Discussion board | Applied Sciences homework help

1. Conclusion. Briefly summarize your findings, showing how they can help solve the problem at hand.

Training Training teaches listeners how to do something: operate a piece of equipment or use software, relate effectively to the public, avoid or deal with sexual harassment—the range of training topics is almost endless. Training can be informal, such as the simple advice an experienced employee gives a newcomer about how to transfer a telephone call. At the other end of the spectrum, some training is extensive and highly organized. Corporations including Disney, Anheuser-Busch, Dell Computer, Harley- Davidson, and General Electric have full-blown institutes dedicated to training their employees.1 Successful businesses recognize the value of training. One measure of its importance is the amount of time and money firms invest in training their employees. The average U.S. organization spends $1,252 per employee on training initiatives.2 Some training is done by experts. Large organizations have staffers who design and deliver instructional programs. In addition, independent firms and freelancers create and deliver training on a fee-for-service basis. Despite the existence of a training industry, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that almost 75 percent of all work-related training is delivered informally on the job.3 This fact suggests that, sooner or later, you 354 will be responsible for designing and delivering training, no matter what your job may be. The information that follows will help you do a good job. 688 Planning a Training Program A successful training presentation begins long before you face your audience, when you use the guidelines in Chapter 9 (pp. 257–264) to analyze the audience, the occasion, and your own goals and knowledge about the topic. Most training experts agree about the importance of each of the following steps:4 Define the training goal Training always aims to change the way your audience acts, so begin by identifying who you want to teach and what results you want to bring about. The more specifically you can identify the target audience and the desired outcome, the more successful your training will be. You can see the difference between vague and specific goals in the following examples: Vague: Train employees to deal more effectively with customer complaints. Better: Everyone in the Sales and Customer Service departments will know how to use the tactics of listening, asking questions, and agreeing to deal more effectively with customer complaints. Vague: Train the staff to use our new online purchasing system. Better: Employees who are authorized to buy new and replacement equipment will know how to use the new online purchasing system to locate vendors, place orders, track shipments, and check their department’s purchasing budget. See the discussion of Setting Your Goal and Developing the Thesis in Chapter 9 for more guidelines on defining goals. Develop a schedule and a list of resources Once you have defined your goals and identified the target audience, you are ready to design the training. This step includes the following tasks: Determining the amount of time you will need to plan and publicize the training, and the steps you must take before you deliver the training. Identifying the staffing and physical resources you need, and making sure they are available. Line up the facility, and make sure its furnishings and layout suit your design. Identify the materials that 689 participants will need (e.g., pens, notepads, folders, name tags or name tents, refreshments) and the equipment you will use (e.g., computer, projection system, lectern, charts). Creating and/or purchasing necessary training materials. ©Ariel Skelley/Blend Images RF Involve the audience Lecturing to a passive audience has its place, but it is not the only way to train members of a group. Audience members can be asked to read a manual or instructions, look at diagrams or displays, watch live demonstrations or videos, go on a site visit, complete worksheets, or simulate an experience. Listeners who are actively involved in a presentation will understand and remember the material far better than members of a passive audience.5 People will learn how to operate a particular machine, fill in a certain form, or perform a specified procedure much 355 better with hands-on experience than they will if they are just told what to do. For example, Lever Corporation trains its representatives to sell industrial cleaning equipment by teaching them to operate the machines themselves.6 case STUDY Using Training to Retain Employees 690 English Under the Arches (EUA) is a training program sponsored by McDonald’s that has the purpose of educating employees for whom English is a second language. EUA is available to crew members and managers. McDonald’s covers the tuition cost for the program, which provides English skills on restaurantrelated topics such as: shift basics, shift conversations, shift writing, and conducting performance reviews. The courses are a blend of face-to-face and virtual delivery. McDonald’s has experienced a 70 percent retention rate after three years for employees who complete EUA. Sources: “Archways to Opportunity,” English Under the Arches (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.archwaystoopportunity.com/english_under_the_arches.html#; Patten, B., “10 Companies with Great Training Programs: An Extensive Rundown,” Innovation Enterprise (n.d.) Retrieved from https://channels.theinnovationenterprise.com/articles/7314-10- companies-with-great-training-programs-and-what-you-can-learn-from-them A variety of other tools involve the audience in a way that boosts both understanding and interest: quizzes, contests, and having trainees teach one another. For example, if you plan to give the audience statistics such as data on the ethnic makeup of the United States, first present them with blank charts listing major ethnic groups and have them try to fill in the correct percentages. Then, when you present this information during the training, they will be more eager to hear the statistics and see how accurate or inaccurate their estimates were. The few minutes you take to let an audience fill in the blanks will greatly enhance interest in your figures. Similarly, you might create worksheets and surveys that mirror information you will present during training. You can also involve the audience by letting them practice the skill you are teaching, having volunteers demonstrate a skill, or pausing to allow the audience to read a passage silently. You can let the whole audience brainstorm or form small groups to brainstorm and then let each group report back.7 Listeners are likely to understand and remember a message when you use more than one approach to present it. You can show a diagram, for example, while you describe it. If you are discussing a physical object, you might display photos of it on slides or even bring in the object itself to show your listeners. If you are illustrating a process, you might play a brief video showing the process in action. Talking about a new line of clothing 691 or a new food product is not nearly as effective as giving your audience a firsthand look or taste, for example. Likewise, telling listeners in a training session how to deal with customer objections is less effective than demonstrating the procedure for them or letting them handle a situation themselves. Organize your presentation Use the tips in this section and see Chapter 9 for methods of organizing the overall presentation. The most reliable format is often a problem–solution approach: Listeners are more likely to pay attention to the information you provide when they view it as solving a problem they are currently experiencing. Delivering the Training When you are ready to deliver the training, take advantage of the following tips to help make it most effective: Link the topic to the audience Sometimes the intrinsic interest of the subject is reason enough to listen a presentation on that topic. For instance, most people would 356 pay close attention to a session on employee benefits because they know these benefits are worth something to them personally. What can you do with a subject that is not intrinsically interesting? One way to boost interest is to show that listening will help the audience avoid punishment. (“Don’t try to charge the company for something you’re not entitled to get. If you do, you could lose your job.”) A more pleasant and effective alternative involves demonstrating the payoffs that come from listening. For example, a financial officer explaining new expense account procedures might begin by saying, “We want to make sure the company reimburses you for all expenses you’re entitled to. Also, I don’t want you to spend your own money, thinking the company will pay you back, and then find out it won’t.” Expense reporting might be a tedious subject to many people, but the chance to save money (or to avoid losing money) would interest most listeners. 692 Start with the overall picture Every presentation needs an introduction. But when the goal is to inform listeners, a clear preview is especially important. Without an overview, your listeners may become so confused by your information “trees” that they will not be able to see the conceptual “forest.” Orient the audience by sketching the highlights of your message in enough detail to help listeners understand what they are expected to know and how you will explain it to them: This morning, we’re going to learn about the new electronic billing system. I’ll start by spending a little time explaining how the system works. Then we’ll talk about the three main things you will do with the system. First, I’ll show you how to track time you’ve spent working on different client tasks—and I’ll show you how to make corrections, too. Then, I’ll show you how to add a new client into the system when you take on new projects. Finally, I’ll show you how to compile, approve, and submit your weekly report to the Accounting Department for client billing. I’ll spend about 10 minutes describing each of these steps in detail, and after each description you’ll get a chance to try out the system yourself. And, of course, we’ll have time for some Q and A. By the time you leave for lunch, you should be able to use the system like a pro and say good-bye to that stack of billing paperwork! Emphasize the organization of your material You can use a number of devices to help listeners understand the structure of your material: Number items: “The first advantage of the new plan is …” or “A second benefit of the plan is…. ” Use signposts: “We’ve talked about the benefits of our new health care plan. Now let’s talk about who will provide them”; “Another important cost to consider is our overhead”; “Next, let’s look at the production figures”; and “Finally, we need to consider changes in customer demand.” Use interjections: “So what we’ve learned—and this is important—is that it’s impossible to control personal use of office telephones.” 693 Use repetition and redundancy: “Under the old system it took three weeks—that’s 15 working days—to get the monthly sales figures. Now we can get the numbers in just two days. That’s right—two days.” Add internal summaries and previews: “You can see we’ve made great progress in switching to the new inventory system. As I’ve said, the costs were about 10 percent more than we anticipated, but we see those costs as a one-time expense. I wish I could be as positive about the next item on the agenda—the customer 357 service problems we’ve been having. Complaints have increased. We do believe we’ve finally identified the problem, so let me explain it and show you how we plan to deal with it.” TECHNOLOGY tip Going Mobile with Training The mobile revolution has led to a reduction in many people’s attention span. To combat this issue, companies are beginning to deliver employee training materials using short video courses that are designed for smartphones and tablets. Wal-Mart recently launched a mobile app featuring 3-minute presentations focusing on how to complete routine tasks that often lead to injuries in the workplace. Employees are tested to see if they remember the material. During a six-month trial run of the app, the number of reportable injuries fell by nearly 50 percent. The ability to cut cost and save time are two key advantages of going mobile with training. Source: Clancy, H., “Corporate Training Gets an Upgrade for the Facebook Generation,” Fortune, December 28, 2016. 694 Cover only necessary information You will usually be far more knowledgeable about the topic than your audience is. This extra knowledge is both a blessing and a potential curse. On the one hand, your command of the subject means you can explain the topic thoroughly. On the other hand, you may be tempted to give listeners more information than they want or need. If you cover your topic in too much detail, you are likely to bore—or even antagonize—your listeners. One personnel specialist made this mistake when briefing a group of staffers about how to file claims with a new health insurance carrier. Instead of simply explaining which steps to take when they needed health care services, he launched into a 20-minute explanation of why the company chose the present carrier, how that company processed claims at its home office, and where each copy of the four-part claims form was directed after it was filed. By the time he got to the part of his talk that was truly important to the audience—how to get reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses—the staffers were so bored and restless they had a hard time sitting still for the information. You should try to avoid mistakes like this in your own presentations. As you plan your remarks, ask yourself what your listeners need to know, and tell them just that much. If they want more information, they will probably ask for it. As Josh Bersin of Deloitte explains, “People are not patient for long-form content. They want to skip to the part they need.”8 Avoid Jargon Sometimes you will be introducing trainees to specialized terms and language. This education may be as simple as introducing new employees to your company jargon for departments (“If you need help with your computer, call IRD”) or locations (“This is what we call the Annex”). Some jargon is necessary, but avoid using more than necessary. If you overwhelm your listeners with too much specialized terminology, you will probably bore them and leave them so confused that they will stop trying to understand the training material. Don’t be a techno- snob: Tell people what they need to know in language they will understand. 695 Link the Familiar to the Unfamiliar Research has shown people have the best chance of understanding new material when it bears some relationship to information they already know.9 Without a familiar reference point, listeners may have trouble 358 understanding even a clear definition. The next two examples illustrate how comparisons and contrasts with familiar information can help make new ideas more understandable: Confusing: Money market funds are mutual funds that buy corporate and government short-term investments. [To understand this definition, the audience needs to be familiar with money market funds and with corporate and government short-term investments.]

More Familiar:

Money market funds are like a collection of IOUs held by a middleman. The funds take cash from investors and lend it to corporations and the government, usually for between 30 and 90 days. These borrowers pay the fund interest on the loan, and that interest is passed along to the investors. [If the listeners understand IOUs and interest, they can follow this definition.] Webinars As we discussed in Chapter 8, webinars, or Web-based seminars, are a type of virtual meeting commonly encountered in business settings. Webinar sessions typically run 45–60 minutes in length and are viewed in real time. Sessions are recorded and e-mailed to participants and/or uploaded online for additional “on-demand” viewing. There are at least seven uses for webinars:10 Training/product demonstration: Teaches new customers how a service or product works. Corporate communications: Brings remote employees together to discuss information and/or solicit feedback. e-Learning: Covers a topic for educational purposes. 696 Lead generation: Shares free content with the purpose of collecting participants’ information (e.g., names, e-mail addresses). Customer retention: Creates a dialogue with customers by keeping them informed and/or answering their questions. Reputation management: Familiarizes participants with a brand and establishes credibility by sponsoring content. Providing association members with content: Provides members with free content, while charging a fee to nonmembers to see the same content. The following tips will help you design and present an effective webinar that will keep your participants interested.11 Identify a Specific Topic Since you usually have less than an hour to present material and reach your goal for the webinar, it is important to narrow your content down to a specific topic. While you may be an expert on “food safety,” the topic is very broad; thus, labeling your webinar with this topic does not tell participants what they will be doing or learning if they attend the webinar. Broad topics increase the likelihood that you will have trouble organizing your session and staying on topic. By comparison, selecting a specific aspect of food safety (e.g., “How to use technology to avoid human error in restaurants”) provides a strong blueprint for your presentation and can generate greater interest among participants. 359 Select an Engaging Speaker and Host Webinars should have a host who will welcome the audience, introduce the speaker, ensure that the speaker stays on topic, open the floor for questions, and conclude the session. The speaker should be an expert in the content area of the session, and should be someone who speaks clearly and exudes energy in terms of his or her vocal delivery. Choose an Organizational Format Five organizational formats are typically used for webinars. Table 12-2 provides a description of each format, along with its respective pros and cons.12 697 Table 12-2 Webinar formats Description of Format Pros Cons Presentation: Presenter gives a rehearsed speech using presentational software (e.g., PowerPoint, Prezi). Easy to create; scripted; allows the opportunity to provide viewers with the slides or other bonus content Less engaging Interview: An expert is interviewed by the host using a set of preselected questions. Engaging; allows the speaker to prepare with a predetermined set of questions Guest may go off-script Q&A: An expert answers questions directly from the audience. Questions may be asked live or collected beforehand. Highly engaging; offers the audience an opportunity to access an expert; requires interaction; gathers important information on topics the audience finds important Unscripted; possibility that there will not be enough questions to fill the allotted time; potential for poor questions from audience Panel: Several speakers discuss a predetermined topic. Highly engaging; offers various perspectives and experts Potential for conflict between panelists Product Demonstration: Presenter demonstrates how to use a product or showcases a service for new or prospective clients. Provides an opportunity to engage with prospective clients; generates leads Potential for failure Source: Mazereeu, A., “5 Memorable Webinar Formats to Try,” LifeLearn, July 28, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.lifelearn.com/2015/07/28/5-memorable-webinar-formats-to-try/ Design an Interactive Session There are several ways to ensure that a webinar is engaging to participants. First, use several forms of media in addition to the presentation slide deck and/or video of the presenter. Consider integrating some of the various types of visual supports that were discussed in Chapter 10. For example, you could add a video clip or an infographic that demonstrates a point that you would like the audience to remember. 698 Next, you should think of ways to keep your audience interested throughout the presentation. A few examples include integrating mechanisms for collecting feedback (such as surveys or polls asking audience members about the topic), inviting participants to ask questions, holding open-ended discussions at the end of the session, and inserting links to additional information. Prepare for Questions When utilizing the presentation, panel, or product demonstration format, it is important to decide when questions will be allowed and how 360 they will be handled. It is the responsibility of the speaker and the host to set the tone for the flow of the presentation. Time slots may be assigned within the body of the presentation for questions and discussions, or questions can be scheduled for the end of the presentation. Hosts will often collect audience questions via the chat or messenger mechanism of the presentation software and then ask these questions on behalf of the audience members at the appropriate time. It is important that the speaker provides answers that are brief and keep the conversation on topic.13 Press Conferences A press conference (or news conference ) is a meeting organized with the purpose of sharing important information about an organization with the media and giving journalists an opportunity to ask questions. Typically, an executive or leader from the organization serves as the speaker at a press conference. Press conferences have many purposes:14 Political candidates can communicate their stance on important issues. Political activists can state their opinion on proposed legislation. Presidents can share important information and/or calm public fears. Officials (such as mayors, governors, police officers) may respond to emergencies or disasters. 699 Organizations can issue an apology or official statement during a crisis. Companies can introduce a new product or service. Researchers can reveal a scientific breakthrough. Organizations can unveil a campaign or new branding. Nonprofits can announce a charity event with a featured celebrity or strategic partnership. Organizations can announce new leadership. Sports teams can announce the acquisition of a new player. Companies can release their financial information. Several considerations should be taken into account when planning an effective press conference. Choose a Newsworthy Story Press conferences should be reserved for major newsworthy announcements. A story is considered newsworthy if it is timely, affects many people, happens locally or to people with whom the audience relates, happens to a famous person or a notable organization, and has human interest. On February 26, 2017, Samsung held a press conference to showcase two new tablets and an updated Gear VR (virtual reality) headset: Samsung Galaxy Book, Samsung Galaxy Tab S3, and Samsung Gear VR with Controller. This product unveiling met the standards of being newsworthy: It concerned a well-known organization, it was current and interesting to people who use this type of technology around the world, and people had a particular interest in what Samsung might say given the company’s recent Galaxy Note 7 smartphone crisis. Determine a Time and Location The main audience for a press conference is the media, which makes it important to research the deadlines of journalists whom you are inviting and schedule the event accordingly. Midmorning to noon press conferences 361 700 typically give journalists enough time to commute to and from the event and still meet their deadlines for publishing or packaging the story, which increases the likelihood of media coverage. It is also important to start the press conference on time. Press conferences can be held in a meeting room (at the organization’s headquarters, for example) or on location, such as at the site of a new store’s ground-breaking ceremony. When considering a location, ensure that it is within a reasonable traveling distance, is free of noise distractions, and meets the following technical requirements:15 Has enough parking for important people and media Is able to accommodate large TV production trucks Has adequate seating for journalists and guests Has enough electrical outlets for computers, cameras, microphones, and other equipment Has ample room for TV cameras Has a mult-box device, which allows media to receive direct audio feeds from one microphone Is well lit for television Send a News Release or Media Advisory Invitations, in the form of a news release or media advisory, should be sent to journalists who have an interest in your news or event announcement at least 24 hours in advance. Journalists are typically assigned to a “beat,” or specific news area to cover. If you are hosting a press conference to announce that your sports organization has acquired a new player, for example, you will want to notify journalists who work the sports beat. A sample news release and media advisory can be found in Appendix II. Select Speakers and Rehearse Similar to a webinar, press conferences need a host to introduce speakers and facilitate the question- and-answer session. It is helpful to limit the event to two speakers to reduce the risk of communicating inconsistent information. Hosts and speakers should be trained in working with the media. A few tips for them follow: 701 Anticipate and prepare answers for a variety of questions. Rehearse in front of a camera, paying attention to nonverbal communication. Identify “talking points” or key messages that you wish to communicate. Keep statements brief. Consider using visual aids. Address questions with short, clear answers.

• Persuasive Presentations Sooner or later, everyone needs to influence other people’s thinking or actions. When an issue is especially important, persuasion frequently takes place in a presentation. Even when you have made your case in writing, a good presentation is often essential. Business consultant James Lukaszewski explains:

We live in a “tell me” world. The last time you presented a plan to your boss to accomplish something—you know—that beautiful 2-inch-thick, tabbed notebook 362 with 150 pages, 31 tabs, and 5,000 well-chosen words? Was it actually read? Or did your boss simply put his hand on it, look you in the eye, and say, “Show me what’s in here and tell me how it’s going to help us achieve our objectives.”16 Credibility may be important, but the way you structure your message also plays a major role in determining how successful you will be at persuading an audience. Chapter 9 discussed several patterns for organizing the body of a presentation. Table 12-3 recaps the use of the problem–solution, comparative advantages, criteria satisfaction, and motivated sequence patterns as they apply to persuasive situations. There is no single best plan for every occasion. Rather, the best approach will depend on the topic and your audience’s attitude toward it. 702 Table 12-3 Considerations for Choosing a Persuasive Organization Pattern Organization Plan Considerations Problem–solution Most basic persuasive pattern. Most helpful when the audience needs convincing that a problem exists. Comparative advantages Use when the audience is considering alternatives to your proposal. Show how your plan is superior to others. Defer the thesis if the audience will object to the idea before hearing your reasoning. Criteria satisfaction Use when the audience is not likely to consider alternative plans. Choose criteria important to your audience, and show how your plan meets them. If the audience may be hostile to your plan, introduce criteria before discussing the plan. Motivated sequence Use when the problem and solution are easy to visualize. Effective when seeking an immediate audience reaction. The following discussion covers the types of persuasive presentations you are most likely to deliver in the workplace, as well as strategies to create presentations that change minds and produce the results you are seeking in an ethical manner. Types of Persuasive Presentations Unlike purely informative presentations, which do not advocate a position, persuasive presentations aim to change the way an audience thinks, feels, or acts. The most common types of persuasive presentations are motivational and goodwill speeches, proposals, and sales presentations.

Consider these examples to see how common persuasion is on the job:

Two partners are convinced they have a winning idea for a new restaurant. They meet with a commercial loan officer from a local bank to seek financing for their project. 703 Faced with a wave of injuries, the foreman of a construction crew convinces his team members they need to observe safety practices more carefully. As part of a community relations program, the electric utility company has started a community speakers’ bureau. The bureau’s director is speaking to a group of employees to recruit them as volunteers for the service. A group of employees has grown increasingly disgruntled with the boss’s policy on vacation scheduling. They have chosen a three-person delegation to present their grievances. 363 Motivational Speeches A motivational speech attempts to generate enthusiasm for the topic being presented. When delivered effectively and at the proper time, such presentations can produce excellent results. For example, the organizers of a fund-raising event can generate enthusiasm to recruit and energize volunteers. A team leader can inspire an otherwise skeptical workforce to work extra hard to cut costs. A manager can encourage an unmotivated employee to turn his performance around and become a top producer for the company. Goodwill Speeches As its name implies, a goodwill speech aims to create a favorable image of the speaker’s cause in the minds of the audience. Representatives of organizations frequently speak to audiences to promote interest or support for their organizations. For example, a corporate recruiter who addresses graduating seniors and a bank economist who explains an economic forecast are making goodwill speeches. These goodwill speeches might seem informative, but they also try to change the listeners’ attitudes or behavior. The corporate recruiter is trying to encourage some students to apply for jobs with her company; the economist is trying to build the image of her institution as a leading business bank. 704 Proposals In a proposal you advocate that your audience take specific action. Some proposals are aimed at external audiences, whereas others are focused on internal audiences. You might, for example, try to persuade management to support a ride-sharing program or reimburse employees for education costs, or you might try to convince your boss to give you more staffing support or a raise in pay. (See the Career Tip for advice on requesting a raise.) Whatever the topic and the audience, the most straightforward approach for a proposal presentation is the problem–solution approach described in Chapter 9. While the particulars will vary, each section of this two-part approach is likely to include the information listed here: