Unit 2

Unit 2: Communicating and Presenting Ideas in the Creative Media Sector

1.1: Describe Several Communication Techniques and Explain their Appropriate Application

Visual and audial communication are the two most common types of communication techniques there are with plenty of example such as texting, Skype, social networks, writing and videos.



Texting

Texting in day-to-day life is pretty much the same as when emailing. It all depends on what the situation is, who you are speaking to, and so on. Some texts may start out like an email (Hi Adam), while other texts may ignore those emailing basics, and just go straight into what the person sending the text is trying to say. If you are texting a friend your language will be a lot more informal as you tend to use anachronisms when talking to people you know such as "LOL" (laughing out loud), on the other hand if you were texting/emailing a potential employer than your language would be a more higher standard of English vocabulary.

Skype

Skype is a different type of visual communication as unlike texting, you have the ability to see the person. Technology has improved rapidly over the last decade and face to face communication from someone who is in England and someone who is in Australia for example, can be achieved without any difficulty. As a result, businesses use Skype as a way of contacting clients who live in other countries as oppose to meeting their clients face to face. You can also use Skype to communicate orally to people using the microphone feature connected to the computer.

Writing

Unsurprisingly, writing for communication reasons is less common nowadays because of the technology boom in recent years however regardless of popularity, it is still one of the most effective ways of communication. It is sometimes used as a very formal method of communication. You might use this when applying for a job or when writing a complaint. Despite it's decline in efficiency there's no denying it's pretty effective.

YouTube Videos

Many YouTube videos that offer help are extremely popular because they provide information to people who want to learn a new skill such as playing the guitar. Communication through YouTube is one of the best techniques there are. This is because you get to visually watch someone doing exactly what you want to achieve. It's also used as an entertainment platform.

Social Networks

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram are just are a few of these networks to name. All of these platforms offer a way of communicating with a broad audience over the internet. Generally, social networks are used for staying in touch with what's going on in the world and talking to friends you wouldn't normally meet in person. It is estimated that 500 million people have a Facebook profile with 250 million people accessing Facebook on their mobile and tablet devices. A large majority of people who use social network sites are generally the younger generations. Some older people might not use this way of communicating because it was not around when they were growing up so they have never bothered with it in their future life because they don't understand it. Businesses might use Facebook and Twitter to advertise their company and products that they sell. So for example, Tesco might create a business page which only accepted administrators can wright on their wall in which they would advertise any special offers so they entice people to buy their products. Companies who advertise on social networks have an economic advantage over companies who don’t.

                                                           

1.2: Compare a range of techniques used for influencing and persuading other and their application

In the creative media world, particularly concerning marketing, the skill of influencing others is always a key essential. You want to convince someone to buy your product and a successful sales pitch is crucial. If not directly attempting to convince someone to buy a certain product via you talking and they're listening, visual design work can be a good way of keeping your customer intrigued and interested in what you have to say. Depending on who your target audience is and what you are selling and the way that you speak can influence others to feel a certain way, depending on what the overall project is trying to achieve. For other circumstances, verbal communication can be more effective, particularly when it comes to negotiating with someone else.

The diagram below illustrates different techniques that can be used when communicating and presenting ideas. As stated previously, the type used depends on the client you have. Whether you communicate verbally or go for the visual approach, it very much depends on who you are pitching to:

1.3: Describe how to give and receive constructive feedback

Giving and receiving constructive feedback is very important in whatever you do no matter if it's in a job or not. While you can help others with their own performance by saying what you think they are working well on and the areas that are in need of improvement, someone can do the same for you. To give constructive feedback all you really need to do is identify the areas which work well in your opinion and the ones that don’t and tell the person who has presented their idea to you, giving suggestions on how they could improve next time.

When it comes to receiving feedback, it is always good to take on board what someone has said about you and your work, even if you don’t agree with it. Having another opinion other than your own on your work helps a considerable amount with finding problems you may not see. That is the only way you will improve.



1.4: Describe methods used to communicate technical and specialist issues within and across teams

In the Creative Media sector, there can be times where it is necessary to explain technical issues or discuss specialist topics with both people who may have an in depth knowledge on the topic and those who don't. It is therefore important to know how to adapt your methods of communication depending on who you are discussing the topic with. For example, you wouldn't use technical terms on an average customer who knows little about IT where as you would if you were speaking to your tutor or another student on the course.

So, if you are discussing a project with your own team, it is more likely that they will understand the technical terms and "jargon" relating to the topic. For example, within a web design team your colleagues will most likely be able to understand what you are talking about if you start rambling on about correct HTML code or the knowledge of programming your own website. This also saves time as you won't have to necessarily stop and explain the terms you use as they will already know what you mean.

However, if you then need to explain this information to a client who has little to no knowledge in this area, the technical jargon is likely to go straight over their heads. Therefore it would be more suitable to avoid using technical terminology and put the issue into simple terms, not so much that the customer thinks you are dumbing it down but so that they understand what you are talking about. While this might take slightly longer, the information will at least be digestible which is extremely important when dealing with a wide range of clients.

Another example would be when we produced a short film in the tab entitled "Projects". We took pictures to show behind the scenes in which we worked successfully as a team and got the job done by speaking in jargon. This meant we used key terms such as wide angle shot and a tracking movement. My other team mates understood what I was talking about so we were able to get the job done fast without any confusion.



2.1: Describe examples of effective presentation techniques

Displaying effective presentation techniques successfully can be hard to master for some people but may come naturally to others. It is essential for people who are required to lead an inspirational talk or discuss a business proposition with a client to learn certain techniques so that your presentation is well received by the audience. This includes body language and using the appropriate terminology.

To view my entire answer please watch the video below.



2.2: Select and Justify Appropriate Presentation Techniques for a Specific Creative Idea

There are many ways you can present a presentation but the techniques you use can vary on what the creative idea is and who the audience are.

For example, we were asked to pitch a creative idea which we had to research and then present to our trainer. We decided on a Summer Concert so as a group we had to plan, prepare and present the idea making sure we covered everything from the bands who will be performing all the way to the health and safety aspects.

So, obviously we had to make it interesting for people in order for them to buy into our idea, so we created a PowerPoint with big, bold words as well as including a video of how to set up a marquee and images that fill up half of the page. This was done so the client doesn't have to read everything from a screen. We also created handouts which were an added advantage. One handout was a poster advertising our concert and the other two were the marquee prices and sizes, and buffet party selections which showed that we researched into a lot of prices rather than picking the first one we found and just using that. Instead we weighed up the pros and cons for each option and finally decided on the best one that would suit our needs the most.

The four of us took it in turns to present our idea, each one of us discussing a different topic so that the client would hopefully retain the information. Using cue cards to prompt us we were able to present our creative idea in a confident, professional and straight forward manor.

2.3: Present own creative ideas on a one-to-one basis; in a small group; to a large group and 2.4: Evaluate, with others, areas of strength and weakness, in relation to own presentation performance

Completed through physical presentation.

This presentation was done in three parts. Lee did the introduction and the type of bands who will be performing at the concert. I handled the financial side of the festival; how much things were going to cost as well as how much profit we could expect to make. Next, Lewis talked about the marketing and advertising which included using social media so we could reached to as many people as possible in order to get them interested and involved with the project. To wrap up the pitch, Lee gave a brief conclusion which summarised everything we spoke about and asked if there were any questions.

Lee Davies speaking about the bands that will be appearing.

Lewis Jenkins speaking about our marketing strategy.

Myself speaking about the financial side of the project. 

Handouts

We also created some handouts which were used in the presentation above. The point of these handouts were to give our trainer watching the presentation something physical to look at. By using visual aid, this helped him understand how exactly we would advertise the concert use as well as justify our pricing structure.

 

Summer Concert Presentation

Below is a video representing the PowerPoint that we collectively made to assist us in our presentation. You'll notice the background is of a slight grey colour. We have done this so the slides are easy on the eye as black on a white background is very hard to read at a distance. Furthermore, we only included basic points and large pictures so the audience did not have to read much off the screen and instead focused on me and the group. A video from YouTube was included regarding setting up the marque so to break up the presentation slightly

You can view the PowerPoint below:



After the presentation our trainer gave us some formal feedback. He said that we were "fully prepared", "confident" and "presented our idea in an engaging and creative way". After the general feedback he then spoke to us individually. He thought Lee "opened and closed the presentation very well" but he did say to him that a way to improve would be to "not read his notes as much". John thought I handled my part of the presentation in a "professional manor" but lacked "enthusiasm" which is something I will definitely work on as I progress in this course. Finally, he said Lewis needed to "speak clearly next time" as his muffling somewhat hindered his performance. 

Overall, out trainer was "very impressed" with our efforts on this presentation, giving us constructive feedback for how to improve in future projects.