Assignment #6: What Techniques Work Best to Engage My Audience?

I believe that the best education and interpretation engages head, heart, and hands. Like an angler, I want to "hook" my audience with enticing bait. Most of us have sat through boring lectures in which the presenter only uses only verbal "bait." In this essay, I describe the diverse techniques, or "lures" I plan to use to engage my audience.

My first technique is Prezi; a creative digital presentation software. This engages visual learners. It will work because with only 10 minutes, I do not have time to take my audience outside, so I want to be able to show them visuals of the outdoors and area parks. Prezi is also a novel software that might impress more than simple PowerPoint. Preparation will include taking pictures of local parks, developing the Prezi, and refining it. 

My second technique is a verbal-action call-response activity. In this activity, assign an work/action to different groups in the class for certain cue words. Then I tell a short story with those cue words in it. This engages verbal and kinesthetic learners. This technique will work because it engages the students, breaks up the monotony of a lecture, and uses humor. However, I will have to be careful not to have the activity seem too childish for 5th graders. Preparation will include adapting a story I already have to the parks I am representing.

My third technique is Tilden's principle of relevance. I will poll the students to identify who has been to our parks, who likes to go outside, and who gets caught up with technology. I will ask "A lot of adults think kids spend too much time with technology and not enough time outdoors - do you a agree?" This technique will work because it bridges the interests of the audience with my topic. There is no preparation unless I decide to use clickers to get visual results of the polls. 

You have a better chance of catching more fish if you use a variety of lures. Similarly, I will use a variety of engaging techniques in my 10-minute interpretive presentation to "hook" my audience. 

Assignment #4: Who is My Audience?

Understanding your audience, and taking their unique characteristics into consideration, increases the probability that an interpreter's presentation will make a difference. (Instructor note: the previous sentence is a clear thesis statement for this short essay.) In this post, I describe a hypothetical audience for a 10-minute presentation on my environmental issue of outdoor recreation. Audience characteristics considered include demographics, motivations, interests/traits, and learning styles. I conclude by describing interpretive techniques that might appeal to this audience.

My audience will be a Belle Fourche 5th grade class. I will be a guest speaker from a program sponsored by the State Division of Parks and Recreation that has a mission to get kids to enjoy the outdoors in general and parks in particular. The average household income is 10,000 below the SD medium income, which makes this town primarily low-income or low-middle income (City Data, 2014). The students will not choose to come to this presentation; they will be a captive audience. However, a guest speaker would likely be viewed as an interesting diversion. Also, because Rocky Point State Recreation Area is just west of town, and the Black Hills National Forest is only 12 miles south, many of the students might have connections and interests to parks. Most audiences have a variety of participants who prefer a variety of learning styles such as auditory, verbal, visual, kinesthetic. As stated by Brochu and Merriman (2012): "If you plan for a variety of learning styles in your presentation, then you increase the chance that your message will be accepted" (p. 19). Techniques that might appeal to multiple learning styles and this particular audience might include a PowerPoint filled with visual and audio clips, a game that actively engages the students, and story-telling.  

(Instructor note: Double check that you addressed all items listed in the D2L rubric.)

References:

Belle Fourche, South Dakota. (2014, October 20). In City Data. Retrieved 15:39, January 1, 2015, from http://www.city-data.com/city/Belle-Fourche-South-Dakota.html. 

 Brochu, L. & Merriman, T. (2012). Certified Interpretive Guide Training Workbook. Fort Collins, CO: InterpPress.