Monday, November 2, 2009

Persuasive Presentations - Healthcare Reform

Post your critiques for the persuasive group presentations here. You will post a critique of a student in another group that had the same step in Monroe's Motivated Sequence that you had in your group presentation. Post comments that look at the strength and weaknesses of the argument and try to move past commenting solely on delivery issues. Discuss the reasoning and evidence used in the speech. Be sure to remain positive in your critique directly your comments towards ideas for improvements as well as praising on places that the argument was solid in both reasoning and evidence.

15 comments:

  1. Lasha- Step 2: Need
    I said pretty much everything in class, but I thought you did a really good job on this presentation. Delivery wise you had a nice conversational style, you had great eye contact with the audience and you used your notecards minimally.

    You did a good job citing your sources verbally, however they were lacking visually in your powerpoint, so just watch for that in the future.

    I think the need is a difficult step to have because you have to be really clear in convincing the audience that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. You need to be credible and interesting. I think you had a nice balance in your material. You didn't overload with stats and difficult information that the audience had to think about. The problem was clearly laid out and made at least me want to hear the solution because you convinced me there really was a problem.

    Other than the citations I didn't see any other weaknesses. You did very good!

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  2. Jessica V. - Action and Attention

    In the attention step, you started out strongly with a great statistic that applied really well to the topic. It successfully caught the audience’s attention. Within the action step, you also had a very well written preview. In order to be more effective, you could slow down with your delivery a little bit because your voice sounded a little unsteady at times. But I could tell at the end you were more comfortable and addressed the audience more confidently.

    Overall, you made good eye contact with the audience throughout the speech. In the attention section it was very helpful when you showed the audience the page they could visit to contact Representative Rush D. Holt. You made the action step very simple. However, you could have developed the step further and told the audience exactly what to write to the representative in order to make action even easier. In the end, you used solid facts that helped introduce and conclude a great presentation. It’s always difficult to be the first one to speak during a group presentation, and you did a great job keeping calm.

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  3. Mike – Step 3: Benefits

    I thought you did an excellent job in your presentation! You really brought the group together and spoke with great confidence. I understand how difficult the section of benefits was to support but you did so by incorporating credible graphs, statistics and facts such as the one from the Wall Street Journal. You increased your credibility by citing well both verbally and on your power point. The benefit section of the speech can be difficult one because it is crucial not to repeat arguments and plans previously stated by other group members. It needs to be clear cut and easy for the audience to understand. Your section of the presentation was strong because by referring to the audience’s frame of reference, it was easier for them to relate to. In your speech, you informed the audience about the new job opportunities that will arise with the development of the new health care reform. I think this was a great benefit to incorporate in your section to really hit home with the audience.
    One weakness I recall is the layout of the power point. One suggestion I can make is try to have a better matching font and background color. At times, it was a little difficult to read the text. For the future, just try to position it better on the slide. Overall, I think you did a tremendous job on your presentation. Your tone, delivery and credibility was great. Good job!

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  4. Cait - Need

    I thought the information you presented in class was very informative. As mentioned in class, I thought the need was well supported by your future statistics and facts. For instance, the statistics on what will happen should the federal government continue their poor spending trends or the fact if one discovers they have an existing condition, they’ll lose their health insurance. Pointing out these impending threats or these this-could-happen-to-you situations makes it really hard for the audience to not recognize the problem and to not stand behind the devised plan. I felt the information you provided really aroused mine, as well as, the rest of the audience’s attention.

    Another strength you had was verbal citing. Though it is a lengthy task to do, I feel you really did a great job ensuring you verbally cited every time and correctly. This is a really great skill to have down already since it is so small but yet so crucial for making a presentation a success.

    As far as any weaknesses go, I really didn't find any because I thought everything you did was quite well. However, I felt the poewerpoint could have had a bit more substance to it. For instance when I was hearing some of the facts you stated, I would be shocked and would want to ensure that what I heard was really true. I would look to the powerpoint and not see that fact paraphrased or graphed and would quickly forget the information. An example of this has to do with a fact you said about funds running out by 2013. I think to really instill a problem into the audience, it would be most effective to say, as well as visually present, an important and strong fact. In that case, the audience hears and sees it several times so that they really remember the problem in depth.

    However, I felt you did a really great job - keep it up!

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  5. Lejla M.- Solution Step

    I thought you presented your solution really well. Your strengths included having clear main points to the solution and having lots of supporting evidence. The main points that you brought up were well organized and clear. Also, the statistics that you presented concerning employers and employees to back up your main points really emphasized the importance of the solution you presented and proved that your solution was well reasoned. Your argument did not really have any weaknesses. Well done!

    Your delivery could be improved, however. You relied on your note cards a little too much and that prevented you from having a conversational tone that the audience would have really liked. It also limited your eye contact that would have made your argument even stronger. As long as you work on getting off the note cards a little, which is difficult to do, you will improve your presentation skills.

    Overall, I think you did really well and should be proud!

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  6. Jess Clark- Visualization

    Jess Clark, along with the rest of her group, did a great job. I think that her biggest strength was her ability to convey really good visualizations that the average person would not think of. The car comparison, which at first seemed like a strech, came togehter incredably well.

    Another thing Jess did very well was her poise. She kept her tone at a very even level, looked very confident, and had great eye contact with the audience. That helped lend to an even greater credibility. She knew all her facts well, and it showed. Overall, her visual performance was close to perfect.

    It is hard to find any errors with her presentation. She obviously put a lot of work into her presentation, and it showed. My only suggestion would be to keep up the hard work. Great job Jess!

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  7. Natasha - Plan or Solution

    Overall, I think Natasha performed very well. Her voice was strong and conversational. The part of the speech she delivered fit well into the larger presentation and flowed well. However, there are two critiques I will offer.

    First, Natasha too often lost eye contact with the audience and read off her note cards. This stole away from the power and command of her voice. Also, it impaired the argument because people lost focus and could not take in her whole argument. This problem of engagement is fixable.

    Second, Natasha failed to cite her sources within her speech. Her argument was well thought out and cohesive, but it lacked credibility. Many claims became suspect in the audience's mind because there was no reference given and therefore there was a lack of authority to the audience.

    Despite these issues, Natasha and the rest of her group presented a very persuasive argument and speech.

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  8. Kevin Malcolm

    Step 3 Benefits

    Kevin I thought you did a great job on your presentation along side with your group. Your delivery was great and your eye contact with the audience was also great. You definitely minimized the use of your index card. You cited your source verbally which was great but you didn’t cite on each slid of your PowerPoint presentation so for future reference you should. There was a lot of research done for your presentation I was well informed and you had a lot of graph and chart to prove your points. One problem I noticed with your presentation was you said a couple points which were arguments and plans stated by your other group member. I know the Benefits part could be difficult and you did a great job informing your audience and I felt the audiences were well connected with your presentation. Your communication skills were impressive as longs as you work on the issues mentioned in the above paragraph you will not have problems with any of your presentation you will be given.

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  10. Phil: Attention & Action

    Phil I thought you did a great job! I was very impressed that you were able to present without using note cards; this showed confidence and knowledge on the issue you were presenting. The story you described in the beginning successfully grabbed the audiences’ attention and made us want to hear more. One thing that was unclear in the attention step was the thesis, but the story used in the beginning was able to make up for what was lacking. You also had very good eye contact along with a conversational tone. I also liked how the story from the introduction connected to the conclusion since it was strong evidence to support your group’s stance. I also really enjoyed the action step site that you included on your PowerPoint and thought the idea for donations was smart. One idea for improvement would be the PowerPoint design. The slides were a little difficult to read and seemed cluttered at times. But other than that I did not see any other weaknesses! Good job!

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  11. Katie: Attention and Action

    I think you did a really great job with the attention and action step. You opened up the presentation by making your thesis clear to your audience. The facts and statistics you used really helped grab the audience's attention and also support your argument at the same time. You also did a good job of citing the sources that you used both verbally and on the powerpoint, which helped bring credibility to your presentation. Your stressed that your action step was something that was simple and could be easily done which was a good thing to emphasize. You also gave the audience clear steps on how to take action. Throughout the presentation you kept calm and spoke slowly and clearly, keeping eye contact wit the audience. Make sure to stay confident when you speak, feed off of the feedback of the audience. And do your best to stay off the notecards. All in all you did a fantastic job!

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  12. Dan F-

    I think you did a great job with your part of the presentation. Your tone of voice was very good, and clear. The plan part of the presentation is not that easy to do, but I think you did a great job coming up with solutions that also offered excellent examples. Although I don't remember exactly the points you made, I have written down in my notes that they were convincing and very strong, which made me think that you were credible.
    As far as your delivery goes, you started out reading from your notecards, but then you got off them. This made you connect with the audience, and made your argument stronger. You used hand gestures only enough to emphasize your points and not distract the audience from your speech.

    Great job!

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  13. Lisa LoCascio – Need

    I think you did a great job communicating the issues related to your topic. You clearly defined each issue and supported your information with statistical facts as well as real life examples. I felt your argument was very strong when you utilized the example of the gentleman who was having difficulties paying for his health insurance. You provided the class with a breakdown of monthly expenses that visually demonstrated the individual’s inability to maintain adequate care. I am sure this caused many individuals to experience various emotions due to the real life consequences involved in the topic.

    I also think you were successful at verbally citing your sources throughout your argument. You sounded credible and presented yourself as an expert on the topic. I feel the need step is very challenging in the sense that you need to provide solid examples and credible sources for each point. With this said, I think you did a great job at conveying the importance and credibility of each point.

    In terms of points for improvement, I feel you need to focus on channeling your nervousness in a more positive way. This is something I have had difficulty with and have been attempting to improve over the years. I feel you have a really great presence and energy and with practice you can turn this into a really persuasive presentation. Lastly, you tended to look back and read off the PowerPoint slides when presenting some information. Other than that, I think you had a great presentation with interesting and persuasive information.

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  14. Gideon:

    Great job man, your part of the presentation that discussed the benefits really blew me away. The part that stood out the most for me was definitely the statistics that you cited. At multiple points you quoted sources and used extremely dramatic and powerful stats that forced your audience to accept what you were telling them. The entire time that you were speaking I could not help but think "wow I have to believe him, these stats are so prominent" and that was fantastic. Another strongpoint that your part of the presentation went hand in hand with your statistics, at that was how well you cited your sources. You used proper verbal and visual citation and that really help add to your credibility. Having that much credibility added a lot of power to your quotes and statistics and really forced the audience to believe them.
    The only issues that I really saw in your presentation were some nonverbal cues that you were giving off. I noticed that you were not maintaining eye contact and seemed to be looking at your notecards. If you just make a little more eye contact and look at your cards a little less you'll really blow the audience away. Another thing that I noticed was you were shifting you weight on you feet a little bit, if you stand up straight and look a little more confident I think it may help with your confidence overall. Other than that, great job! I was really impressed.

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  15. Jessica Virga- Attention and Action Step
    I thought you did very well overall in this speech. I really liked the attention grabber you had. The statistic you used about people waiting for healthcare in Canada and England got people to consider your point of view from the very beginning. I thought your argument was very good. Your thesis was clear and understandable. Your tone and volume were clear in the presentation, but I thought you coudl have slowed down a little.
    For the action, I liked how you put the website up to contact the representative so the audience could visually see how to get involved. I think you could haave explained it in more detail and give an example of a letter to write. Without an example, the audience did not know what to put in the letter. Overall, you were prepared and knew your information very well.

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