P6: Effective communication

Understanding the audienceI had to present a presentation in front of a specified audience in-order to achieve my P4 criteria. Whilst presenting my PowerPoint I had to communicate a set of specialised information using interpersonal skills. I chose to create a guide about the Photoshop elements toolbar, and then perform my presentation in front of my specific audience. The audience I had to present in-front of was my fellow colleagues and teacher. They would then access my presentation skills and complete an evaluation form regarding how well I demonstrated interpersonal skills.

Adapt information to target audienceI had to make sure that the presentation suited my target audience so I created the necessary adjustments to ensure that I had optimal communication. In-order to achieve this objective I had to implement several techniques. One of which was to minimalize the use of technical jargon. If I used technical terms in my presentation then I may not have been able to properly teach my audience the required information as they wouldn’t be able to understand the language/text I use in my PowerPoint. If I used simple language and kept any technical terms to a minimum then I would be able to better converse with my specified audience. Another adaptation I included in my presentation was the implementation of pictures and diagrams to help convey the point across to my audience. I added images as the audience would get bored and distracted if they only observe text and speech during my presentation, this makes the PowerPoint more diverse for a wider range of audiences and helped me communicate the necessary information with ease especially when talking about a particular Photoshop tool. It is important to adapt information for your target audience as different people require different presentations to satisfy their learning specifications. For example, children want to have many images, colours and limited amount of text, while college students desire a more professional environment and plenty of information to observe. In my PowerPoint I made sure to acquaint for all my audiences and then adapt the presentation to suit my peers and teacher.

Clarification of requirementIt is necessary to make sure that the implementations that are being made to any presentation are essential. Several steps should be taken to ensure that the required changes are being made for good reason and not being created in vein. It’s important to discuss the changes made with someone who fits the same profile as your audience. This way, if I’m making the wrong decisions they would be able to tell me what the problem is, and I’d be able to use the criticism to correct any mistakes. Having a meeting is also a dependable clarification that I could use to demonstrate what changes I plan to make and receive the necessary feedback from that session. This would allow me to get a range of different opinions from multiple sources as a single person may not have the same attitude as the general audience. In my presentation I made questions that the audience had to answer giving me constructive feedback so that I would then be able to use this information to better enhance my presentation skills in future. I would then be able to use this criticism to research the appropriate ways of communicating the necessary information to a specific audience, and as a result, it would greatly improve the quality of my future discourses.

Robert Taylor