I prefer to only imagine those audience members who I consider to be attractive to be naked when I present my topics.

I was hoping to find more examples of how to engage an audience who is losing interest, hungry, not paying attention, not participating. Specifically, how to get them back and keep them engaged. I present recruiting information about our college to area high school students, and although it includes a cooking demo, it's sometimes a challenge to keep them tuned in. What are some tricks to keep the audience interested in the "talking" part of a presentation that have worked for you in the past? I'm not able to edit our slide show since it's from corporate. Thanks so much, Dawn

I have enjoyed reading all the comments which are very helpful and insightful. My problem with this site is this: Every time I respond to a remark or question and then return to the page, I'm back at the top again and it takes a lot of time to scroll through all the threads trying to find where I left off. Any way to just return to where you were when you made a comment?

I've attempted to use coaching with students on team projects with mixed results. Usually it is a positive outcome with more mature students (not just age, but in attitude). Have you used this in such settings? If so, should I tweak the process since the setting is so different? Any resources that you know of would be helpful.

Is there a way to plan for situations that are outside of your control? Situations that may take away the audiences attention, such as a thunderstorm, thin walls, sneezing/coughing audience members? What do you do if the audience has a intelligence level that you overestimated?

A skill that is often not focused on enough in the classroom is teachin listening skills. Active listening actually involves the brain. When one actively listens they taked in the informaiton and mentally digest. In doing so we are not formulating a quick response but rather we are processing the information to gain understianding and then provide feedback. An activity I conducted in my classroom is to allow the students to get into to groups of twos. Then each student carried a discussion out with thier partner. After a period of 3-5 minutes each student then had to write down what was said to them. We looked for things like accuracy and quantity of information. We have come to the conclusion that when we are actively listening we will remember most of the information stated to us.' Now when we apply it to the career environmentm, when a boss or colleague states information we must actively listen. It could mean all the differnece in getting the job done.

I have learned that I need to separate feedback from references to me as a person from what I contribute to the company. I also learned that I need to be able to accept positive feedback directly instead of down playing it.

Know your audience... this is vital to being an effective presenter. It should help to guide you though the other pit fall of speaking.

I had difficulty viewing this 1st presentation. All the screens had the 1st few lines cut off. I adjusted my screen size, rebooted etc. Was unable to fix the problem. Has anyone else had this issue? I passed the quiz anyway. :)

I agree with a lot of the discussions. You have to view students to see if your losing class. so we may have to switch things up.

Poor communication can produce powerful negative consequences, such as the following: distrust, lack of support, ridity, and other issues created by poor communication.

Feedback and other management techniques require a proactive positive attitude. Handle matters sooner than later and let people know you want sensible input, not bellyaching. Seek solutions and study the effects. Last of all, don't be afraid to announce that a proposed solution isn't working. Be receptive to trying new ideas. Don't be afraid to abandon a course of action which isn't fulfilling the defined objectives of the root cause analysis.

follows along well with the guide lines i was taught in 85, not much difference. Liked it

Like many of us; I have attended a multitude of talks at conferences and other forums. This course has helped me answer the question, "Was it the topic or the speaker that made a 'good' v. 'bad' presentation"? I have attended presentations on topics that were highly interesting 'on paper' but the speaker did a poor job. Various incarnations of topics and talks that make for good v. bad presentations now make more sense when viewed through the lense of ML 117.

Listening with silence

Hello: My school is currently experiencing lack of coaching or motivation. We are a very small school. So program directors have taken it upon our selves to motivate and coach each other during this time. We in the PD office have been able to coach each other with various issues in the school. We have new online program and going through current curriculum changes. each of these takes careful guidance to navigate. We receive minimal instructions and expected to carry out the objectives.

When receiving feedback I tend to respond to the person providing the feedback rather than the feedback itself, especially if I have no confidence in the person providing the feedback. How does one correct for this type of situation.

How to prioritize objectives. Discount for 1. Uncertainty 2. Time 3. Risk 4. Acceptance

If, when responding to criticism, you first follow these rules, and it fails, it is important to not to simply get rid of the rules. In other words, if you clarify the criticism that you receive and you respond in a rational way, and it fails, and the criticizer, perhaps, becomes angry at you, do not respond in kind. Their getting angry at you does not justify your getting angry at them.

I think that acknowledging each others roles in relation to each other, and in the context of the topics being discussed, can help facilitate the process and may even serve as prep work for the feedback session.