Thomas Hobbes reasoned that humans band together under political authority motivated by their desire to avoid death. Despite their self-interest and rationality, people join this group because they know it is in their best interests – socially, physically, psychologically, or otherwise. When we enter a social contract, Hobbes believes we escape the State of Nature – a chaotic purgatory of injustice and immorality. As part of our human nature, we crave the feeling of belongingness, and resort to creating groups where none exist; a phenomenon psychologists refer to as the “minimal groups paradigm.”
Many members of organizations lament the presentation production process. That’s why teams are created and employees are chosen to control different aspects of the project – from the narrative, tone, and word choice to the imagery, font, and color scheme. We like the order that comes with categorizing tasks into various buckets. And the comfort of working with others that share a common objective. Benefits aside, an inappropriate, incomplete, or excessive presentation team could put the project and the performance in jeopardy. Here’s how your business or brand can ensure that the team you place in charge of communicating through presentations is the absolute best:
1. Foster critical analysis
Over 4 decades ago, a Yale psychologist coined the term “groupthink” after observing occurrences where groups valued agreement over evaluation. In the case of presentation creation, uniformity is important prior to starting the design development or seeking assistance from design agencies. But in the beginning stages of presentation formation, advancing an ideal concept or idea requires the critical analysis of alternatives and perspectives.
Presentation Tip:
To form an environment where your team is comfortable with sharing their thoughts, no matter how perpendicular to the understanding of others, a leader must take charge of the situation. If you are the leader of the group, withhold your personal opinions until the rest of your team has voiced theirs.
2. Include the right people
A presentation is as good as the person producing and presenting it. That’s why a group leader should take extra care and practice intuitive consideration of potential presentation team members. A 1996 study revealed how the familiarity of group members, as well as the method of information distribution, impacted steps in the creation procedure and content delivery. The more familiar group members were with each other, the more successful they were at decision-making – primarily when information was not shared in full. What effects do these results have on presentation team formation? Basically, the study confirms that decisions are made most accurately when team members know and respect one another – engaging in the sharing, gathering, and processing of information.
Presentation Tip:
When you have a team that is preparing assets to send to a third-party design company, consider the amount of information the members you might include hold, in addition to the level of familiarity between the candidates. Ask yourself why you would invite each individual to the presentation team. What role will they serve? What kind of information or value might they add? If the inclusion of a particular member could derail the quality and timeliness of a project due to a lack of expertise and clarity, negative attitude, or distant relationship to the presentation content, then cross them off the list.
3. Consult an outsider
On the flip side of knowledge scarcity in relation to the presentation lies the Curse of Knowledge – the situation that arises when group members struggle with their presentation content leaning too academic for a specific target audience. Bringing an outsider into the group can not only improve the group and their projects, but it can also transform the new addition. A 1949 study by psychologist Merei found that outsiders who reflect group norms from the beginning attain more success in pitching new ideas than those who do not conform.
Presentation Tip:
By working with a presentation design agency, any business’ presentation team can eliminate the Curse of Knowledge obstacle. Relinquishing your too dense narrative to expert communicators will provide a better opportunity for the creation of a presentation that any target audience can not only understand, but also enjoy. At Ethos3, we inquire about your expected audience, your presentation purpose, and many other vital components to a deck so that we can provide that outsider opinion or perspective. Agencies should also find out as much as they can about a company – their industry and its trends, their competitors, their current messaging, etc. – before suggesting innovative directions for their client’s presentation.
4. Encourage collaboration over competition
According to realistic group conflict theory, conflict will arise when resources are determined to be scarce among group members. These resources can range from the fundamental items of survival – food, water, and shelter – to psychological elements such as power and position. Competition increases in group settings, as researchers found out in a 2001 study analyzing group and individual competitiveness. Through the experiment, psychologists found that alone, people were competitive 50% less than when they were members of group.
Presentation Tip:
A key component of fostering collaboration on a presentation project team is guaranteeing that the group is united under one common goal. Think of your presentation as the reward of a competition. If a schism is discovered within your presentation team – whether it is over the wording on a few slides or the design of the deck – you could end up with two sectors competing against each other to win a successful presentation. All team members must be invested in the final result, so encourage this group dynamic by actively listening to each person’s insight and opinion, asking for information from their departments or projects to be considered for use in the presentation, and by communicating effectively through an online messaging system like Basecamp.
Conclusion
As humans, our basic instinct is to form groups. And where groups don’t exist, we tend to create them. Hobbes argued that we do this because, ultimately, having teammates in life is beneficial to us. So, although we suggest keeping your presentation team size to a reasonably small number – many experts say 5 is ideal – we recognize that there are certain projects or tasks where this may not be possible; the group might have to include several individuals. In these instances, the team at Ethos3 would recommend implementing the following tactics:
- Opt for in-person communication when responding to an inquiry or providing feedback
- Select one person as the leader – or when outsourcing your presentation creation services, as the point of contact
- Take thorough notes, which track more than just important words or ideas expressed by all members, but also behaviors and reactions during meetings; it will help you establish cohesiveness and tout efficiency in project completion
For more tips and tricks to constructing the best team for your presentation, read the resources below:
Creating a Presentation: Here’s Why You Should Shrink Your Team Size
