This Issues in Communication narrative is designed to provoke individual thought or discussion about concepts raised in the chapter.

Jim Davis’s 13-year-old-son died several years ago when another junior high student opened fire in the school cafeteria. Since that time, Jim has poured his energy and time into researching the possible causes and prevention of violence in schools. He has become an authority on the subject, and people frequently ask him to speak at different events. He recently accepted an invitation to speak on violence to a group of parents at a junior high school in a nearby town.

Violence is a broad topic, so Jim knew he needed to narrow his focus to an area that would be relevant to his audience. He chose to talk about violence in the media, which can lead to more violence in our schools. His immediate goal was to help the parents understand the effect of media violence. His long-term goal was to challenge them to watch television with their children and then discuss the violent content of the programs and how it affects us in reality.

He prepared his presentation carefully and spent several hours examining his final key-word outline to ensure that every point related to his overall goals and to the topic at hand. He decided to start his presentation by showing several clips from television shows and movies that cast violence in a humorous light. He knew he would end up using several different videocassettes throughout the presentation, so he cued each cassette to begin exactly where he wanted it to, labeled them all, and then noted on his outline when he should start the video and what cassette he should use.

After he played the introductory clips, he decided to tell the story of his son’s death to raise the question of the connection between fictional and real-life violence. He would then state his thesis: Television and movies find ways to make us laugh at violence, and this leads to a more violent society. He would also explain that he would give them a few simple techniques to use with their own children that would help combat the effects of violence on television.

Throughout the body of his presentation, he used short clips from popular television shows and quoted from well-known sources. He was always careful to use plenty of supporting evidence from respected sources, since he couldn’t rely only on his personal experience to persuade others. After working hard to organize and practice his speech, he felt confident that he would do a good job.

Right before the meeting where he was to give his presentation, Jim talked to the person who would be introducing him. Jim asked him to include a few specific notes about himself, especially the articles he had written for several journals and his participation in research on violence at a state university.

His hard work paid off. The speech went smoothly, and as he made eye contact with different members of the audience, he could sense their concentration on what he was saying. When he explained the importance and effectiveness of talking with kids about what they see on TV, several parents nodded in agreement. In conclusion, he showed a last series of video clips and he didn’t hear a single chuckle from anyone. He reviewed his main points and encouraged parents to talk with their kids to prevent losing more children to violence.

After the meeting, many parents stayed to talk with Jim and ask him questions. Several people asked if they could get together with him at a later date to continue their discussion. Jim went home that night feeling that he had fulfilled his goals with this speech and had made a difference in some people’s lives.

Apply what you have learned about introducing, organizing and concluding a presentation as you ponder and discuss the following questions: Which functions of an introduction did Jim fulfill? How did he do it? How did he use the body of his speech to persuade and inform his audience? How did his choice of a key-word outline help during his presentation? What techniques did he use to hold his audience’s attention and increase his own credibility in their eyes?