The reality principle states that you should always prefer to present evidence that is concrete and particular rather than conceptual and general. Real things, real people, and specifi c details are more interesting, memorable, and persuasive. Good copywriters know this:
2A study of engineering students found that presentation professionalism training tended to focus on “how to gesture appropriately, to project their voice, or to eliminate the ‘ums’ and ‘uhs’
from their speech” (Dannels 2003, pp. 165–166).
2A study of engineering students found that presentation professionalism training tended to focus on “how to gesture appropriately, to project their voice, or to eliminate the ‘ums’ and ‘uhs’
from their speech” (Dannels 2003, pp. 165–166).
3Reinard (1988), reviewing fi fty years of research on the use of evidence in persuasive communication, found a consistent positive effect (see also Reinard, 1998).
3Reinard (1988), reviewing fi fty years of research on the use of evidence in persuasive communication, found a consistent positive effect (see also Reinard, 1998).
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LOGIC 37
“Specifi c claims increase believability. Do NOT write in your advertising, ‘This car gets great gas mileage.’ DO write, ‘This car gets 41 mpg in the city and 52 mpg on road trips’.”4 When summarizing customer research, for example, show a picture of an actual subject and provide specifi c, real details about the person (to the extent that this is possible without violating the confi dentiality of your research). Show photographs of the things or people you are talking about, maps of locations, and diagrams or plans.5
Don’t be afraid to provide lots of detail; it increases credibility. This is true regardless of audience personality type. Certainly, detail-oriented people have a strong need to see all the details. But even people who are more conceptually oriented will fi nd your presentation more credible if you include details—even if they do not read any of the details, which they probably won’t, anyway.6
In every case, be sure to explain where your details come from. When you make it clear that your facts could be easily verifi ed, people become more confi dent in them, even if they don’t ever bother to check them.7
There is also a broader—and equally important—application of the reality principle, which concerns how your recommendations fi t with your audiences’ lives. In addition to trying always to present concrete and particular information, you should also try always to ensure that the problems and recommendations you discuss in your presentations fi t in with the concrete and particular realities in your audiences’ lives. It is easy to slip into a habit of blaming your audience for their lack of attention to you or respect for your ideas.
It is useful to remember that, although it may sometimes seem to be the case, this appar- ent indifference is not typically based on malice toward you or a desire to spoil your day.
More likely, it arises because there are constraints in their own situations that inhibit them from embracing your presentation fully.
And often enough it is not a question of trying to fi nd out what these constraints are, because usually you already know what they are. In most cases you already know, for example, that this department is under extreme cost-cutting pressure, or that that person has been putting in fourteen-hour days for several weeks now. It is therefore usually more a matter of trying to adjust your presentation to address these realities. Informing your audience up-front that you know what cost constraints they are under, and therefore that you are about to propose a very slimmed-down solution, for example, will help overcome their initial skepticism and avoid their writing you off before your presentation begins. In doing so you improve the chances of your proposal being accepted.
There is a danger, particularly in larger organizations where bureaucracy is more widespread, that the practice of presentation becomes part of a larger game in which we go through the motions of saying what we are expected to say, while the audience goes through the motions of listening to us. And then nothing happens. Making a deliberate effort to incorporate a clear understanding of the realities in your audience’s lives into the details of your recommendations goes a long way toward breaking out of this game, because they will quickly become aware that you are speaking to them personally and
4Gary Bencivenga, http://
bencivengabullets.com/bullets.asp?
id=23; accessed 6/20/07.
4Gary Bencivenga, http://
bencivengabullets.com/bullets.asp?
id=23; accessed 6/20/07.
5Eye-tracking research found that pictures of real people and things draw more attention and are remembered more (Glick, 2004).
Research on print advertising found that photographs gain more attention than artwork (Finn, 1988, p. 172).
5Eye-tracking research found that pictures of real people and things draw more attention and are remembered more (Glick, 2004).
Research on print advertising found that photographs gain more attention than artwork (Finn, 1988, p. 172).
6These fi ndings are based on experiments reported in Artz and Tybout (1999) and Rossiter and Percy (1980). See Chapter 8 for more on these experiments.
6These fi ndings are based on experiments reported in Artz and Tybout (1999) and Rossiter and Percy (1980). See Chapter 8 for more on these experiments.
7Ford, Smith, and Swasy’s (1990) research on advertising claims found that people are less skeptical of claims that could be verifi ed.
7Ford, Smith, and Swasy’s (1990) research on advertising claims found that people are less skeptical of claims that could be verifi ed.
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that what you are saying has real relevance for their own work, and therefore they will be more likely to consider it. In this way you will actually be getting something useful done—and this is a much more fulfi lling way to go through ones career and life, isn’t it?
The two chapters in this part will show you the “how” of using evidence persuasively in your presentation. Chapter 3 will show you how to choose the right problem and com- pose a persuasive solution. Chapter 4 contains a discussion on what kinds of evidence to include in your presentation—and some of it is quite counter-intuitive and surprising.
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