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.