your studies, to your life?
  Due 7/8 23:59

Make your ending sticky
Here are some suggestions for making your ending sticky. Being sticky means that your ideas will stick and be easy to remember. The idea comes from a book by Chip and Dan Heath, Made to Stick. Garr Reynolds in his book The Naked Presenter refers to their ideas when suggesting how to finish your presentation strong.

Here is a summary of the points Reynolds shares from the Heaths' book:

• Simplicity – do not add much new information at the end of your talk.
• Unexpectedness – just as your PUNCH can include something unexpected, your ending can as well. In fact, you begin an anecdote or a question in your introduction and give the conclusion here.
• Concreteness – Avoid being abstract. Give a specific example or use a specific image to make your final point.
• Credibility – Use a final example or statistic to make your final point.
• Emotions – Find a way to make your audience care about your final point. This can be similar to the Personal part of PUNCH.
• Stories – Use a story to help your audience remember your talk. People like stories.

Just like with PUNCH, you probably cannot use each of these ideas. But, consider using one or more.



Handling Q & A
Here are some tips for handling the question and answer time (also from The Naked Presenter).

• Be engaging – Keep your energy level high. Consider getting physically closer to your audience members and look them in the eyes.
• Be brief – Keep your answers to the questions short. Don't give a second presentation during this time.
• Be silent – Let your audience member finish their question even if you think you know what they want to ask.
• Be gracious – If your audience member is annoying you, continue to remain calm and kind.
• Be assertive – Even though you are being patient and kind, do not let an audience member to take too much time from the rest of the audience.
• Repeat or rephrase the question – This shows consideration to the full audience who may not have heard the question. Reynolds says this is a "pro tip", an action that shows your skill.
• Know when to stop – When your time limit is approaching, do not continue to go on speaking. Or, if someone has a question and you know you will not have enough time to answer, take control. You can say something like, "I'm sorry, we are running out of time. You can come speak to me after the presentation."

Finally, end the Q&A time with about 1 minute or so left in your time and close powerfully with your main point. One way to do so is to say something like:

If you only remember one thing today, remember that …Thank you.