Manjit was asked to make a presentation to wholesale agents about the company’s new product. The communications team asked him to restrict the presentation to 20 minutes and 20 slides. They added that no slide should have more than 5 lines. Manjit ignored the advice. He felt that under these constraints no informative presentation could be made. As the Head of the communications was away, Manjit had his way. But his presentation did not go well. He had 50 slides, each cluttered with
data in small font and with no graphics. He droned on giving details on each slide. The wholesalers began yawning. Many told him to keep it short and give them brochures on the product.
What fault lines do you see in the emotional competence of Manjit? Point out at least three important concerns.
1. Manjit failed to assess the taste, temperament and motivation of the wholesalers. The wholesalers were having short attention span and were unable to absorb lots of information in one session. As they were not interested in minor details, they started yawning. Manjit did not adapt the presentation to the taste and requirement of his audience.
2. His presentation lacked focus. The wholesalers are primarily interested in marketability of the product,itsprice andtheircommission. Thesecore concerns of wholesalers should have been addressed. Major product features could have been narrated, but there is no need to drown them in information. More the information presented, more likely the focus would get lost.
3. Manjit should have listened to the advice of the communication team. They specialise in this subject and know how to make an effective presentation. In his enthusiasm and over confidence, Manjit overlooked their advice and ended up making ineffective presentation.
Communication is a two way process.One has to takeinthe views of others attentively and sincerely. One has to put across one’s views clearly and unambiguously. In many situations, the mood of the audience has to be accurately sensed, generally through their non verbal behaviour, and the message has to be suitably worded. If any difficult questions crop up, they should not be avoided, but should be addressed directly and honestly. It is essential to hear people and register what they are saying. One should not mentally ‘switch off’ when others are speaking. Communication should aim at mutual understanding. One-sided harangues have no communication value. In communications, both sides should fully share the available information with each other.