Influential and meaningful presentations
Featured in the NLP for Business Excellence training manual
By Di McLanachan
Category: Emotional Intelligence
Credit price: 2 download credits (Single user)
Metaphors are a powerful communication tool because they communicate with the conscious and unconscious mind simultaneously. When we are asleep, we dream in metaphors, which is the method used by the unconscious mind to process information. The unconscious mind handles metaphors by making comparisons and looking for similarities. Thus, when being told a story, the conscious mind involves itself in the content of the story itself, while the unconscious mind searches for similarities to real life situations and deeper meanings in the text of the story. If an influential presentation needs to be made and it includes an appropriate metaphor, one that the unconscious mind can compare to the present situation, moving to the desired outcome, then the unconscious mind is already convinced that the proposal being presented will work.
Participants work in teams of four or five on the problem assigned to their group. Their objective is to select a relevant fairy story, parable or fable that can be fitted into a presentation seamlessly. It must be one that is well known, the content of which can be readily compared to moving the problem from its present state to a desired outcome. Each team selects a member to make their presentation to the rest of the participants. The other teams will score them using criteria defined in the supplied score sheet. In the event of a tie, you have the casting vote. Extra points are awarded for nested metaphors, that is, when there is more than one story going on at a time. The training activity is deliberately light-hearted and you may choose to award a prize to the winning team.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to enable participants to improve their ability to present new ideas influentially by using metaphors with appropriate underlying meanings.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 20 |
| Typical Duration: | 01:25:00 |
| No of Pages: | 9 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Additional resources: Appropriate reading material, for example, books of well-known fairy stories, nursery rhymes, Aesop's fables etc.
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers as a team building activity. This session is also very valuable for anyone who needs to make influential presentations. It encompasses problem solving as a team, creative thinking and presentation skills and is, therefore, particularly appropriate for those who manage, supervise or lead others.
Download the training activity, Influential and meaningful presentations as featured in the Fenman training manual; NLP for Business Excellence